Tallball
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- Joined
- Oct 2, 2014
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- 7,814
Through various circumstances I recently gained possession of three micro 380 pistols. I finally got all three of them to the range today and shot them one right after the other until I'd burned through two boxes of ammo.
Ruger LPC II - I saw it at my LGS. It was in really nice shape and I was about to not have a micro 380 (see below). The sights were way better than my P3AT. The trigger was deceptive when I dry-fired it just a few times. It felt kind of stiff, but when I shot it a day or two later I realized it had a short travel and broke easily. My only complaint was that if I wasn't careful with my thumb I would engage the magazine release while shooting it.
Kel-Tec P3AT - I owned one for about five years and liked it. It had very small sights, but the trigger was halfway decent. For complicated reasons I let my FiL have it after I found a replacement (the LCP). The one I bought originally had a pretty good trigger and I never once engaged the magazine release by mistake. After I shot the LCP II, I kind of missed my P3AT. I found one for super cheap that was barely used and bought it.
Beretta Pico - I ran across one barely used for super cheap. I couldn't help thinking, "Why not try them all?" It's pretty much the exact same size as the other two, though maybe slightly heavier. Unfortunately the trigger guard goes down lower, though, so I can't even get my ring finger all the way onto the grip. The sights are excellent, even better than the LPC II. I have XXL hands like Hickock45, but he said the weight and balance let him shoot it decently, even though it was a "one finger pistol" for him.
Well, today I shot them all to see which one I really liked, and it wasn't even close. Keep in mind, I only had one of each. They might have been the best or worst of their variety ever made. In fact, I suspect two of them had stiffer than average triggers. Here is how they felt...
I think the Pico may have been the worst. It has the best sights. Hickock was right, the weight and balance let me shoot it decently even though I couldn't get my ring finger all the way onto it. The magazine release and slide release are horrible. But nothing is worse than the trigger. It is stiff as a statue. If I have to squeeze until my wrist shakes, my accuracy is going to be sub-par. I could actually shoot it okay for SD, but it was the worst of the three because of the horrible trigger. Maybe I got an extremely bad specimen.
This P3AT has a much worse trigger than my previous one. It isn't as bad as the Pico, but it's bad. The small sights don't bother me as much as I'd expect (I only shoot pistols like this at seven yards), the magazine release isn't obtrusive, and I can get my ring finger all the way onto the grip. But the trigger is almost as bad as the Pico; it sucks. I don't like handguns with sucky triggers.
The LCP II has an overly-protruding and poorly placed magazine release. I have to be conscious to put my right thumb above it. The sights are good. I can put my whole ring finger onto the grip. The trigger is kind of "crisp", but the pull is short and it releases easily at the end. I shot it well. There was no question that it was my favorite of the three.
Honestly, any of them would work for me for SD. I can empty any of them into a medium-sized paper plate at seven yards. None of them had malfunctions. They are all easy to carry. The LCP II was easily my favorite, though. It has good sights and a nice trigger. The 30-something rounds I shot through it all went into an area about the size of my fist. I have to be careful to avoid the magazine release with my thumb, but I can manage that.
It's easily possible that the examples of the P3AT and Pico that I have are bad examples. According to what I was told, they were both purchased brand-new, and then sold after a box of ammo or less because the triggers were so stiff. I find that easy to believe. Of the three I definitely prefer the LCP II. I'll probably get rid of the other two.
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Ruger LPC II - I saw it at my LGS. It was in really nice shape and I was about to not have a micro 380 (see below). The sights were way better than my P3AT. The trigger was deceptive when I dry-fired it just a few times. It felt kind of stiff, but when I shot it a day or two later I realized it had a short travel and broke easily. My only complaint was that if I wasn't careful with my thumb I would engage the magazine release while shooting it.
Kel-Tec P3AT - I owned one for about five years and liked it. It had very small sights, but the trigger was halfway decent. For complicated reasons I let my FiL have it after I found a replacement (the LCP). The one I bought originally had a pretty good trigger and I never once engaged the magazine release by mistake. After I shot the LCP II, I kind of missed my P3AT. I found one for super cheap that was barely used and bought it.
Beretta Pico - I ran across one barely used for super cheap. I couldn't help thinking, "Why not try them all?" It's pretty much the exact same size as the other two, though maybe slightly heavier. Unfortunately the trigger guard goes down lower, though, so I can't even get my ring finger all the way onto the grip. The sights are excellent, even better than the LPC II. I have XXL hands like Hickock45, but he said the weight and balance let him shoot it decently, even though it was a "one finger pistol" for him.
Well, today I shot them all to see which one I really liked, and it wasn't even close. Keep in mind, I only had one of each. They might have been the best or worst of their variety ever made. In fact, I suspect two of them had stiffer than average triggers. Here is how they felt...
I think the Pico may have been the worst. It has the best sights. Hickock was right, the weight and balance let me shoot it decently even though I couldn't get my ring finger all the way onto it. The magazine release and slide release are horrible. But nothing is worse than the trigger. It is stiff as a statue. If I have to squeeze until my wrist shakes, my accuracy is going to be sub-par. I could actually shoot it okay for SD, but it was the worst of the three because of the horrible trigger. Maybe I got an extremely bad specimen.
This P3AT has a much worse trigger than my previous one. It isn't as bad as the Pico, but it's bad. The small sights don't bother me as much as I'd expect (I only shoot pistols like this at seven yards), the magazine release isn't obtrusive, and I can get my ring finger all the way onto the grip. But the trigger is almost as bad as the Pico; it sucks. I don't like handguns with sucky triggers.
The LCP II has an overly-protruding and poorly placed magazine release. I have to be conscious to put my right thumb above it. The sights are good. I can put my whole ring finger onto the grip. The trigger is kind of "crisp", but the pull is short and it releases easily at the end. I shot it well. There was no question that it was my favorite of the three.
Honestly, any of them would work for me for SD. I can empty any of them into a medium-sized paper plate at seven yards. None of them had malfunctions. They are all easy to carry. The LCP II was easily my favorite, though. It has good sights and a nice trigger. The 30-something rounds I shot through it all went into an area about the size of my fist. I have to be careful to avoid the magazine release with my thumb, but I can manage that.
It's easily possible that the examples of the P3AT and Pico that I have are bad examples. According to what I was told, they were both purchased brand-new, and then sold after a box of ammo or less because the triggers were so stiff. I find that easy to believe. Of the three I definitely prefer the LCP II. I'll probably get rid of the other two.
View media item 1884
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