California Kahr P380

[BruiseLee]

I'm on the fence about picking up one of these. I've read and watched a lot of video reviews on the regular Kahr P380. Most guys seem to think it is a quality gun with a very good trigger pull. Though I've seen a fair amount of disturbing reports of reliability issues.

I really haven't seen any reports of the California legal P380 with the chamber loaded indicator and the manual safety. Has anyone actually shot one of these?

The main reason I'm interested in this gun is as far as I know it is the only polymer .380 available for sale in California. No Keltecs, S&W 380 Bodyguards, Ruger LCPs, Taurus TCPS approved in this state.

A real problem I have with this gun is the price. It is like 2.5 times the price of the other guns I just listed. Kahr doesn't even bother to give you two magazines at that price. Very low bang for your buck. CW380 not approved for sale here.

Don't try to talk me into a small 9mm. I already have a baby Glock 26. I also have a Beretta Tomcat, but that thing is only a .32, weighs significantly more than the new generations of .380s, and I'm afraid to shoot it a lot due to it's problem with frame cracking. Already spoke to Beretta reps at SHOT Show two years in a row, they refuse to admit there is a problem with the gun and will not exchange it for an INOX.

Not ready to move yet unless someone wants to guarantee me a 6 figure salary elsewhere.

So, is this gun worth the high price of admission? Or, should I pass?

 

[AustinTX]

My P380 has been an unmitigated nightmare. Four return trips to the factory, two frame replacements, every other part but the bare slide replaced at least once, and it's still not reliable. I've still got time under the warranty, so I should probably dust off the useless piece of junk and see if Kahr has figured out the answer with this model over the last couple of years.

My only hope for a suitable pocket .380 at this point is for the Pico to be a winner. None of the other ones work for me.

 

[Lucky Derby]

I sold several when I worked at a gun shop outside of Sacramento. Never had any complaints. One of my co workers carried one until he replaced it with a SSE S&W Shield 9mm.
You could SSE one of the other models you mentioned if you do it before the end of the year.

 

[railroader]

I'm on the fence about picking up one of these. I've read and watched a lot of video reviews on the regular Kahr P380. Most guys seem to think it is a quality gun with a very good trigger pull. Though I've seen a fair amount of disturbing reports of reliability issues.

I really haven't seen any reports of the California legal P380 with the chamber loaded indicator and the manual safety. Has anyone actually shot one of these?

The main reason I'm interested in this gun is as far as I know it is the only polymer .380 available for sale in California. No Keltecs, S&W 380 Bodyguards, Ruger LCPs, Taurus TCPS approved in this state.

A real problem I have with this gun is the price. It is like 2.5 times the price of the other guns I just listed. Kahr doesn't even bother to give you two magazines at that price. Very low bang for your buck. CW380 not approved for sale here.

Don't try to talk me into a small 9mm. I already have a baby Glock 26. I also have a Beretta Tomcat, but that thing is only a .32, weighs significantly more than the new generations of .380s, and I'm afraid to shoot it a lot due to it's problem with frame cracking. Already spoke to Beretta reps at SHOT Show two years in a row, they refuse to admit there is a problem with the gun and will not exchange it for an INOX.

Not ready to move yet unless someone wants to guarantee me a 6 figure salary elsewhere.

So, is this gun worth the high price of admission? Or, should I pass?

You know until the end of the year you can get pretty much get any gun you want through a single shot exemption. There is a cheaper model 380 kahr, the CW380. If you are in southern cal Ammo Paradise has them for around $350. http://www.ammoparadise.com/firearms/handguns/kahr/kahr-cw380-380acp-2-58-blk-poly-matt-ss-cw3833/ka-cw3833

 

[Galactic Marine]

I like the Kahrs but in the store I couldn't get the P380 to point right. The sights just wouldn't line up naturally for me so I passed.

 

[AFK]

I had a P380 that I could not trust. It went back to Kahr and they replaced the frame. It was still a piece of junk.. Sold it off at a loss and bought a Sig P238 and couldn't be happier.

