The colt gov 380 is a locked breech design. It is a miniature 1911 on the top end but the trigger is very different setup. It is a pivoted trigger system and the trigger shoe is plastic. Not the best let off but ok.
Recoil out of the locked breech is nothing to speak of. About like my ruger Mk1. Sort of a little pop and then the brass is flying.
The gov 380 is exceptionally reliable. I cannot honestly remember when it jammed and mine has around 3000 rnds down it now.
The grips and the frame setup are very comfortable and the gun is easy to carry. I use a dillon PPK/S holster and it fits perfectly.
The gov has some issues though. Some of them have trouble with the slide stop coming out during firing (mine never has). Some have problems with soft barrels or slides. Mine has this problem real bad! The barrel is soft, the link down hole is cut to low so the engagement of the recoil lugs is very small and is peening up over time. Eventually it will jam the gun and I will have to figure out what to do. Colt says they can't help till it is broken (I can see that) and basically what it needs is a new barrel with a lower link down hole. The link down hole is ala cz75 style and cannot just be changed like a real 1911. Go search on the firingline.com and you will find that one of the mods had the exact same problem I do. His gun jammed up tight, mine is going to in the next 3 to 5K rounds.
All in all I love the gun. Fun, reasonably accurate, easy to carry, very reliable. To bad I go a lemon barrel. I really need to buy a couple of spares and just test fit them till one works better.
Gratuitous 380 gov picture next to a beretta 84f