what to do with a davis industries P380?

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mrming

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Looks like I've pre-inherited my grandfathers davis industries P380.


Yeah, its a junk gun. Slide is heavy, feels like its made of zinc. Machine marks everywhere. Supposedly its in my safe so I could try and sell it.


But after doing a touch of research, I got to question passing on such a lemon of a design. Any ideas for what to do with it? Only notion i've got is maybe to put it in lucite..


Any better ideas would be appreciated..
 
Keep it.

Personally, I have some intention of eventually buying a "junk gun" just so that, should I ever teach someone how to shoot, I'd have a good example of why they shouldn't go for the cheapest gun on the shelf.
 
send me the mag then do waht ever you want with it! at the Funshow today davis mags were 15$!
 
It's your Grandfather's old gun.

The value is not in the weapon itself.
 
it is a paper wait
it is a object de learn from
it is lees dangerous to yourself and others in your safe
Newton's right
 
Whoa there partners, kind of elitist and snobbish there aren't we. Of the so called Saturday specials Davis was one of the better ones, they also had a 100% repair guarantee ( which is still honoured by Cobra). Not every one in life can afford to own a Smith & Wesson or a Seecamp. When you need every penny to buy food and pay the rent then a Davis may be all a large number of people can afford to own. I'm sitting here with Colts, S&Ws in my armory but I'm not about to call every inexpensive small firearm junk. Something like a Rohm RG-10, yes junk. Remember the Davis was designed to be an inexpensive sidearm, it was never meant to compete with the high price spreads. It was meant to be a very affordable little firearm, not a target piece. It was never designed to shoot thousands of rounds a year, but for a inexpensive firearm for every day protection they are OK. Sorry for the rant but sometimes I think people forget about those who aren't gun people and only need something like the the Davis. Remember it was good enough for your grandfather.
 
I had one of those years ago and the slide cracked after about 100 rounds. Toss that sucker to the bottom of the sea.
 
A lot of urban police departments will pay $100 for junk guns.

Or you can just keep it if it helps you hold fond memories of your kinfolk.

Now, I'm not saying this to be mean, but I think you know if you show that gun to anybody and tell them about your grandpa and his fondness for firearms, the viewer is not going to be much impressed. I own a "junk gun" or two. I sure hope nobody shows those things to anybody after I'm gone, and tells 'em I owned it.
 
I had one of those years ago and the slide cracked after about 100 rounds. Toss that sucker to the bottom of the sea.
Click to expand...

How pointless. You do know they have a good warranty, right? You could have gotten it fixed, and then sold it if you didn't want it anymore. Advocating the disposal of a gun that fails (and only once, no less!) is incredibly wasteful, among other things. Hell, sell it for parts if nothing else.
 
For nostalgia sake I would hang onto it as a keepsake it may not be a Sig or H&K but as a momento who cares it holds history in your family one day your kids or even grandkids will be glad you kept it.
I would not fire it much if at all and would never depend on it as a main definsive weapon unless I had no other choice.
My buddy had one that went through a couple of extractors before he ended up shelving it.
These are jammomatics but for many its all they could afford and beat throwing rocks or praying while dialing 911.
 
Slide is heavy, feels like its made of zinc.
Click to expand...


That's because it is. LOL I had one for a while. Believe it or not it was fairly accurate and was reliable 100 percent with more than just ball. I only got it because it was cheap to play with. I don't like cheap striker fired guns, make me nervous to carry except condition 3 and this thing was pretty junky to actually USE. Even I have my standards. LOL But, it was fun to play with for a while. It never broke anything and I put it on a football pot at work as the halftime prize. LOL, got my money back out of it, all fifty bucks.
 
I think the Lucite solution is the way to go.
Believe it or not that is precisely the thought I had in mind when I saw the title of this thread and had yet to read the first post.......:)
 
The sentiment that I'm fighting is that it is indeed grandfathers gun.


