With summer rearing it’s face here in AZ, my EDC is more than likely going to change to a more lighter gun to accommodate basketball shorts and summer attire.
I have a Glock 48 as my EDC but plan on carrying my .380 M&P Shield EZ PC for the summer months due to it being lighter.
I’ve seen all the YouTube videos of people shooting phonebooks with both .380 and 9mm, but what’s your opinion? Is a .380 HP round enough to effectively stop a threat?
yes, .380 is enough for EDC. It is more about shot placement then size, but either way .380 is enough, thanks Jimmy
Thank you
Welcome @Ethan16 .
If you are thinking about close range self-defense, yes .380 is good enough.
Less recoil, more control over the gun. Less bullet’s energy, but proper shot placement gives you great results. (like @James406 mentioned)
This type of test is bogus. Lookup videos by Paul Harrell, he goes into trouble of building a realistic target, and he has exactly the results and comparisons you are looking for.
Thank you all for your input, I love my .380 and a lot people I know discourage me from carrying it simply due to the velocity of the round.
I’ll definitely look into Paul Harrell and see what he’s all about
It doesn’t matter if you know how and when to use .380.
Definitely it’s not a good idea to stop the threat with it from 50 yards…
50 yards is a gunfight or gang war,
not a self-defense scenario 
If you carry a .380 for self defense, then you use it for self defense. If I was over seas fighting in a war I would want my .45 1911. Self defense scenarios, according to the FBI Statistics, state that a majority of self defense shootings happen five to fifteen feet and only last 1.5 seconds. Carry your .380 and be safe!
Depends on your aim and the threat!!
The 380 is just a short 9mm. There is some great self defense ammo for 380s. It will do the job
It does not matter if it is a .380 or 9 mm if you do not have good shot placement it will be harder to stop a threat!
Unless somebody is shooting at you from 50 yards, or there is a active shooter 50 yards from you, or somebody is running with knife to harm your kid 50 yards from you…
As you can see there are plenty of scenarios you CAN use self-defense gun in NON “gang war”. 
50 yards seems to be the key distance. Should I be shooting my targets at the range from 50 yards out? I typically shoot my targets at 27 yards
You should at least know where your pistol shoots at 50yds. I use a K-5 target and shoot my 9mm and .45 at
100yds. I draw a line across the base of the neck at the shoulders and use that as my aiming point, I can put 5 out of 7 shots in the black with all on the target. I don’t expect to have to shoot at 100yds but I know I can do it.
I shoot with both hands on the shooting bench.
50 yards is 150 feet therefor, if you place a six inch target at 50 feet you will have the equivalent of a 18 inch target at 50 yards.( 50 Y = 150F)
( 50F = 16.6 Y )
( 6.3 ) = 18 inches
Then if you shoot at a target that is set up at 25 feet and it is 1 - 1/2 inch target you will have the same accuracy designed to 50 yards.
.380 bullet has a 2 1/2 inch drop off at 50 yards too!
OK. The whole point is that .380 is ok for short distance.
50 yards was used as example. I doubt .380 is effective in 30 yards… I personally will feel comfortable with such gun using it between 0 and 25 yards.
YES… in short distance.
but would you mind being hit by a .380 bullet at 50 yards?