.32ACP or .380ACP for personal defence handgun?

Question

I own a .45 acp and i know that my gun will knock some one on their butt and i know a 32 or 380 will not but my question is which one has better and more effective stopping power?

Answer 1

In connection with personal protection, it's really not a matter of stoping power. It's a matter of practice, training, and stability.

The .32 or the .380 are both just as messy if the user is trained in the correct use of the weapon.

Hope this helps. By the way, the first portion of my service with River side, I carried the 1911. Good weapon. Easy to maintain, but high operating cost.

Nick
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Answer 2

Neither.. but the .32 has a more likely chance of breaking a coke bottle at 20 yards than the .380 does.. but stopping power? Neither a 9mm has a better chance of that and it sucks too

As for someones premise above about a .22 LR stopping an elephant.? Yeah maybe.. if you hit the heart (doubtful) or the brain (again doubtful) an elepnat is "THICK" even if you did hit those areas (doubtful due to .22 bullet construction VS mass of elephant) still due to its hypersonic capacities (non of which .45's 32's or .308s have) Likely they wouldnt even notice they had been hit before they stomp you ..) .22's have that problem in humans they dont feel it till 5 mins after they have killed you by larger calibre or knife...

5 Mins is a reasonable bleed out time for a human.. from any injury.. its NOT at all like the movies.. people dont just "drop Dead" from a gunshot.. less so if they know what to expect from said gunshot and are dedicated.. Yo can empty a 9mm clip into some one and if they are dedicated.. they can still take you with em...

As for knock down power.. thats partially myth too.. larger calibre causes more trauma.. therefore faster bleed out, but that crap in the movies about people flying backwayrs thru windows even?? Well thats just what it is CRAP.. Holly wood crap.. dosent happen at all like that in REAL life & DEATH

Even a newbie deer hunter city boy realises that on his first hunt

Answer 3

Depends, do you just want to make them mad or stop them. A .22 LR has more stopping power than a .32. A .32 is primarily a purse weapon designed for women with small hands. anyone with larger hands will probably do more damage to the web between thumb and index finger than to their target. The slide will cut you. The .380, while not a impressive stopper in it's self, is by far the better choice between the two.
Check the FBI's RSI and even your .45 will give you second thoughts, it, to the best of my memory, has a RSI of about 60%

Answer 4

Sounds like you need a class on basic human anatomy, size doesn't matter if you hit what your aiming at, and if you know what to aim at you can stop an elephant with a 22 long rifle. Stick with your 45, it's like the shotgun slug of pistol rounds and will serve under just about any conditions. In a hurry, I would grab the 380 before the 32 but either way my target would have powder burns on it before I even considered pulling the trigger. I know a lady who emptied six rounds from her 32 into her husband, (one in the chest, one in the leg & four in his back as he was running away). When he heard her click on empty, he turned around and expressed his displeasure. They actually made up and lived happily ever after, he passed away from cancer 20 years later, but the moral of the story is a 32 isn't much of a round.

Answer 5

Bound's hubby here: The .45 is your best bet for self defense. However, sometimes it is impractical to carry a .45. Having something a little smaller or a little more discreet is reasonable. Chances are very good that both the .32 and the .380 that you are looking at are blow-back design pistols not locked breech like your .45. Because blow-back design pistols rely totally on the recoil spring for every phase of the firing cycle. I would not experiment or utilize hollow point or soft point ammunition. This is a case when you should solely rely upon full metal jacket round nose ammo. When put in this situation, you want the pistol that shoots the largest (diameter) and heaviest bullet. Hence, your .380 is the better choice. Good luck.

Answer 6

Self defense, get a short-barrel S&W 500...Hit them in the shoulder, their arm comes off...

Seriously, though, I'd more recommend .357 SIG or .357 magnum for a self-defense round....357 SIG is an incredible round. Look into it on Wikipedia.

As for the .357 Magnum, S&W, again, makes a snub nose .357 with an 8-shot cylinder for about $600...Not sure exactly what the model is called, but i know they make it....I'd go with that for quick, easy stopping power - doesn't get any simpler than that...Automatics, while nice due to increased magazine capacity, you have to fiddle with safeties and charging it (Or the dangers of carring it with a round chambered)...With a revolver, you just point it and squeeze the trigger until whoever/whatever you're shooting at decides it's a good time to leave.

Answer 7

.380 is marginally better than .32. Stick with the .45 for sure stops.

Answer 8

Your asking the wrong question. What happens if you miss. That bullet will go through your sheet rock walls and penetrate your neighbors sheet rock walls and then it's just luck on where or whom it lands next. The .45 is a big slow round that loses it's range and penetration quickly when plowing through walls. The smaller lighter rounds you suggest just keep on going. Better still to use hollow points this will result in your misses being destroyed as they pass through your walls. Thus saving yourself from a very tragic accident and still putting great pain on intruders.

Answer 9

All I need to say is .45 most fire-fights are under 7 shots, and a .45 will put a stop to the intrusion.

Answer 10

get a 380 and put glaser safety slugs in it and it will be a formidable piece ... dont listen to any of the arguments against them in wiki ... they are wrong ... ive done my own testing and the wound capacity of a glaser is staggering .. worse than a shotgun imo ..