This is really a pretty silly debate as far as I'm concerned. There is no such thing as a man stopper in the sense that any time you aim any one caliber at someone and squeeze the trigger, they are automatically going to drop stone cold dead. I don't care if its a .32, .380, 9mm or .45, once that bullet leaves the barrel, it is impossible to say what is going to happen. There are just too many variables involved. It has been proven over and over again, shot placement is the most important thing when shooting to stop or kill. Put a bullet in the CNS, pretty much any bullet, and its going to incapicitate very quickly.

Of course, different calibers are not created equally. It would be silly to say that the .380 is equal to a .40 or .45 ballistically. The .380 is not, thats no secret. The real advantage to the "mouse gun" is that they are easy to conceal and people are more likely to carry them over a larger caliber pistol for concealed carry. I love my Kel-Tec P3AT. Is it the best pistol built, no it is not. Is the .380 the best of the best when it comes to stopping power, no it is not. Is my .380 light, compact, and super easy to conceal, yes it is. The Kel-Tec P3AT is just too easy to clip into my boot, stick in my waste band, or to just drop in a jacket pocket. I'd rather have my little pistol with me than wish I had grabbed a larger more powerful pistol out of my safe. A personal defense pistol for me is a last ditch effort, that bad guy has already closed the distance and has the advantage. I would feel pretty confident in my little .380 doing some serious damage after emptying six rounds into a bad guy's upper torso from seven feet.

.25 auto to the left nipple will make a man DRT.

Anybody with anything can get lucky.

The pressure of an actual shooting situation will tell the tale of what a person is capable of.

Lady I know was being assaulted over Christmas and shot the guy with a 380...he walked out the door and DRT.

as far a being in a self defense situation, a .380 is not what I would want. a Beretta nano in 9mm is a much better option.

I killed a deer that was hung in a fence once, shot it in the back of the head with a walther .380. at the shot the deer flopped and then lifted his head and looked at me.

i had to put the gun against the deers skull and fire again.


That is not what I'd want in a self defense situation. its better than nothing, but far, far from ideal.

You do know that the human heart is located mostly dead center, not way on he left side! Just FYI! You got to shoot for center mass, lol. I think pistols calibers are poor one shot stoppers, but they do have a huge psychological effect on who is getting shot at! Weather it is a .22 or .45. The perp is not going to try to figure out what he's getting shot with, hopefully he will flight instead of fight! Shoot till you run out of ammo or he is'nt moving anymore.

I started my LEO life with a S&W model 28 Hiway Patrolman.
Just had to carry 38 Spec LRN though. A Chief's view:
Chief said, "If it's good enough for LAPD and NYPD, It's good enough for my men!"

When he retired, he claimed he never pulled his weapon over the years.
My Theroy is: Just because you pull it out of the holster, doesn't mean it has to go bang!
It can be reholstered without firing a shot!.

Not something I would rely on, but a small gun is better than no gun.

Back in my early LEO days we carried either a 5 shot Chief or equal type Colt for off duty and some on duty as a desk jockey, Um Detective.
Off duty I generally carried a Colt 1911 Series 70 45acp Govt model. It was the newest 1911 on the block back then. Speer 200gr JHP. The flying ashtray!

I have carried for over 20 years,I have only had to show it once!
I was droping fuel at a service station early one morning when a car stopped and four large men got out and started walking toward me! Just showed them!
Stopped four men in their tracks! I have never pulled a gun and I hope I never have too!

Back when I was a Deputy Sheriff, my partner and I and another K9 officer were in foot pursuit of a gang banger who had just robbed a convenience store. He was armed with a Taurus PT99 and when he slipped and fell, drew out his pistol and fired and got up and continued firing at the officer that was behind him. who was carrying a new Glock 9mm that he had just spent the evening bragging about.

The K9 officer got off 12 rounds and hit the gang banger 9 times. I thought the guy would be dead for sure... but he wasn't! In fact, he wasn't even bleeding! He had been wearing a heavy black down jacket, and that down jacket had stopped every single 9mm round that hit him! We found all 9 bullets inside the feathers of the jacket. Everyone at the station was amazed! Shortly there after, everyone switched to .40 or larger. Most went to .45ACP.

