Well, .380 is not what I would call "low powered." It's not up there with the .45 ACP or 9 millimeter (which has a lot of penetration, but not a whole lot of "stopping power"). The .32 was a standard police caliber in a number of European countries, but the Italian police felt it was too puny, and adopted the .380, which they dubbed the "9 millimeter corto" (short). Then other European police forces began adopting it. Fairly similar to the .38 Special, which is a standard American police cartridge.

.380 will usually do the job in most cases. And it can be fired from a somewhat smaller pistol, such as a Beretta 84FS Cheetah or a Walther PPK.

Don Firth