Masterpiece Arms releasing new .380 & .32 pocket Pistol

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MPA, the makers of MAC clones, have branched into the pocket pistol market.

Not sure if it's just a clone of an existing design, but it looks nice. Wondering if reliability would be better than the LCP or Keltec, as the price is a "touch" greater.

MPA380S Protector Subcompact DAO Semi-Auto Pistol

MPA380_medium.jpg


380 ACP
Double Action Only
Fully Machined 4140 Stainless Upper Slide
Fully Machined 4140 Steel Lower Receiver
6+1 Magazine Capacity
American Made
Lifetime Warranty

AVAILABLE LATE SUMMER 2010
MSRP: $345.90

https://www.masterpiecearms.com/proddetail.php?prod=MPA380S

.380 All Black:
https://www.masterpiecearms.com/proddetail.php?prod=MPA380B

.32 Duo tone:
https://www.masterpiecearms.com/proddetail.php?prod=MPA32S

.32 All Black:
https://www.masterpiecearms.com/proddetail.php?prod=MPA32B
 
FWIW: My virus software is popping up a security alert on the links you posted.
Click to expand...

Any chance they're anti-gun? :D

I run AVG and McAfee and neither give a warning about the MPA site... It is their true site, not a distributor or such, I've been going there for a few years now whenever I get the itch to get a MAC.
 
Were they known to be reliable?
Click to expand...

They were know to be a copy of the Seecamp.

http://www.seecamp.com/

I've seen a couple of the Autauga's and the build quality was pretty good. Autauga Arms is no longer in business. CDNN had the remaining pistols and sold them off for about $199.00 each back in 2001.

Currently NAA also mfgr's a copy of the Seecamp. I do own a NAA Guardian in 32ACP and it is a nice, well built little pistol with a very heavy trigger.
Will
 
I had an Autauga .32, it was a pretty decent quality gun. I recall it shot a bit low. They are not a direct copy of the Seecamp, they are a bit different. They had a few minor problems, the firing pin spring wasn't strong enough so it tended to leave small indents on chambered rounds and there was a place where the frame would tend to crack. I used to have the email for the guy who had all the left over spare Autauga parts, but I think he may have sold them to someone else awhile back. The mags at CDNN leave a bit to be desired in my experience. The ones I ordered several years ago didn't fit or function as well as the original factory mags so I suspect they may be factory seconds. I sent them back and got another pair and I think those worked better, but still not as good as the originals.

I hope this .380 is built a little beefier, the extractor on mine broke while I was shooting some pretty warm Fiocchi 60gr. jhp, though the gun still continued to function fine. Recoil was harsh with the more powerful .32acp loads. I really liked the magazine release design. I'm not a big .380 shooter, but I'll be watching for this gun. I'm not into plastic guns and this is a great alternative to the P3AT and LCP. I wish the stainless one was fully stainless, it appears to have a carbon steel barrel and frame. I wonder if this is done for strength purposes.
 
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^^^ Yes, I knew that High Standard bought the tooling from Galena. I have been told that so far virtually all the DAO Backups made by High Standard have been .45 and 9 mm. I myself have not yet seen a .380 being made by them yet.

I own several DAO Backups that I bought new in the 80's and 90's. All of them have worked well for me.
 
As a side comment. Be careful on expecting to be able to get parts or equipment out of Masterpiece. My shooting buddy has been dealing with them by email, phone and letters for several months trying to get some accessories out of them. They took the money but still have not completely filled the order. We have learned a lot though. Shipments only go out on Thursday and their phones are always full so don't try to leave a message. What has happened so far, is they would send out some of his order, he would email back that they did not fill the full order and then call, email or write a letter every week until they get around to sending out some more of his order (only on Thursdays though). He would get more of his order, they would still be missing some, so the process would repeat. Each cycle takes about a month. He is still waiting on a flash suppressor, some mags and something else I cannot remember. The process has been going one about 3 months.

They make some great guns, well made and really nicely built, but their accessory service leaves a lot to be desired which is sad. I was going to buy from them but given the headaches he has had caused me to rethink and just skip it.
 
Peter,

Has your friend tried to contact them recently? I purchase stuff off of their webiste all the time and have always had great experiences. I got a couple mags from them just the other day. I also know that they've gone to great lengths in order to improve their customer service considering their growth over the last 2 years.
 
Oh he tries them every two or three weeks with phone calls then either an email or a letter. Note it has become a game to see if they ever will complete his orders. I am actually betting they will and he is betting they won't. It has dragged on for more then half a year with a part here and there so I still have faith I will win in the end.
 
MPA Protector

Just shot my new MPA 380 Protector yesterday.

Its a bit snappy (but aren't all small 380's ?), but shot very well. No jams, FTF, FTE after about 100 rounds. Shot both FMJ ammo as well as my intended carry ammo - Critical Defense.

The feel of the gun is awesome. Much better than the other small 380's such as the TCP, LCP and the P3AT that the gun shop had in stock. Also about the same price as the other ones.

