Thread: what is the best 380 auto pistol out there?

im lookin for a pocket 380 auto as a backup carry weapon, i dont know whats good or what to stay away from, any ideas?

Kahr P380 is the best I have found.
The felt recoil waaaaaay less than the others.

I like Kel-Tec for a couple of reasons. They were first, developed the idea if you will; and the others Ruger etc.. are copying the original.
Kel-Tec, made in the USA and delivered at a very fair price.
The Ruger also is a great product and the company is excellent.
S&W has a new one hitting the market and it offers a built in laser if you like that idea.

Have fun picking your new gun.

I don't have any personal experience with one but I've read a lot of positive reviews of the Daimondback .380 in the last few months.

I've shot the kel-tec, the Sig 238, the kahr p380.

The Kahr is the best in my opinion. Not 1 malfunction in 350 rounds.

Kel-Tec doesn't work for my hands. My vote is Sig P232 FTW.

I am very interested in the Kahr... heard a LOT of good things lately.

I agree with farmerted...the Sig P232 is accurate, hides great in a Bianchi 100 series IWB holster, and fits like a glove!

My wife just got a Taurus PT738. Overall it shoots great and is very compact. Felt recoil is a little strong, but manageable for my 5' 2" sweetie. Still a few .010" shy of being as compact as the Kel-tec.
Out of the box I had a failure to feed on every round. I did some inspection and found that there was a burr on the "loaded chamber indicator" that piggybacks on the extractor. This was preventing the cartridge head from sliding up the bolt face and behind the extractor as the fresh round was being stripped from the magazine. So, I got my dremmel tool out and ground off the worthless indicator. Now it feeds flawlessly.

Save your money and get at least a 9mm. Many excellent compacts on the market today.
The 380 will just piss off the tweaker.

The little colt mustang. shoots good small light.

I have had a kel-tec, 2nd gen P3AT. I loved it for being so light and small. I then traded with a guy for Colt Mustang .380 but the one I got is all steel and heavy, but I loved it because it was like a mini 1911 with a great trigger. Someone offered me $800 for it last year at a gun show so I sold it.

I thought about buying the Ruger and then the Kahr but then I saw in a magazine about the Sig P238, they bought the tooling from Colt and were making a new 380 based on the Colt Mustang, except this one would be made with aluminum frames and option for night sights which I really wanted in my pocket pistol.

So needless to say I ordered 2, One for me and one for the wife. Both have night sights, just one is 2 tone the other is nitron/blue. I have to say I'm super happy with it, I did get one of the first hundred made so I had to send it back to Sig for warranty work, which means they changed a spring for me and gave me an extra magazines for each gun.

Shooting is a delight, way better trigger than any other modern .380 I've shot except for my Colt.



Also did a comparison for a friend who thought the Sig would be really heavy compared to the Kel-tec.

I have a Bersa Thunder that I like a lot for an inexpensive gun, and the ruger LCP. I like them both but the ruger is smaller . The sights on the Ruger are kinda usless butb it's still OK at 7 yards or so , I might go for the lazergrips later. I drool over the sig, but have never seen the Kahr. good luck.

Originally Posted by marty8587

I have a Bersa Thunder that I like a lot for an inexpensive gun, and the ruger LCP. I like them both but the ruger is smaller . The sights on the Ruger are kinda usless butb it's still OK at 7 yards or so , I might go for the lazergrips later. I drool over the sig, but have never seen the Kahr. good luck.

+1 for the Bersa Thunder. The wife has a CC which is matte black, and it cost $279 at the Portland gun show. You can pay twice as much for a Diamondback or a PPK/S and get a gorgeous piece of craftsmanship that's "finicky." The heck with that stuff, I'll take high reliability over high tech any day of the week.

One other thing: The Kahrs are great guns, but they're DAO. The Bersa and Sig are single/double.

Zzzzz

The Sig 232 is a great gun, but would be better if it was 9mmx19. It's a big gun for being a .380 ACP. If I were so inclined to want a pocket sized .380, it would be a toss-up between the Sig P238 and the Kahr P380. The trigger pull on the Kahr is nice. But since I also shoot a lot of 1911's, the mini 1911 features on the Sig are nice and familiar...

Originally Posted by Dizle

im lookin for a pocket 380 auto as a backup carry weapon, i dont know whats good or what to stay away from, any ideas?

I'm happy with my Kahr 380; but, you'll pay more for it than any other option.

I was considering the Sig; but I decided to stay with one type of sights and controls for my carry guns. ((other is a Kahr P45))

The 380 will just piss off the tweaker.

Right...

I have to vote for the Sig 238. Needed a gun for my wife and this is what she liked and now after shooting one I am going to get one as well.

I own or have owned; or have borrowed the following:

* Sig P238
* S&W Bodyguard .380acp
* Diamondback .380acp
* Taurus TCP
* Ruger LCP
* Kahr P380


Haven't shot the Bodyguard yet, but out of the others the Ruger LCP and Kahr P380 are by far the best. If you have $300 to spend get the LCP, if you've got more then you really can't go wrong with the Kahr.

Thus far I would avoid spending your money on the Diamondback or Taurus, they're just to problematic IMHO.

I had an LCP for a little while, never really needed it though. I bought it with the intention of carrying when my PM40 was too big, that never happened. When compared to a Kahr PM (even .40) the LCP is painful to shoot (more than about 2-3 mags), inaccurate, difficult to operate, WAY underpowered, and not generally something I'd trust my life with. If you HAVE to have something smaller than a PM9 or PM40 the P380 should fit the bill. If you are more comfortable with a 1911 type setup the Sig would probably be the better choice.