fireman5069 I have seen posts on this site in regards to problems with a lot of the "latest and greatest" pocket .380's. Seems the market is flooded with these little pistols now in light of concealed carry laws. My question is... what were people shooting in .380 just a few years ago that were very reliable. I know that most manufacturers will repair/replace their product if found defective but even the major players, Ruger, S&W, Taurus,etc. have had their respective recalls. Tell me what brands/models of .380 that has proven reliable for you over the years.
The "problems" you read about are due to a couple of factors:
1. Manufacturers are in a rush to get product in the dealers hands before someone else does. Marketing and sales are prioritized, design and function are not. Quality control is affected by the pricepoint.
2. SIZE- the current crop of .380 are overwhelmingly tiny. The rise in the number of concealed handgun licensees + the (now expired) AWB led to a market for small handguns. Rather than large capacity mags, the concealed carrier wanted something small enough to hide easily.
3. WHINERS- thirty years ago if your gun didn't work as you thought it should you took it back to the store. Today you do that and then go post on the internet what a peice o' junk the GloSigTec 2000 is. Yours may have been one of 2,000 that was returned but forum readers don't know that. Irate customers complain often and repeatedly, happy customers don't go on them innnernets to find others with problems.
I've owned a number of .380's since I was fifteen and bought my first .380 pistol (a Remington 51)
I still own and shoot:
Remington Model 51 (still my favorite)
Colt Series '80 Government Model
Browning BDA
Star Super SM
FN Model 1922
FN/Browning Model 1910/55
to name a few.....
All those are fairly large compared to my current .380 carry gun, a Kahr P380.
I wouldn't hesitate to take any of the above on a walk around town- but the Kahr is lighter, smaller and just as effective. My Kahr PM9 is smaller and lighter than any of the .380's above.
Is the tradeoff between size worth it? Yes, if the micro gun works, it works. Those other .380 designs were great, but larger and heavier- some required a belt holster.