One thing to get straight right off the bat is that there is NO SUCH THING as "knockdown"!

When the Army was first experimenting with Kevlar as body armor, I personally witnessed a demonstration at Ft. Bragg, NC., in which a sergeant using a "catcher's mitt" made from Kevlar CAUGHT .45 ACP 230- grain hardball bullets that were fiired at his "mitt" from 10 feet away. His hand snapped back upon bullet impact about the same amount as the firer's hand did when the pistol was fired. The catcher then held out his hand to show us the bullet he had just caught. This pretty much disproves the old myth about a person being "knocked off his feet" by the impact of the .45, regardless of where the bullet hit! This is pure BS! And the .380 delivers about half that amount of energy!

In order for a bullet, any bullet that a human can fire from an idividual weapon of any sort, to stop an attacker (or game animal!!), it MUST disrupt some significant bodily function. This means one must place the bullet well in order for this to happen.

That said, the .380 is a pretty decent little round in a small, concealable handgun. About the only thing better is a .40 or the .45 ACP in a little gun like the discontinued Star PD or a .45 of similar size & weight.

Regardless of what you get, marksmanship is still needed!!