Editor's Note: The following feature first appeared in our companion service, The Tactical Wire (www.thetacticalwire.com)

Last time, we examined relative ballistic yields from short barrel guns firing .380 ACP, .38 S&W Special and 9mm - the .38 and 9mm in +P (high pressure) loads with all calibers represented in the Remington Golden Saber line. The intermediate clothing barriers didn't plug any of the hollow points which all acted as the maker had hoped in front of the gun media audience.

http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/image_archive/2034672.jpg> The SIG P290, shown in a Galco Yaqui Slide, is a little short for comfort, helped author shoot to 2nd place in the group.

One more thing: the .380 bullet has a more blunt front profile than either of the others, as well as less weight. While I do not counsel attempting to stop one, it's still a .380 and not a .38 Special or 9mm. Attempts to turn sow's ear into a silk purse, while an impressive challenge that's been so far well accomplished, are doomed by the laws of physics. The .380 is still and always will be less than the others.

The remainder of the problem we'll refer to as "shootability." Is the gun as a matter of size, weight, sights, and action capable of rendering quick hits for one particular shooter? Starting with the shooter, I find that guns that feel good for me often are all-but-unusable by others. Guns that fit others well, I often cannot manage. I find the gripping surface's length, width, circumference and trigger reach make a huge difference. If the gun's gripping area is big and round like a new bar of soap, I have trouble indexing the muzzle to target. If it's a little longer (allowing the small finger a place to rest) yet flat and with a short trigger reach, I can get on the gun quite well.

We find out which meets our needs by shooting and no place is better to do so than Gunsite. With a selection of pistols by Beretta, Ruger, SIG-Sauer, and Smith & Wesson, holsters by Galco and other shooters with which to compare notes, you can quickly determine which gun is which.

Simply picking the piece up in a gunshop environment (or at the SHOT Show) is not enough.

For the first morning of the Gunsite Compact Pistol Symposium, I was moved into a SIG P290, a six-shot "DAO" compact 9mm. I'd picked it up at SHOT and then at the ranch. It felt way too short and the trigger, not being SIG's DAK (Double Action Kellerman), was too long, with way too much perceived bulk in the slide; it didn't feel "good" to me. It went into a Galco Yaqui Slide (Always use the gun from a holster, even if it's not the rig you'll be using for real - you learn things about a gun's handling by the draw-and-fire exercise.)

http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/image_archive/2034674.jpg> Small guns all but disappear in large hands. Ruger LC9 with XS Sights is hard to manipulate for this ham-handed gunwriter - was ergonomically correct for author. http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/image_archive/2034676.jpg> A factory shortened version of a big gun, like the Beretta Px4, is easy to shoot if you get all fingers on it. XS Sights, shown here, are handy for defense especially in adverse light.

We ended our first segment with "The Duck of Death," a shooter-vs-shooter simple elimination some 10 yards or so from a pair of steel bobber targets. As we worked through the group, we started by "first hit on steel from ready." After it was down to two of us, it was "first hit on steel from the holster." I was in the shoot-off. The gun I used to get through all my opponents? The SIG P290, naturally! I was confirmed that the gun is a mite short for my grip as I couldn't get re-gripped to make up my miss on the last shootout. Make that gun about a half-inch higher and it's eminently doable for me.

The Ruger LC9, the up-sized 50-state-legal 9mm incarnation of the LCP, is just longer enough that it's far more comfortable for me. I shot both of these pint-sized 9mm pistols with XS Sights installed. While the factory provided sights worked quite well for me, the XS Sights pushed the speed up and are much better during adverse light - the S&W M&P9 Compact I used in our adverse light shooting had XS Sights and it was no problem for me to make hits without using a flashlight. I'd be in trouble, as I was able to make really good hits on a target I could not visually identify as a threat! Once you've determined the legal, ethical, moral situation, night sights will drive the practical issue, winning the fight.

It's hard to run the small guns. Controls can be small, your hand can be cramped trying to get to a safety, slide stop, etc. You can use the Ed Head method of small gun employment: if he carries a small gun like a Ruger LCP, he'll carry a second small gun. If the first gun has a stoppage/runs out of ammo, he'll dump it and go for the second gun! That removes combat gunhandling from the equation.

I can definitely see the use for the Ruger LC9, the SIG P290 and/or P238 (a wonderfully accurate and fun-to-shoot .380), or the S&W Bodyguard .380 as second and third guns - for deep cover, they're likewise top tier. They add little weight/bulk for all their practicality!

-- Rich Grassi