380 pocket carry choice

FWIW I'm "the guy" that had a negative experience with the LCP. Mine was trash. Worse than either of my Taurus TCPs. I pocket carry a Beretta Pico. It's definitely a flavor however. True hammer fired DAO, miniscule grip, real metal sights, hinged magazine release, and (what seems to me) a higher quality manufacture overall. This pistol was heavily maligned when it came out but it ticked off a lot of boxes that other guns couldn't. True DAO meant something to me.

I have the original LCP .380 and have been carrying it regularly for over a decade and while I know what it is (and isn’t) in terms of power, as far as reliability and concealability it's been 100%. I actually set out on a quest to find a brand of ammunition it wouldn't cycle reliably and failed. I even bought some steel cased Russian 9mm Kurz something or other (Russian .380) and it looked horrendous, like it was homemade ammo and packaging. It was like $6/50rd box and I thought if anything would fail in that LCP it would be that. Nope......... I would buy the LCP with confidence although I have no experience with the newer iterations but am told they are excellent as well....

Nothing special but packs anywhere and is reliable, could be had for under $200 a couple years ago, when I bought mine I believe it was 2009 around the time they just came out and started competing directly with the Kel Tec P3AT and it was $385ish.

SeanSw said:

True DAO meant something to me.

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I hear this. I love true DAO pistols, but I don't currently own any. Why? Because I have more than one carry gun and, for me anyway, changing triggers doesn't work well. If you like DA/SA or striker SA, you can easily find your summer and winter (and whatever else) guns with the same trigger, but it's difficult, if not impossible to do it with DAO. Unfortunately, true DAO triggers are like standard transmissions; nobody wants to put the effort into learning them these days.

For pocket carry, I’m not comfortable with striker fired handguns. That probably puts me in the minority but I’m not concerned. My pocket carry handguns in 380 are a Beretta Pico, Remington RM380, and a Sig P238. Also have two pocket carry DAO revolvers.

+ one on the Colt Mustang Pocket Lite, it's my favorite hot summer day carry piece.

Been down this road and back again. After Beretta 950s and NAA Mini revos, the KelTec .32 was a revelation, the P3AT/LCP even more so. Snappy buggers to shoot, really small, and in a somewhat viable caliber.
The G42 is a better alternative; real sights, reliable, pleasant to shoot, and plainly made for a lot of shooting...something that isn't true of the P3AT/LCP.
Then came the 365; scarcely bigger than the 42, stone reliable, 9mm, pleasant shooting, rotsa shots.
So now I have the LCP, the Glock, and the SIG, just depending how concealable the gun has to be.
Tried the LCPII/Max for their more striker-like triggers, but experienced trigger bite from both, which the original doesn't display for me. Shot a Pico; awful ergos, dreadful trigger. Liked the size, feel, sights, and quality of the Kahr, but it takes two men and a boy to rack it; never clear a jam in a pinch.
Not a fan of cocked and locked pocket guns.
Moon

I like my Ruger LCP as a drop-in-the-pocket errand gun. The Glock 42 is also good, but it's much bigger. The primary attraction to the LCP is the overall size in a DeSantis Super Fly. It just disappears with 7 rounds of 380 onboard.

It's not designed for pocket carry but I've no problem with the Beretta Cheetah 85FS in a pocket holster when I'm wearing pants with large front pockets. Even the all-steel weight of it doesn't bother me.

Zeabed

I believe that the Beretta Model 85 has an aluminum alloy frame. It helps to keep the weight of the gun down to around 24 oz.

SeanSw said:

FWIW I'm "the guy" that had a negative experience with the LCP. Mine was trash. Worse than either of my Taurus TCPs. I pocket carry a Beretta Pico. It's definitely a flavor however. True hammer fired DAO, miniscule grip, real metal sights, hinged magazine release, and (what seems to me) a higher quality manufacture overall. This pistol was heavily maligned when it came out but it ticked off a lot of boxes that other guns couldn't. True DAO meant something to me.

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I am that guy too. I got a new stock LCP I and it was trash. Sold it.

DustyGmt said:

I have the original LCP .380 and have been carrying it regularly for over a decade and while I know what it is (and isn’t) in terms of power, as far as reliability and concealability it's been 100%. I actually set out on a quest to find a brand of ammunition it wouldn't cycle reliably and failed. I even bought some steel cased Russian 9mm Kurz something or other (Russian .380) and it looked horrendous, like it was homemade ammo and packaging. It was like $6/50rd box and I thought if anything would fail in that LCP it would be that. Nope......... I would buy the LCP with confidence although I have no experience with the newer iterations but am told they are excellent as well....

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I’ll say it again, new issue LCP I’s from the new factory appear to have more issues than original LCP I’s. People continue to recommend them based on the old ones.

skippy1729 said:

I'm in the market for one… I like 1911 style pistols. Sig P238 or Kimber Micro 380 are attractive. A few questions:
…
2. Anyone have input on reliability of any of these?

