well, i wanted total conceal ability in ANY clothing, so i went with the 380's. i have a kel-tec P3AT, and a Ruger LCP. they are both very close to the same dimensions. BUT, they both have their good and bad points. with my LCP, i have NEVER (after the initial run in of 200 rounds) had a mis fire, jam, or any other functioning problem. with the kel-tec, i have had a few problems. at first, there was a problem with jamming. even after the initial run in of 200 rounds. i consider the 200 round run in MANDATORY for a gun that you are going to bet your life on. moving parts need to "mate" in order to work properly, and i do not know of a better way than to shoot it. anyway. kel-tec paid to have the gun returned to them, and shipped it back rather quickly i might add, with an entire new slide assembly. they were not going to take a chance on fixing one little thing. a couple of years later, the firing pin broke. which they sent me a replacement, no questions asked. of course, my LCP had to go back to the factory as well. it was an early model, and there was a recall on them. as far as shooting them. the kel-tec wins out on controlability, hands down. the checkering on the grip is sharp, and even with sweaty hands, i can still get a good grip on the gun with no problem. the Ruger, has an inverted checkering that gives the sweat some place to go, but there are no "points" to come out and let your skin bite into. both guns are designed to shoot very short ranges. so sights are both really weak. i have developed a much faster way of aiming, that at 20 feet (or less), is plenty good enough to stop a person (if the cartridge will). i simply look down the slide, and make sure that the top is flat and that i can not see one side or the other of the slide. this is close enough for center of mass shots. and with the long double action only of these, it is probably about as good as your going to get anyway. speaking of which, the kel-tec's trigger is a good 2-3 pounds lighter, and easier to pull than the rugers is. combine that with the superior grips, and it is easy to see why the kel-tec is the better shooter. both of these guns now have well over a thousand rounds thru them. and i do not worry about reliability anymore. i am always carrying one or the other, but in cooler weather, it is a back up gun, as i prefer to carry the ol 45. but it is going to be HARD to conceal a full size 45 in cut offs and a t shirt. and just so you know, these are actually small enough that if you need to, you can carry them under a baseball cap on your head. certainly not the preferred place, but in a pinch....