 

[kokapelli]

How about the S&W Bodyguard?

 

[stchman]

I'm assuming that you are one of the lucky few in California that has a CCW?

If yes and Kahr is the only approved small 380, you are painted into a corner.

 

[dogtown tom]

BruiseLee ..... Kahr doesn't even bother to give you two magazines at that price. Very low bang for your buck. CW380 not approved for sale here.....

The P series pistols always ship with TWO magazines, the C series have typically only included one magazine.

 

[BruiseLee]

Thanks for all the helpful replies. If this gun were in the price range of the Ruger LCP I think I would take a chance, but it seems like too many guys here consider it a piece of junk.

Regarding the single shot exemption. No one I could find in SoCal was doing that kind of work on .380's. Actually, one of the smiths talked me out of it. He said if I ever actually had to use said gun in a self defense situation, the California District attorneys would crucify me, saying that I had to go out of state and modify the gun gun to make it extra deadly and that I must be a nut job because none of the other guns for sale in Cali were good enough for me. Unfortunately, that is the way things are in my state. If I were African-American or gay and treated like this, I could probably win some nice lawsuits.

Might have to wait until I retire and move out of state before I get one of these. Again, the Bodyguard and CW380 are evil guns banned in Cali.

 

[Quiet]

You have until the end of the year, to obtain an off-Roster pistol via the single-shot pistol exemption.
On 01-01-2015, new laws go into effect that change what kinds of handguns are eligible for the single-shot pistol exemption to CA unsafe handgun laws.

Currently, people in CA have been using the single-shot pistol exemption to legally obtain handguns that are not listed on the CA DOJ Roster of Handguns Certified for Sale.

An off-Roster pistol is modified so that it qualifies as a dimensionally compliant single-shot pistol.
After it is transferred (4473/DROS/10 day wait), the owner modifies it back to it's original form.
Currently CA FFL dealers add on around $10-100 (depending on the type and how rare the pistol is) to the cost of the handgun for the single-shot pistol modification.

Example...
Ruger LCP that has been modified to qualify for the single-shot pistol exemption to be transferred.

 

[Quiet]

If you say where about in CA you are located in, I may be able to direct you to a CA FFL dealer that does/stocks single-shot exempt pistols.

Local CA FFL dealer has single-shot exempt .380ACP Glock 42 for $475.

 

[Skylerbone]

Not to be flippant but North Dakota. Paid moving expenses, training, great wages, gun friendlier and far lower taxes. If you hunt, that's just a serious bonus as well.

As far as Kahr goes, I've never had a problem with mine or known anyone on a personal basis who did though there are always a fair number of threads detailing the opposite.

 

[BruiseLee]

Quiet, I'm in the Los Angeles area.

 

[Lucky Derby]

Thanks for all the helpful replies. If this gun were in the price range of the Ruger LCP I think I would take a chance, but it seems like too many guys here consider it a piece of junk.

Regarding the single shot exemption. No one I could find in SoCal was doing that kind of work on .380's. Actually, one of the smiths talked me out of it. He said if I ever actually had to use said gun in a self defense situation, the California District attorneys would crucify me, saying that I had to go out of state and modify the gun gun to make it extra deadly and that I must be a nut job because none of the other guns for sale in Cali were good enough for me. Unfortunately, that is the way things are in my state. If I were African-American or gay and treated like this, I could probably win some nice lawsuits.

Might have to wait until I retire and move out of state before I get one of these. Again, the Bodyguard and CW380 are evil guns banned in Cali.

The smith doesn't know what he is talking about.

 

[45kindaguy]

I just purchased the P380 (California) for my wife and I too was worried about the reliability. The gun shop assured me I would not have issues. I read about the 200 round break in period, so I racked that slide back and forth about 400 times and left the slide locked back for 3 days. I also cleaned and lubed it prior. I bought 100 rounds of American Eagle 95grn round nose and took it out. All 100 rounds fed through that little Kahr smoothly. No jams, FTF, stove pipes...Nothing!!! I was relieved. I am going to try some flat nose which I have read it does not like. I will post my results.