Comparing Four 380's

[Tallball]

I posted this on another site a few weeks ago.


(Subtitle: If you like pina coladas...)

I have read a lot of articles and threads about 380's lately. I was going to the range this morning, and I decided to bring all four of my 380's. I figured I could shoot them all and then write up a short review.

I had just one 380 for ages: a Russian commercial Makarov that I bought brand-new in the late 80's or early 90's for $149 NIB. In the past 5-10 years it has seemed very old and clunky compared to more modern firearms.

About five years ago I started seeing all of the little polymer 380's no bigger than a cookie, so I decided to buy one for CC. I got a Kel-Tec P3AT for a little more than $200. It is super small and super light. It is not fun to shoot (with my giant hands), but I can put a magazine onto a paper plate at 7 yds no problem, and that's good enough for SD, as far as I'm concerned. I can conceal it with any clothing, and it has been 100% reliable.

My FiL is my shooting buddy, and he also reloads ammo for us (yeah, he is a great FiL). In the past year or two my wife and daughter and MiL have also got interested in shooting. That means that they plink with various 22's handguns and 32 revolvers, and we leave them alone while they talk about whatever it is that women talk about. Since they all flat-out refuse to even try to shoot a 38 special (lots of small hands and badly damaged wrists), I was wondering if maybe they could shoot a 380... if it was just the right one... and thus have a more realistic SD caliber at their disposal.

I had heard that the Beretta 84 has very low recoil. My budget isn't much, and it took forever, but I finally managed to purchase one with worn finish for $233 that functions perfectly. A bunch of us went shooting, and my very small (5'7") buddy tried it first. He didn't like it. He thought it was too snappy for his taste. So, of course, after hearing his mini-rant, the ladies had no interest in shooting it. Thanks Dan.

So I did some more research. It turns out that Star and Llama and Colt all made steel 380's at one time or another that actually fired from a locked breech and were heavy enough to absorb most of the recoil. I figured that parts would be unavailable for the Spanish pistols, and much more do-able for the Colt, so I set out to find one. Months later I finally found a very nice one... for $481. It arrived at my friend's LGS this week, so I was able to take it to the range this morning. I decided to take all of my 380's and have a "shoot out".

I began with the Kel-Tec. It was painful at first. After a magazine or so I remembered how to position my finger so it didn't get pinched (as badly). I put all 30 or so rounds into a paper plate sized area, but it wasn't fun at all and I was glad when it was over.

Next I shot the Beretta 84. Personally, I don't feel that the recoil is much. Something about the shape makes it move around in my hand a little more than I would like, but I can shoot it just fine. It feels good in my hand and points well. I could shoot it all day without any pain.

Then I shot my "new" Colt Government 380. They are bigger than the Mustang. It is good to shoot. The felt recoil was even less than the Beretta, and I had no problem shooting a fairly tight 30-or-so round group. The trigger pinched my finger a couple of times, but all in all I was quite pleased.

Then, what the heck, I went ahead and shot 30 or so rounds through my old clunky Makarov. I hadn't shot it for a while. I was in for a surprise. I expected more recoil, since it's blowback. It is probably due to the larger size and heavy steel frame, but it had no more felt recoil (to me) than the Colt Government Model. The trigger was the best of the four. It may not have started out that way, but after 25 or so years of shooting, it has probably mellowed out a lot. It isn't super light, but it is super smooth.

And so it turned out like that 70's song about the guy who was tired of his original girlfriend and decided to find a new one. Eventually he realized that his original girlfriend was a good fit for him after all. It's not very concealable, but for a 380 it seems like my best choice as a shooter is the Makarov that I bought 25+ years ago. Things have come full circle.

 

[Tallball]

Here is how I shot the Kel-Tec. It's not great, but good enough if necessary.

 

[Tallball]

Here is the Beretta. I get the feeling it is a much better shooter than I am.

 

[Tallball]

Here is the Colt Government Model 380. It is nice to shoot. I enjoyed it.

 

[Tallball]

Here is my old gal. She is a little large for CC, but she is wonderful to shoot and I shouldn't have neglected her for so long.

 

[drband]

Nice review. Thanks!

 

[russianbear]

Never had a .380 before so I looked at them,I liked the design and all metal of the Walther S&W Mfg. PPK/s. It's been a good little shooter.
Not a lite weight but it works for me.

 

[red rick]

Thanks for sharing your review and range pictures , nice job .

 

[bikerdoc]

My choice is the Bersa Thunder no research just fell into it and grew to like it.

 

[Hokkmike]

I am another .380 guy.

I have the first generation S&W Bodyguard with laser. For $20 the gunsmith at Gander Mountain adjusted the trigger pull. It is no longer atrocious. I can hit with the gun very well.

I also shoot a Sig P250C in .380. 15 rounds. I LIKE the pistol. The DA trigger is smooth, fairly light, and consistent. It hits better than the BG.

Thanks for your article.

 

[MedWheeler]

Like BikerDoc above, I also like the Bersa Thunder. But it does have enough snap that recoil-shy people would take notice.

My Bulgarian Makarov is in 9x18mm, and it is a surprisingly-soft shooter. I can only imagine how smooth the .380 version must be.

