380acp – The Reloadable High Powered 22lr?

[dvw86]

I've always liked the 22lr. Who doesn't? It has three great things going for it;

1. It's small
2. It's inexpensive
3. There are many great guns chambered for it ranging from pocket pistols to rifles.

This made it the ideal choice for plinking, small game hunting, teaching kids firearm safety and ultra small pistols.

The only down side was that it wasn't reloadable, but it was so inexpensive and readily available that it didn't matter.

My work requires me to “dress nice”. Meaning polo shirts that are tucked in. This makes it hard for me to conceal a 1911 or any Glock. Plus my short fingers have a hard time with those guns as well. So I started out carrying .22 pocket pistols such as the Iver Johnson TP22 or the North American Arms mini 22lr revolvers. I was always a little apprehensive though about the 22lr as a defense round, but having something is better than nothing. Another issue was the reliable cycling of the 22 in a little pocket auto. Wanting the “biggest bang” that I could comfortably fit in my pocket, I settled on the Ruger LCP and have been very pleased with it. When my clothing allows me to have better concealment, the Smith and Wesson .357 fills the bill nicely. In my mind the 380 fit a special niche, and that was about all it was really good for.

Then sometime ago people started hoarding the .22lr rounds. This drove the availability to almost nonexistent and raised the price through the roof. I started thinking of my LCP as a plinking gun simply because I could cast and reload for it at a fraction of the cost of 22lr ammo. I have hundreds of pounds of wheel weight lead. At 95 grains per slug, that's a lot of slugs. The shells only take about 3 grains of powder making a pound go a really long way. It's just that the LCP really isn't made for plinking with it's small size and tiny sights. Now though with the popularity of the 380, some new offerings are out that may start an interesting trend.

The Browning 1911-380 is a very quality pistol with full length barrel and fits great in all sizes of hands. This makes it perfect for plinking at the range or teaching a new shooter handgun safety. It really takes the 380 out of the ultra compact specialty category. It may not be a complete replacement for the Ruger Mark III or Browning Buckmark, but it is getting close.

Hi-Point recently announced a new carbine chambered in 380acp. The 389TS, 389FG and the 389PRO carbines. It is very reasonably priced and made in the USA. There isn't much out there yet on this rifle, so time will tell how well it's made and how well this idea catches on. However, there have been some good reports on Hi-Point's customer service. I could very easily see this being used for everything that I would do with a Ruger 10/22 such as plinkling, small game hunting and teaching my kids rifle safety. The ballistics of a 380 out of a 16” barrel puts it at 9mm energy levels. That is nothing to sneeze at and is considerably more than a 22lr. The Hi-Point is a bit ugly in my opinion. A while back Ruger made a carbine chambered in 9mm. I'd love to see them offer that again in 380.

Many people discount the 380 and compare it to the other popular self defense calibers such as the 9mm, 40 cal, 357 or 45acp. In those realms, the 380 is the clear looser. But that is like comparing apples to oranges. If you group the 380 in it's appropriate category with the 22lr, 25 auto and 32 auto then the 380 is the clear winner. Sure there are some specialty rounds that give it a run for it's money such as the 32naa, but the ammo is expensive, hard to find and the guns are heavy.

If you think of the little 380acp as a 22lr replacement, it puts a whole new light on it. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues. For now though, I'm buying a Browning 1911-380 and a Hi-Point 389TS.

[ksmoose]

I have always liked the .380 but never looked at it the way you just did. Makes 1 think about your comments.

[Ranch Dog]

I hear you. I cast and reload for the 25 Auto, 32 Auto, 380 Auto, and on up the line.

I really dig my 25 Auto which is a Taurus 25PLY, a pistol that had to be designed to fit the contour of a blue jean pocket.



I actually think the 32 & 380 Auto are on par with each other. I have the Taurus 732B 32 Auto (Yellow) and 738B 380 Auto (Carbon Fiber). The pink pistol is my wife's 732B 32 Auto. All of them are setup with nightsiters.

[Jaybm]

Bought this Bersa Mod.383 back in 1989 at a gun show. NIB out the door for $179.


Remarkable pocket pistol, not one glitch in all these years and more accurate than me !

Last year I watched a lady shooting the double stack .380 and doing quite well.
I looked everywhere for one but no joy which more or less pleased the lady of the
house whose favorite expression is "you only have two hands why do you need
another gun".

I do reload but the down side is the ,380 spent brass is hard to find in the grass !

Jim

[GasGuzzler]

Ill pick the .32ACP from that list, .22LR next. We all have opinions.

[Moon Tree]

I've been telling my friends that the .357 was the "new .22" for the last couple of years. Heck, I can reload plinking load for about the cost of a .22 lr's these days.

I love my LCP. It is surprising accurate. In a friendly shooting competition a few years ago I shot a 44 out 50. Two 10's, two 9's and floated one to a 6 ring. grr I don't shot it much because I haven't bought dies for it. I've been thinking that should get .380 dies.

dvw, I look forward to your range reports.

[Archer]

I've got a fondness for the .380 out of the Colt 380 Govt or the Sig P238 and I am awfully tempted by the Ruger LC380. (Particularly with the conversion kit to 9mm.)

I haven't managed to go there however since Colt discontinued the little Govt model and I haven't managed to come up with a clean one used that somebody doesn't think is made of solid gold.

I have broken down and gotten a couple .32 ACPs in recent years. A airforce lad came into the shop looking to get rid of his grandfather's 1907 Savage since he wasn't able to dispose of it with the local sheriff's office and I offered to pay him $50 for the collection of parts he had rather than see him toss them for disposal. Turns out the collection of parts he had in the pizza box was complete after all and I made out ok on the deal even paying the CA registration fees.

Since I already had the one mouse caliber gun I bit on a mousy Colt 1903 to go with it.

I don't know where you guys are getting your inexpensive .380 and .32 ammo but new stuff around here is roughly 3-5 times the cost of .22 LR and between .38 SP and 9mm in price usually. PLUS when the scare was on there was not much if any .380 ammo to be had since the factories were working overtime turning out 9mm.

I reload but typically buy factory ammo to build up a supply of component brass since buying the base components in total usually is about the same cost, at best, as buying the already assembled ammo. (Assuming comparable projectiles.) Reusing the brass is when the cost starts coming down.

A .380 rifle isn't real high on my list much as it might be a nice small game getter.
I think the air rifles in .22 probably make a better substitute for the .22LR in the squirrel and smaller target than the .380.

[GasGuzzler]

.32ACP is expensive. Around here it's $26 per 50. 22WMR is a possible better choice. Yeah. Sounds funny but the Hornady 30gr balistic tip can have more defense use than .380 or .32ACP.

.380 HP is as hard to find locally as .22LR and .22WMR.

9mm is still the most obvious and universal choice HERE.

[mr surveyor]

I figure that .38 spl can be loaded for not much more than 2-3¢ per round above the cost of loading .380acp, .32acp and .25 acp ... especially when you factor in the cost/availability of brass. For that matter, for my 158 grain cast bullets, there's not but a couple cents different in .38 spl and .357 mag.

My Son and I spent a couple of years thinking of "the replacement" for .22lr plinkers .... and when the .22's hit their all time high price and unavailability, we realized we already had the replacement in .38 spl with bulk cast bullets (and plenty of .38 spl brass)

jd

[akuser47]

I have the cheapest less features but reliable and accurate keltec pta3. I really want a walther ppk stainless someday.