Colt Mustang .380 owners - how do you rate them?

[Daguerre]

Wow, there are some variations on the Mustang. I understand the blue vs. SS and steel vs. LW frames.

But what are the differences in: Mustang, Mustang II, Mustang Plus II, some are series 80, can anyone help me sort these out? Are there different grip lengths (5 rnd, 6rnd, 7 rnd?) are some like a series 70 (no firing pin safety) and some with the series 80 FP safety?

I'm a big Colt 1911 loyalist and if the Mustang .380 is a first rate and ultra reliable pistol, I may go that route for a pocket gun. Are they ultra-reliable??? Mustang owners, what do you say?

 

[Daguerre]

Well.. I'm edging closer to buying a pocket pistol and think I'd like a Colt Mustang .380.

Wow, there are some variations on the Mustang. I understand the blue vs. SS and steel vs. LW frames.

But what are the differences in: Mustang, Mustang II, Mustang Plus II, some are series 80, can anyone help me sort these out? Are there different grip lengths (5 rnd, 6rnd, 7 rnd?) are some like a series 70 (no firing pin safety) and some with the series 80 FP safety?

I'm a big Colt 1911 loyalist and if the Mustang .380 is a first rate and ultra reliable pistol, I may go that route for a pocket gun. Are they ultra-reliable??? Mustang owners, what do you say?

 

[Steelharp]

I had one... I really, really wanted to like it, because I am a Colt guy. I just wasn't fond of the .380... and, once in a while, the mag fell out after a shot. I finally sold it, and found a Pocket Nine. I love it!

Mikey D...

 

[blades67]

...what are the differences in: Mustang, Mustang II, Mustang Plus II, some are series 80, can anyone help me sort these out? Are there different grip lengths (5 rnd, 6rnd, 7 rnd?) are some like a series 70 (no firing pin safety) and some with the series 80 FP safety?

The Government Model .380 is the largest of the Colt .380's and used a barrel bushing like the 1911's. The Mustang is a compact model and the Mustang Plus II has the Government Model frame with the shorter Mustang slide. The PocketLite models have an Aluminum alloy frame. Blue and Stainless were available. All models were of Series 80 type. The Government Model and the Mustang Plus II have a seven round magazine capacity and the Mustang six.

I have a Mustang and a Mustang PocketLite, great pistols. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a good belly gun. You don't have enough money to buy mine though, I just wouldn't part with them.

The popular term now is pocketgun, but I had belly guns before gunrag hacks started calling them pocketguns because they were too fat to wedge a pistol into their waistband.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

I have the Mustang Plus II and it is an outstanding firearm. It was frequently used as a CCW gun until I acquired a Glock 27.

 

[JohnKSa]

Stainless Mustangs??? I didn't know they existed.

The Mustangs are neat little guns.

Unlike most 380s, they operate from a locked breech which means that recoil is lighter than expected in such a small gun.

And they are SMALL. The Mustang is smaller in every dimension than the Walther PPK. I believe the +II Mustang may have a slightly longer grip than the PPK but it's still thinner and shorter.

The locked breech also means that the recoil spring can be lighter than what's found on the typical blowback .380. That a Mustang an excellent gun for a person who is recoil shy or has low hand strength or arthritis, etc.

If you don't mind a single action pocket gun, they should be at or near the top of the list.

Some issues.

You may need to polish the feedramp to insure function with some ammo.

There was a recall on some of the older models--can't remember the info now.

Sights are very small.

If you can find one, buy it.

 

[Daguerre]

Blades... thanks so much for the input. I'm beginning to know these Mustangs better. I'm still a bit confused, however.

When you say "Government" frame, what size difference is that to the standard Mustang... like a full size 1911 Government frame? Longer grip length to accomodate an extra round or two?

What about Mustang II vs. Mustand Plus II - what difference is there?

I take it that all the Mustang slides are the same length, but the grip lengths differ.... by two sizes, std. and Govt. right? Any idea what measurements they are?

Thanks so much.

 

[COK]

I have had a Mustang Pocketlite for several years and have never had a single problem,
The Pocketlite is very small and light weight, it is like having a billfold with you.
My manual shows the Government models with a 3 1/4 barrel, 7 rd magazine while the
Mustangs have a 2 3/4 ,6 rd except for the plus II that has a 7 rd magazine.
If you want a small .380 this is a good one.

 

[concerned citizen]

blades gave you some good info.

The 3 series were mustang,mustang PLUS II, and government 380.

The PLUS II has a 1/2in longer grip frame 7rd cap. and the short mustang slide.

The Government 380 is like a true mini 1911 with the barrel bushing etc. it has a 1/2in longer grip frame and a 1/2in longer slide than the standard mustang. The government is still smaller than a S&W j-frame.

