Sig 380 vs Kahr 380 vs Micro Eagle

m2steven · May 23, 2011

I took my p38, my kahr p380 and my Micro Eagle 380 all to the range to decide which was the best pistol. I have no pictures nor video, but here are my conclusions. All 3 pistols are fantastic. The Sig is the best shooting, the Kahr is almost as good, and the Eagle shoots ok - it has a long hard trigger pull, and after 30 rounds my hand ached as if I'd been working on a car engine. It got better but it hits your hand good. Not a deal breaker. The Eagle is surprisingly accurate and really reliable. I'd trust it a bit over the
other two.

My P238 went through a phase where it would not cycle ammo. Could have been dirt, something like that. It's now back to perfect function.

The trigger on the Kahr, though not a 1911 type trigger, is fantastic and allows me to shoot the pistol as accurately as I do the Sig. It also is very easy to shoot, does not recoil worth mentioning.

I'd have to say that after shooting about a hundred rounds through each firearm, I'd have to rate them as follows:

1. Kahr p380
2. Sig p238
3. Micro Eagle

If you must have a micro eagle because they are so neat looking and appear to be so well built, go for it. It's a wonderful little pistol and appears to cycle ammo as well as anything i've ever shot. The trigger is heavy but the pull is even and breaks with positive expectation. Plus - it's now the least expensive pocket pistol out there that's built with a little pride (i know the LCP is built with pride - it just doesn't look like it

). Of all the pistols listed, it's the nicest looking and really bespeaks quality.

The sig has a safety and I like that. You only have to breath on the trigger and it will fire. NOT GOOD if you're in a hurry to get it out of a pocket or other restraining environment.

The Kahr is light, shoots to point of aim, reliable, and has a trigger to be envied. For all practical purposes as nice as the Sig p380.

snooperman · May 23, 2011

Thanks for your review of the 3 fine pistols.. Now

if you could only have one and wanted it for pocket carry each day during the summer months, which one would you choose?

Zerodefect · May 23, 2011

Maybe you can trade the Sig for a camera.

Big_John1961 · May 23, 2011

I don't have the Micro Eagle, but I agree about the P238 & P380. The Sig is probably my favorite .380 ever due to great ergos, accuracy, visual appeal and ease of shooting, but it's the Kahr that's with me most of the time. It's light, flat, a true pocket pistol and a forgiving shooter. Not much to dislike there.

harmon rabb · May 23, 2011

I have never tried a kahr p380. would like to. i own a sig 238 and a ruger lcp for pocket pistols. the ruger is a little easier to carry, but the sig is 10x the gun that ruger is.

kokapelli · May 23, 2011

harmon rabb said:
I have never tried a kahr p380. would like to. i own a sig 238 and a ruger lcp for pocket pistols. the ruger is a little easier to carry, but the sig is 10x the gun that ruger is.

You'r right on the money and I'd add that I have both the P238 and Micro and the Micro works and is always reliable but not pleasant to shoot.

verdun59 · May 23, 2011

I've never tried the Sig; however I have owned the Micro DE and thought it was well built but brutal, yes brutal to log any range time. How do you practice if if becomes a painful experience. I also had feed problems with some ammo, needless to say the DE moved on at the usual loss. I currently own the Kahr P380 (along with a PM9) and I can't say enough good things about it, one of them being it's an easy shooter which translates to pleasant practice time at the range. Well built, accurate, nice trigger, easy shooter, it's a keeper.

Aiko492 · May 24, 2011

Hi first post here. I bought the P380 about 4-5 weeks ago and put 400 rounds through it. Shooting impressions were it was pretty unpleasant to shoot, very snappy. I averaged about 8 FTF and FTE per 50/box until the last 100 rounds where things dropped to 3-4 per 50. I could have sent it back to Kahr but I was never going to be confident in the gun. I traded it last week for the Sig P238 Nitron Rosewood. Only shot a handful of rounds but the Sig is much more comfortable. I will need to pump several hundred rounds through it over the next two weeks to make a reliability assessment.

m2steven · May 24, 2011

If I only could have one of these pistols, it would probably be the Kahr. It's just such a nice pistol in every way. Size, accuracy, trigger, ease of operation. Great job by the Kahr team.

If the Sig p380 were as reliable as it should be - it would be my daily carry.
It's generally very reliable but sometimes it just gets finicky. It's the easiest to shoot and control. Plus - it seems to love Buffalo Bore ammo. I must say the Kahr doesn't mind it either.

If you like the way the micro eagle looks and functions - it's a wonderful
little pistol for self defense. Not much of a range toy but i'd trust my life to it. And it IS really a lovely well made piece of gear.

