The Smith & Wesson .380 is not a “little gun.”
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Thanks I don’t think so either.
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Have tried one and agree with the Shield EZ in .380 recommendation for a light kicking and easy to rack firearm. I’ve heard that with the light spring, etc. you should plan on cleaning the firearm often to prevent buildup that might slow down the mechanism. Personally my .380 is an LCP II which is a great pocket pistol but is light, so it has a heavier felt recoil, and short, so the racking effort is in the normal range.
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My little Bersa Series 95 (early Thunder) has become obsolete. Poor little thing. Still a fun little pistol.
That’s true, most ballistic tests I’ve seen with 380 are from pocket pistols. That does make a big difference ballistically.
My only concern with the shield EZ now is making sure it wasn’t part of the recent recall 
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If you’re a good enough shot any gun will do! Practice “Failure to Stop” drills; Two shots to the Center Mass, come to Present and, if the adversary is still a threat, One shot to the Octal Cranial Cavity!
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My opinion is that it’s enough. If you size up a 9mm and a .380 round you would be pretty surprised the size is almost the same! And esp with some of the self defense rounds out these days it’s a great choice. In fact I am in the market for a .380 myself for the same reasons.
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My partner was shot and killed with a .380. The kill shot was (obviously) devastating.The same bad guy using the same gun shot and killed a woman a little while after that.
I conceal carry a Sig Sauer P230 (.380) with Hornady Critical Defense rounds. I am confident with this combination.
Make your own conclusions.
(Although if I am asked to do something “specific” I carry a Sig Sauer P220 (.45) with Hornady, which also is my home defense firearm.)
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Appreciate this post.
I’m still new to this model/caliber. I can see advantages to it. If it results in your carrying more often, if it’s easier for you to conceal, then it has value.
I’m personally leaning towards a little longer barrel and a little heavier firearm, which might help my own accuracy. If I find a good fit with these qualities, in a .380, then I’m interested. I had ordered a pocket .380, though I imagine, mine may not come in for a while, unpredictable times/these days. Though a local shop does have some other .380 models to choose from. My personal interest is growing in the .380 and the 32 calibers. Take care.
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.380 is more than enough if you can hit where you aim. Personally, I don’t believe caliber has as much to do with it as shot placement and ability to get back on target. In that regard, a .22 is perfectly adequate for civilian self defense if you’re just looking for a “get off me” weapon. Just my 2 cents, not being an expert. But if someone’s putting .22 holes in my body, I ain’t hangin around, much less 9mm short or luger.
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The issue I have with ,22 is unreliable romfire compared to center fire. Personally I’d rather hit center mass with a .45 acp .44 Magnum or 10mm. Stopping power is much greater. Hole that big will stop a bear.
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I ain’t scared of no stink’n .22 bullets. 
I am not looking to ask someone to get off me if I feel threatened enough to pull a gun. I think calling .22lr perfectly adequate for self defense is a stretch. Is it better than nothing? Absolutely. But there are many situations in which it can fail to be effective quickly enough. People have been fatally shot and stabbed multiple times but still able to harm others before they go down. A round with more reliable stopping power is better. If .22 is what you have or the best you can shoot accurately then definitely carry that. But if you can afford and accurately use something bigger I think that is the much better way to go.
As I have stated earlier in this thread, I feel that .380 is borderline for SD especially from the very short barreled micro compacts. It is hard to find bullets that will perform reliably under a variety of conditions without risking significant over penetration. I do occasionally carry a micro .380 but feel a lot more confident to deal with a much broader range of situations with a higher capacity 9mm.
Yes, it is for me and my wife down here in Florida. She wasn’t comfortable with the Bodyguard, but she fell in love with her new S&W EZ .380 Performance Center.
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I’m just going by FBI death by firearm statistics, Shamrock, which show a .22 to be more than adequate (with a .380 coming in second.) Perhaps not optimal, but certainly plenty deadly. As you pointed out, people have been fatally shot and stabbed multiple times but still able to harm others before they go down - regardless of the caliber used. Understand, I am not recommending any caliber. I have a CZ 75 compact 9mm, a 38 revolver and an sr22. Other guys like to carry a Desert Eagle or 454 Casull - it’s a personal choice, so carry what you’re comfortable with.
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Yes absolutely use whatever you want. But I think the FBI death statistics by caliber is a poor choice of data for choosing a defensive firearm. In a self defense situation you want to stop the threat as quickly as possible not eventually kill the target. Yes all handguns have very poor stopping power. But some have been shown through endless testing to be less bad. 9mm, and up with properly designed hollow point ammo is the general consensus for that cut off with .380 a little below. Just want to make sure new shooters know the choices they are making if they decide to go with a lower caliber as I sometimes do.
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I agree. As you noted, it is not “stop statistics”, LE in general seeks to neutralize and apprehend the criminal, not get away from the criminal, and thirdly, you are really looking for subjective evaluation of the outcome. I personally, haven’t found a reliable source on the subject, just a bunch of rumours people repeat. The most reasonable discussion was under “caliber doesn’t matter”, you can look it up on the Web.
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Can’t have too much information my friend. If you make an attacker run off to bleed out later, you’ve still ended the threat. Like I said, I am not recommending a .22 to anyone. It is easy to carry, to use, keep on target, causes great pain, and puts holes in bodies that weren’t there before. Bigger calibers do the same with greater force, but can be harder to control if one doesn’t practice regularly. In deference to the OP, a .380 (9mm short) can and will get the job done as well as a .38 (my personal preference…) I firmly believe that familiarity with the weapon is the key, no matter the caliber.
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