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Among my EDC rotation, I’ve pocket carried the Sig P238 about 6 or 7 years. Over that time I’ve probably put about 200 rounds through it; reliable and accurate. I shoot the SA better than the DAO’s that are in the rotation (RM380, P3AT).
The P238 is now “semi-retired” in favor of a Sig P938. Slightly larger, 9mm, 7+1 with the extended magazines.
And I’ve never handled one, but the Springfield 911 looks to be another equivalent choice.

I too have an LCP that has become a favorite for pocket carry.

SeanSw said:

True DAO meant something to me.

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Just curious, what is this distinction and how is the LCP not a "true DAO"?

In a true DAO the firing system is completely deenergized until the long and generally heavy trigger is pulled. It will have restrike capability. The original LCP is partially cocked and the II and max are fully. None of the LCP have restrike.

Owned a P3AT and a TCP, both are long gone, but the TCP was definitely the better of the two and it wasn’t close. The wife had a S&W Bodyguard. It was more accurate than the TCP, but the TCP had a better trigger. It’s long gone as well.

The CW380 was mentioned earlier, I have it’s bigger brother, the CW9. Small, light, reliable, easy to shoot, why carry a 380 when 9 can be just as easily concealed?

mrray13 said:

why carry a 380 when 9 can be just as easily concealed?

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Physical limitations, for one thing.

DustyGmt said:

Just curious, what is this distinction and how is the LCP not a "true DAO"?

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Unclenunzie gave a great answer! True dao is one of the reasons people rate the pico so poorly in regards to the trigger. Ergonomically it's very small and awkward removing any mechanical advantage to the trigger pull, and being dao it will always be heavier than the other guns it's compared too. If the LCP and others weren't pre cocked the playing field would be more even.

I liked the trigger pull on my TCP a lot and could shoot it reasonably well with less effort than the pico, it just wasn't as reliable. I also don't like button mag releases on pocket guns.

Understood. Yeah I've never really excelled at shooting DAO revolvers but always made sure to practice DA when shooting revolvers. The LCP of mine I've shot periodically throughout the last decade, I'd say I've probably shot mine a heck of a lot more than most people shoot theirs since I carry it in my sweaty pocket pretty much year round and don't like to keep the same mag full for too long and when I expel those rounds to make room for new I always dust off the ol pocket rocket and shoot as much as my hands can bear.

For a tiny lil gun, and having pretty large hands, I actually shoot it quite well. I'm very familiar with the trigger and I think it's actually pretty decent. Has gotten better with time. I usually snap off 7rds one handed at about 5-7ft and then move back to around 15ft and can make a pretty tight group. I'm happy with it.

If I'm being honest I prefer my glock 43 and it will fit in some of my pockets but the LCP typically goes with me on some days out of laziness and convenience. It's all I can stand to carry while I'm working, doing electrical. I know a plumber who carries and doesn't care who sees it, I'm not that guy. I care.

(Eta) my uncle had a buddy who was breaking in his P3AT about 15 years ago. We pulled down his driveway while he was doing his break in "procedure" and it litterally sounded like lil 6-7rd bursts of full auto. When we pulled into view of Troy, he was sitting in a lawn chair with a 250rd case of UMC .380 and was about halfway through it, I didn't think much of it then but then after shooting that type of gun I wondered how in the actual hell did he shoot it so fast and for so many rounds. He was litterally just putting them into the dirt and he didn't seem fatigued at all, just very nonchalantly pumping a case of .380 through this tiny lil gun and doing it at speeds I didn't even think possible.......

mrray13 said:

Owned a P3AT and a TCP, both are long gone, but the TCP was definitely the better of the two and it wasn’t close. The wife had a S&W Bodyguard. It was more accurate than the TCP, but the TCP had a better trigger. It’s long gone as well.

The CW380 was mentioned earlier, I have it’s bigger brother, the CW9. Small, light, reliable, easy to shoot, why carry a 380 when 9 can be just as easily concealed?

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I also rank the tcp>lcp. Considerably so in my experience.

Ive had several Mustangs and P238s. Always regret selling one and buy another, it seems.....
Mine have all been very reliable. I can only remember a handful of FTE with one P238, but it was brand-spanky new and I was probably limp-wristing it a bit. After break-in it ran like a German train.

Had a Pico too, and it was great. I liked how all the small parts were steel. The paddle mag release wasn't an issue for me at all. Am looking for another now.

Currently have a P938 (main CCW) and a Colt .380 Govt. in the rotation. Both have been ultra reliable and very shootable.

The new S&W CSX is tempting, especially if you have largish hands.

sgt127 said:

No idea if Remington still makes them but, I’ve been very pleased with my RM380.

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The RM380 ergonomics are interesting. I tried at least a dozen different 380 and the RM380's with the finger extension magazine seems unusually comfortable for my hands. Can even tell mine blindfolded. It is unfortunate they are (at this time) out of production.

I have a little Tarus spectrum. Great for pocket carry. Pretty accurate too for a little gun. A lot of the accuracy is from me shooting it often. Got the ''feel'' for it.