Small and medium autos...

Things are very different today than the 1970's. Today we have .45 ACP's the size of .380's produced back then, and .380's the size of minimal .25's of that day. Good times for carry weapons, and that is what they are last ditch defensive tools.

I saw a retired military specialist that gave some very real clear talk concerning road rage incidents. It's subjective but he made a point "you are not going to hop out of your vehicle and murder someone for busting your windshield". You shouldn't at least! But at what point are you subject to real impending harm yourself? Scaring someone for fear of their life (breaking your windshield in a rage) is a felony, as is mostly, damages over $1000 in value. So is killing YOU! It gets murky. You can't kill someone for being a crazy a-hole (without ramifications). But having SOMETHING besides sharp fingernails is paramount, plus some foundational training. I remember in state CCL class a red faced farmer dealing with the information he had to watch people steal his property, while awaiting police. He could not legally produce a firearm unless they exhibited deadly intent. To do so would make HIM a felon! Pocket guns have their place.

Researching .380 ACP lately I was surprised how much extra stress on old designs were imparted. Old platforms that originally were designed for 7.65mm (.32 Auto) were cracking frames and slides when upped to .380 Browning. The excellent Mauser HSc was one, even the Walther's were suddenly terrible hand biters. Loading the .380 one finds out quickly that you are basically locked into a 90-100 gr. stubby projectile at a nominal velocity. You can do wild diversions, but you find yourself in reality, off course in the grass. Still it's tempting to try to find something overlooked by others, to no avail. But, there are some fantastic modern guns designed around the .380 or actually down powdered 9mm Luger guns, effectively modded to shoot .380. These promise less recoil and enhanced controllability.

In reality the often overlooked .32 from 1900 might still be superior. A sobering reality is your objective, poke a hole clean through and straight. I think the .30 cal. might be better. Handloading I can see much superior gains. I made some of my own modded designs and used .30 Carbine cast projectiles to great effect and gains in performance. A flat point gas checked 113 gr. was one notable effort near 1000 fps in a 3.5-4" gun. Plus they shoot out of a .32 Long revolver!

It's pretty wild to consider that in the last 100 years, many military fellows were armed with .25 and .32 cal. sidearms. I'm certain that many hapless folks met their demise with point blank applications. I think a 100 gr. .30 cal. would have far superior penetration than a stubby .35 of the same weight. However, I'd certainly not relish a charging fanatic with anything less than a .308 or suitable shotgun with buckshot. It depends a lot if the ill intent involves explosives or long knives!

My family never goes anywhere anymore without being self defended. That can be on differing levels depending on circumstances. Stepping out to feed livestock is different from running down to the local Dollar General, or traveling to Little Rock. There is a sound argument to have the same familiar armament no matter, I get that. But it's an individual thing, it's your skin.