Compact/Full Sized .380s w/locked breech

The only options that come in my mind are:
Walther PK380;
S&W M&P Shield EZ 380;
Browning 1911-380;
Ruger LC380;
a used Taurus PT138;
a used Colt Government 380 (maybe this last one is a litte too small...).

I'd carry that CZ-83 if I was a good shot with it. I'd have no concerns with the cartrdige, if I was loading Fiocci or one of the Euro loads. Bigger cartrdige doesn't make you a better shot necessarlily or faster, and from my understanding fast and accurate trumps a huge caliber and fancy bullets.

I have a Sig 238, and it’s a sweet little shooter.
Recoil is a small fraction of a blowback 380.

it’s a very nice pistol and practically disappears when carried IWB. I’m just not a fan of it’s limited capacity

Mosin77 said:

Only problem is, I really prefer a locked breech, for recoil mitigation.

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I think S&W M&P "Shield" 380EZ is pretty much your only choice, given the criteria. Its biggest downside is the small magazine capacity for the size. If SIG ever make an XL version of P365 380, it could be a consideration too, but it does not exist at the moment. My own HD gun is a Glock 42 with a grip extension, which is truly a gun for eccentric people (because it cannot accept OEM magazines anymore).

The LC380 is not big enough, IMHO. Same goes for Kahr CT380. I would avoid PK380, it harkens from the darkest days of Umarex "quality". The 1911-380 is a decent piece, but 380EZ is superior in every possible respect: has a decent sights and a rail.

Although not currently in production, the Sig P250 is a good mid-size, locked-breach .380 (or .22LR, 9mm, .40S&W, .357SIG, or .45ACP) with 12- or 15-round capacity.

Nevertheless, I agree with @zaitcev that the 380EZ is the best fit for your description in a current production gun.

Kleanbore said:

Do you know of any loads that meet the FBI recommendations for law enforcement?

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Hornady Critical Defense expands and has 13 inches of gel penetration. At least it did in the Lucky Gunner tests. Some others penetrated 12 to 18 inches but with little or no expansion.

I’m interested in the Walther CCP M2 in 380. It’s supposed to have very minimal recoil and is a decent size. It’s not a locked breech, but its gas piston makes it soft shooting like a locked breech design.

Kimber Micro in .380 is a nice little shooter.

Kleanbore said:

Do you know of any loads that meet the FBI recommendations for law enforcement?

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The turning point for me was not the guns available in 380 but the ammo. Before ShootingTheBull 410 did his 380 ammo tests, all of the testing that was available to me showed 380 bullets either expanding and stopping at 10 inches or less when run against the IWBA protocol, or zipping right out the back of 16 inch blocks of gelatin.

Neither one was acceptable to me.

Now there are at least a few 380 cartridges that penetrate to 13 inches through 4 layers of denim. The Federal Hydra-Shok Deep, Lehigh Defense 380ACP 65gr Xtreme Defense, and the Precision One .380 ACP 90 grain XTP are some of those rounds.. Test results can vary but typically the XTP bullets penetrate between 13 and 14 inches through 4 layers of denim. I'm not aware of test results of these cartridges for the full battery of FBI tests

My FiL has an excellent CZ83. It would certainly be suitable for HD if necessary.

I would prefer something with a larger capacity than my Colt Government Model, but it points naturally and is easy to shoot.

Most of my blowback 380's are at least a little challenging to shoot. The tiny ones like the LCP will sting your hand if you're not careful. My Beretta Model 84 is probably the best of the lot. It's thicker and heavier than the rest of them. The thicker grip gives me more to hang onto and spreads the recoil over a wider area.

Someone posted a while back about making a 1911 in 380acp. That would be a very cool pistol, IMHO.

I’ve thought about this too. I think a Glock 42x with a 10 round mag would be a pretty sweet shooter. The regular 42 with the pinky extension is no slouch - but the 6+1 capacity might make it less appealing for your stated purpose.

I have no personal experience with the CP380, but it seems like a neat package 12+1. Hammer fired. Shorter track record, but the Striborg seems to be well liked. Might be worth a look. I think it’s a rotary breech lock, a la beretta storm/stoeger cougar, but don’t hold me to that. From the pics it definitely doesn’t look like a browning lockup.

