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.380 ACP

 
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The .380 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) (also referred to as the 9 mm Short, 9 mm Browning, 9 mm Kurz, 9 mm Corto or 9x17mm) pistol cartridge is a rimless
Rim (firearms)

A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge . The rim may serve a number of purposes, the most common being as place for the Extractor to engage....
, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning
John Browning

John Moses Browning , born in Ogden, Utah, was an United States firearms designer who developed many varieties of firearms, Cartridge , and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world....
. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, and has been a popular self-defense
Self-defense

Self-defense is the act of defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. While the term may define any form of personal defense, it is strongly associated with civilian hand-to-hand defense techniques....
 cartridge ever since.

.380 ACP cartridge was designed for early blowback
Blowback (arms)

Blowback is an operating system for Semi-automatic firearm firearms that uses the pressure created by combustion in the cartridge case and bore....
 pistols which lacked a barrel locking mechanism.






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The .380 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) (also referred to as the 9 mm Short, 9 mm Browning, 9 mm Kurz, 9 mm Corto or 9x17mm) pistol cartridge is a rimless
Rim (firearms)

A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge . The rim may serve a number of purposes, the most common being as place for the Extractor to engage....
, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning
John Browning

John Moses Browning , born in Ogden, Utah, was an United States firearms designer who developed many varieties of firearms, Cartridge , and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world....
. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, and has been a popular self-defense
Self-defense

Self-defense is the act of defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. While the term may define any form of personal defense, it is strongly associated with civilian hand-to-hand defense techniques....
 cartridge ever since.

Design

The .380 ACP cartridge was designed for early blowback
Blowback (arms)

Blowback is an operating system for Semi-automatic firearm firearms that uses the pressure created by combustion in the cartridge case and bore....
 pistols which lacked a barrel locking mechanism. The locking mechanism that is found on most other pistols is not necessary for the .380 because of the round's low breech pressure when fired. The guide spring is enough to buffer the energy displaced to the slide. This simplifies manufacture of pistols chambered for such a round, generally thereby lowering the cost. It also permits the barrel to be permanently fixed to the frame, which promotes accuracy. There have, however, been a number of locked breech pistols chambered in .380 ACP. There have also been some diminutive submachine gun
Submachine gun

A submachine gun is a firearm that combines the automatic firearm of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol, and is usually between the two in weight and size....
s, such as the Ingram MAC-11
MAC-11

The Ingram MAC-11 is a machine pistol developed by American gun designer Gordon Ingram at the Military Armament Corporation during the 1970s. The weapon is a sub-compact version of the Model 10 , and is chambered to fire the smaller .380 ACP round....
.

Performance

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

Stopping power is a colloquial term used to describe the ability of a firearm or other weapon to cause a penetrating ballistic injury to a target human or animal, an injury sufficient to incapacitate the target where it stands....
 than other modern pistol cartridges. Even so, it remains a popular self-defense cartridge for shooters who want a lightweight pistol with manageable recoil. It is slightly less powerful than a standard-pressure .38 Special
.38 Special

The .38 Smith & Wesson Special is a rim , Centerfire ammunition Cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson. It is most commonly used in revolvers, although some Semi-automatic self-loading pistols and carbines also use this round....
 and uses 9 mm (.355 in) diameter bullets. The heaviest bullet that can be safely loaded into the .380 ACP is , though the standard has long been 85, 90 or 95 grains (5.5, 5.8 or 6.2 g). The .380 has had somewhat of a recent upsurge in popularity, as have the compact and inexpensive pistols that make use of it. Popular pistols chambered in .380 ACP include the Walther PPK
Walther PPK

The Walther PP series pistols are Blowback Semi-automatic firearm pistols. They feature an exposed hammer, a Trigger #Double action trigger mechanism, a single-column magazine, and a fixed barrel which also acts as the guide rod for the recoil spring....
, Sig P232
SIG P230

The SIGARMS P230 is a small, semi-automatic handgun chambered in .32 ACP or .380 ACP....
, Ruger LCP
Ruger LCP

The Ruger LCP is a subcompact, .380 ACP pocket pistol announced by Sturm, Ruger at the 2008 SHOT Show. The pistol lacks certain features required for sale in California or Massachusetts....
, and Kel-Tec P-3AT.

Synonyms

  • 9x17mm
  • 9 mm Kurz
  • 9 mm Corto
  • 9 mm Court
  • 9 mm Short
  • 9 mm Kratak
  • 9 mm Browning Short
  • 9 mm Scurt

See also

  • 9 mm caliber
    9 mm caliber

    This article lists firearm Cartridge s which have a bullet in the 9 mm caliber range. The most prevalent of these rounds is the 9x19mm Parabellum.*Length refers to the cartridge casing length....
  • List of firearms
    List of firearms

    This is an extensive list of small arms ? including pistols, machine guns, grenade launchers, and anti-tank rifles ? that includes variants....
  • List of handgun cartridges
    List of handgun cartridges

    The following is a flat list of handgun Cartridge , loosely in order of increasing caliber:*2.34mm - rimfire round used in MTH's Swiss Mini Gun....


External links

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