Which .380?

Of those three, in my persoonal opinion;

The Walther is a classic, safe, accurate, small but a little on the heavy side.

The P238 is a single action pocket gun and that kills it for me. If it were DA/SA or DAO I'd go for one.

The other Classic is the Sig P232. It is larger but lighter than the Walther and holds more ammo. Lightweight, good sights, accurate, very pointable and reliable the P232 is a very nice pistol. It's the one I'd pick of the three.

+ 1

I love my 232. Out of the 5 .380 pistols I own it is #1 for me.

232 SL for me. Have 3 love them.

238 - PITA - unreliable - sent back to Sig 4 times, last for a replacement, they wanted to try again to fix it. It sits NIB. (replaced with Kahr P380 - wonderful pocket item light etc.)

Looked at the Walthers, but the 232's won out.

232 is significantly larger than the 238 though, and would not be pocket carry material for me.

If you dont mind stepping up a bit in size the Beretta 84 is awesome.

I picked my P232 over a PPK, and have never had any desire for the P238. P232 is just a really well made pistol. Mine has been utterly reliable, and it has enough mass to keep the snap of the .380 from jumping around too much on you (I have the all stainless version, the alloy frame ones are noticeably lighter, but still come in at something like 17-19oz, I think).

The other Classic is the Sig P232. It is larger but lighter than the Walther and holds more ammo. Lightweight, good sights, accurate, very pointable and reliable the P232 is a very nice pistol. It's the one I'd pick of the three.

Click to expand...

What he said.......................!

Of the three, Sig P232.

My favorite is the P232.

I would go with the SIG P232. A friend of mine had one and I was really impressed with the overall fit and finish of the gun. Though a bit too large for pocket carry, the gun felt very well balanced in my hand and pointed effortlessly on target. A very high quality piece.

232 of the three.

Before the Walther, I'd go for a CZ-83.

I'd take the Walther over the Sig, as the Sig is well known for slide bite, and my mitts aren't tiny.

Personally, however, I prefer the Bersa Thunder .380, same size/shape/action as the 232/PPK, but half the price, and just as accurate and reliable. Get two for the price of one, and give one to the wife

The 232 is a fine pistol. It is extremely accurate and recoil is negligible. I've never had one jam on me. Before the small 9mm's and 40's, it had a viable place in the scheme of things. But today I can see no logic in buying one. If I had to have a very small BUG, I would consider one of the tiny .380's. Any thing larger, I would look to the Kahr or similarly sized 9's or .40's. But of the three you mentioned. I have owned them all, and the SIG 232 would be my pick of the three.

Of the three, I would take the 232, but I would take a Beretta 84 or it's near twin, the Browning BDA 380 before any of them.

Of the three, I've only shot the Walther. The Walther is a fine shooter with classic good looks, but the recoil spring seems to be extremely stiff. It takes more effort to pull the slide back on the Walther than it does with my Hi Power. Of course, it isn't my gun.

I've decided to not jump on the .380 bandwagon. Rather, I joined the 9X18 crowd. However, even though the Walther is a nice little gun, if I had gone the way of the .380, I'd have chosen the Sig 232 first, then probably would have bought the Walther as a second .380.

None of the above for a .380. PK380. Light, accurate, 8+1, almost no recoil.

Of your choices, 232, but don't overlook the LCP!

Which .380?

1. Walther PPK? Many claim that there is a biting problem. Others say that today's PPK have reliability issues. I have never fired one. It looks solid...but... the mediocre reviews keep me from buying one. I have handled one...and its weight may be the limit of pocket carry.

2. Sig p232...... great reviews. But not for pocket carry. And if you were going IWB route...might as well get a small 9mm.

3. Sig p238... shoots great. small enough for pocket carry, yet just big enough so that it is easy to hang on too. follow-up shots are easy. However, there are some reliability issues. Its similar to a 1911 design...SAO with a safety lever. Some like this ...some do not. For CCW...I'm not convinced yet. It seems to be a fun range toy...cute and all...but I do not have confidence with it for reliable self-defense use.

4. LCP= super reliable. super easy to conceal. follow up shot are a bit more difficult to to its small size... just make sure not to accidentally press the mag release when pocket carrying (in a holster...of course!)

Out of the four...the LCP gets my vote. But... for back-up use only. An easy pocket carry set up is to carry a j-frame AND to pocket carry and LCP with a spare mag.

I just shot a 232 yesterday. It bit into the web of my hand. I did not like the ergonomics. It also recoiled quite a bit disproportionate to it's size. I guess it was the straight blowback operation.

I like my LCP better.

A Walther PPS is significantly larger than a PPK or P232. Too big for pocket carry for most people.

May i ask why it is that you want a pocket pistol, but you're excluding pocket pistols from your search?

My LCP is very small, light, reliable, and accurate. It seems to be exactly what you're looking for...except you're not looking for it....

With a crimson trace laser the LCP is very accurate. Here is a typical LCP target i shoot at 25 feet off hand. This one was shot with Federal Hydrashok:

I love my Kahr p380. It likes Corbon Powerball the best so far.

In terms of slide bite, note that the newer P232s have altered slide serrations just to try to deal with that issue. This one has never given me issue, but I do have fairly small hands with little meat between thumb and finger for a slide to catch on. Grip selection can also have an effect too.

Dad has a 232, loves it -

Edit - Dad's is the earlier model, the 230.
My dad, a career Navy pilot got a State Dept. job when he was done flying. He was stationed overseas and was required to carry a 9mm Beretta 92 at all times. He chose to also carry a backup gun. He bought a Sig P230 for himself and he carried it in the pocket of his sport coat or jacket pocket most of the time, with no holster. He never put a hand on the 92, but he says the couple times he felt uneasy or suspected he was being followed, he would duck into a small shop or cafe and put his hand in his pocket and just wait around for a while and figure out what to do next. (Sounds cloak & dagger, but if some guys were following him it was more likely to try & rob him, knowing the city he worked in.) He retired in the mid 90's, still has the 230 and still carries it often. He loves it.
I have a Beretta 380 Cheetah 86 with the tip up barrel. I like it a lot though I usually carry a S&W J-frame revolver.

I'm noticing a lack of love for the 238 in here and that's making me wonder if wanting the titanium rainbow is a bad thing. I'll admit that 90% of my desire for one is just thinking it's a very unique looking gun, even though I've never actually seen one in real life. I did hold a 238 with the rosewood grips yesterday, though, and it's a solid feeling little gun. I would hate to spend quite a bit of money on something that is going to be pretty crappy. Would it probably be a better idea to spend not even half that amount on an LCP and invest the rest in ammo and other things?

So glad to see the glowing reviews of my new shooter. Will pick it up this week. It is stainless with Hogue grips. My son has one and have been wanting one for several yrs. Comes with one extra mag and I ordered an extra. Looking forward to practicing with the Sig. My bud just called with 300 more rounds he picked up for me.