Designed by John Browning and introduced by Fabrique Nationale of Belgium, this cartridge has achieved world-wide acceptance and has even been adopted as the standard pistol cartridge by several governments. One reason for the round's success is that it is the largest practical cartridge that can be easily adapted to small automatic pocket pistols. Ballistics fall far short of even the 9mm Luger, but still prove adequate for most self-defence situations. The round has established quite a niche position in this role, often being chosen over more traditional small calibers such as the .25 and .32 Autos.

.380 Auto (9mm Browning Short) Handgun Cartridges

**See below for further reference regarding the power rankings listed in the tables above:

MV-Muzzle Velocity
Muzzle velocity when fired from a typical handgun. Measured in feet-per-second.

ME-Muzzle Energy
Muzzle energy when fired from a typical handgun. Measured in foot-pounds.

PF-Power Factor
In shooting competition the Power Factor is used to determine the competitive division in which a particular handgun/cartridge can be used. A simple calculation of the bullet's mass times its muzzle velocity.
PF = bull. mass x muzzle vel.

TKO-Taylor Knock Out Formula
Developed by big-game hunter John Howard Taylor in the 1940's. Calculates the relative effectiveness of bullets for hunting game.
TKO = (bull. mass x muzzle vel. x bull. dia.)/7000

Link back to the main table listing of handgun and rifle cartridges HERE.