The Rohrbaugh Forum
Rohrbaugh Products and Accessories => Rohrbaugh R380 => Topic started by: T-Wayne on March 30, 2011, 09:16:54 PM
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Greetings. I've just recently joined the forum and spent several days reading through past R9 and R380 posts. Lots of fun and very informative! There is a lot of experience in this crowd.
i do not want to raise the old .380 vs 9mm saga, but something strikes me funny. Every gun forum I'm on has multiple posts in which we macho guys arm ourselves with 9s or 45s and then turn around and buy the wife a .380 or a .32 mouse gun - as though it's more important to protect our skin than hers. But think about it for a second or three. We men have no easy way to conceal a full size or compact gun, but our women usually do - in their hand bags, purses, or whatever they call them. So why arm the wife with a mouse gun... unless we think of her as being disposable? ;)
My wife carries a Springer 9mm EMP and loves it. I also carry one in the winter, and even in the summer when I am not too embarrassed to tote my "man bag." I own some very fine holsters, but I cannot wear them comfortably in the heat of the South Florida sun. So most days I like to pocket carry and cannot comfortably conceal most easy shooting 9s in the pocket of my shorts. That's why I recently sold my Kahr PM9 and why I am now looking to get a Rohrbaugh .380. Will I feel "under-gunned" carrying a .380? Not when the wife's with me, I won't. ;D
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T-Wayne, Welcome to the group.
A long time friend of mine has carried a "Man Bag" for years, to get him going I would always refer to it as his "Fag Bag" ;D ;D
Glad he had a good sense of humor as he is about 6' 4 and 265 lbs.
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Why the 380 instead of the 9mm for you ?
The typical reason most women end up with the mouse guns is either they don't like the recoil of the larger calibers or they think the larger caliber gun is too heavy.
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T-Wayne. Welcome to the Forum. For yourself, I would go with the R9 and as John says the ladies need the .380 due to recoil, at least some. Get the R9; you'll be proud.
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Why a .380? Good question. I've gone back and forth on this for days. I've carried for decades and I am familiar with the ballistics and the pros and cons of the .380 vs the 9. And I am not recoil shy. But I am growing old... and I just don't like harsh recoil.
A tamer gun choice suits me - is all. I really don't have a better answer than that.
Do you think I'm making a mistake?
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I have never fired the 380 Rohrbaugh so I have no first hand experience between the two. I know several members have both and will probably weigh in on the difference in recoil.
It just always makes sense to me to carry the more powerful caliber if the size is the same.
Also the 9mm ammo is cheaper, easier to get and a lot more options.
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Yankee, thank you. I understand, and respect your well taken point. But to get back on topic, why do we men feel proud (and secure) in protecting our women by arming them with a self defense weapon in a caliber (.380 or .32) that we would feel nervous and under gunned carrying ourselves - especially since women can easily carry soft shooting compact 9s in their hand bags?
Seems like some of our choices - while all valid to some degree - are based on fuzzy logic. (My own choices included.) Until Rohrbaugh defies the laws of physics and reality and makes a 12 gauge the size and weight of the R9, with no more kick than their 380, all carry options will remain a compromise of one sort or another.
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T-Wayne, Welcome to the forum. Enjoy it here and post often. Most women can handle a smaller caliber or feel more comfortable shooting one. Something is better than nothing!!
Production levels with the 9mm is much higher than the .380 due to demand. After all this is what makes the R9s so good, the small and light pocketable package in 9mm. I hope you'll let me get you what you decide to carry. Tom
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Yankee, thank you. I understand, and respect your well taken point. But to get back on topic, why do we men feel proud (and secure) in protecting our women by arming them with a self defense weapon in a caliber (.380 or .32) that we would feel nervous and under gunned carrying ourselves - especially since women can easily carry soft shooting compact 9s in their hand bags?
Seems like some of our choices - while all valid to some degree - are based on fuzzy logic. (My own choices included.) Until Rohrbaugh defies the laws of physics and reality and makes a 12 gauge the size and weight of the R9, with no more kick than their 380, all carry options will remain a compromise of one sort or another.
I don't think most men are trying to arm there wives with a minor caliber (25 - 32 - 380) as much as most women choose not to shoot the major calibers (9 - 40 - 45) as I stated in my second post.
The typical reason most women end up with the mouse guns is either they don't like the recoil of the larger calibers or they think the larger caliber gun is too heavy to carry / hold while shooting or the grip is too large to hold comfortably.
As you pointed out women carry a purse, many already weigh several pounds, now comes the decision to add a 9 or 10 oz mouse gun or a 25 to 38 oz major caliber Not only is the weight an issue but the size is a factor, does she get the larger gun and leave out her three favorite lip gloss and two other doo dads for her hair, nails, eyes, teeth etc, etc I'm sure you get the idea.
So my thought is it's not that most men are happy or proud to arm there wives with small size small caliber guns but it is a compromise to get her to carry any gun as opposed to no gun at all.
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I don't think most men are trying to arm the wives with an minor caliber (25 - 32 - 380) as much as most women choose not to shoot the major calibers (9 - 40 - 45) as I stated in my second post.
The typical reason most women end up with the mouse guns is either they don't like the recoil of the larger calibers or they think the larger caliber gun is too heavy to carry / hold while shooting or the grip is too large to hold comfortably.
As you pointed out women carry a purse, many already weigh several pounds, now comes the decision to add a 9 or 10 oz mouse gun or a 25 to 38 oz major caliber Not only is the weight an issue but the size is a factor, does she get the larger gun and leave out her three favorite lip gloss and two other doo dads for her hair, nails, eyes, teeth etc, etc I'm sure you get the idea.
So my thought is it's not that most men are happy or proud to arm there wives with small size small caliber guns but it is a compromise to get her to carry any gun as opposed to no gun at all.
+1
My thoughts exactly.
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Good points, Yankee. I think you hit the nail on the head.
My wife (a little lady) totes a ton in her over the shoulder repository without batting an eye, but you are most likely spot on when you say that many women do not like the extra weight of a full size gun. Makes a lot of sense.... I just never thought of it like that.
OK. I feel better about the guys who arm their wives with mice. :)