I need a sidearm with fairly light recoil due to painful arthritis in both hands. This limits me to the recoil level of full-sized pistols of 45 ACP octane and less. I can shoot a 38 Special all day unless it is one of the 2" barrel, 5 shot revolvers. The smaller pistols move around in my hand too much and are pretty painful after the first shot.

On those occasions when I choose to carry a sidearm, I now carry an FEG, 380 ACP. This is a Hungarian police and military pistol, has a hammer drop safety, the first shot can be fired double-action and the gun holds eight rounds including one in the chamber. With a nylon holster, full magazine and a round in the chamber, it weighs 15 oz. So far it has been reliable and will feed 88 gr hollow-points with nary a bobble. The sights are typical of those used on light semi-auto pistols; rudimentary. But, the gun will shoot 5" groups at ten yards if I do my part.

The muzzle energy of the 380 (ca 180-190 foot pounds) is about 85% of that of the standard 38 Special and 75% of the plus-P 38 Special. The lighter, faster expanding bullet used in the 380 lacks the penetration potential of the typical 158 grain bullet used in the 38 Special but is similar to that of the 125 grain bullet available in the 38.

For those of you who are sensitive to recoil for whatever reason, the 380 is a nice compromise between power and light recoil and a lightweight firearm. It surely lacks the stopping ability of a 44 Magnum or 357 Magnum or even a +P 38 Special but is definitely better than throwing rocks.

About the only time I carry a gun with me on hikes is when I am traveling in the mountains here in Arizona that are close to the Mexican border. There is a lot of drug smuggling and illegal immigration here and I feel a bit better when I am armed. A lot of the smugglers carry AK-47's or the like and a 380 is clearly outmatched on that score; I try to avoid these groups of free-enterprise pharmaceutical transporters. But, in the past, I have encountered groups of illegals who wanted me to share my food, water and money with them (small groups of young males). When I produced the 380, they lost all interest in sharing and wished me a pleasant journey.