{"id":4028,"date":"2021-07-27T08:39:34","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T08:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/?p=4028"},"modified":"2021-07-28T18:10:48","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T18:10:48","slug":"380-vs-38-special","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/","title":{"rendered":"380 vs 38 Special &#8211; What&#8217;s Better for Self-Defense?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Comparing 380 vs 38 Special<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some cartridges make a big splash on the market and then fade away quickly, while others stand the test of time and are still popular after over a century of service. Today, we\u2019re going to look at two common cartridges that have long and illustrious histories, and compare 380 vs 38 special.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">380 vs 38 Special Fast Facts<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both cartridges predate 9mm Luger or 45 ACP rounds<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The penetration of 380 vs 38 Special in gel is almost the same, with 38 doing slightly better<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One is very common in revolvers, the other in semiautomatic pistols<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like many other things in the firearms world, legendary gunmaker John Moses Browning created .380 ACP. We talked a bit about the backstory of the 380 round when we <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/head-to-head-380-vs-9mm\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">compared 380 to 9mm<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In essence, though, the .380 ACP round came into being because Browning wanted a round that was slightly more accurate than the pre-existing 38 ACP cartridge. He also needed something that would stack neatly inside a magazine and work well with the plethora of semi-automatic pistols he was churning out at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>380 ACP vs. 38 Special: What Does Each Offer?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<table id=\"tablepress-27\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-27\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Benefit<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">Better Caliber <\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-striping row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Cost<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Push<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Velocity<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">38 Special<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Penetration<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">38 Special<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Ammo\/Gun Availability<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">380 ACP<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Concealability<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">380 ACP<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-7\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Overall Recommendation<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">380 for Semi-Autos<br><br \/>\n38 Special for Revolvers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-27 from cache --><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ll get into the details of this caliber debate below.<\/p>\n<p>In short, 380 and 38 Special are pretty similar calibers and both can be effective self-defense rounds. For many shooters, picking one of the cartridges boils down to whether you want to carry and shoot a semi-automatic pistol (380 ACP) or a revolver (38 Spl.)<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Roots of 380 vs 38 Special<\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_4012\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/smith_wesson_model_10.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-magnific_type=\"image\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4012\" class=\"wp-image-4012 size-medium\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/smith_wesson_model_10-300x240.jpg\" alt=\"S&amp;W Model 10\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/smith_wesson_model_10-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/smith_wesson_model_10-1024x819.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/smith_wesson_model_10-768x614.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/smith_wesson_model_10-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/smith_wesson_model_10-610x488.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/smith_wesson_model_10-1080x864.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/smith_wesson_model_10-627x502.jpg 627w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/smith_wesson_model_10.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4012\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The classic S&amp;W Model 10 served many years as a law enforcement sidearm<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.38 Special also owes its existence to another cartridge, in this case .38 Long Colt. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/380-auto\">380 ACP ammo<\/a>, which was designed for use in semi-automatic pistols, .38 Special was created with revolvers in mind. .38 Special is a rimmed cartridge, which means the ring around the rear of the shell casing is wider than the rest of the cartridge, This a handy feature in a round that is designed for use in revolvers because it allows the round easily stay in-place inside of each chamber in the cylinder of a revolver, without the use of a moon clip or a similar device.\u00a0<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.380 ACP and .38 Special have much in common. Both cartridges were trusted for self-defense for many years. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.380 ACP was used in military service pistols like the FN Model 1910 and the iconic Walther PPK. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.38 Special, on the other hand, served for many, many years as the round of choice for American law enforcement, thanks to revolvers such as the Colt Detective Special or Smith and Wesson M+P.