Survival and Emergency Preparedness

Again, one of the most popular threads on the old board was the small caliber thread. So bringing back this goodie

I have both an LCP and S&W Bodyguard in .380.



I added a LaserMaxx and Hogue Handal to it.





At one time I didn't give .380 a second look. The ammo is expensive for some reason and the round is under-powered and finicky in terms of trying to get decent penetration and decent expansion. However, for those times when it is somewhat impractical to carry a larger gun, the little .380 does start to make sense and shine because it fulfills the first rule of having a gun...which is have a gun.

When going to a dressy event, like a wedding, I'm presented with a couple of choices; Put a larger pistol in my CCW fanny pack or carry a pocket pistol. I've gone both routes. The CCW fanny pack is a good option, but with a pistol in it I have to be with it all the time. Kinda impractical if I want to dance with my wife or something. It's like being tied to an anchor. With a pocket pistol that problem is solved.

Typically I carry my LCP during such occasions or just around the house. If I'm just in and around the house it'll just be the LCP with the idea that it's on me and would give me the opportunity to get to a larger platform. If I'm out and about, like at a wedding, I'll toss a spare mag in my other pocket using the Ammo Armor which I've really come to like.



It's small, light and disappears in the pocket yet protects the magazine from getting dinged up (which could affect function) as well as free of debris and pocket lint.

I carry with an XTP HP in it, usually Fiocchi. I'll have an HST in the spare mag because that's what I have on hand.

As to smallest... the model 60, stainless chief 5 shot .38
Can carry out , when dressed up and if need be there's still an ankle holster.

Other than that, I carry the G20 yr round with a supertuck. You can tuck in the shirt and hide same.

I've carried everything from a Beretta 21a 22lr up to a Para P14 45ACP. My EDC currently is a G43 9mm. I don't see myself going back up or down much in size. The pain of carrying a full-size gun is not worth the perceived benefit to me. Really tiny guns aren't as important to me as much now either so I doubt I'd go back to a 380 or 22lr. The 43 is small and light enough to carry IWB or pocket so the size is good. Maybe moving to a 365 or similar would make sense down the road, but still in the same size range and 9mm.
I've never felt under-armed with any of the guns or calibers. I'm a realist about what I could be facing and confident in my skills with all of the guns.
This turned into a pretty long-winded answer. I guess a 22lr would be the smallest I'd be comfortable with.

tom mac wrote: ↑Wed Dec 25, 2019 10:46 am Other than that, I carry the G20 yr round with a supertuck. You can tuck in the shirt and hide same.

How comfortable is that G20 IWB? That's one model of Glock I've never owned. Tempted a few times but never got one.

Ronin.45 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 25, 2019 2:56 pm My EDC currently is a G43 9mm... Maybe moving to a 365 or similar would make sense down the road, but still in the same size range and 9mm.

The P365 is pretty comparable with the G42 overall. Comparing it to my Ruger LC9 it it also smaller.

G43:

Length: 6.26”
Height: 4.25”
Width: 1.02”
Barrel: 3.39”
Weight: 17.95oz. (w/empty magazine)

G42:

Length: 5.94”
Height: 4.13”
Width: . 94”
Barrel: 3.25”
Weight: 13.76oz. (w/empty magazine)

P365:

Length: 5.8 “
Height: 4.3” with flush magazine.
Width: 1”
Barrel: 3.1”
Weight: 17.8oz. w/empty magazine.

Ruger LC9s:

Length: Length: 6.0 “
Height: 4.5” with flush magazine.
Width: 0.9”
Barrel: 3.12”
Weight: 17.1oz. w/empty magazine. “

Overall the P365 is smaller than the G43 and in some measures it is smaller than the G42 (length and barrel). Initially I was pretty vocal against the P365, particularly with the early issues it had and the, imo, crappy way Sig addressed those issue. Rather than admitting yet another model had issues and correcting those issues they let the consumer be the beta-tester and then initiated quiet rolling design changes. So if someone sent back a P365 for say a dim front sight (one of the issues) it came back with an entirely new slide and contents. Why to you need an entirely new and updated slide (read firing pin redesigned at least 3 times) if you have a dim front sight? Anyway, that is all old news and it seems current production is where original production should have been. I'm seeing round counts in excess of 11K now with no widely reported issues. So now that the problems seem to have been worked out it is a fine platform.

And in fact, I have three of them. I traded an extra G26.4 I had in the safe for a regular P365 last spring and made it my official off-duty carry. Although I really, really, REALLY like my main G26.4, after wearing it all day in the Florida heat...well, you know you have a gun on your belt. It can be done, but it just isn't the most comfortable after 8-10 hours. Switched to the Ruger LC9s for summer wear because it is substantially smaller, thinner and lighter than the Glock. I wasn't thrilled with going down in capacity but for all day carry I forgot I had the Ruger on me so it was a compromise I was willing to make. However, once I felt comfortable that the P365 had all the issues addressed I got one for carry. The second P365 is the NRA Special Edition that I bought outright at a very discounted price. I could care less about the NRA deal, but I do like coyote tan. The third one was the deal I got last month along with the G19.5. I gave that one to my son.

I'm toying around with putting manual thumb safeties on each of them when the parts finally become available (they get sold out before I can order them. It is a MAJOR popular item it seems). Then perhaps I'll give my current one to my wife for her carry and I'll carry the Coyote tan one. That way we all have the same platform and compatible magazines.

In regards to magazines, the P365 has 10, 12 and 15 round options. I know some aren't as concerned with capacity as I am and that's fine, but options are always good to have. My thoughts were simply why have a larger pistol that holds 6-rounds when I could have a smaller pistol that holds 10 or 12 rounds? So although I liked my G43 I got rid of it. For what I felt was important the P365 just seemed to check all the boxes.

The Xray night sights are great and I found I really key in on the green front outline. And since the price has come down substantially since initial introduction, and since I got great deals all the way around, it was a good move imo.

David wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:34 am

tom mac wrote: ↑Wed Dec 25, 2019 10:46 am Other than that, I carry the G20 yr round with a supertuck. You can tuck in the shirt and hide same.

How comfortable is that G20 IWB? That's one model of Glock I've never owned. Tempted a few times but never got one.

Well, it;s not a small gun, but with the supertuck IWB on my size ( 6'/235 ) I can hide it well when the shirt is tucked in or mostly in nice jeans and or a golf shirt there's no issue. ( golf shirt is over )
With a suit jacket, it's covered too.

After having a gun on hip for over 40 yrs, it like it's not there.

I have never had a problem with .380. Also never owned one - full disclosure.

It's 9mm short. Use it for what it is for. Close range SD.

like the name 9mm Kurz better ...seems classier

Plus - James Bond killed a lot of bad guys with it. So, there is that...

Actually, James Bond's Wather PPK was a 7.65mm Browning which is equal to the .32acp. And it had a delivery like, "a brick through a plate glass window"

how many rules were violated during that clip