.380 quandary
- Thread starter fireman5069
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Mine hasn't cracked and I have even shot Buffalo Bore in it. The problem I have with the Micro Eagle is it's very heavy felt recoil.
I don't know why people keep bringing up pistols like the Sig P230, P232 Browning BDA-380, Bersa Thunder, Beretta 84, CZ 83 and other 380s in these pocket pistol threads because they are not really Pocket Size pistols based on today's pocket pistol standards!
there are now a number of fine 9mm pistols as small or smaller than then the Bersa/Sig 232 380 pistols.
dogtown tom
Member
Why?
Because the OP didn't ask for experiences of recent pocket .380's. Those .380's you listed WERE considered pocket pistols twenty years ago.He asked what .380's have proven reliable over the years.
harmon rabb
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- Mar 14, 2009
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my LCP has never malfunctioned.
Yarddog
Member
My PPK No s & A PMK Hungarian PPK knock off, That I accualy shot more than the Interarms as the site are the same & almost all interchangeable parts ; )
Y/D
Y/D
wow6599
Member
2 of the 3 guns you listed are 9mm (9x19), not .380 Auto (9x17)........only the P-3AT is a .380.
Quoheleth
Member
My taurus 738 has fed everything: WWB, Hornady, Monarch ball & HP, and handloaded Missouri Bullet .380 LRN. Granted, I have not given it an extensively long field test - about a box of each, so a couple hundred rounds total - but so far so good.
But, I gotta admit it - I hate the gun. I would rather shoot full-house 125gr .357 Maggies any day. More than three mags full (21 rounds) and my shooting hand hurts - web, trigger finger, palm, back of hand. I do not like shooting it, but I keep it becasue of what it is - a very discreet pocket carry gun. I know it will work and I shoot it a little every now and then just to make sure I remember how it shoots.
Q
But, I gotta admit it - I hate the gun. I would rather shoot full-house 125gr .357 Maggies any day. More than three mags full (21 rounds) and my shooting hand hurts - web, trigger finger, palm, back of hand. I do not like shooting it, but I keep it becasue of what it is - a very discreet pocket carry gun. I know it will work and I shoot it a little every now and then just to make sure I remember how it shoots.
Q
Llama Micro Max
My Llama Micro Max has been rock solid for many years with few hiccups. It is a true scaled down 1911, the exception being an external extractor and blowback action instead of locked breech. All other parts are pure 1911. I have hot rodded the heck out of it (my reloads duplicate Buffalo Bore numbers) and it goes bang every time I pull the trigger. It feels good in the hand, 7+1, feeds both hollow point and ball equally well, 3 dot sight, extended thumb safety, all steel (no plastic on any of my guns) and is as accurate as I can shoot.
When sheeple hear Llama the comment is usually "stay away, soft metal junk". LLama was not considered a top tier firearms manufacturer (I concur) but it was not junk either. At half the price of current popular pocket .380's it is a true bargain.
My use and evaluation of the Micro Max justifies my conclusion that this gun works well for it's intended purpose.
I think people are missing out on a real sleeper.
Wisoldguy
My Llama Micro Max has been rock solid for many years with few hiccups. It is a true scaled down 1911, the exception being an external extractor and blowback action instead of locked breech. All other parts are pure 1911. I have hot rodded the heck out of it (my reloads duplicate Buffalo Bore numbers) and it goes bang every time I pull the trigger. It feels good in the hand, 7+1, feeds both hollow point and ball equally well, 3 dot sight, extended thumb safety, all steel (no plastic on any of my guns) and is as accurate as I can shoot.
When sheeple hear Llama the comment is usually "stay away, soft metal junk". LLama was not considered a top tier firearms manufacturer (I concur) but it was not junk either. At half the price of current popular pocket .380's it is a true bargain.
My use and evaluation of the Micro Max justifies my conclusion that this gun works well for it's intended purpose.
I think people are missing out on a real sleeper.
Wisoldguy
harmon rabb
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lulz at cz-83 being a pocket gun.
kulprit
Member
My Bersa is fairly new but I've been giving it a heavy work out. Several hundred rounds without a single hiccup. It's not as pocketable as a p3AT or LCP, but I can put 100 rounds through it and it'll be as accurate and comfortable to shoot on #300 as it was on #1
RELIABLE 380 means BERETTA
My experience with the .380ACP caliber has been that the smaller the gun, the more finicky or less reliable.
The large size BERETTA model 84 or 85 double action .380 pistols are as reliable as the 9m.m. model 92 in my experience. I have not had any trouble at all with mine. The open top design makes
My experience with the SIG 230 is more limited. It is not a reliable as the BERETTA and will jam. Not often, but it will happen.
I have not used the WALTHER series, but I have spoken with enough users to believe they are like the SIG. They work most of the time, but not all the time like the BERETTA.
I have found the old BROWNING 1910 and COLT 1908 Pocket Pistol to be very reliable with ball ammo (full metal jacket). They may or may not work with hollow point. They both are lacking in the sights department, expecially the BROWNING.
Just my experience.
Hope it helps.
Jim
My experience with the .380ACP caliber has been that the smaller the gun, the more finicky or less reliable.
The large size BERETTA model 84 or 85 double action .380 pistols are as reliable as the 9m.m. model 92 in my experience. I have not had any trouble at all with mine. The open top design makes
My experience with the SIG 230 is more limited. It is not a reliable as the BERETTA and will jam. Not often, but it will happen.