So... .380 a "Man stopper"? I wouldn't count on it!

I've killed 15 or more with a 22lr (MOST with one shot) that's why I was supprised when they just backed up and looked at me with the 380....
AND at the 25 yd range we have 1/4" rubber mudflaps, I've recovered 380's that did not penetrate that.

what are we calling "man Stopping" with proper placement and enough penetration any gun will do the job, i would rather have a larger caliber to reduce some variables. will still come down to placement.
regardless of caliber a miss is a miss and a shot in the non firing arm will not take a person out of the fight.

I didn't do the shooting. Back in the early 70s when I started my career, we responded to a domestic/shooting at a government housing project. Woman had shot her boyfriend. No exit wound, no blood. We finally found the entrance wound in his left nipple. He was DRT where she shot him. Maybe they've moved the heart since then.

Google a chest xray, you can see the heart. Yes, it should be a little towards the left, but pretty much midline. And the aorta doesn't go as high as the young lady in the video thinks. Interesting lady. . .. like a firearms with makeup kind of thing.

I would rather carry my 5" 1911, but I can hide my KelTech .380 in the summer much easier. And I don't want to bring a knife to a gunfight.

I've seen lots of gunshot wounds. Some dead guys, some not. .22lr up to .45 ACP and .44 Mag. The .45 ACP as out of a 1911 that a guy pointed into his hard pallet and pulled the trigger. He maintained rate, rhythm, and pressure for another 20 minutes util he went asystole (flat line). Point being, shot placement is the most important thing be it animals or human animals.

If the defender could keep his higher thinking and firearm practice in tact I say a shot to the neck and all bets are off. Weather you hit jugular, carotic artery, or punch all the way to the brain stem the bad guy won't be in the fight anymore. A .22 or .380 will get that done, but that's an awfully small target to hit under stress. That's why I believe many of us prefer the .40 or .45, you have room for error. Meaning you can aim at the larger target (the torso) and stop the bad guy right then.

Come on open carry! So's I can mostly conceal my big ole' 5" 1911

380 Damn near killed my brother, I would say its a "man stopper."

Two personal experiences as a LEO:

1. I've still got a .380 round in my leg. While it cracked the femur, it didn't drop me and actually didn't even hurt very much. I sometimes carry one as an off duty piece and believe a well placed shot to the torso would cause a man to drop. My preferred off duty ammo, however, is Federal Hydra-Shok in 9 m.m. If your aim is good, the target will go down.

2. In a shootout with a couple of bank robbers who were in a car, I saw an undercover officers .380 rounds bounce off the side window glass of the bad guys vehicle.

Shot placement. Practice, practice, practice. But you know what, its hard to practice when there's no ammo anywhere.

Sir we're not talking law LEO or getting in a shootout, we're talking about a get of of hell free card! Start shooting, make allot of noise and get your arse out of there.

A .380 may be better than nothing, but a "manstopper" it is not---at least not in the sense that a .357 Magnum or even a .45 ACP is. I carry nothing less than a .40, period. Same for my wife.

I have PERSONALLY witnessed a .380 stop a man with one shot. Another shot paralyzed him. Shot placement........

If the preep is running way and you shoot 17 shots... You better a) hope you have a guardian angle and one of those rounds don't end up hitting someone else, B) have a he'll of a lawyer.

If you can hit a target at 10 or under you don't need to carry a gun... See a)

I'll repeat it's the definition of Manstopper that comes into play, the OP didn't use the phrase Mankiller. If it stops the threat it's a manstopper.

The problem is a .380 may stop a threat or it may not. I sure as hades would not count on one---not when there are cartridges like .40 S&W, .357 Mag, and .45 ACP just as easily available. Carrying a .380 by choice is foolhardy IMO. Anyone whose opinion is at variance with that is welcome to his own opinion and to carry what he chooses.

Comes down to what you will wear. If it's winter and you have a jacket on great, why not wear the 1911, glock 30 or glock 23/32. But wearing shorts in the summer with a t-shirt on, can be a different story. If you leave it at home, it's no good to you.

Also you can opt for a very small gun in a larger caliber, but if your accuracy suffers after the first shot that can be a problem too.

Personally, I like a little .380, particularly the p238.