Here's my take
mbt2001 -
Why do folks crap on Lorcin, Jennings, Bryco family guns? I have owned several for years now, no issues. Fire FMJ's (like winchester white box) and they are fine. They don't feed HP's that well...
I'll ignore pretty much all the other responses, though I did read them, and answer mpt2001's original query, from my perpective.
I have only ever handled one of these. A Davis Industries .380. It was given to me with the express request that I not sell it, as the person who gave it to my giftor might some day want it back. Hope that's clear, but if it isn't it's just background info and not too important.
What is more important is that I have it, and I've shot it several times. With Speer gold dots. It's gone bang every time, and has not had a single failure to feed. That's the good stuff.
The bad stuff is twofold. Shooting two handed, slow, at five yards or less, it strung five bullets vertically over about 18" top to bottom, when all were aimed at the same point. That is the worst POI/POA discrepancy I have ever seen. The second problem with it is that the instructions specifically say to NOT keep a round in the chamber, as the safety is iffy. When a person NEEDS a gun, they need it right now. They do not necessarily have time to rack the slide. That said, I suppose if a person truly had only this one gun to rely on, they could train to draw and rack in one motion, Israeli style.
So - why do people crap on them? In a nutshell, because they're frequently poorly made, and very often not very reliable. And, from my perspective, they have a hard time hitting minute of barn door.