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, however, the ubiquitous 9mm Luger round has eclipsed both rounds as a service pistol cartridge. Both law enforcement and military personnel are far more likely to carry a Glock or a Sig Sauer than they are a .38 Special revolver. Instead, both .380 ACP and .38 Special are quite often found in pocket pistols. A pocket pistol probably shouldn\u2019t be your first choice in a defensive firearm. However, their small size make them easy to conceal. This, in turn, means you can carry them in situations where a larger, 9mm pistol might reveal itself and cause unwanted questions.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Testing 380 vs 380<\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4013\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/sccy_cpx3-1.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-1\" data-magnific_type=\"image\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4013\" class=\"wp-image-4013 size-medium\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/sccy_cpx3-1-300x258.jpg\" alt=\"Sccy CPX-3\" width=\"300\" height=\"258\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/sccy_cpx3-1-300x258.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/sccy_cpx3-1-1024x879.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/sccy_cpx3-1-768x660.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/sccy_cpx3-1-1536x1319.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/sccy_cpx3-1-610x524.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/sccy_cpx3-1-1080x927.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/sccy_cpx3-1-627x538.jpg 627w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/sccy_cpx3-1.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4013\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">380 ACP is resurgent right now, thanks in part to guns like the CPX-3<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.38 Special and .380 ACP are still popular cartridges, however. In fact, in recent years, there has been a movement towards larger pistols which take advantage of .380 ACP\u2019s lower recoil and are designed for people with reduced physical strength. We reviewed the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/project-380-the-sccy-cpx-3\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sccy CPX-3<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as part of our comparison of these types of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/best-compact-380-acp-pistol\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">compact 380 pistols<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. That\u2019s also one of the pistols we\u2019ll use to compare 380 vs 38 Special.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The other pistol we\u2019ll use in our test of 380 vs 38 is an American icon, the Smith &amp; Wesson Model 10. For years, the Model 10 and similar revolvers were the sidearm of choice for patrol officers all over the country. The need for more firepower and the introduction of the \u201cwonder nine\u201d 9mm pistol meant the full-size .38 revolver was replaced with other guns. .38 Special lives on, though, as a pocket pistol round. More than that, however, .38 Special is a big part of the \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buckeyefirearms.org\/resurgence-revolver\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">revolver renaissance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d that has taken over a portion of the firearms training community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we talk about 380 vs 38 Special, what we\u2019re really talking about is their effectiveness as a defensive cartridge. We want to see how each round performs in industry-standard tests and compare the results. We\u2019ll perform two tests to accomplish this goal. The first is a standard chronograph test to see how much energy there is in rounds of 380 vs 38 Special cartridges. For the second test, we\u2019ll shoot five rounds of the same type of defensive ammunition into a block of ballistics gel to understand what each round does when it hits a target.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ballistics &amp; Chronograph Testing\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<h4><strong>380 ACP Tests\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/380-auto-magtech-fmc-380a-1000\">Magtech 95gr FMJ<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Velocity: 905 FPS <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Energy: 173 ft\/lbs<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/380-auto-speer-gold-dot-90-grain-jhp-50\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Speer 90gr Gold Dot JHP<\/strong> <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Velocity: 918 fps <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Energy: 168 ft\/lbs<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>38 Special Tests<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/38-special-130-grain-fmc-magtech-50-rounds\"><strong>Magtech 130gr FMJ<\/strong><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Velocity: 810 FPS <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Energy: 189 ft\/lbs\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/38-special-p-speer-gold-dot-135-grain-jhp-23921-20-rounds\"><strong>Speer 135gr Gold Dot JHP<\/strong><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Velocity: 952 fps <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Energy: 181 ft\/lbs<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Sccy CPX-3 has a barrel length of 2.96 inches, while the S&amp;W Model 10 has a 4 inch barrel. The extra inch of barrel length for the .38 Special revolver probably added a few more feet per second to each round, but even still, the rounds are within 100 feet per second of each other. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now let\u2019s look at our gel test results to see what penetration into a soft target looks like.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">380 vs 38 Special Penetration Testing<\/span><\/h3>\n<h4><strong>Gel Test Results for 380 ACP<\/strong><\/h4>\n<div id=\"attachment_2950\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/380_jello.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-2\" data-magnific_type=\"image\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2950\" class=\"wp-image-2950 size-large\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/380_jello-1024x662.jpg\" alt=\"380 gold dot tested for self-defense against 38 special with gelatin\" width=\"1024\" height=\"662\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/380_jello-1024x662.