Kahr P380 or S&W Bodyguard 380?

[shootingthebreeze]

I just fired for the first time today my Kahr P380 using Winchester 380 Auto FMJ (50 rounds) and had no problems with performance. Accuracy was surprising.

Very comfortable to fire, one failure to eject but that could be the round itself. Overall very satisfied.

My initial feelings: based on the performance today, I'm confident that this weapon will deliver. Have 150 more rounds to go for break in but at this point I am very pleased with the Kahr P380.

Even if the weapon did not perform as expected I'm the kind of person who will not give up. The manual for the Kahr P380 confirmed by the dealer states that 200 rounds must be fired through the Kahr P380 during a break in period. As far as my experience, that should be with any firearm. You will experience problems-I have with my Taurus .40 Millenium however now it fires without any problems.

 

[shootingthebreeze]

I was shooting my Kahr P380 at the firing range at Rose Lake. The CPL range is not finished as of yet-it's supposed to be a 10 yard range.
I was firing the pistol at the standard 25 yard range and frankly did not expect to hit the target at all-the purpose was to run 50 rounds as a baptism. Overall performance as stated above-excellent. Accuracy though was surprising got 8 rounds in the white center target one in the black, 11 in outer area-and that was after modifying my aiming point at the top of the target paper because of the distance after the 3rd magazine.
I believe this weapon will be deadly at 10 feet or less-rounds will impact where aimed.

 

[shootingthebreeze]

SpaceExplorer31 I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the Kahr P380. As my posts state, today, had an excellent initial experience.

My experience with weapons, especially after being in the military X 20 years: patience. For example- many complained about the M16A1 not being accurate. One day at the range I spent a whole amount of time fine tuning the M16A1 I was using at a 100 yard range. After extending the required amount of time zeroing the weapon I got it to perform dead on.

New firearms are tricky-does not matter if it's a high end 1000 dollar handgun. You have to run it through its paces. It might take 200, 300 or 500 rounds. That's just the nature of firearms-they are not perfect. Each has its own "personality".

 

[DAP90]

I have a BG380. I’ve never handled or shot the Kahr 380 so I can’t compare them; but I do like the BG.

I’m used to a DA/SA trigger so the DAO is taking some getting used to. Other than that I have no complaints.

The sights are pretty good. I was expecting more recoil and was surprised how little there was. Recoil is only slightly worse than my Bersa 380; which weighs twice as much. I haven’t really tried the laser. I see lots of complaints about it but it doesn’t bother me. Carrying it is super easy; though I imagine the Kahr would be pretty easy too.

I paid $350 for mine new and feel like I got a heck of a deal.

 

[tomwalshco]

Have both Kahr P380 and Kel-Tec P3AT. I trust them both very much. Kahr is a better shooter because of the trigger, but KT is a little smaller and lighter - snappier, too. Had more issues with the Kahr in the first few months, but it's settled down nicely. KT will shoot anything including the steel case russian stuff. Kahr can be a little more fussy when dirty after an extended range session. Tighter chamber, probably.

 

[Sapper771]

I am also searching for a smaller pistol for pocket carry. I did have my choices narrowed down to a Kahr CM9 or a DB9. After handling each one, I decided that the Kahr CM9 is just a bit too big for me to pocket carry. A lot of things that I am reading on the DB9 is not positive, So i passed it up til it had more time to prove its worth. I have never really trusted a small auto pistol. I have seen too many jam up. I have owned a S&W BG380 in the past. It was pretty reliable with the right ammunition. I did look at the Kahr P380 and was impressed with it size , weight, and quality.......but not the price. After thinking on it some more, I came to the conclusion that an airweight 5 shot snubbie would be my best option. So now I am looking to buy a S&W 438. I pocketted one while I was at the gun shop, then walked around for a few minutes. It pocket carries great, even with out a pocket holster.

Dont rule out a good airweight revolver. I feel that they are more reliable and less picky about what you feed them.

 

[heeler]

I like the kahr because of the overall build quality and the fact that the slide locks back after the last shot and also has a slide stop.
Most micro 380's are lacking here with the slide lock.
The price of the Kahr on the other hand is pretty high though.
I have heard several good things about the Body Guard but dont know a lot about it nor have I ever fired one.
I have heard several complaints about the laser setup though.
Too bad they dont offer the pistol without the laser.

 

[distra]

I picked up a used Kahr P380 with a laser for <$400 earlier this year. I was in the shop when the guy traded it for an AR15. He complained about reliability so I figured it would need a little "tweaking". After looking over the pistol, I could tell it had not even been through the recommended break-in of 300rds. So I did just that, loaded up 300 rounds of 95gr FMJ with 2.8-3.0gr Unique and off to the range I went. Had a few fails to chamber in the 1st 100rd, so I polished the barrel and outside of the chamber a bit. After another 50rds it smoothed out just fine. It has been rock solid reliable since and looks to be a better built gun than the LCP (which I've shot) or the Bodyguard. Trigger is certainly better and it feeds hollow points better then the LCP I shot. Every gun can be finicky at times, this one just needed a little break-in to run like a champ. My only complaint is the laser adjustment screws are so tiny I had to buy a specific allen wrench for it.