After carrying a .380 for back-up and off-duty for a few years, I became dissatisfied with the performance of the caliber. I read about hollowpoint rounds failing after passing through clothing. The wound channel of a plugged hollowpoint is limited by the diameter of the round.
I opted to switch to carrying something in .45ACP.
When I realized there were many manufacturers that built “cut-down” versions of their full-sized duty weapons, it all made sense.
My back-up would shoot every magazine I had on me because it was the same basic gun – just a lot more concealable. In fact, the longer mags hanging out of the bottom of the smaller gun made it that much more comfortable to shoot.
When I went to the range all the controls and sighting were the same on both guns. It was like I got to practice twice as much as I did when I carried two calibers.
The added weight took a bit of getting used to but since then, manufacturers have come a long way in making guns lighter and thinner.
Anyway, I thought I’d add my two-bits for what is worth. Have a safe shift.