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/380_jello-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/380_jello-768x496.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/380_jello-1536x993.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/380_jello-610x394.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/380_jello-1080x698.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/380_jello-627x405.jpg 627w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/380_jello.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2950\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">380 ACP Speer Gold Dot JHP<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Speer Gold Dot JHP (Average of 5 Rounds) <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minimum Penetration Depth: 10.75 inches <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maximum Penetration Depth: 11.75 inches <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Penetration Depth: 11.22 inches <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Bullet Width: 0.47 inches (+0.12 inches expansion)<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>38 Special Gel Test Results<\/strong><\/h4>\n<div id=\"attachment_4011\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_jello.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-3\" data-magnific_type=\"image\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4011\" class=\"wp-image-4011 size-full\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_jello.jpg\" alt=\"38 special gel testing results with fired bullets into gelatin\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1009\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_jello.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_jello-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_jello-1024x646.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_jello-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_jello-1536x969.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_jello-610x385.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_jello-1080x681.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_jello-627x395.jpg 627w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4011\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">38 Special Gold Dot JHP<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Speer Gold Dot JHP (Average of 5 Rounds) <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minimum Penetration Depth: 12.5 inches <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maximum Penetration Depth: 14.25 inches <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Penetration Depth: 13.5 inches <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Bullet Width: 0.47 inches (+0.11 inches expansion)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The FBI recommends that a defensive round should penetrate at least 12 inches into ballistics gel. This distance is consistent with rounds that can punch through tissue and reach a vital spot that can shut down an attacker.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Gold Dot .38 Special ammo we tested reached that distance, the .380 ACP did not. This, however, doesn\u2019t mean that .380 ACP is an ineffective defensive cartridge. It does mean, however, that you need to pay attention to which particular round you use in your gun. You want to get one that is up to the task of defending your life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Making Your Choice<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ultimately, 380 vs 38 Special is more about the guns than it is about the round itself. Both rounds have rather similar performance. However, as we said at the beginning, .380 ACP is associated most often with semi-automatic pistols, and that\u2019s probably going to be more important to you than choosing 380 over 38 Special. If you want the reliability and compact size of a revolver, especially a pocket-sized gun, .38 Special should be your round of choice. If, however, you prefer the flatter profile and higher capacity of a pistol, a pint-sized .380 ACP pistol can slide into just about any pocket. Both of these cartridges have decades of service behind them, and there\u2019s no reason to think they won\u2019t have decades more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Comparing 380 vs 38 Special Some cartridges make a big splash on the market and then fade away quickly, while others stand the test of time and are still popular after over a century of service. Today, we\u2019re going to look at two common cartridges that have long and illustrious histories, and compare 380 vs [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guns-101","category-intro-to-guns","category-pistol-shooting-tips","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>380 vs 38 Special - What&#039;s Better for Self-Defense?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A look at 380 vs 38 special - Which of these cartridges is your better bet for self-defense and protection? We test and deliver the results.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"380 vs 38 Special - What&#039;s Better for Self-Defense?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A look at 380 vs 38 special - Which of these cartridges is your better bet for self-defense and protection? We test and deliver the results.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AmmoMan School of Guns Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-27T08:39:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-28T18:10:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_vs_380_cover.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin Creighton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin Creighton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin Creighton\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9da785d0ad23a192dbbca7720dba0b58\"},\"headline\":\"380 vs 38 Special &#8211; What&#8217;s Better for Self-Defense?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-07-27T08:39:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-28T18:10:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/\"},\"wordCount\":1248,\"commentCount\":10,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_vs_380_cover.