I own two .380s — one a Colt Government, and the other a Keltec P3AT. I am not volunteering to be shot with a .380. It can kill you. That said, I never carry the Colt, and I rarely ever carry the Keltec. Here are the reasons why:
- I never carry the Colt because it is somewhat of a collector's item, and I want to keep it nice. It's a 150th Anniversary Edition in 'like new' condition, and carrying it will eventually scratch it up and reduce its value. But if it weren't for that, I still would never carry it because it has never been close to 100% reliable, even at the range. It is ammo finicky, and even with ball ammo, it isn't all that reliable. In fact, it seems to prefer hollowpoints, but they are prohibitively expensive to use as an exclusive practice ammo.
- I rarely ever carry the Keltec because in most of the conditions under which that kind of concealment can be had, my 642 Airweight is very nearly as concealable. Even with more recent developments in .380 cartridge development, a +P .38 Special load is a better choice than a stout .380 load. And even the limit of 5 rounds in the revolver to the 6+1 in the Keltec isn't a handicap because there is that small chance that the Keltec may jam after the first shot, while the revolver definitely won't. As someone else pointed out, you are probably going to only fire a couple of shots anyway; but I would like to know that the second shot is definitely going to be available, and the revolver guarantees that.
- I am left handed, and pocket carrying my Keltec (in a Desantis Nemesis holster) in my left side pocket — front or rear — has resulted in the magazine eject button being inadvertently pushed during the day, and I don't discover that the magazine has been partially ejected until the end of the day when I remove the pistol. If I have to draw the weapon and the magazine has been already partially ejected, when I deploy the gun the magazine is going to fall out, and the one round that is in the chamber is the only shot I'm going to have. In that case, a 2 shot derringer would have been a better choice.
So the question for me becomes "what does it take to motivate you to shoot, and what is your thought process going into action, and why should I even carry a gun at all?" I am a (nearly) 57 year old gimp with a bad back, bum right knee, bum left ankle, and overweight (which I am working on). My mobility and ability to protect myself through other means is fairly limited, and it is one of the reasons I decided to pursue my CHL in the first place. Therefore, my tactic is to A) avoid any possibility of confrontation in the first place, and let that be the guiding principle in my decision making about where I choose to spend my time, and in what activities; and B) if I have no recourse but to shoot, then to put a stop to the threat immediately, quickly, and with such an overpowering response as to take the BG out of the fight as efficiently as possible. That is why .380 would be my last choice, and not my first, for a daily carry caliber (and in fact, why my primary carry weapon is a .45).
But that's just me.