Problem is, he was a firearm hater for most of the life that I knew him. Only changed after he started going senile and had ground hog problems in his garden. So it is not some thing I would generally associate with him.


So what is the consensus? Are they safe to shoot or is the failure rate too high?


The man enlisted young and spent 8 years in the Army Airforce. Served in North Africa, Brittian, and France. Earned two purple hearts stopping german airbase rushes while on guard duty. Being shot twice is probably fair reason for not liking firearms.


He went on to work as a test engineer for rocket and jet engines for the unknown likes of Lockheed-Martin, Rolls Royce, and NASA during the Apollo and Gemini days.


Suggestions would be appreciated. If any one wants to buy it, drop me an IM. Not sure what direction I'm going in at this point.


Thanks for the words so far gents.
 
Supposedly its in my safe
Click to expand...

"Supposedly" it's in your safe?

Whatever.

Run some ammo through it. My own experience with Jennings, Bryco, et al was not good, but you may turn out to have one that works well.
 
So what is the consensus? Are they safe to shoot or is the failure rate too high?
Click to expand...

its safe. all the people who are saying they are junk/dangerous/explode/unreliable probibly never owned one even if they claim they did. they are cheap guns. but they are good for what they are. Seecamp size at hi point prices. just watch your grip. i got a NASTY cut when the slide pinched the webing of my thumb.
 
Shoot it. You might like it.

I bought a cheap FIE .25 auto for $40 (brand new), thinking it would be fun to have a nasty little cheapie. But it surprised me; it's accurate (within its limits), reliable, and actually a lot of fun to shoot. And very easy to carry.
 
I agree with Newton. Maybe in 20 or 30 years, you can pull it out of safe keeping and pass it on to one of your grandchildren, as it was to you. I love the idea of being able to shoot every firearm you own, but the sentiment and deeper meaning of it go alot farther than you might think.
 
Never ceases to amaze me, all the folks who come out of the bushes to defend those worthless little guns. They are made out of zinc for god's sake, zinc! Seriously, a $3.00 hammer is made out of higher quality material.

If your grandchildren inherit that, they will be eternally grateful, and bless your name every time they shoot it.
 
Uh, hate to burst your bubble Trueblue, but the slide on my P22 is made of zinc and it's performing just dandy. I'd venture a guess that the same is true of most, if not all of the folks who own suppressed P22's as well.

I don't see what's wrong with defending any gun, regardless of whether it's percieved to be "junk" or not. As another commenter noted earlier, if an individual has an issue with their pistol, the warranty is still honored by Cobra Arms.
 
Kingpin, my bubble is quite in tact. I own a P22 also, and enjoy it. I would like it more if it had a steel slide, but it's a .22.
Furthermore, I don't know any FFL's who refuse to stock a P22, but I know a few that won't touch a Raven/Jennings/Cobra/Bryco/ect. with a ten foot pole.
I tried to fix a pistol for a coworker who was experiencing the single shot mode, that was a hoot.
 
Newton wrote:
It's your Grandfather's old gun.

The value is not in the weapon itself.
Click to expand...

Exactly!

You have shared your Grandfather's history of Service and Life Accomplishments with us.

Newton expressed mine and others around sentiments The value is not in the weapon itself
It does not matter what make, model or caliber. If the gun works, or not, if the gun is ever fired or not, it is a part of your history and someday the history of others in the family.
Your kids, some other kids in the family perhaps.

My sentiments and those of others around would be the same if it was a old pocket knife, with a busted blade. Pair of spectacles, Fountain pen, cigarette lighter, cigarette case...


If not now - someday the sentiment will hit.
If not for you, for someone in the family .

Keep it, please.
 
In Florida, the 3-day wait on a handgun purchase can be avoided if you trade in another handgun (CCW permit works for this, also). They would probably give you $100 for it on a good gun, maybe only $50.

If it has sentimental value, keep it, but if that was the case, you probably would not have posted.
 
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