All three were made in blue,stainless and nickel.
I like the PLUS II as a shooter. There is a stainless one on gun broker for I think $350.00 which is a nice price.

I have a nib Government pocketlite, a SM&A custom stainless mustang and a Pocketlite PLUS II.

Colt did not make POCKETLITE PLUS II, I took a PLUS II slide assembly andhad some work done to it, and put it on a Pocketlite Government 380 slide.

Now I have one sweet shootin 8 shot PLUS II pocketlite that could be the only one in exisance

They a great little pocketguns, if you are familar with the s/a cocked and locked manual of arms you will love these little guns.

 

[IRock]

I have a pocketlight. The gun has been 100% reliable and is put together pretty well. It has fed many different types of hollow points with out failure. It fits in the pocket real nice too. The only problem is I never carry it. I feel if I'm going to carry I want something with some power. If you feel comfortable with a .380 though I would get one. It is a nice gun and a .380 is better than no gun if you should ever need it. Is Colt making these again by the way? I figured they are not as I saw one at a show recently for $500 and change.

 

[Sprout]

Colt Mustang .380 owners seem like nice guys, I'd give them four Stars

 

[Matthew Courtney]

I have a blued Mustang .380 that I bought new at Wal-Mart about 12 years ago. Reliability was spotty with hollow points until I had the chamber throated. It is very reliable now, and suprisingly accurate for a pistol its size. It has an excellent trigger.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I have a gov 380. It is just a miniture government model, just like a conventional 45 1911. It is a fun gun to shoot, reasonably accurate, very reliable and very low recoil. My only complaint is that I tend to baby it because Colt is no longer making them. Mine is all steel and well made, but I do not want to break it. I use it for carry when my P7PSP would be to big. (Usually for suit and tie events).

Excellent guns, I would easily buy another if I saw it.

 

[Kentucky Rifle]

I like my Mustang Pocketlite a lot...

Ivory grips and a shark skin belt holster. It's just the way I am. I wish I had the all steel model, too.

KR

 

[LWCmdr45]

I have a stainless/alloy Mustang Pocketlite used as a BUG and my wife uses a stainless Government for a CCW. Both have been 100% reliable. The wife is considering moving up a step in power to a Kahr 9x19mm., but I'll always keep my Pocketlite as it conceals better in a jeans pocket than a J-frame snubby.

Steve

 

[2dogs]

Bought my Colt because it was the smallest .380 the gun shop had.

It has a great feel in my hand, shoots reliably and accurately and I don't think I've had it malfunction yet.

It's also a little on the heavy side. Breaks down easily for cleaning and (usually) goes back together easily, but there can be a problem getting it back together if you don't carefully follow instruction ( the ejector? has to be in correct position or it gets screwed up).

Also, I'm not a big fan of carrying an SA semi auto and that is the biggest drawback for me. But I carry this more than any other I have.

 

[Keith]

I've owned a number of pocket guns, but was never satisfied with any of them. I mean, there was always "something". Either they bit the web of my hand, were inaccurate, had reliability issues, horrible trigger pulls - always something! I traded some and bought others, always looking for the right one.

Then, along came the Mustang Pocketlite and there were just no issues to address! It's oddly accurate for such a small gun, really fun to shoot, absolutely reliable and SMALL!

And best of all, the controls all duplicate my 1911 style guns. I think that's important because when the excrement hits the oscillating device and the adrenaline and fear kicks in, you're not going to want to have to think about the manual of arms and have to remember that on "this gun", the safety is here or there, or pushes up or down, etc. It's all the same drill and it's all relegated to muscle memory.

The prices on these are going up all the time, but plunking down $400 for a gun you'll use all your life still strikes me as better than plunking down half that for a gun you won't really like.

Keith

 

[QB]

My Mustang Lady Elite and Pony Pockelite have been 100%. I carry the DAO Pony and shoot the Mustang at the range.

I use Winchester Ranger SXT (tip of the round has a black coating) when I carry the Pony and they run flawlessly.

I'm looking for another LE or a stainless pocketlight Mustang or Gov .380 for a friend. She shot my Lady Elite at the range today and at the end of the range session I noticed it was not in my range bag.....it had "somehow" ended up in her purse (of course I made her give it back)!!!!!!

Lady Elite

Pony Pocketlite in DeSantis pocket holster

 

[Daguerre]

Hey guys... I found a nice little blue Mustang at the gunshow this weekend. Picked it up with one factory magazine, but no box or manual, for $410. The gun has a little pocket wear, but doesn't appear to have been fired much. No rust, nice condition. Seems like a reasonable price given today's climate for Mustangs.

