The .380 ACP (9×17mm) (

Automatic Colt Pistol Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) denotes various John Moses Browning cartridge designs primarily used in Colt and Fabrique Nationale de Herstal semi-automatic pistols. All of these cartridges are straight-sided and appear similar. The .32 ACP, .38 ACP ...

) is a

rimless A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped, or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. Thus, rimmed cartridges are sometimes called "flanged" cartridges. Almost all cartridges feature an extractor or headspacing ...

, straight-walled

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...

developed by

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s designer

John Moses Browning John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926) was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms many of which are still in use around the world. He m ...

. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pistols'', p. 241. Plantersville, SC: Small Arms Technical Publishing Company, 1943. It was introduced in 1908 by

Colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

, for use in its new Colt Model 1908 pocket hammerless semi-automatic, and has been a popular

self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

cartridge ever since, seeing wide use in numerous handguns (typically smaller weapons). Other names for .380 ACP include .380 Auto, 9×17mm, 9mm Browning, 9mm Corto, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Short, and 9mm Browning Court (which is the C.I.P. designation). It should not be confused with

.38 ACP The .38 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol), also known as the .38 Auto or 9x23mmSR, is a semi-rimmed pistol cartridge that was introduced at the turn of the 20th century for the John Browning-designed Colt M1900. It was first used in Colt's Model ...

. The .380 ACP does not strictly conform to cartridge naming conventions, named after the diameter of the

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...

, as the actual bullet diameter of the .380 ACP is .355 inches.

Design

The .380 ACP cartridge was derived from Browning's earlier

design, which was only marginally more powerful. The .380 ACP was designed to be truly

, and headspaces on the case mouth instead of the rim for better accuracy. These relatively low-powered designs were intended for blowback pistols which lacked a

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

locking mechanism, which is often required for any handgun firing a round more powerful than a .380 ACP. Using blowback operation, the design can be simplified, and lowered in cost; a locking mechanism is unnecessary, since the mass of the slide and strength of the recoil spring are enough to absorb the recoil energy of the round, due to the round's relatively low

bolt thrust Bolt thrust or breech pressure is a term used in internal ballistics and firearms (whether small arms or artillery) that describes the amount of rearward force exerted by the propellant gases on the bolt or breech of a firearm action or breech when ...

. Blowback operation also permits the barrel to be permanently fixed to the frame, which promotes accuracy, unlike a traditional short recoil-operation pistol, which requires a tilting barrel to unlock the slide and barrel assembly when cycling. A drawback of the blowback system is that it requires a certain amount of slide mass to counter the recoil of the round used. The higher the power of the round, the heavier the slide assembly has to be in order for its inertia to safely absorb the recoil, meaning that a typical blowback pistol in a given caliber will be heavier than an equivalent recoil-operated weapon. Blowback weapons can be made in calibers larger than .380 ACP, but the required weight of the slide and strength of the spring makes this an unpopular option. Although the low power of the .380 ACP does not require a locking mechanism, there have been a number of locked-breech pistols chambered in .380 ACP, such as the

Remington Model 51 The Remington Model 51 is a small pocket pistol designed by John Pedersen and manufactured by Remington Arms in the early 20th century for the American civilian market. Remington manufactured approximately 65,000 Model 51 pistols in .32 ACP and ...

, Kel-Tec P3AT and Glock 42; all three being designed to be lighter than blowback-operated .380 ACP weapons. There have also been some relatively diminutive (blowback-operated)

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

s, such as the Ingram

MAC-11 The MAC-11 (''Military Armament Corporation'' Model 11) is a machine pistol developed by American firearm designer Gordon Ingram at the Military Armament Corporation (MAC) during the 1970s in Powder Springs, Georgia, United States. The weapon is a ...

and the Czech vz. 83.

Users

The .380 ACP has experienced widespread usage since its introduction in the United States (1908) and in Europe (1912). It was later adopted by the armies of at least five European nations as their standard pistol cartridge before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; Czechoslovakia (Vz.38), Hungary (FEMARU 37M), and Italy, all of whom used domestic designs, as well as The Netherlands and Yugoslavia, both of whom adopted the

FN Model 1922 FN may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Faking News, Indian news satire website * ''Financial News'', UK financial newspaper and news website * ''Finding Nemo'', a 2003 computer-animated adventure comedy film by Disney and Pixar * ''F ...