I have not used the WALTHER series, but I have spoken with enough users to believe they are like the SIG. They work most of the time, but not all the time like the BERETTA.
I have found the old BROWNING 1910 and COLT 1908 Pocket Pistol to be very reliable with ball ammo (full metal jacket). They may or may not work with hollow point. They both are lacking in the sights department, expecially the BROWNING.
Just my experience.
Hope it helps.
Jim
Jed Carter
Member
It's not a .380 but the Beretta 950 jetfire .25acp is real shooter, the SIG P232 is a real performer in .380 but rather large for pocket carry. The SIG P238 has had some teething problems, is over priced IMO, but mine is a fine pistol, I trust it to function and hit the mark out to 20 yds. I only pocket carry if there is no way to holster carry concealed either a SIG P239 .357SIG or my trusty CZ PCR 9mm. IMO anything you carry should have tritium night sights.
gordonagain
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- Oct 26, 2009
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Another Kel-Tec here. Mine is completely reliable and as accurate as I am. I don't find the recoil to be particularly bothersome either and I'm not immune to recoil.
I've had a horrible time with my kel-tec 380. I guess I got an unlucky gun, although its definitely the company's fault too. It recently just got back from its 2nd trip to the factory, which was because the assembly pin spring was out of place and the pin wouldn't settle. Also, even before that happened it was still jamming. So I shoot some rounds through it, the pin pops out, and the slide/barrel fall out. The recoil spring guide was lost. So I'm pretty po'd towards keltec.
I am looking for a good 380, perhaps taurus or ruger lcp. There is no sense getting a larger model to me, due to the smaller 9mm pistols these days (i do own a p-11 which has done fairly well). Especially due to price of ammo, 380 is usually more expensive and rare. So i want it to be small, for a comfortable BUG.
Still not sure what to do. If the kel tec got fixed (after 6 years of being junk) it would fit nicely.
I am looking for a good 380, perhaps taurus or ruger lcp. There is no sense getting a larger model to me, due to the smaller 9mm pistols these days (i do own a p-11 which has done fairly well). Especially due to price of ammo, 380 is usually more expensive and rare. So i want it to be small, for a comfortable BUG.
Still not sure what to do. If the kel tec got fixed (after 6 years of being junk) it would fit nicely.
hawkeye10
Member
I like my Kahr P380 because it is light and has a good trigger. It's long but oh so smooth. I like the Sig 238 but it is a little heavier and I am left handed so the safety won't work for me. I have had several Kel-Tec's and the trigger's are hard. In fact I still have one Kel-Tec a 32 cal. Donrellascout
member
Another vote for the Beretta 84/85 / Browning BDA. Not the smallest but they are some of the best 380 autos ever made IMHO.
They are 100% reliable and are silky smooth shooters.
They are 100% reliable and are silky smooth shooters.
bigtexhoss
Member
The Sig 230 or 232 is a nice gun, but I couldn't shoot the side of a barn with it. Most inaccurate gun I've ever shot.
I think a lot of the *new* stuff on the market is junk. I won't ever buy Taurus again.
I just bought a BDA and it will be a keeper for life.
I think a lot of the *new* stuff on the market is junk. I won't ever buy Taurus again.
I just bought a BDA and it will be a keeper for life.
FLAvalanche
Member
I have two .380s. A Bersa and a Taurus PT-138 Millenium Pro.
The Bersa is accurate, reliable when using factory magazines and has never failed me and is one of my carry guns.
The Taurus is a piece of garbage that can't shoot minute of pie plate at 20 feet from a rest, has made three agonizing trips back to Taurus and still shoots as crappy as the day it came out of the box. The only good things I can say about it are it's capacity and that it eats anything you feed it.
The Bersa is accurate, reliable when using factory magazines and has never failed me and is one of my carry guns.
The Taurus is a piece of garbage that can't shoot minute of pie plate at 20 feet from a rest, has made three agonizing trips back to Taurus and still shoots as crappy as the day it came out of the box. The only good things I can say about it are it's capacity and that it eats anything you feed it.
RidgwayCO
Member
My first-ever centerfire pistol was a Beretta 84FS, and I learned reloading by trying to keep it fed. Then I bought a Bersa Series 95, liked it a lot, and sold the Beretta. Then I bought a Kel-Tec P3AT. I liked how easy it was to carry, but I ended up selling it because it just plain hurt to shoot it. I then bought a Beretta 84 and Beretta 86, the 84 because I'd missed the 84FS ever since I'd sold it and the 86 because I was intrigued by the idea of a tip-up barrel for use in my old age. My most recent purchase is a Kahr P380 with the black diamond slide, which went with me to the range today. Wow! Perfect functioning for the first 500 rounds, soft shooting (with its locked-breach system), and more accurate than it has any right to be.
I'll keep all of the .380s in my current stable, and they'll even get to go to the range now and then. But the Kahr P380 (in its DeSantis Nemesis holster) is the one that goes in my pocket now, everyday.
I'll keep all of the .380s in my current stable, and they'll even get to go to the range now and then. But the Kahr P380 (in its DeSantis Nemesis holster) is the one that goes in my pocket now, everyday.
Another vote for the browning BDA. I have had one FTF (failure to fire) caused by my tendancy to ride the slide with my thumb. Anyway i have put roughly 2800-3000 rounds through this gun. I purchased it used so i don't know total round count. anyway for a gun with over 3k through it still shoots like a champ and is more accurate than I ever expected. It shoots anything that I throw at it no problems. When .380 ammo was scarce i shot whatever i could get my hands on.
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