While the .380 ACP caliber is definitely on the light side of what I'd want to carry into a gunfight (it's called 'Backup' for a reason), I'd sure be happy to have it over nothing at all, and its concealability serves to make that a viable option. And actually, stoked with the right ammo, it's more than capable of halting an aggressor, or at least buying time to save your skin.
I agree with Mr. The Blogger that despite the barbs thrown its way, my little AMT has, like Tonto, proved a faithful companion, though thankfully I've never fired it in anger or even had a situation in which I had to brandish it. Mine is of the older, single action variety, featuring both a grip safety and a thumb-actuated safety just forward of the left grip panel. But I see no reason why it shouldn't have wood grips - and so it does.
(A rock, like the ones they put on your wife's back at the spa)
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3 comments:
Now if we could just find some adjustable carbon fiber diode gas-impinged night sights for these babies...
I was surprised to learn the number of cops who carry a .380 for backup. Even more surprising? Those who carry .22LR pistolas.
Chup - I don't know that I'm surprised about the .380 so much. Most American gun writers seem to have established it as the minimum man-stopper self defense round. So, relegated to backup duty, no problem. And, in context, my understanding is that until a couple of generations ago, European police forces often carried 7.65 Browning (.32 ACP) or 7.65 Luger as primary sidearms, if they were armed. The .380 muzzle energy comes in somewhere between the .32 ACP and the 7.65 Luger. The Europeans have a different mindset regarding use of deadly force than we do.
The .22 as a backup does seem on its face to be curious, but I think it may make sense for police, in some instances, due to temperament, training and technique. You'd really have be judicious to know when to use it, though, and I can't help but think the only .22 one would use as a backup would be the NAA mini-revolvers. I would rule out the Beretta Bobcat series or its Taurus/Rossi equivalents, as for about the same size one could just as easily carry a .32 or .380.
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