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Welcome To The .380 ACP Pocket Pistol Battle Royal
In case you weren’t aware, .380 ACP (we’ll reference it as .380 moving forward) has been around for a very long time. Some would say too long, but I’d say they are dead wrong.
Why? The 9mm has almost no recoil and is renowned for its ability to keep on target. The .380 has even less recoil than that. It’s not a good round for longer distances, but what are you doing shooting that far in a self-defense situation anyway, Rambo?
It lacks power, but when you can quickly put multiple rounds on target due to how light the recoil is, that argument loses its strength.
One of the newest .380 pistols to hit the market: the S&W Bodyguard 2.0.
A .380 in the hands of the right shooter is better than a .45 in the hands of someone who has never shot a gun before. Every argument as to why .380 is weak is null and void after remembering that training makes all the difference, no matter what you’re shooting.
The other big issue with .380 is the lack of support from different manufacturers. Since the industry’s leaders have all but done away with the little round, .380 has not been getting the love it deserves.
There’s still hope.
Due to the lack of variety, we’ll divvy this article between carry and range guns. You can carry both; it just depends on how comfortable you want to be.
Carry
These pistols are small enough to throw in your pocket and have enough capacity to send a bad guy hauling tail the other way. Like I said before, in the hands of a trained shooter, these little pea-shooters will seriously mess someone’s day up.
Glock 42
The Glock 42 is the smallest Glock on the market. For those who want a truly lightweight and compact carry gun, you have arrived. Although it looks like it hasn’t received a facelift since the 1980s, it works. Reliably.
And it’s not meant to have a light or red dot thrown on it, even though you can send it off to at least get an optics cut. But from the factory, it’s a no-frills pistol with a measly six-round magazine capacity. Hardly anything to write home about.
Promag does make a 10-round variant for the range, though.
SALE 
ProMag .380 ACP 10 Round Extended Magazine for Glock 42 Pistols
134 reviews
Original price was: $29.99.$19.99Current price is: $19.99.
About as plain as they come. Source
All in all, they are cheap, easy to find, and reliable, comparable to just about any other Glock. So, if you don’t mind a pistol that looks like it was used to hunt drug traffickers in Miami back in the 80s, here you go.
Work on it, Glock.
Sig Sauer P365 .380
The younger (and much safer) version of the P320 features everything you’d want on the Glock 42. An optics cut, a rail for a light, and a 10-round magazine capacity (optional 12-round mag with thumb rest) are far more equipped to handle a bad situation.
Pair it with some defensive rounds, and you’ll be set. Source
These are also highly modular, thanks to the removable fire control unit. If you want to change your entire setup on a whim, you can do so easily. You’ll even find a decent amount of aftermarket accessories and parts to choose from if you wish.
Ruger LCP Max
You can always count on Ruger to come in clutch for those odd rounds that few people care about.
It’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and can be pocket-carried easily.
However, the LCP Max looks like the Walmart version of the Walther PPK.
Notice the front and rear slide serrations for ease of use. Source
At least the magazine capacity is good. Ten rounds with the standard magazine and the optional 12-rounder makes the Ruger grippable with larger hands.
It takes a lot of training to be good with this thing. It’s hardly accurate, but when you get some good ammo, the rest boils down to learning the gun.
Smith and Wesson Bodyguard 2.0
The Bodyguard 2.0 is one of the newest on the list, and is an ergonomic and easy shooter.
It’s sexy, it has curves, and the grip texture feels great in your hands. The 10-round magazine capacity (optional 12 with a thumb rest) is not much different than anything else on the list (other than the Glock, ha), but hey, at least it’s coming from a good place, right?
SALE 
Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 .380 ACP 10 Round Magazine
90 reviews
Original price was: $40.00.$36.99Current price is: $36.99.
SALE 
Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 .380 ACP 12 Round Magazine
218 reviews
Original price was: $40.00.$36.99Current price is: $36.99.
The only things missing that are important are an optics cut and space for a light. You can send it off to get milled, but a light unfortunately won’t be as easy to add.
A proper .380 for the proper shooter.
Smith and Wesson Shield M&P Shield EZ .380
The Shield EZ (Easy) requires far less strength to rack the slide, the trigger is tactile and light, and there is more grip texture to aid in keeping the gun in your hands, which, again, can be hard to do when your hands aren’t as strong as they used to be.
Finally, a decent host for a weapon light! Source
The eight-round magazine capacity keeps things lightweight, but does leave a bit to be desired.
Regardless, I love this thing. I got one for my grandmother, and even though she’s 78 years old with arthritis, she has no problem manipulating the Shield EZ. She even feels perfectly confident in her ability to “put a hole in a horse fly from a block away” with it.
That’s what she says, anyway.
Walther PPK/S
Walther has known for a long time that the Walther PPK/S is the subject of many a man’s James Bond fantasy, and they’ve kept upgrading it while keeping it as classic as it should be.
This does, unfortunately, mean that there is no optics cut or space for a light. But that’s not why you buy the PPK/S. You buy it cause it’s cool, and you have an Omega watch that needs a matching friend. I carry it for weddings and everything else that requires a suit.
A threaded barrel variant exists as well. Source
Of course, it’s the perfect backup to a bigger Walther PDP, but you get the point.
You’ll get seven rounds in the magazine plus one in the chamber if you carry like you should, just like James did. Did you ever see him rack the slide before sending bad guys to the big gig in the sky? No.
Walther PPK/S .380 ACP 7 Round Magazine with Finger Rest
17 reviews
Price range: $34.99 through $36.99
Range
Yes, you can carry these, but they are a tad larger than the ones mentioned in the “carry” category, and since .380s are typically sought-after for how easy they are to conceal, I put them down here.
But if you want to carry them, go for it.
Beretta 80x Cheetah
The Beretta 80x brings the classic design of the 92FS but enhances the features to make it a proper gun worthy of the modern shooter. With that, you get an optics cut slide, space for a light, a skeletonized hammer, and white dot sights.
More than functional, and damn reliable (at least the 80x I shot was), the Beretta 80x Cheetah houses 15-rounds (optional 13 and 10 round mags) of .380. If you throw a red dot on this thing, you have quite the shooter.
That makes the Beretta 80x Cheetah great for race gun stuff. You can also carry it, depending on how comfortable you want to be.
Beretta definitely makes it pretty. Source
EAA Girsan MC 14T
No racking is required. The EAA Girsan MC 14T is a tip-up designed pistol that allows you to put the first round directly into the chamber. After firing that round, it functions like a standard pistol with a reciprocating slide.
Unique, functional, and easy to use. Source
Which will burn through those 13-round magazines, so ProMag came out with a 14-round mag for good measure. The EAA Girsan is an enjoyable shooter, albeit a tip-up, but it can work for defensive situations as long as you carry one in the chamber.
Conclusion
As you can see, I think the .380 deserves more love than it gets. Manufacturers are letting it die with cheap and old designs. Brought up to snuff, I’d wager that the .380 could make a remarkable comeback. It’s not always about more power; it’s about consistently putting rounds on target.
Take your pick of any of the pistols above, but I’d personally carry the Smith and Wesson models or the Beretta. They are the most modern and feature the comforts most shooters appreciate while having a solid magazine capacity.
Be good and take care.
