what is the best 380 auto pistol out there?

[Nick Burkhardt]

My wife and I currently have a Bersa Thunder 380 and a Bersa Thunder 380CC. I am considering a Kahr CW380 but want to wait and see if the Beretta Pico 380 is any good.

 

[Soren]

Personally I would choose a Walther PPk/s or Sig P232 as they seem to be the most accurate .380 guns.(at least in my hands)

I have a PPK/S and a couple Bersa Thunder 380s. I love all three pistols. My only complaint about the PPK/S is that after about 30 rounds, my hand starts to hurt a little bit from the back strap, but it is a straight shooter every time (not to mention, it's James Bond's gun). The Bersas are fantastic shooters as well, and I can shoot them all day without any soreness. Plus, with the Bersas, you can 9 round extended magazines for them.

 

[aksu747]

I have a PPK/S and a couple Bersa Thunder 380s. I love all three pistols. My only complaint about the PPK/S is that after about 30 rounds, my hand starts to hurt a little bit from the back strap, but it is a straight shooter every time (not to mention, it's James Bond's gun). The Bersas are fantastic shooters as well, and I can shoot them all day without any soreness. Plus, with the Bersas, you can 9 round extended magazines for them.

Is your ppk/s an original or smith and wesson one?
My ppk/s is my second most accurate handgun,at 50 feet it is my most accurate handgun,anything 65 feet 150 feet though is when my 686 really shines.On a good day I can shoot groups under an inch at 50 feet with either hand with my ppk/s,I wish I could say the same about my glock 19 but the grip does not feel as good in my hand on the glock.(the grip makes all the difference IMO)

 

[Soren]

Is your ppk/s an original or smith and wesson one?
My ppk/s is my second most accurate handgun,at 50 feet it is my most accurate handgun,anything 65 feet 150 feet though is when my 686 really shines.On a good day I can shoot groups under an inch at 50 feet with either hand with my ppk/s,I wish I could say the same about my glock 19 but the grip does not feel as good in my hand on the glock.(the grip makes all the difference IMO)

It's an Interarms PPK/S.

 

[1stIDFMP]

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?

The one that you can shoot the best. Depends on what feels best in your hand, and what kind of price range you are looking at. What the best .380, for one person, may not be the best one for someone else. For every bad experience someone has with Brand X, someone else has a good experience. I had a PPK/S that shot flawlessly - never had a malfunction, and accurate as hell. Never should have traded it. Missed it, bought a used one, and had a fail-to-feed, every 25-30 rounds. Traded that one off. There are so many choices though. Good luck on your quest, and let us know what you decide on.

 

[Quackerbacker]

So much depends on what kind of trigger you prefer. It's taken me many years and lots of guns to discover that i'm just a better shooter with a double action pistol, from here on out, it's striker fired guns for me.

Which doesn't really help with a 380 conversation does it

Only manufacturer i can think of is Kahr with the P380 ($600) or CW380 ($400?).

 

[EJ20Legacy]

No joke, you cannot go wrong with the Taurus PT738 TCP. It is easily one of the very best, most reliable .380 mouse guns on the market and the trigger is smoooooth as glass. My local gun shop/range has over 10,000 rounds through theirs as well as through most of the other pocket .380's they have (and they have nearly every one that's available, actually), and it is the ONLY one that hasn't needed repairs of any sort. Most of them break down regularly, in fact, with only the Sig P238 and the Ruger LCP proving to be semi-reliable at high round counts. They come in as close seconds compared to the rest of the market, which lags way, way behind, but they can't compare to the Taurus. This is a pretty consistent sentiment across the industry, from what I've heard. The ONLY negative I have heard is that it will sometimes be picky about certain ammo, but this is cleared up by polishing the feed ramp and chamber.

And, at $200 to $225 retail (with a lifetime warranty, no less), it's freakin' hard to beat. No joke about the trigger either. SO smooth and consistent.


Check out my video:

And review on TheTruthAboutGuns for more info: http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2013/05/jeremy-s/gun-review-taurus-738-tcp/


Jeremy

 

[firemedic15]

I vote Colt Mustang

 

[brentb636]

I have 4 .380's and the best shooter is this pretty thing. Deadly good ! Mauser HSc .

 

[SP101]

Beretta 84BB,13 +1 or 85BB in nickel. tough as nails.

 

[Brutus57]

I really like my Makarov .380 Baikal from the 90s Shoots straight, with in hundreds and hundreds of rounds it's burped 2x on aluminum case ammo. 8+1 of fun! Big bang for the buck.

