So far my thoughts are that the LCP may be out because it only comes in a blued slide and this gun will not be babied. I also don't want anything with terribly snappy recoil.
I've had my LCP for 4 years. In those 4 years, I've carried it in a Galco leather pocket holster, in pants/shorts/coat pockets hundreds of times. Our climate in NW Oregon is pretty humid most of the year, and my LCP has spent hours at a time in sweaty pockets on hot summer days, and has even spent a fair amount of time in coastal environments. So far, I have never had any problems with rust, corrosion, or any other problem with the finish. I don't even keep it very oiled (just a drop on the barrel and the frame rails), and I usually only blow dust and lint out of it every other week or so, no oiling or wiping it down.
Whenever I go shooting, I take along the LCP, loaded with the carry ammo that's been sitting in it for weeks or months at a time. I pull the LCP out of the pocket holster and shoot it in the condition it's been in day in and day out. It has never hiccuped once while doing this. In fact, the only issue I've had in 680 rounds was a single round of Remington UMC that failed to feed. I marked this round, and randomly loaded it into the next 3 magazines, and it FTF every time. So it was definitely an out-of-spec round, not the gun's fault.
Kahr 380s are out due to price for intended use
Have you seen their latest .380, the CW 380? It's their "budget" version of the P380, and has an MSRP of $419 - meaning it can probably be found in shops or online for more like $325-375. That's only about $50 more than the average Ruger LCP. My FIL has the Kahr P380, and side-by-side with the LCP, the Kahr feels so much better. The trigger is just as smooth as on my 9mm Kahrs, the grip feels better, the sights are actually real and visible, and it's nearly identical in size and weight to the LCP. If I were going to do it all over again, I'd buy the Kahr CW380 over the Ruger LCP, not because the LCP is bad (I love mine), but because the Kahr is so much better for not much more money.
"Snappy" recoil is going to be an issue with any tiny lightweight gun shooting .380ACP. But with the pinky extension on the magazine, and a Hogue rubber grip sleeve, recoil from my LCP doesn't bother me, and I'm actually fairly accurate with it. Plus, I have complete confidence in it's reliability. I ended up putting a dot of white Testers paint on the sights, and that helped a little. Recently, Ruger updated the LCP with slightly taller sights, and a slightly lighter (or shorter?) trigger pull. I'm not sure exactly when they made the changes, but I believe it was within the last 6 months.
Good luck in your search. Whatever you end up with, it's a better solution than going unarmed because your other larger, heavier carry guns are at home.
