Non Sequitur

This month's issue of Guns & Ammo magazine features a cover story on the newest addition to the Taurus handgun line, the PT738, a 10 ounce DAO concealed carry pistol in .380 ACP. Last month we got the review of the new Sig-Sauer P338, a pocket pistol in .380 ACP reminiscent of the old Colt Mustang which was much like a 1911 Colt that had been shrunk in the washing machine. Two months before that, the buzz was of the newly announced Ruger LCP (Light Carry Pistol), a super-compact in .380 caliber.

In other words, the hottest thing in the gun market today is the renewal of the feeble (er, make that fabled) 9mm Kurtz in American livery as the .380 ACP which is a stubby version of a 9mm. It had long been scorned by those who were going to carry a defensive handgun as too puny to be an effective stopper if the real stuff hit the fan. Now it is fueling a frenzied buying public expecting a breakdown in law and order or a denial of our Second Amendment rights as imminent.

There's only one thing wrong with this in my free-market driven mind. I don't see an issue with meeting a demand with a modern and attractive firearm offering. That's fine, but a car won't run without gas. A computer won't compute without electricity. And, a firearm is a paperweight without ammunition.

I was gun shopping about a year ago for such a pocket pistol. The single driving issue that pushed me out of the .380 market was the lack of ammunition for the gun. I searched then in vain. I searched six months ago without reward. I searched again today for a source for .380 ACP ammunition.

I looked at:

1. Ammunition to Go
2. Ammoman
3. Widener's Shooting Supply
4. Natchez Shooter's Supplies
5. Sportsman's Guide
6. Cabela's

That's just to name a few. All locations are out-of-stock and back-ordered.

That tells me that if I'm walking down the street in a bad neighborhood and one of the crew tries to roll me with a .380 I can be virtually certain the gun is empty or at least he hasn't had enough ammo to practice with it!