Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
John Browning introduced the world to the 380 Auto (9mm x 17mm, 9mm Browning Short, 9mm Corto, 9mm Kurz, ……) and it is still with us today. In the interest of full disclosure, I must write that I have spent a lot of time with the 380 Auto cartridge, but I no longer utilize it. I’m not here to disparage the cartridge, but rather explore its history and perhaps glimpse into its future.
The cartridge utilizes the same .355” diameter as the 9mm Luger bullet but typically with a slightly lighter bullet of around 95-100 grains as opposed to the 115-125gr 9mm bullets. The 380 Auto operates at a much lower pressure than the 9mm Luger. The 380 Auto operates at a maximum of 21.5K psi as compared to the 9mm Luger at 35K psi. It is this slightly lighter projectile and lower operating pressure that gives the 380 Auto its major claim to fame – It can operate in simple blowback pistols. In fact, it is about the most powerful cartridge that can operate in small, blowback pistols. YES, there are some others that exceed its performance such as the 9 x 18 Makarov or you can put a massive brick of a slide on a Hi-Point and push the blowback system to higher pressures. But in a SMALL, simple blowback design, the 380 Auto is about the power ceiling before you must step up to a locked breach system.
It is this confluence of maximum power compatible with a simple blowback system that makes the 380 Auto shine.
Guns like the Colt 1908 pocket hammerless (a bit of a misnomer, it has an internal hammer) or the FN model 1910, put the 380 Auto on the world stage. Perhaps too much so when Gavrilo Princip used a FN model 1910 chambered in 380 Auto to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. (The pistol used was chambered in 380 Auto, not 32 ACP, as is widely and falsely reported).
The introduction of the Walther PP and PPK pistols chambered in 380 Auto added to the cartridge’s popularity. The Beretta Model 1934 added yet more to the growing popularity of the cartridge. Later came excellent pistols such as the SIG P230 and a multitude of others.
The cartridge is unquestionably successful in terms of distribution, sales, and number of pistols chambered for it.
But the world has changed. There are now small, locked breach, double action pistols chambered in cartridges that were once only seen in larger DA pistols. So, while there are still small pistols chambered in 380 Auto, there are now equally small DA pistols chambered in more potent cartridges.
The recoil of a 380 Auto is not significantly less than that of a comparable 9mm pistol. The added mass of the slide and barrel of a locked breach pistol may even help change the perceived recoil of a 9mm pistol as compared to a simple blowback pistol. The magazine capacities are similar between the pistols due the nearly identical diameters of 380 Auto cartridges and 9mm Luger cartridges.
The 380 Auto is far too established to be in any danger of extinction. There are plenty of people that like the 380 Auto and there are some outstanding pistols chambered for that cartridge. The 380 Auto continues to fill a role but the role has changed.
The cartridge utilizes the same .355” diameter as the 9mm Luger bullet but typically with a slightly lighter bullet of around 95-100 grains as opposed to the 115-125gr 9mm bullets. The 380 Auto operates at a much lower pressure than the 9mm Luger. The 380 Auto operates at a maximum of 21.5K psi as compared to the 9mm Luger at 35K psi. It is this slightly lighter projectile and lower operating pressure that gives the 380 Auto its major claim to fame – It can operate in simple blowback pistols. In fact, it is about the most powerful cartridge that can operate in small, blowback pistols. YES, there are some others that exceed its performance such as the 9 x 18 Makarov or you can put a massive brick of a slide on a Hi-Point and push the blowback system to higher pressures. But in a SMALL, simple blowback design, the 380 Auto is about the power ceiling before you must step up to a locked breach system.
It is this confluence of maximum power compatible with a simple blowback system that makes the 380 Auto shine.
Guns like the Colt 1908 pocket hammerless (a bit of a misnomer, it has an internal hammer) or the FN model 1910, put the 380 Auto on the world stage. Perhaps too much so when Gavrilo Princip used a FN model 1910 chambered in 380 Auto to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. (The pistol used was chambered in 380 Auto, not 32 ACP, as is widely and falsely reported).
The introduction of the Walther PP and PPK pistols chambered in 380 Auto added to the cartridge’s popularity. The Beretta Model 1934 added yet more to the growing popularity of the cartridge. Later came excellent pistols such as the SIG P230 and a multitude of others.
The cartridge is unquestionably successful in terms of distribution, sales, and number of pistols chambered for it.
But the world has changed. There are now small, locked breach, double action pistols chambered in cartridges that were once only seen in larger DA pistols. So, while there are still small pistols chambered in 380 Auto, there are now equally small DA pistols chambered in more potent cartridges.
The recoil of a 380 Auto is not significantly less than that of a comparable 9mm pistol. The added mass of the slide and barrel of a locked breach pistol may even help change the perceived recoil of a 9mm pistol as compared to a simple blowback pistol. The magazine capacities are similar between the pistols due the nearly identical diameters of 380 Auto cartridges and 9mm Luger cartridges.
The 380 Auto is far too established to be in any danger of extinction. There are plenty of people that like the 380 Auto and there are some outstanding pistols chambered for that cartridge. The 380 Auto continues to fill a role but the role has changed.
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