I was setting on the couch thinking about what I want to do this year. I rotate guns during deer season, handguns and rifles. I was thinking about the rotations when I thought about my .380. A Berreta 70S which imho is the best .380 ever built. From sand bags at 25 yards it will consistently shoot 1.5" groups and we have shot it at 100 yards enough to know that you don't want to be shot at with it.

Last year I bought some of the Corbon 90gr JHP load which chrongraphs 1050fps. These things expand and penetrate up to 14" in ballistic gelatin. Not your normal .380 to be sure. I got to thinking about deer. This bullet penetrates and expands enough to wreck the vitals at least out to 25 yards. Shot placement would need to be perfect but the gun is accurate enough for that. I have a bow stand that I typicaly shoot deer at around 15 yards from. There is no reason that I couldn't make a perfect heart shot. Hmmmmm.......

I hope you don't.

Me too. Even if it's a legal caliber in your state. IMO you would just be asking for trouble: a wounded deer.

Boys that's 2 votes no. I probably won't. It may have to pop a coyote though. reflex264

Make that 3 no votes.

4 nays

As a deputy sheriff I had to shoot many wounded deer. No common defensive caliber e.g., 9mm, .40, .45 worked well unless a brain shot was made at a few feet. 9mm's in the chest were ineffective ergo, your .380 would be worse.

If it were that easy we would never have to trail deer.
No offense, and I think it's wise of you to run it past these guys, but you can chalk me up for another nay vote.

last year I hit a deer bad with a 44 mag
In the neck grazing the spine and paralyzing it but not killing it.
It was a sad thing to see it lay and suffer till I realized wher I hit it then I dispatched one in the kill zone
Always best to use mor gun than needed for a quick humane kill.
Shot placment is key also.

I have shot many roadside deer after an accident. I am surprised at how long it takes the life to leave them after a .40 to both lungs. Routinely 90 seconds to two minutes, and thats after having been struck by a car. Maybe that goes in their favor, adrenaline or something.

My first handgun deer was with a .357 mag. I immediatly bought a 44 mag to hunt with. I will never hunt deer with a .357 again. Just like silly goose, it was a double lung shot. He ran 50 yds and bed down and took 40 minutes to die. I now consider .44 minimum for deer. IMHO

Another vote for no hunting with a 380.

Bigger is always better, the 380 is no deer killer, leave the mouse guns home.

I shot a piece of 1/8th inch aluminum like they use for road signs at 10yds with a 380 and ball ammo. The bullet stuck in the aluminum without puncturing it. It just made a dent and stuck.

Aw come on, fess up ;-)

In the country, we like our road sign art.

I wouldn't do something like that

Is the .380 a legal caliber for deer in your state? What state do you live in?

I say go for it!

AAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! JUST KIDDING!!!!! Another no from me also.

Never go with "just enough" when hunting anything.

Another nay here as well. IN NC you wouldn't be allowed to use that round. Un less they changed the regs since I last read them.
Oh and if you dispatch a deer after its been hit by a car, the deer would be better served if you shot it in the head. They will not suffer long!

It depends, I've had to make some shots in the dark at paniced animals that were thrashing to where I had to put it in the vitals....

By now most of you have figured out I have better sense than that. Now the new TN law which was designed to fix the problems in the old rules reads like this:

Rifles and handguns using centerfire ammunition (full metal jacketed ammunition prohibited)

Before that is was any handgun with at least a 4" barrel that was a minumum of .24" bore.

In other words you could use a .25 auto with a 4" barrel but a .44 Mag with a 3" barrel was illegal.

I have about decided there isn't a perfect rule.

That being said if I was in the wilderness and had to kill a deer to survive I think I could do it with the .380. reflex264

Not that I advocate the .380, but it is legal now in NC - centerfire calibers .24 or greater and no barrel length restrictions.

oregon is .22 centerfire minimum for deer, bear, and antelope, and .24 centerfire min for elk, sheep and goat. There are no barrel length restrictions but you can't have a magazine that holds more than 5 rds. Legally you could use a 25 auto here and where your at but that would the height of stupidity.

Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD.......

That is sort of my point. The law has gone from one extreme to the other. reflex264

I shot a small deer with a 9mm in the shoulder 2 yrs ago. It broke the shoulder and downed the deer but that is it. I quickly had to put another one in him to end his suffering. Last year I shot 2 deer with my 3" SP101 and it gave full penetration on both deer. One was big....and at 20 yds.... The 9mm is more powerful than a 380 and was under powered for my purposes...

There are lots of things that are "legal" that do not show any respect to the animal we attempt to harvest. Quick clean kill should always rule the weapon of choice and the decision to take the shot or not.

Well in Indiana the pistol rules state it has to be .243 or bigger but they also list some unexceptable rounds for reference so know one tries this. 45acp doesnt even make the cut in Indiana. Also you may have gotten 14 inch penetration in gelatin but that doesnt account for hide and bone and a deer's adrenaline.

I may not have made the sarcasm clear in the original post. To set the record straight:

I aint going deer hunting with a .380.

Our revised law in TN makes it perfect legal to do so. The only good thing about the law is that it made big bores with 3" barrels legal.

I do us a handgun that shoots .30 bullets to kill deer but the .30 caliber bullets happen to be in 30-06 cases.

I am well known for the other extreme. Not undegunning deer. I even use my .416 taylor and .416 rigby on deer and they do this:



Hope this clarifies any misunderstanding about the original post. Sorry. reflex264

I have seen a deer resist death after 2 shots between the ear and eye from a 40 s&w with 180 grain hydrashoks and only after another shot down between the ears at the top of the skull did it quit trying to stand on the stumps of legs left by a motorist. It is amazing sometimes how things cling to life.

I think that pretty well covers it, Flex.....

reflex, I have used my .338 win mag (yes, I have owned some rifles in the past -- weak moments!) on deer, and I have used my .416 Remmie, and .458 Lott on hogs! I understand!