I had a Walther PPK/S (Interarms version) a long time ago. I do remember some snap to it, but nothing hard to control. Shot it pretty well, and it was easy to carry concealed for the day. The Bersa is similar in size, but somewhat lighter, and has a thicker grip.

Thanks for sharing. I have a thing for this cartridge as well, though I only own two guns in the caliber (the other is the Grendel P10, a thread in itself!)

 

[drband]

My choice is the Bersa Thunder no research just fell into it and grew to like it.

Me, too! Love my Bersa T380!

 

[jlr1962]

Good info Tall. I bought a bodyguard m&p 380 recently. It shoots ok for it's size. I can't complain. The trigger took some getting used to. Hopefully the caliber will gain more fans. The 380 range ammo is still a little expensive.

One more thing. Thanks for not claiming "1" groups at 25 yards all day long".

 

[Sarge7402]

Good info. Me? Well I've had a few including KelTec, PPK, PPK/s and several FEG Clones. My current is an FEG Clone of a ppk and with it's aluminum frame it can be abit snappy, but so

 

[huntsman]

I have two, LCP and BDA both are keepers.
Had a P232 but I traded it for a .45, now needing something for my wife to carry another P232 could be an option as would a G42. All I know for sure is she doesn't want to ever shoot the LCP again.

 

[kokapelli]

I'm also a Bersa 380 fan, but I find the Glock G42 to be by far the best 380 I have shot to date.

I also like the Sig P238 very much. Both of these can be shot all day without developing recoilitis.

 

[Tallball]

Thank you for the kind comments. I have heard good things about the G42. It is way bigger than my P3AT, but my Colt Government & Beretta 84 & 380 Makarov are a much better fit for my hands, so I didn't buy one. It has a great reputation.

 

[VINTAGE-SLOTCARS]

Well written review with nice clear pictures. Thanks for the education.

 

[msmp5]

My favorite .380 to shoot is the Astra Constable. Never seem to see very much written about them though, on the various firearms web boards, probably because it is an older gun. It's also probably a bit outdated as a concealed carry gun, because you can get a 9 mm these days that's about the same size. But for some reason, I find it a very comfortable gun to shoot, much more so than the Walther PPK series.

 

[Texas Navy]

.380 caliber Handguns

I bought a .40 cal. Never fired it! One day at the shop I bought it at, I noticed a number of .40 cals in the price range I was considering. They rented the guns and at (15 years ago) at the price of $7.50 per gun. 50 rounds of their ammo was $5. I picked out 4 different brands of .40 cal. pistols and headed out onto the range and did exactly as you have done here.

I did 5 rounds each and observed the results. One pistol gave the most notable kick was the model that I had purchased - a S&W. I was NOT happy!

Second string, after changing the target, I did test fire the remaining 3, noting another serious recoil offender which was a high priced, high quality pistol, just that I was not enjoying shooting it much and not hitting much.

OK, for bullet counters, at this point, I have shot 35 rounds of my fifty leaving me 15 rounds. The last two pistols were loaded with 5 rounds each, fresh target, and away I went again. While (felt) recoil was nearly the same, it still wasn't and the one pistol, was still harder to get hits than the other one with the softer recoil.

Fresh Target, last handgun and last 5 rounds. It seemed like I couldn't miss. I also was comfortable with shooting this pistol, and saddened that I had only the last 5 rounds.

I ended up with a pistol I loved in a caliber I wanted, needed and desired! I screwed it all up when the maker came out with a newer, "better" firearm and I upgraded. The new one is hard to keep on target, has slightly more felt recoil and, while I love its looks, higher ammunition capacity (16 versus 12 I believe), I need all that just to get the hits I could get from the older pistol.

Anyone wanting to buy a new firearm or considering downsizing their collection would do well to follow your example.

FYI, an old American Rifleman had a multi-page article on about 10 compact
.380's with comments on ease of use, felt recoil, accuracy, cost etc. Sorry I do not have that article handy.

Thanks for your report.

 

[MikeJackmin]

Have you replaced the recoil spring in your beretta? It's only a $5 part and it can make quite a difference. I do it as a matter of routine whenever a acquire a used pistol.

 

[Furncliff]

Thanks for the .380 comparison. I've been looking for a Makarov for the past month or so.

 

[Armybrat]

Thanks for your review.

Out of my four .380s, the old Remington 51 shoots best, followed by the Kahr, Colt, & then the Ruger. All are extremely reliable. Had a KT P3AT, and an AMT Backup (SA) but they weren't, so they got traded off.

 

[Rex B]

Last I looked I had 15 380s. Most are Spanish.
By far the best shooter with the lowest recoil was the Colt Govt, steel version.
But the older Llamas from the 1940s are very, very close. I think the only difference is the Colt has a wider backstrap, where the Llama's are narrow (in scale with a 1911).
The Keltecs (and the LCP in my pocket now) are pretty hard to shoot. I'm looking at a Kahr now.

 

[joneb]

I have a Bersa 380 acp and a East German Makarov in 9x18 both are reliable and accurate, the Mak is one of my CCW I don't mind the size or weight of either I carry IWB. A accurate reliable and shootable gun is my main concern.