.380 ACP Ammo Guide: History, Names and Pocket Pistols

.380 ACP is a small, straight-walled pistol cartridge designed by John Moses Browning and introduced by Colt in 1908. It is used mostly in compact and pocket-size pistols. It is also sold as .380 Auto, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Short, 9mm Browning and 9x17mm, and it is not interchangeable with 9mm Luger. We do not stock .380 ACP right now. This guide explains the cartridge so you can buy the right box wherever you shop, and points to the 9mm Luger we do carry.

Where .380 ACP came from

Browning designed the cartridge, and Colt introduced it in 1908 in its Pocket Hammerless semi-automatic pistol. ACP stands for Automatic Colt Pistol. The SAAMI standard lists it as 380 Automatic, or 380 Auto for short. It became popular in Europe as well, which is why it has so many names: Kurz in German and Corto in Italian and Spanish both mean short, as in a short 9mm.

The many names on the box

• .380 ACP
• .380 Auto or .380 Automatic
• 9mm Kurz, 9mm Corto or 9mm Short
• 9mm Browning or 9mm Browning Short
• 9x17mm

All of those describe the same cartridge. If your pistol is marked with any one of them, ammunition labeled with any other one on the list fits it.

Why .380 ACP is not 9mm Luger

Both fire a bullet of roughly 9mm diameter, which is where the confusion starts. The cases are different. Under SAAMI dimensions, the .380 Auto case is 0.680 inch long, while the 9mm Luger case is 0.754 inch long. The two cartridges also run at very different pressures: SAAMI sets the maximum average pressure for .380 Auto at 21,500 psi, compared with 35,000 psi for 9mm Luger. A pistol built for .380 is not built for 9mm Luger pressure, and a .380 round in a 9mm chamber does not seat correctly. Never mix them. Match the box to the marking on your barrel or slide. Other 9mm-named cartridges, such as 9mm Makarov (9x18), are also separate cartridges.

Pocket pistols and bullet weights

The appeal of .380 ACP is size. A short, lower-pressure cartridge lets makers build very small, light pistols that fit in a pocket holster. The tradeoff is that small, light pistols have short sight radius and can feel snappy despite the mild cartridge. The SAAMI standard lists .380 Auto bullet weights from 65 to 99 grains, and most loads you will see on the shelf fall in the 85 to 95 grain range. Like other handgun calibers, it comes in full metal jacket for practice and jacketed hollow point for defense. With a short-barreled pocket pistol, it is worth testing a few defensive loads to see which one feeds reliably in your gun.

How to choose .380 ACP ammo

• Confirm the marking. Check the barrel or slide, then match any of the names above.
• Test feeding. Small pistols can be picky about bullet shape. Run a few boxes of any load you plan to carry.
• Practice with similar weight. A practice load near your carry load's bullet weight keeps point of impact close.
• Store it cool. Phoenix heat is hard on ammunition. Keep spares indoors, not in a car or garage.

What we stock instead

We do not stock .380 ACP, and we do not want you to land on this page thinking we do. If you carry or are thinking about a 9mm Luger pistol, we stock Speer Gold Dot LE Duty 9mm 147 grain (53619), standard pressure, and Speer Gold Dot LE Duty 9mm +P 124 grain (53617) for pistols rated for +P. Both come in 50-round boxes up to 1,000-round cases. See our 9mm ammo guide, the 9mm Luger category, or all pistol ammo.

You must be 21 or older to order from us. Orders ship UPS Ground from Phoenix within 2 business days. Phoenix-area customers can pick up at our warehouse with ID, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, or call 480-623-4515. Arizona gun shows are another place to find calibers we do not carry; see gun show ammo in Arizona.

.380 ACP questions

Is .380 ACP the same as 9mm?

No. .380 ACP, also called 9mm Kurz or 9x17mm, has a shorter case and runs at much lower pressure than 9mm Luger (9x19mm). They are not interchangeable. Use only the cartridge marked on your pistol.

Is 9mm Kurz the same as .380 ACP?

Yes. 9mm Kurz is the German name for .380 ACP. Kurz means short. 9mm Short, 9mm Corto, 9mm Browning and 9x17mm are other names for the same cartridge.

Does Heisenberg Ammo sell .380 ACP?

Not right now. Our handgun stock is 9mm Luger Speer Gold Dot and 5.7x28mm. See 5.7x28 or our ammo FAQ.

Can I shoot .380 ACP in a 9mm Luger pistol?

No. The shorter .380 case does not seat correctly in a 9mm Luger chamber, and the pistol may not fire or eject it properly. Use only the cartridge stamped on your barrel or slide.