Self Defense: Capacity Rules, Chemical Spray Defense, .380 Self Defense

Capacity Rules
Magazine capacity is a big factor in a self defense weapon.    Read this article on ponder.   In the 9mm realm Glock Wins 33 round mags are hard to beat.  Kel Tec makes a carbine that uses the same magazine as the Glock pistol.


Chemical Defense 101
This is a great article.  He recommends  The Triple Action Police Mace Brand.  I'd have to agree since I have carried Mace Brand products for 40 years.  The flip top approach is intuitive and a great safety feature preventing accidental discharge unlike some if the other designs out there.

The manual safeties require too much thinking and fumbling that might not work well in a stressful situation.

380 Self Defense Rounds
If you want to carry a .380 it helps to know what round to use.  This is a great breakdown of the main JHP personal defense rounds available in this caliber.

The great thing about .380 is the low recoil and ability to fire from a small handgun and still manage that low recoil.

Sig P238: My favorite is the SigP238.  It is ultra compact but totally reliable with all American made ammunition I used including Hornady FTX.  It is also the most accurate shooting of all the guns I tried in this caliber due to the trigger and single action 1911 style function.


Glock 42: The Glock 42 is ammo sensitive and needs a firm wrist.  It might help to also add a grip overwrap if it is too small for your hand.  It is very accurate and light shooting.


Walther PK380: Other notable .380 guns include the Walther PK380.  Having owned one I can tell you it shoots reliably and very softly due to its large size.  It is very accurate but feels cheap in the hand and the reverse safety and hammer drop function is not something I want to get used to since it is dissimilar to most other guns that I own.

Colt Mustang:  Nice gun but you might as well get a Sig.  I don't like plastic triggers and reliability is iffy unless you put lots of work into it.

Hornady Critical Defense .380 Ammo Review 

How to Shoot a pistol