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Charles L. Cotton wrote:I won't get into the "is .380ACP a self-defense caliber[?]" discussion, but I'd like to comment on the pistols. Until relatively recently, all .380ACP pistols were blow-back pistols meaning they are not a locking-breech design. (For those new to handguns, a locking-breech design is one that locks the barrel to the slide for a very short distance of the slide travel. A blow-back design has a barrel that is fixed to the frame and does not move.) Since the recoil spring is the only thing holding the slide closed ("in battery") in a blow-back design, the spring must be stronger than in a locking-breech design. This makes it much harder to rack the slide and charge the pistol. Couple this with the very small physical size of .380ACP pistols and you have a gun that is very difficult for most women to use, as well as elderly people or those with weak or arthritic hands.

I've seen hundreds of women come to classes with Walther PPKs and their Bersa knock-offs who either couldn't operate the guns, or who had great difficulty doing so. I have a PPK and I hate that gun! My wife loves the size and feel, but she can't reliably operate the slide to charge the pistol to to clear a malfunction. For this reason, I always cautioned women and the men in their lives against choosing a .380ACP unless they wanted to get the larger framed Beretta Cheetah. (The techniques for racking a slide that many of us instructors teach do not work well with block-back design .380APCs.)

All this has changed with the availability of locking-breech .380ACP pistols like the SIG P238. I'm seeing more P238s in my basic handgun classes and LTC classes than any other .380ACP. This is surprising since SIGs have always been on the high side of the price scale, but ladies love those little guns. In addition to having a slide that is easy to operate, they have real sights! There are other locking-breech .380ACPs now, but I'm not familiar with them, nor do I see many in classes.

I haven't seen a Glock Mod. 42 in the flesh, so I'm not sure if it is a locking-breech design, but I'd be very surprised if it is not.
Chas.