New PK380
My reason to buy the PK380 may differ from everyone else's. I used to only shoot rimfire .22's for price reasons, and now centerfire ammunition has gone way up in price.
I discovered, however, that I was more accurate with my target Walther P-22 than I was with my other .22 pistols, including my former favorite Browning Buckmark. It fit my hand wonderfully. I looked at and drooled over the Walther 9mm, but didn't like the lack of hammer, lack of double-action, and lack of the hammer-blocking safety. And, it didn't fit my hand like I wanted. I was excited by the PK380 when it was announced, and when I got the chart showing how similar it was in size to my P-22.
I was wrong about the size. the PK380 fits my hand even better than the P-22. Now I want either a conversion kit or a .22 version of the PK380. I have had mine out to the range twice, and I love the way it fits me, the way it shoots, and the accuracy in my hands which mine delivers.
I have small hands. With the locked-breach action, the recoil is quite light. The reason it is accurate in my hands is how well it fits my hand.
I saw one of the first editions in my local gun shop, went to get my wife to show it to her and see how she liked it, but by the time I got her to the front counter they'd sold it. The second time I saw one I bought it (having gone to three gun shows hoping they'd have it, this third time several dealers had them, and I was able to pick a very nice dealer). And, I got myself a Veridian green laser sized for the P22, very nice.
I love this little pistol, and my wife likes it. I'm going to need a holster with room for its laser.
My groups with this pistol are much smaller than the groups with my small 9mm Sig or my wife's 9mm Taurus (similar to the M9 Beretta). In this specific instance, I feel safe to say that your mileage *WILL* vary (my wife doesn't like my P-22 nearly as much as "her" Buckmark, but thinks the PK380 is quite nice), but perhaps you'll like yours as much as I like mine.
Yes, 9mm penetrate better than my .380 will. Yes, there are smaller .380s. yes, a .40 or a .45 are reputed to be better man-stoppers when your hits are marginal. But, the groups I'm getting with my .380 make this the outstanding gun for me, because I'm going to hit what I'm shooting at reliably. So by the rule of "shoot what you can hit with," this gun fills my requirements better than those other choices would.