Polly wants a .380. Which one?
By MARJ LAW
My friend Polly has decided to purchase a handgun. She wants it for her purse, for her bedside, in her car and in an inside-the-waistband holster. And maybe in her pocket, too, when she has a large enough pocket.
“Looks like you want a one-size-fits all model!” I laugh.
“Yes. I sorta do. I’m looking at four different .380s. Two of them will fit in a purse, pocket or holster. But the other two are larger. They won’t fit nicely in my purse or pocket. Now, I’ve heard that the larger ones will shoot more accurately because they have longer barrels, but I’m not sure I believe that.”
“Yes, Polly. Generally, you are correct. Longer barrels have more rifling. The longer barrel allows the pressure to accelerate the bullet to a faster speed. Also, it’s like when the quarterback throws the football. Have you noticed how he rolls it when he throws it? He’s putting a spin on it. The spin makes the football fly faster, longer and more accurately. The same is true of the projectile flying from your handgun. The more spin equals a truer, faster bullet.”
“Is that the only reason the longer-barreled guns might shoot better?” she asks.
“Another reason is that the sight radius is longer.”
“The sight radius?” She echoes, wondering.
“That’s the distance between front and back sights. AI says: ‘A longer sight radius generally improves accuracy by allowing for better alignment of the sights.’”
“So, when was the last time AI shot a handgun?” Polly’s sounding a little snotty. Maybe because she herself needs to line up sights to see the difference.
“OK, Polly. We’re going to talk turkey. We’re going to the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range to shoot those four different .380 handguns you’ve been looking at. Then you’ll tell me which shoots better. Two of them are micro compact and about the same size. The other two are compact and about the same size. Since you just told me (although I’m not sure you believe it) that the longer-barreled guns may be more accurate, let’s see if that’s true.”
“OK. And our discovery might just help me choose the gun for me.”
“Let’s begin with the smaller handguns,” I suggest. “Since we’ve talked about the WCSO range rules, and you’ve got your eye and ear protection and understand the difference between ‘hot’ and ‘cold,’ let’s begin. This is the Sig Sauer P238. It will fit into what you’ve described you want: something for the purse, holster, bedside and car.”
“Super!” she agrees. “Show me by shooting it!”
“This is about what will fit your needs, not mine,” I object.
“Nuh-huh.” Polly stands her ground. “I’m going to watch you shoot all four. Then, I’ll shoot. So, you shoot that baby .380.”
“Remember, Polly, what you see and what I do here is all subjective. You may find different answers for yourself when you shoot.”
“That’s OK. Watching you will help me a lot, but I will try them all later, too.”
I haven’t shot this Sig P238 in a while. Oh, well. The range is ‘hot,’ so it’s all right to shoot. We’re at the shooting bench, and 5 rounds are in the magazine. I plant my feet, and aim.
Blam!
Well, that wasn’t so good. But, hey. At least it hit the 8-inch target. I shoot the next four rounds.
“That’s not terribly impressive shooting,” notes Polly. “I saw your hands go upwards when you shot. Looks like that gun has a lotta kick.”
“Yes. It has more than I recall, but not a whole lot. I haven’t shot it in some time. But it fits nicely in my hand. You and I both have small hands. And, by the way, I did hit the target each time.”
“Let’s see if you can get closer to the x-ring with the Sig Sauer 365/380,” she challenges.
I aim and shoot another five rounds. Trigger pull on the 365 seems a bit stronger than the P238.
Polly looks at the target.
“Since you’ve been shooting for so many years, I thought you’d hit a few x-rings. But at least all these 5 rounds hit the target, too,” she observes and continues: “But your hands didn’t rise so much with this gun. Guess it doesn’t kick so much.”
She’s right. The 365/380 seems to have a bit less recoil than the P238. Again, as it is such a small gun, it fits my hand well. Both the P238 and the 365/380 have long enough grips that my pinky doesn’t dangle.
“Maybe I’ll see you get an X-ring with the larger Smith & Wesson Shield EZ,” she says hopefully. “The longer barrel might help you.”
No, I’m not even a little frustrated at her insistence that I get an X-ring. Right? I go on to tell her: “The EZ is really an easy gun to operate. It’s my favorite for the mature woman.” Polly snickers. Polly’s my age. I don’t know what the snickering’s about.
“Notice how easy it is to rack the slide?” I demonstrate. Yes, the EZ does have the easiest slide. “Trigger pull is lighter than the 365/380. And trigger travel on all three guns is quite light.”
“Let’s see how this gun shoots,” Polly suggests. “The gun is larger than the other two.” She steps back as I get ready to shoot.
“Wow! Your hands hardly rose at all when you shot this one,” she notices. “And your five rounds did get closer to the X-ring than with the other two.”
Dang. And I thought I’d do rather a lot better with the EZ. It really is fun to shoot. And it’s so easy to load, as well. It loads like some of the .22s do, with a button you pull down on the magazine. Pull down, plop a round in. Easy. I used an UpLula to make the others easier to load.
Polly is correct about her observation of the EZ’s recoil. Kick on the EZ is lighter than on either of the smaller handguns.
“OK. Last one,” she says. I’m shooting the Ruger Security .380 this time.
“This is my least favorite .380,” I say, wanting to hear she’s not expecting me to be hitting the X-ring with the last five rounds. “As I recall, it kicks more than the EZ, and doesn’t have quite as light a trigger. So, don’t expect a lot. But remember, if all rounds are consistently hitting the target, all of these guns could be good defensive weapons for you should you like the way they handle for yourself.”
I shoot five rounds with the Ruger. Huh.
“You shot better this time! All five got on the target like they did with the other guns, but now your groupings are closer to the X-ring! And I notice your hands didn’t rise each time you shot!”
Yes. Holes on the target are closer to the X-ring. On my least favorite .380, yet. Or so I thought. Things change.
“Shooting off-hand is good practice, too,” I tell Polly. “If for any reason you can’t use your dominant hand, practicing with your off-hand is a good idea.”
I load five rounds and shoot with my left hand. Huh. Then, I put in my last six rounds. Huh. Go figure. Out of 11 shots, four hit bull’s-eyes. For the first time, Polly looks impressed.
“OK. You hit the target with all 4 handguns,” she says. “So, depending on how I like the way they shoot and depending on the way they fit my hands, any of them could work for me. I noticed, though, that the somewhat-larger guns did show tighter groupings on the targets. And how is it that you shot the Ruger off-hand and got 4 bull’s-eyes? I thought the Ruger was your least favorite.”
Maybe I paid more attention to stance and grip since I shot those last 11 rounds with my off hand. Maybe it got cooler outside. Maybe the wind didn’t blow. Who knows? All four of the .380s are great little handguns. If you can shoot all your ammunition into an 8-inch target, you should be able to save your life if Mr. Bad breaks into your home.
You don’t always need to get an X-ring.
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.