Brutus Out

 

[unklekippy]

I have always enjoyed my Beretta 84, but the best "real" pocket .380 out there is the Ruger LCP. I cannot believe the accuracy out of that tiny barrel. Dollar for dollar, it is one of the best buys I have ever made.

I want my first PPK to be a 22lr. The .380 PPK is a fine handgun.

 

[nitestocker]

best little 380 out there in my op is the kahr p 380

 

[Dave Workman]

Well, this afternoon I shot one of the new Glock .380 pistols the G42. It was actually a rather well-built little pistol, and none too shabby for accuracy. I'll be writing this one up for Gun Digest.

of course, I still would like to add a PPK to my gun safe. The ones I've handled in the past were rather accurate and reliable.

 

[Bimmerman]

I have a PPK/S and a couple Bersa Thunder 380s. I love all three pistols. My only complaint about the PPK/S is that after about 30 rounds, my hand starts to hurt a little bit from the back strap, but it is a straight shooter every time (not to mention, it's James Bond's gun). The Bersas are fantastic shooters as well, and I can shoot them all day without any soreness. Plus, with the Bersas, you can 9 round extended magazines for them.

I have also owned two Bersa's. They are the best bang for the buck I know of (I refer to them as "the poor man's PPK").

I prefer something in 9mm. The best 9 I have ever owned is a HK P7 (I own three of them). They are the safest, most accurate pistol I have ever owned and they are striker fired. This no hammer or levers to hang up which makes them a fast pistol to present, if one is ever put in that position. The squeeze cocker does it all. Single action is nice, and the trigger is wonderful.

Of course there are trade offs on everything. The P7 is butt heavy and needs the right holster. And forget about carrying it in your pocket. I also own a Beretta 92FS. I often take both of these to the range and the P7 makes the Beretta look pretty bad (and I used to think it was accurate)!

Just my experience. Hope it helps.

 

[JohnnyD]

Sig 238 is the best but I also love the bodyguard.

 

[DRH]

First off someone in the thread said to stay away from 380 as it will just tick the bad guy off however I have yet to see anyone good or bad volunteer to be shot by one. I believe there are some good self defense rounds now that given shot placement accuracy will ruin the bad guys day. Now on to my opinion. I believe the two best 380 pistols are the Sig 238 and Kahr P380/CW380. The Sig is single action only and a little heavier while the Kahr is light and has a very nice double action only trigger. I chose to buy the CW380 and saved almost $300 over the P380. This is a real nice pistol and conceals very well.

 

[nitestocker]

the guy was asking about a pocket carry 380 guys . I know some of us even carry are g27/ g26 in a mika pocket holster but i think the guy wants something in the ruger,keltec,kahr,bodyguard,glock42 size not the bersa ppk browning or makarav though there all great guns there just a little big for a bug gun more like a junebug

 

[Bimmerman]

the guy was asking about a pocket carry 380 guys . I know some of us even carry are g27/ g26 in a mika pocket holster but i think the guy wants something in the ruger,keltec,kahr,bodyguard,glock42 size not the bersa ppk browning or makarav though there all great guns there just a little big for a bug gun more like a junebug[/quote

You are absolutely right! It ran off the rails, and I seem to be the one responsible for that. So, in an attempt to reedeem myself, I will offer a comment on a pocket 380 (or a mouse gun, if you will) that I owned, but only for three months. This was a Ruger LCP w/laser. Yes, I sold it after only 3 months. I didn't like the recoil and it didn't fit my hand. I am 6'2" with large hands, so I shouldn't have bought it in the first place. I replaced it with a beautifully made Beretta 85fs "Cheeta" .380. It was a mini version of my 92fs and was way expensive for a 380. However, due to the design, I found it to be uncomfortable to shoot (and to even draw the slide back). Seems to me this had something to do with the position of the decocker. much like it's 9mm big brother, but a problem on this smaller weapon. As some have already stated, a Sig is usually hard to beat.

Someone made a comment about my mention of the vintage HK P7's, saying don't buy a fixed barell, blowback gun. The P7 is a delayed blowback, which really helps felt recoil and a fixed barrel (all being equal) is generally more accurate. Just my two cents. It is the most accurate pistol I have ever owned, but they are not cheap. Darn, there I go again!

 

[Certaindeaf]

the guy was asking about a pocket carry 380 guys . I know some of us even carry are g27/ g26 in a mika pocket holster but i think the guy wants something in the ruger,keltec,kahr,bodyguard,glock42 size not the bersa ppk browning or makarav though there all great guns there just a little big for a bug gun more like a junebug

Oh poop. Fitz carried him a couple cut down Colt .45 New Service revolvers in his pants pockets.