If carrying a .380: Which One?

[LimaCharlie]

My 380 pistols:

Walther PPK/S



LW Seecamp

 

[Sarge7402]

None of your choices and none previously stated. For me it's a Colt pocket lite pony. DAO with a 2 3/4" barrel. Handles any.380 round and accurate enough to HR 218 qualify with

 

[Gun-Reck]

Never though I'd own a .380 ACP pistol.

But the Bersa FireStorm, at $300, was "the Song of the Sirens."

Light weight, compact, precise, comfortable to shoot, Glock-esque sights, and hammer reliable.

Also expect that the Winchester 95 gr. PDX-1 round, from a 3.5" barrel, will make the bad man stop.

And its "cool" factor, to me, is off the charts.

Couldn't be happier.

 

[doubleh]

Yeah but how old is it? The reports I'm getting on the newer ones are it takes four strong men to rack it and a team of water buffalo to pull the trigger.

Something must have changed then. Mine wasn't close to my wife EZ in racking ease but not all that difficult and the trigger wasn't bad at all. Pretty good In fact. It's recoil was what caused me to get rid of it .I even made a fat at the rear set of grips to spread the impact and it still made my hand ache after shooting a couple of mags. Wife's EZ doesn't do that.

Several years ago I found a German made, like new Walther PPK/s, a pistol my wife always wanted and she got it. Come to find out it is a nasty little beast and it was impossible for her to operate with her arthritic hands. Hard to load the magazines, hard to rack the slide, heavy trigger, and nasty recoil. Despite all that it is very well made and decently accurate even with it's heavy trigger pull. She can't shoot it at all now and I don't enjoy it either.

 

[kje54]

Something must have changed then. Mine wasn't close to my wife EZ in racking ease but not all that difficult and the trigger wasn't bad at all. Pretty good In fact. It's recoil was what caused me to get rid of it .I even made a fat at the rear set of grips to spread the impact and it still made my hand ache after shooting a couple of mags. Wife's EZ doesn't do that.

Several years ago I found a German made, like new Walther PPK/s, a pistol my wife always wanted and she got it. Come to find out it is a nasty little beast and it was impossible for her to operate with her arthritic hands. Hard to load the magazines, hard to rack the slide, heavy trigger, and nasty recoil. Despite all that it is very well made and decently accurate even with it's heavy trigger pull. She can't shoot it at all now and I don't enjoy it either.

Turns out (from what I could find) that those reports were mostly wrong. I picked up one which I refinished and it's not hard to rack and the trigger is fine. I have yet to fire it so I'll have to wait to find out if the recoil is too much for me.
I did discover one thing, a complete disassembly is a major pain..........

 

[doubleh]

Turns out (from what I could find) that those reports were mostly wrong. I picked up one which I refinished and it's not hard to rack and the trigger is fine. I have yet to fire it so I'll have to wait to find out if the recoil is too much for me.
I did discover one thing, a complete disassembly is a major pain..........

View attachment 1163026

When I bought mine I didn't do my research and thought it was just a mini 1911. If I had known it was a blow back design I would have left it in the gunshop. Alhough I came pretty close to getting what I paid for it when I sold it it impressed upon me to take nothing for granted and find out everything about a gun I could before buying..

 

[I like star wars]

I went with the Ruger Security 380 lite rack . Tried the Smith ez 380 but didnt care for the grip safety . I liked the way it shot but the Ruger is just the better gun for me .

 

[Hookeye]

Only reason I would carry a .380 ........if I wanted something small to hide/carry easier.
That would be the orig version of Ruger LCP.
Used to carry mine behind a wallet made of bicycle innertube. Stayed put.

But .380 and 6 shots.............with todays criminal behavior...........left me feeling a bit under gunned (power and capacity).
So I switched to a Sig P365.
Of course that mandated different carry (Sticky for IWB or Fobus for OWB).

Must admit, the LCP was a bit more convenient. Mine shot great, but was a little zinger on the hand.

 

[Hookeye]

I always thought a BDA in nickel was kinda cool looking.

Shot pops Sig 230 and 232. Didn't care for em.
Not a fan of PPK either.

Colt .380 Gov was neat.

 

[theotherwaldo]

P3AT.

 

[paladinFL]

I can't think of many guns with a smaller grip than the Pico! I'm sure your suggestions are all much more comfortable to shoot, just not so easy to drop in a pocket. Single action is not my preference but I could be tempted with da/sa options.

Your right it is not a pocket pistol but neither is the Kimber as it has too may sticky out things to be a smooth draw without a pocket holster (think sticky). I really prefer to carry strong side and when carrying a full size 1911 and doing a lot of sitting down a drop leg holster. I do carry my Ruger in a pocket holster as I did with the original S&W Shield with a laser/light attachment.
The MC 14T is really nice, its basically a cut down of the Beretta 92 with the exception of a safety instead of the decocker. Safety works on both DA and SA modes.
My question is do you carry it locked and loaded as a 1911, or hammer down and safety on? I'll let you all know what I find.