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Guns 101\",\"Intro To Guns\",\"Pistol Shooting Tips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/\",\"name\":\"380 vs 38 Special - What's Better for Self-Defense?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_vs_380_cover.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-07-27T08:39:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-28T18:10:48+00:00\",\"description\":\"A look at 380 vs 38 special - Which of these cartridges is your better bet for self-defense and protection? We test and deliver the results.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_vs_380_cover.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_vs_380_cover.jpg\",\"width\":1960,\"height\":960,\"caption\":\"38 vs 38\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"380 vs 38 Special &#8211; What&#8217;s Better for Self-Defense?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"AmmoMan School of Guns Blog\",\"description\":\"A blog about firearms, ammo and more\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"AmmoMan.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/favicon-152.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/favicon-152.png\",\"width\":152,\"height\":152,\"caption\":\"AmmoMan.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9da785d0ad23a192dbbca7720dba0b58\",\"name\":\"Kevin Creighton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6919163eaa23ebc998f38e1d12e06f06c51c978c16705b623b7e10df3a675902?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6919163eaa23ebc998f38e1d12e06f06c51c978c16705b623b7e10df3a675902?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Kevin Creighton\"},\"description\":\"Prior to joining the team at Ammoman.com, Kevin Creighton led the marketing for a number of companies in the firearms world. Kevin has been a gun writer since 2006, writing articles on the new reality of gun ownership in the U.S. for publications such as American Hunter, Shooting Illustrated, BearingArms.com, Beretta.com and also Downrange TV. He is an active competitor in USPSA, IDPA and 3 Gun and is an NRA-licensed firearms instructor. Kevin has hundreds of training hours from people such as Bob Vogel, Craig Douglas, Rob Leatham, Massad Ayoob and others.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/author\/kevinc\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"380 vs 38 Special - What's Better for Self-Defense?","description":"A look at 380 vs 38 special - Which of these cartridges is your better bet for self-defense and protection? We test and deliver the results.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"380 vs 38 Special - What's Better for Self-Defense?","og_description":"A look at 380 vs 38 special - Which of these cartridges is your better bet for self-defense and protection? We test and deliver the results.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/","og_site_name":"AmmoMan School of Guns Blog","article_published_time":"2021-07-27T08:39:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-07-28T18:10:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1960,"height":960,"url":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_vs_380_cover.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kevin Creighton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kevin Creighton","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/"},"author":{"name":"Kevin Creighton","@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9da785d0ad23a192dbbca7720dba0b58"},"headline":"380 vs 38 Special &#8211; What&#8217;s Better for Self-Defense?","datePublished":"2021-07-27T08:39:34+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-28T18:10:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/"},"wordCount":1248,"commentCount":10,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_vs_380_cover.jpg","articleSection":["Guns 101","Intro To Guns","Pistol Shooting Tips"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/","name":"380 vs 38 Special - What's Better for Self-Defense?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_vs_380_cover.jpg","datePublished":"2021-07-27T08:39:34+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-28T18:10:48+00:00","description":"A look at 380 vs 38 special - Which of these cartridges is your better bet for self-defense and protection? We test and deliver the results.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_vs_380_cover.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/38_vs_380_cover.jpg","width":1960,"height":960,"caption":"38 vs 38"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/380-vs-38-special\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"380 vs 38 Special &#8211; What&#8217;s Better for Self-Defense?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/","name":"AmmoMan School of Guns Blog","description":"A blog about firearms, ammo and more","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"AmmoMan.com","url":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/favicon-152.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/favicon-152.png","width":152,"height":152,"caption":"AmmoMan.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9da785d0ad23a192dbbca7720dba0b58","name":"Kevin Creighton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6919163eaa23ebc998f38e1d12e06f06c51c978c16705b623b7e10df3a675902?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6919163eaa23ebc998f38e1d12e06f06c51c978c16705b623b7e10df3a675902?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Kevin Creighton"},"description":"Prior to joining the team at Ammoman.com, Kevin Creighton led the marketing for a number of companies in the firearms world. Kevin has been a gun writer since 2006, writing articles on the new reality of gun ownership in the U.S. for publications such as American Hunter, Shooting Illustrated, BearingArms.com, Beretta.com and also Downrange TV. He is an active competitor in USPSA, IDPA and 3 Gun and is an NRA-licensed firearms instructor. Kevin has hundreds of training hours from people such as Bob Vogel, Craig Douglas, Rob Leatham, Massad Ayoob and others.","url":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/author\/kevinc\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4028"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4295,"href":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4028\/revisions\/4295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}