LightningMan · May 24, 2011

I have the Sig P238 & the Kahr P380, but no Micro DE, so between the two I do have, I give the edge to the Kahr P380. Both have good sights with the edge going the the Sig, accuracy is a toss up, as I can shoot both as well, but the Kahr has the edge in reliability which is the most important factor of all IMO. LM
PS. While I have not shot one, the Micro DE by design (direct blowback) would not be pleasant to shoot. The only other .380 I believe that would be even more unpleasant based on that it is even smaller, would be Masterpiece Arms entry into the pocket .380 market. I handled one at a gunshow this past weekend and it is little and is also a direct blowback design.

m2steven · May 25, 2011

The blowback of the DE is considerable. Fortunately, it's straight back into
the hand webbing. There is very little muzzle flip. It hurts to fire the thing, but not so much as the LCP. The lcp has a lot of muzzle flip, the trigger really digs into my finger, and it's just a handfull to shoot. It's accurate and reliable and perfectly suitable for SD use. The micro eagle makes my hand
ache, the same way it would if I were doing a lot of ratchet work or other similar thing without being in shape to do it.

After the first 50 rounds, the DE became more pleasant to shoot. The LCP gets less and less pleasant to shoot. My hand was sore from the DE for about 36 hours. Not bad at all, but I knew I'd strained something.

I'll shoot it again, probably a lot. It's one of the only double action triggers I can pull and still maintain some accuracy. I envy the shooters who can shoot an LCP. It will deliver the mail if you can pull the trigger and keep the barrel pointed.

CZF · May 25, 2011

With about 300 rounds through my Micro Eagle.
I don't find the recoil to be too bad.

My slightly over-sized Marschal Grips might help a bit too.

I've not shot the LCP yet, but can expect some recoil.

My preference of the Ruger over my beloved MDE- is the fact that
there is a laser on the LCP, and it's a shade lighter and flatter to carry.

I have to agree that the Czech made KEVIN pistol in Magnum Research
MDE form is very well made and equally as impressive as any CZ pistol
or other brand out there.

The SIG sounds like a good little gun and one that has superior
sights.

My plan is to buy a blued MDE when I can and add my walnut KEVIN grips.

Until, then the nickel plated version works just fine!

m2steven · May 25, 2011

CZF: I love the Kevin grip on your pistol, and thought your review of the MDE platform was excellent.

I believe I will easily get used to shooting the MDE. I never got used to shooting the LCP. I have the laser for it and that makes it a bit harder to shoot at the range. However, the laser without any adjustments from me is right on the money.

There is lots of talk of the pitfalls of the 380 calibur. I was at the range a few days ago and I met a DEA agent who had a pair of really nice handguns he let me shoot. He said that he carries a 32 or 25 auto as personal protection. He said that if you shoot someone with a 32 from a distance of 7 feet, they will most likely cease hostilities. Same for the 25. He said it's not so much about stopping power but noise and pain.

He was a really good shot too

OldStumps · May 26, 2011

I go to the range tomorrow to do a little more gel penetration work with my MDE. Will be adding some denim and pork ribs ahead of the gel (Safeway - $1.49 per pound)

CZF shows some Double Tap ammo with the Barnes TAC-XP all copper 80gr bullet. I've settled on Buffalo Bore +P 95 gr JHP, but they have just started offering the TAX-XP as well so will try that soon.

I have a P3AT of which the LCP is a good copy in my opinion. The BB shoots just fine out of that as well. Best CC is probably the P3AT. The relative bulk and weight of the MDE makes it more comfortable to shoot in spite of the recoil and is the more likely carry piece. Muzzle flip is controlled by the ports a bit I believe as well.

I have some grip tape arriving soon to improve that aspect of the MDE, although those wood grips are really nice.

OldStumps · May 27, 2011

I did get to the range this morning and tested the MDE with Buffalo Bore +P 95gr JHP against some pork ribs (the beef ribs at the price quoted were huge so went to pork) and gel target. I kept the ribs in a plastic bag and didn't add some cloth in front of them, taping them to the front of the gel block. All three rounds blew right through the ribs and had pretty much equal penetration at 9.5". Previously I was at 10" for gel alone. I was very interested in how the expansion would be affected and did see some differences from the nicely concentric expansion seen with gel alone. The bullets weighed in on my little pocket scale at 98, 98 and 96 grains, respectively. Nothing here that would detour me from making this the round of choice for SD.

As an aside I also shot another target with three rounds of Magtech 155gr Guardian Gold JHP from my Keltec P40. This did about twice the damage to the rib platelet and achieved 10" of penetration in the gel. Very complete and uniform expansion. (It's why if there is room I would much prefer to carry this auto.)

I'm done making gel targets for awhile. Very informative exercise for someone that doesn't hunt. It really is important to understand what these little carry guns are capable of and their limitations. I think this MDE is really a perfect micro carry.

Sig 380 vs Kahr 380 vs Micro Eagle

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