. It was also used extensively by Germany, who captured or purchased hundreds of thousands of pistols in this caliber during World War II. Popular German built commercial models, such as the

Walther PPK The Walther PP (german: Polizeipistole, or police pistol) series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols, developed by the German arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. It features an exposed hammer, a traditional double-ac ...

were very popular with German officers. The Italian Army used the

Beretta M1934 The Beretta Model 1934 is an Italian compact, semi-automatic pistol which was issued as the service pistol of the Royal Italian Army beginning in 1934. It is chambered for the 9mm Corto, more commonly known as the .380 ACP. History and usage ...

, but the Italian Air Force and Navy stuck with the 7.65mm/.32 ACP when they adopted the

Beretta M1935 The Beretta M1935 is a compact .32 ACP caliber blowback pistol that was manufactured by Italian firm Beretta. History In the early 1930s, the Italian army was impressed by the Walther PP pistol. Beretta did not want to lose a big Italian mi ...

. While .380 ACP was considered to be a moderately powerful service pistol round before World War II when compared to the .32 ACP pistols it replaced, no nation retained it as a military service cartridge for very long after the war (when it was largely replaced by the more powerful

9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger or simply 9mm) is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer Georg Luger in 1901, it is widely considered the most popular handgun a ...

). It was widely used by police forces in Europe until the 1970s, when more powerful 9×19mm handguns began to replace it in this market as well. It does find some use as a backup gun due to the generally small and easily concealable size of the weapons that chambered it (very few "mini pistols" are made in calibers larger than .380 ACP, and those few that are, are recent developments), and is popular on the civilian market as a personal defense round. The .380 ACP round is suitable for self-defense situations as a choice for concealed carry pistols. It was the round used in

Defense Distributed Defense Distributed is an online open-source hardware organization that develops digital schematics of firearms in CAD files, or "wiki weapons", that may be downloaded from the Internet and used in 3D printing or CNC milling applications. Among ...

's "Wiki Weapon" project to successfully 3D print a firearm.

Performance

The .380 ACP is compact and light, but has a relatively short range and less

stopping power Stopping power is the ability of a weapon – typically a ranged weapon such as a firearm – to cause a target (human or animal) to be incapacitated or immobilized. Stopping power contrasts with lethality in that it pertains only to a weapon's ...

than other modern pistol cartridges, depending on the load of the cartridge and manufacturer. .380 ACP remains a popular self-defense cartridge for shooters who want a lightweight or smaller pistol with manageable recoil. It is slightly less powerful than a standard-pressure

.38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & ...

but also uses 9 mm (.355) diameter bullets. The standard bullet weights are generally 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 115, and 120 grain, though between 80 to 100 grain is the most common. The wounding potential of bullets is often characterized in terms of a bullet's expanded diameter, penetration depth, and energy. Bullet energy for .380 ACP loads varies from roughly . The table below shows common performance parameters for several .380 ACP loads. Bullet weights ranging from are common. Penetration depths from are available for various applications and risk assessments. ''Key:'' *Expansion — expanded bullet diameter (ballistic gelatin). *Penetration — penetration depth (ballistic gelatin). *PC — permanent cavity volume (ballistic gelatin, FBI method). *TSC — temporary stretch cavity volume (ballistic gelatin).

Synonyms

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

— .380 Auto / .380 ACP / 9x17mm / 9mm Short / 9mm Browning Short *

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

— 9mm Corto / 9mm Short * French — 9mm Court / 9mm Short *

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

— 9mm Curto / 9mm Short *

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

— 9mm Kort / 9mm Short * Bosnian — 9mm Kratak / 9mm Short * Serbian, Croatian, and

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Sloven ...

— 9mm Kratak / 9mm short / Kratka 9 (Kratka Devetka) / Short 9 (Short Nine) *

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

and Macedonian — 9mm Kas / 9mm Short *

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

— 9mm Kurz / 9mm Short *

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

— 9mm Scurt / 9mm Short * United Kingdom — 9mm Browning / 9mm Browning Short / 9mm Short

References

External links

Colt Automatic PistolsArticle on Defensive Use of .380 ACP from ''American Rifleman''

StoppingPower.Info .380 ACP vs various target videos
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380 ACP 38 may refer to: * 38 (number), the natural number following 37 and preceding 39 *one of the years 38 BC, AD 38, 1938, 2038 *.38, a caliber of firearms and cartridges **.38 Special, a revolver cartridge *'' Thirty-Eight: The Hurricane That Tran ...