380 Is A Handful

I don't get it, never have

I hear people complain about these little autos all the time and I have never understood it. When I had a Mustang I loved it. I love both of my LCP's. I love my LC9, slightly larger but in 9mm just the same. The next gun on my wish list is the Sig 938, mostly because I am a 1911 guy.
The guns that I have never had a lot of affection for are the small revolvers in 38 and 357. I have had several J frames and 2 SP 101s and I never liked any of them.

bet this kid ain't shooting the mighty 380. Recoil is all a head game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei_m1mesIo4

OR this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd4B77PkeaU

380 recoil

Pleas go shoot a thompson contender in 375 jdj or a s&w 500 with a 4 in barrel or any of the extreme bear defense caliber short barrel guns before you comment on 380 "snappy" recoil. 380 may have a snap to to it but please!
I just had to get that off off my chest, was not intended to judge or criticize.

You know, the LCP becomes a different gun for those who can't get a solid grip on it when you add the specially designed Hogue rubber grip.

I found it snappy but OK with the stock plastic grip but the Hogue really helped it fit *my* hand better and make it far more naturally pointing than before.

BTW, I bought mine to be my primary carry as it's so small but potent enough with good ammo.

hardluk1 said:

bet this kid ain't shooting the mighty 380. Recoil is all a head game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei_m1mesIo4

OR this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd4B77PkeaU

Click to expand...

Bad comparison, that .45 is a lot heavier.

The worst gun I own for recoil is my NAA .22 lr. Pain in neck.

However, Sigs P238 is a very soft shooting .380

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i second that

My only gripe it's like aiming a beer bottle

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i was pretty good at aiming beer bottles in my youth....

i find the .380 very mild and with almost no recoil, but i think the factor here is how many rounds one is shooting and what gun it is, their hand size and how high they grip........also over time perception changes....

there is a direct correlation, in my mind, between the amount of rounds, the pistol design, grip, and in the end perception of recoil.

i can remember when i first got my keltec p32, i thought it was a handful, but when i changed the mags to have the extended grip so i could almost get my 3rd finger on the grip and shot it a bunch my perception changed to very mild. so a combination of being able to get more fingers and a better grip helped me, and shooting it a bunch over time changed my perception to very mild recoil and easy to handle. as usual ymmv.....but this is mine.

I can't say I enjoy shooting my Kel Tec p3at all that much. Then again I did not buy it to be a range toy. It was bought as a SD tool for when I need to deep CC. A .380 has it's place, but not as my EDC pistol.

My P3AT, before I sold it due to lack of reliability and durability, wasn't exactly fun or easy to shoot.

Yeah, it's tiny and fits in pretty much any pocket, in a pocket holster, printing less than a wallet...if it prints at all.

But I have come to the conclusion that the micro .380 pocket guns (aka mouse guns) are simply not reliable, durable, and shootable enough to be anything more than a BUG.

And, IMO, a J-frame snub nose revolver makes a better BUG.


I'm sure a big part of difficulty shooting the P3AT was that only about 1.5 fingers fit on the grip, and the trigger reach is so short my finger was all kinds of cramped.

Had a few LCP's and they shot real well. A handful no, I thought it barely recoiled. Now my CM40 on the other hand, can be a torquey with the right load.

I'll repeat that the .380acp is a very sweet round if the platform allows it.

.380acp recoil from a small P3AT would be on the nasty side, I'm sure. However, the same round is a pussycat from a Sig P238.

I find that my P238 is a bit larger and much heavier than my P32. However, though the difference is there, it's not substantial, IMO.

Included are a couple pictures of my P32 and P238. Notice the P32 nearly covers the P238 completely when placed on top. I could shoot that P238 all day and be ready the next day to start all over again. The recoil seems almost supernaturally mild.

The P3at is a bit of a nasty shooter as far as recoil. However I have over 800 flawless rounds through mine and do not treat it to kindly but it has never failed to go bang after I did a Fluff and Buff to it early on. I've had it wet from rain and sweat, even jumped into a pool one time with it in my cargo shorts pocket. Ooops. Simple blew it dry with a shop vac gave in a little lubing with some oil the guy had in his garage and it still shoots as it did from day one. I have to laugh when I hear people say these pistols are finicky and need to be spotless to work properly. I do not put another pistol I own through the hell that I've put this thing through.
This pic makes the pistol look nicer than it really is in person. Even though the picture isn't the best.

380 kick?

Issac Newton would predict about 20% more action/ reaction out of a 115gr 9mm cartridge over a 95 gr 9mm kurz or .380 cartridge. Logic predicts that a fixed barrel .380 will kick more than a spring dampened 9mm. I guarantee that my sissy nickle plated taurus 9mm kicks more than my stainless Walther ppk. Am I still a sissy when I shoot a stainless gun?

But oddly enough I do get a power rush when firing my 357 magnum double barreled (stainless) derringer. The thrill of almost shooting off the end of my finger where it wants to wrap over the end of the barrel adds enough adreniline that I barley feel the recoil. Viva la differance no?

Consider a Ruger 22 rimfire that has a recoilless floating barrel with a couplof internal wires that further distribute the recoil over the flashy silvery 45 Colt look a like with snappy gold accent trim.

