what 380 is good?

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I have a Beretta Mod 86 with the tip up barrel, and a Ruger LCP. I enjoy both of them.
 
I swear, I must be the only guy on the planet that had bad luck with a bersa thunder .380.

After shooting a number of the new crop, I'm currently leaning towards the kahr p380, as soon as availabilty of the same intersects with my finances.

Most reliable .380 I own? A Beretta model 34 that I learned to shoot on as a kid (alongside a flatgate single six, of course). Never a single malf over numerous decades with that one.

Not the most practical carry piece these days, though... ;)
 
I have a LCP and enjoy it. Works well for pocket carry. Can't compare it to the field but so far it has been 100% reliable and certainly accurate enough for its intended use. Not sure what more I would ask for.
 
I swear, I must be the only guy on the planet that had bad luck with a bersa thunder .380.

I just didn't care for it. Felt and looked cheap. Wait a minute...it was cheap. :uhoh:
 
cz 82 + .380 barrel will be ~$100 less than an 83, and you can use the superior 9x18mak round.
 
My wife carries the Bersa Thunder .380. It has been a great gun. We have put around 800 rounds down the pipe with no problems. It will eat any ammo we feed it. The recoil is low and the slide is easy to rack, this is important for some women such as my wife. The only down side for some is the Bersa is not a "pocket" gun. It is larger than the Kel Tec and LCP.

I am looking forward to the new Bersa concealed carry .380. I am hoping it is under $350 when it comes out.
 
I've found these to be good .380s in my experience:

Beretta 84
Bersa Thunder .380
HK4
Kel-Tec P-3AT
Mauser HSc
Sig 232
Walther PPK/S

I'm sure there are many others, but these are the ones I've had good luck with. The one I carry most is the Kel-Tec (but I don't normally carry .380).
 
For me this a very timely thread.
I am taking my CHL course in two weeks and intend to purchase myself a pocket .380 of some sort.
I already own a Colt Mustang PocketLite,which is pretty light at 12.5 ounces but in fairly tight bluejeans that cocked and locked hammer along with it's sharp protruding spur makes it less attractive for the pocket.
Since the Sig P238 is a clone of the Mustang I can only assume it's pretty much has the same issues.
I was at the gun show this weekend and looked over the Kel-Tec and Ruger LCP.
both were really small in the hand and pocket and I could have bought the brand new Kel-Tec for $253.00.
The LCP was for 289.00.
Truthfully The Kel-Tech seemed cheap for some reason too me compared to the LCP.
And from what I have read they seem a bit more quarrelsome with ammo feeding compared to the LCP.
Anyway after taking a break and drinking a bottle of water I went back to look them over again before buying one of them but they were already sold.
So I may check out that new Khar 380 and the new Smith that's coming out in May.
No rush really because the CHL instructor informed me it's taking about four months for the state to process the carry license and get it to you.
Keep this thread going as it is helpful to at least me.
 
If I were in the market for a pocket .380, I'd get the new Taurus 738, stainless, slide lock on the last round. They're a little new, yet, though, but I've been hearing good reports on 'em.

Those are great prices! Last LCPs I looked at, and a good price around here, was $320. i've about decided I don't need one, anyway, never carry the .380 I've got now. Prefer my 9 and my .38. These little pocket .380s, though, are all the rage and companies are still having a hard time keeping up with demand. You snooze, you loose. If you find one at a price like that and want it, you'd better not procrastinate. :D I think all of 'em are nice little guns. Some cost more, some have a little better finish, but from what I can gather without actually owning one, they're all pretty reliable.

There's a good write up on the micro .380 pocket guns in the "American Rifleman".
 
The 738 TCP has been the honey for us recently, especially since theAmerican Rifleman article. Its difficult to keep them on the shelf to be honest, and they are impressive little pistols!
 
I've owned a CZ83 (sort of regret letting it go), a PPK/S (fine pistol but not for X-Large hands) a Colt Mustang (another good one but I just didn't get fond of it) and now have a BDA. the Berettas are great also.
awhile back at the range an off-duty cop was trying out his new Bersa .380 for his off-duty carry and invited me to run a mag full through it. I was favorably impressed.
for my money though a CZ82 or a good Makarov are just as good if not better. the Mak is my ccw it seems to 'fit' my large hands well.
 
For pure shooting swetness. The big and heavy ( for a .380) Cz83
is great.

Carry is another subject.

I prefer something like this:

MDE3.gif

Not as light as a Ruger LCP, but there has been no recall on it.


Smooth DAO with low recoil.

HNN6.gif

A perfect back-up gun to my larger CZs, or with my Ruger LCR.

DT380-banner.gif
 
I like my Bersa Thunder .380 Deluxe. Especially with Mag Tech Gold +P's. Very accurate, easy to keep clean. And a few weeks ago everyone suddenly had .380acp's for sale so I bought a few hundred. I feel better now. When you see .380 ammo around here, you'd better stock up.
 
As far as carry goes I love my Kel-Tec P3AT. :)

I absolutely HATE plinking at the range with it, but it's actually quite accurate and has been very reliable. I carry on a clip draw at 4-5:00 and does not print no matter what my attire. I can even take my shirt off and you can hardly see it! :eek: (Ruger LCP is pretty much the same pistol)
 
Last edited:
sidheshooter said:
I swear, I must be the only guy on the planet that had bad luck with a bersa thunder .380.

After shooting a number of the new crop, I'm currently leaning towards the kahr p380, as soon as availabilty of the same intersects with my finances.

Most reliable .380 I own? A Beretta model 34 that I learned to shoot on as a kid (alongside a flatgate single six, of course). Never a single malf over numerous decades with that one.

Not the most practical carry piece these days, though... ;)
Click to expand...
No.....you're not the only guy to have trouble with the Thunder .380. I love mine BUT it can be a bit particular and expensive when it comes to ammo. I can count on it to go bang with the right ammo but I can't take it to the range and fire as much as I'd like. And that sucks because it's so much fun to shoot. I shoot it just enough to feel comfortable carrying it.
 
I love my P238. I can shoot it all day at the range too (with reloads). I have the two tone with night sights. It's only slightly larger and heavier than the LCP/P3at, and it fits the same holsters. I feel very confident carrying cocked and locked in the pocket since the safety takes more than just a little flick to disengage.
 
Well I like the kel-tec over the lcp, it is a little smaller, and is a dao, if it were to get dropped there is no stricker to hit the ground. ruger has told us that they fixed the problem. but I like the hammer on a kel-tec. If the ruger went boom before it may go boom again.
 
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