 

[Hokkmike]

Constantly rated #1 by most reviewers - GLOCK 42. Why go with a wanna-be?

 

[bnolsen]

I personally don't like how the sig p365 fits my hand but the 380 variant seems to be quality and just a scaled down version of their 9mm instead of a nasty blowback. My oldest daughter can barely operate the slide on a 9mm so this could be an option for her.

 

[Pistolay]

I personally don't like how the sig p365 fits my hand but the 380 variant seems to be quality and just a scaled down version of their 9mm instead of a nasty blowback. My oldest daughter can barely operate the slide on a 9mm so this could be an option for her.

Racking the slide on the P365-380 is somewhat easier than the 9mm, but not orders of magnitude. Much softer shooting, though.

 

[balin]

I took my Grendel. 380 P10 out to shoot this week for the first time in 35 years against my P3AT and Kahr P380. Think it will be 35 more till it gets out of the safe again.

 

[JimCunn]

I carry a Browning 1911-380 Compact.

 

[tactikel]

Back in ‘70s I had a Firearms International Model D (think Llama/ Star made) mini 1911. I loved it! Easy to carry, never jammed. Put 1000 rounds thru her then sold it for a profit. I shot my SIL’s G42 a lot but at that time was hesitant to carry a Glock.
My .380 carry now is a gun show find, a Gen 1 Ruger LCP it shoots MOA (minute of assailant) at 5 yards, hasn’t jammed in 400 rounds, and is easily concealed even in hot weather.

 

[powwowell]

Glock 42. OWB holster.

 

[bsms]

I recently bought a Glock 42 for when I want a light/small gun to carry. It kind of surprised me. I was planning on buying a Sig 365 but the Glock felt better in my hand. Had it for a week and finally got to the range. Ate everything without an issue. The 7 round flush mag (aftermarket) fed everything without an issue. Recoil was above a 22 LR but not by a lot. I've always carried J-frames but wanted something with better sights. I've carried my Ruger LCP for years too but I wanted something easier to shoot well and the Glock 42 fits that. Not putting any other gun down.

Never been a Glock fan but the 42 and the 27 I bought a year ago are making me reconsider my prejudice against them. They're still ugly but......I find them easy to shoot well. Hard to argue against that!

 

[orionengnr]

Let me preface this by saying that I carry a .380 maybe one week out of the year. If that.

So far my favorite was the Kahr CW380, but I gave it to the wife of a friend when she got her CHL because she shot it so well (and she could conceal it, and as a result would actually carry it).

My second-favorite is the LCP. Current one is the LCP Custom, with the red alloy trigger and taller sights. I think I have had five LCPs since they came out. Each one has been reliable as the day is long, but not necessarily the most pleasant shooter.

And my third recently came home after an extended stay with my mother-in-law...a Remington RM-380. But for the loooooooooong trigger pull, it would be my second-favorite.

Recently bought a Shield .380 EZ...was hoping the MIL could use it as a replacement for the RM. Yes, it's easy to rack but way too big for a .380. Instead, she now has a .38 Spl K-frame that she can actually manipulate the trigger.

So maybe I'll trade the unfired EZ for another Kahr P380 or CW380.

 

[lawboy]

I have extensive experience with S&W EZ, Kahr P380, Makarov 380, Beretta 85, Sig P238, Glock 42, and limited experience with Walther PPKs, and a few others. Of those that I owned, which is most of the above, I sold everything except two Sig P238s, and I carry those. They are lightweight, easily concealed, very accurate, reliable, and they employ the classic user interface of most fighting handguns. I have large hands and am able to acquire a durable, two-hand grip with two fingers of the dominant hand on the pistol, which if I find adequate. I also have two P938s. They are obviously more powerful than the P238s, but they are not as well balanced as the 380s of the same design, IMO.

 

[M1key]

 

[Pistolay]

On Saturday, I picked up a stainless-slide P365-380 (because I love stainless 2-tones), but unfortunately it came with a manual safety and a seriously fugly Robin's Egg Blue grip module:



So yesterday I subtracted the safety and added a Wilson Combat grip module:



Took it to the range today, and it shoots as good as it looks. Came home and cleaned it, and it's now in the MiniVault in a Vedder LightTuck.

 

[M82mike]

I've had a Taurus TCP, a ruger LCP, and a Bersa .380. Still have the Bersa for sweatshirt or jacket carry.

 

[sparkyfender]

The only .380 that gets carry time from me is a Beretta 84 fs.