Its all steel and does not feel like a toy. Also much smaller than the other 380's and only a bit heavier which helps with the recoil.

MPA has always returned my calls. Although I can never seem to get them when I call in, (always goes to VM), they do call me back within a day when I have left a message. Have purchased some accessories on line for my other MPA Macs and the items have been received within a week or 2. Don't really have a problem with MPA.

Mine does not have any sights, but a sight channel. Don't really think a sight is needed for this gun. Its a close quarters, BUG or pocket pistol - which is how I will carry mine. Accuracy was fine for such a small gun. Was able to hit the intended target without issue at 10 yards at the range.

I would definitely recommend this little pistol if your looking for a pocket or BUG however, for a women, I would think the 32 would be a better choice.
 
Can you shoot it one handed in your off hand? (I find when testing a new gun this is a good way to discover feeding problems).

It looks like an interesting pistol because of it’s small size, I hope I’ll see more reviews for it. (so far I’ve only seen like 4)
 
MPA380S Protector Subcompact

I was at a range last night, my buddy just bought a mpa380.

My first impression........OUCH!! I shoot my lcp about 50 rounds a month, and have no problem. Many people say the 380's are snappy, maybe so , but LCP is like butter in comparison to mpa380!
It is accurate and a little smaller,slightly heavier than lcp. All steel, seems well made. After 12 rounds,made up my mind.LCP for me.

A couple of comments from the range officer" Tie a brick to it and throw it in the river". "don't bring it back here, it does not have a slide lock"

Range etiquete here is all guns away from firing line must have open slide, no magazine.

In all fairness, these pocket guns are not supposed to be fun to shoot.
 
Ajeau, how did it hurt to shoot? Your wrist or trigger finger?

As I understand it the first version trigger would slap the finger forward into the trigger guard so Masterpiece revised the triggers to eliminate this. Masterpiece sells a kit for existing pistols for $20, it also includes an extended magazine and stronger mag catch.
 
Got my MPA380B from Buds Guns for $265. Great service, they sent me 11 emails detailing every step of the order and shipping process and tracking number. Got it 10 days after ordering.

Fit and finish are excellent. I didn't think that I would like the mag release but it's easy to use. The D/A trigger is long and somewhat heavy as expected but this isn't a target gun, it isn't even a range gun. I love the grip, it points naturally unlike the Seecamp 32 and Wilkinson 22LR. Without using the sights I could hit a can most of the time at 7 yards. With the other two pistols I have to cant the wrist upwards unnaturally when point shooting. I plan on making a set of matching wrap-around grips for the 22LR so it points the same when practising.

The pistol comes with a 35 lb and a 39 lb magazine spring and they can installed in two positions so that gives four possible spring options for different shooting styles and ammo. This is an unlocked, recoil operated gun. What the springs do is time the magazine speed to the slide speed. With the 35 lb spring in the factory position it fed WWB and Gold Dots 100%. With the 35 lb spring in the reversed position it sometimes ejected live rounds when cycling. The 39 lb spring in the reverse position fed Critical Defence 100%. I reinstalled the 35 lb spring figuring that the gun could use some more breaking in untill the slide smooths out. At some point the 39 lb spring might be the better match.

Went out yesterday and wrung it out with four different FMJs and three carry loads. This pistol is not rated for +P ammo.

Functioning with FMJ
100% WWB 95g Flat Nose (cheapest too:))
60% PMC 90g
50% Fiocchi 95g
50% Fed Am Eagle 95g

Carry Ammo
100% Speer Gold Dot 90g
75% Hor Critical Defence 90g
75% Rem Golden Saber 102g

Today I stripped off the old oils and deposits and worked the slide W/O the recoil spring thinking that the matte finish could use some smoothing out in the contact areas. This one appears to be more finiky than others that I've read about but as it sits it's reliable with two good loads, one expanding and the other a good penetrator.

I'm hoping that the Hornady Critical Defense with it's non-clogging HP becomes a 100% fuctioning load for carry. It only expands to around .45 so it penetrates well. I'm still looking for Win PDX1 and DoubleTap 80g Barnes Tac load to try out.

The pistol is as accurate as the shooter, meaning I only used the channel sights a couple of times out of the 80ish rounds fired, it's not that style of a pistol. For that matter I point shoot a good percentage of the time with my bigger pistols too. I shot it all one-handed and my hand doesn't hurt today.

I like it. Masterpiece Arms has a good reputation for quality. Lifetime warranty. I really didn't have much use for my 380 LCP anyway since my Kahr PM40 is only slightly larger. This gives me a Seecamp sized 380 at about 1/3 the price.
 

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i too made the purchase at buds....did yours come with the upgrade package...mine did not, it costs 20 dollars from mpa...i haven't found time to shoot it yet...i primarilly got it to expand my custom holster line...my first impression was it was a little heavy for such a tiny gun, but then i am use to carrying a keltec...gary
 
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