Tallball said:

Someone posted a while back about making a 1911 in 380acp. That would be a very cool pistol, IMHO.

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Llama did produce a 1911 style pistol over several years some of which were locked breach. They actually copied the 1911 locked breach design on some models just 20 or so percent smaller. Although I dont remember what other models of the Llama were locked breach, the Especial model I have is locked breach just like the 1911. Otherwise it is really really close to a 1911. The differences are:

Loaded chamber indicator*
External extractor
Target grip*
Adjustable rear sight*
Some type of raised rib (though not all Llamas did)

*I'm pretty sure the above changes were to make it importable except the external extractor. Im pretty sure an internal extractor would have been pretty tough to build. Im not sure about the reason for the raised rib.

I'm pretty sure the Mustang was/is a 380 1911 style pistol? Seeries 80. The Llama is just a little less expensive

imac98374 said:

I have no personal experience with the CP380, but it seems like a neat package 12+1. Hammer fired. Shorter track record, but the Striborg seems to be well liked. Might be worth a look. I think it’s a rotary breech lock, a la beretta storm/stoeger cougar, but don’t hold me to that.

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CP380 is a blowback conversion, just like Bersa BP380 or EAA Witness. What's even more unfortunate, ROXOR is too.

Its a nice little shooter with a decent trigger. I replaced the target grips with a more traditional grip. One day ill make a set of wood grips to replace the Llama plastic grips. I've only shot it with FMJ so i don't know how it would do with higher velocity hollow points.

There's also the out of production Taurus PT638.

Tanfoglio makes the FT9 Full Size and Carry. They are blowbacks but considering how big they are I think they are pussycats to shoot.
I don't know if they are imported in the USA.
Tanfoglio also makes them in .32ACP, called the FT7.

zaitcev said:

CP380 is a blowback conversion, just like Bersa BP380 or EAA Witness. What's even more unfortunate, ROXOR is too.

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Ahh, that’s a bummer for sure. I guess the world continues to wait...

SIG has a 10 shot version of the P365 on the way, and the G42 is the last word in excellent .380s.
Yeah, it only holds 6+1, but it is mild to shoot, accurate, great sights, and it works all the damned time. Mine clocks 900'sec with reloads or Gold Dots.
Several ladies of my acquaintance have them, and love them.
If you really need 10 rounds, wait for the SIG.
Moon

Kleanbore said:

Do you know of any loads that meet the FBI recommendations for law enforcement?

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I really don't think that is possible. The FBI protocol involves bare gel and then 5 tests with barriers plus gel with a minimum and maximum penetration depth and an expansion minimum. It doesn't mean that some cannot get close, but ammo manufacturers intent on marketing are not going to advertise that something "almost meets the FBI protocol tests." Most of the YouTube testers relied on by gun forum people only do the bare gel test and the heavy denim test, and then proclaim certain rounds to meet the FBI protocol for penetration depth and minimum expansion. I think that, if one is willing to concede that it will never meet the expansion minimum, the .380 standard velocity Lehigh Xtreme Penetrator would perform admirably and most consistent across all 6 of the tests, even from a 3.2 inch barrel. In my own testing, it does not overpenetrate. But, it will break stuff and still penetrate. I wish I had the time to replicate all 6 of the tests myself, but I do not at this time. MAC did a multi-barrier test (available online) that is the closest I have seen to the FBI protocol tests.

Mosin77 said:

I also discovered that Sig made their P250 as a 15+1 .380.... may have to hunt down one of those unicorns. Or perhaps one of these days they’ll also do a P320 in .380. That would be even better.

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It's an interesting question if the upper of P250 can run over a chassis of P320. Even if the grip differs, it can be 3D-printed, thus yielding a P320 380.

As you can see, the PK380 is the largest. However, I have found that I like the Browning 1911-380 the most.

The PK380 was close to great. They just made some odd decisions, I expect to make it a less expansive pistol. They probably also went with a single stack magazine to try to sell it in restricted states.