I have a couple of questions:

When I rack the slide to load the first round off the magazine, I often get a partially chambered round, not fully chambered. But every round from a less than full magazine chambers just fine. Could it be that there is too much pressure from the full mag, making full chambering a little more difficult? I do find that with aggressive slingshotting of the slide that the first round off the mag will chamber ok... usually. Any thoughts?

Also, my Mustang is a Series 80 (has the firing pin safety mechanism)... given this design, would you carry one of these with a round in the chamber, cocked and locked, loose in a pocket? How about round chambered, in a pocket holster, C&L? And in a hip holster, C&L?

Haven't shot it yet, but will post range report when I have.

 

[Daguerre]

Hey guys... I found a nice little blue Mustang at the gunshow this weekend. Picked it up with one factory magazine, but no box or manual, for $410. The gun has a little pocket wear, but doesn't appear to have been fired much. No rust, nice condition. Seems like a reasonable price given today's climate for Mustangs.

I have a couple of questions:

When I rack the slide to load the first round off the magazine, I often get a partially chambered round, not fully chambered. But every round from a less than full magazine chambers just fine. Could it be that there is too much pressure from the full mag, making full chambering a little more difficult? I do find that with aggressive slingshotting of the slide that the first round off the mag will chamber ok... usually. Any thoughts?

Also, my Mustang is a Series 80 (has the firing pin safety mechanism)... given this design, would you carry one of these with a round in the chamber, cocked and locked, loose in a pocket? How about round chambered, in a pocket holster, C&L? And in a hip holster, C&L?

Haven't shot it yet, but will post range report when I have.

 

[concerned citizen]

Daguerre

Sounds like a good price to me.

I insert a loaded mag woth the slide locked back,hammer cocked and saftey on, I then drop the slide to strip the round. Then I top the mag off.

I would not carry any gun loose in my pocket, for a number of reasons, but the top two would be the gun would never be in the proper position to draw, and the trigger is unprotected.

These pieces are made to be carried cocked and locked, though many folks have different opinions, Mine are always cocked and locked.

 

[duncan]

If you love Colt - I'd buy one.

But 380 ACP only offers 150 FPE out of that short barrel,

It's basically an ENT gun! Stick to their forehead and pull.

 

[Daguerre]

I would only carry the .380 Mustang when no larger guns can be carried. Of course with CorBon, the performance will be a lot better than 150 fps. But I'd still take one of my larger calibers when possible.

I need to replace the FP spring as it's coils are smushed together in a way that shouldn't be. Kind of weird. Hope they're readily available. And I should replace the recoil springs... in fact I'd like to do a tune up and just replace all the springs along with a heavy duty scrubbing and a little polishing.

When firing the gun today there were numerous occurrences of the slide slock moving up and locking the slide back mid-magazine. I guess my thumb probably did it and I'll need to learn to hold my thumb down when shooting this gun. It fired well though and was surprisingly accurate.

Cleaning tonight I found that the breechface wasn't very smooth (had never been polished) so I polished it up a bit... also the ramp along the underside of the slide is very uneven and I polished it somewhat, but would have to remove too much metal to make it smooth.... I guess being smooth isn't important to functioning.

I'd like to replace all the springs in the gun, but don't know how to remove the Series 80 plunger and some of the other parts (I don't have a manual). Does anyone know where I can find Mustang disassembly instructions?

I think once I get her really scrubbed up and replace all the springs, she'll run like a top.

Anyone have any tips on how to get the recoil spring & rod back in... this is really difficult... the tip doesn't want to go through the end of the recoil plug very readily at the angle it approaches the hole from... I hesitate to bend the plastic rod much at all. How do people do this with a steel recoil rod???

 

[Keith]

Definitely contact Colt for a manual! Assembly and disassembly on the Colt is a PITA. I disassemble it as little as possible, for that reason. I generally just hose it out with WD40 and shake it out after shooting, reserving thorough cleanings for rainy days.

The first round being difficult to manually chamber is a new one to me but, since the pistol is carried cocked and locked I don't see that as a problem.
As for carry options, the Mustang like any 1911 has to be in some sort of holster or you risk having the thumb safety get disengaged. I carry mine in an inexpensive thumb break Uncle Mikes IWB. Or, loose in my jacket pocket inside the same holster.

This is the only true pocket pistol I've ever owned that I actually enjoy shooting! I can knock down a beer can at 15 yards EVERY time with this pistol. This Mustang replaced an AMT of the same general size and configuration - single action trigger, etc. With the AMT I could maybe hit a pie plate at 15 yards and each shot was a painful lesson on the importance of ergonomics - it hurt to shoot.

I think you'll really grow to love this gun!

Keith

 

[Kahr carrier]

Colt Mustangs are nice Scott Macdougal and Associates do nice custom packages on them.