Alas politically correct comedy is rarely laughable.

Thing is, the weight of the LCP for example is more that twice less than than of the baby Glock. So I would say that the lack of weight, coupled with the extreme small and thin grip, the LCP will kick almost twice as hard as the G26. So despite never having shot a small 380 I do believe they can be snappy.
If a 380 gives 220 fpe and a 9mmp gives 280 fpe. Doing a quick calculation the G26 weigh 560g, the LCP only 266g. Shooting a 220fpe 380 round in the LCP must feel like shooting a 460 fpe round in the G26. That is almost twice the recoil of a standard G26 round. Am I completely wrong or do I have a point?

Some of the ladies posting in this thread need to shoot one of these.

Ag man. There are guns that kicks more. But even woman can shoot a LCP. So that is nothing to brag about. But I have to say I do think the OP of this thread was not wrong to say these pistols are snappy.

My .380s, minuse the new Mauser HSc nickle plated, haven't taken any pics yet. We can't carry in NJ and I probably wouldn't any way, being a hack (but a decent shot). The CZ 83 is my favorite but a bit large for carry. IF I were to carry it would be the Mauser, small enough and relatively snag free, and a great shooter (as well as a looker). But they are all steel (the only way I buy guns) and not much recoil from any of them. The Beretta 70s is a bit snappy but not bad.
9 fingers

The Bodyguard .380 was the most uncomfortable gun to shoot I've ever owned. I'm no stranger to recoil, shooting a .357 reguarly with heavy handloads. I sold the Bodyguard and bought a Browning BDA .380. The Browning is a joy to shoot with soft recoil, tack driver accuaracy and up to 20 rounds on board.

I started out my 380 adventure with 2 LCPs. I never really liked shooting them, they were unpleasant, and unreliable. Follow up shots were difficult because the little pistol would shift around in my hand. I then purchased a Bersa Thunder 380, and that was a much better platform for shooting the 380. Not a pocket gun by any means, but small and reasonably light. Never a malfunction of any kind. Then I bought a Sig P238, and that was another step in the right direction. Softer shooting than the Thunder, smaller, about the same weight, and very reliable. I sold both LCPs and dont have any sad feelings about that. I still have the Bersa, and the Sig, but because of the weight in my pocket, dont carry either. My EDC is a Kel-Tec P32. It is everything I was hoping the LCP would be. Its accurate, controllable, and most importantly, Utterly reliable.

For me, the P3AT recoils in a way that the trigger guard slams into my finger in a weird way. It makes it uncomfortable to shoot a lot. I don't think it's so much a recoil issue as a small pistol with long trigger travel issue.

I can shoot a Kahr PM9 w/o issue, I think b/c the gun is a little bigger and I can grip it better, plus the trigger has shorter travel & is better. I shoot full house 10 mm hand loads, .44 magnum, etc., and none of those bother me b/c the recoil is at the wrist or arm level.

With the P3AT, it's a trigger finger recoil b/c I don't get much grip on the gun. The P3AT is great at what it is (a reliable pocket pistol for deep concealment), but it's probably the least fun gun to shoot, IMO. Take that .380 and put it in a Sig or Bersa, and it's no problem at all, IMO. Those don't conceal as easily, so it's a trade off.

Hunter2011 said

Am I completely wrong or do I have a point?

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I think you do have a point but a further point is that neither a Glock 26 nor an LCP is onerous to shoot. I am not a big guy nor do I think I am particularly strong and I do not find the LCP to be a problem. Yes it is snappy, but it is still a .380. My rough calculations still show less free recoil energy with the LCP than with the G26 but the gap is certainly narrowed for the reasons you mention. My biggest objection was the trigger, however, shooting one side-by-side with a P3AT I felt the Kel-Tec had the better trigger but the LCP was more shootable and I had better results with the Ruger. That's what I bought. Recently I purchased one of the "updated" (I call them second generation) LCPs with a shorter trigger but haven't had a chance to shoot it yet.

The heaviest rounds that I have fired are the .357 (many of them out of a 2" Ruger SP101), the .45 ACP and the .44 Mag.

Recoil doesn't bother me and I've been comfortable firing all of those, but I have to say that I find firing my .380 Astra Constable less comfortable.

Still, I wouldn't part with the Constable for anything; it is brilliantly engineered (better than the PPK in my opinion) and is perfect, for me, for summertime carry.

I am a skinny guy, and under light summer clothing my 1911 simply will not conceal adequately. But the short, thin 25-ounce Constable, in a thin, lightweight Uncle Mike's #1 Super Belt Slide holster, just disappears.

And the SBS holster still leaves me with thumb-break security, which I like very much.

And, as mentioned, the brilliant engineering gives capabilities that others in the category simply do not have.

I'm not sure why...maybe just the design of the gun for my hand...but my Dad's .380 Belgian Browning 4" target pistol is 1 of the MOST painful guns to shoot that I own. The other is a Seecamp 380. The Browning is for pleasure - so it stays in the safe 'cause it gives zero pleasure.
The Seecamp gets carried a LOT...especially during the spring, summer and fall...and if I need it...well, I NEED it.