Best 380???

[Cam]

You left the Lorcin .380 off the list.

I still have one of these!

 

[sgreen3]

I like the Bersa also. But I have a Taurus TCP, I like it its got a nice trigger on it. But its a little snappy and not something you will shot alot. Never had a minuets trouble with it. But its nice to know I have it in my pocket if I need it.

 

[yeahbaby]

I too have a Bersa Thunder 380 CC. Love the gun, fired about 600 rounds thru it so far. Only problem I have had is using some re-load shellls from a buddy. Jammed up several times. Went back to off the shelf loads, no problems at all. Bought a Blackhawk IWB holster, very easy to conceal.

 

[army bratt]

rite on my friend my 380 is a mod 85 cheetah as well. verrrrrry confortable

 

[one more]

Since the P232 is not on the list I will vote for the P230. (The P232 is a newer P230) I think the Walter’s are also nice .380’s. I do not have much experience with many .380’s so can not add much here from personal experience. The Sigs and Walters are on the pricey side, so may be out of the budget for a lot of people. I have never shot a Bersa myself, but some shops sell a lot of them and the people that have them seem to like them. They are more affordable and look well built.

 

[JStang314]

Based soley on feel I pick the sig p238. Everything is very smooth, the slide, the trigger.

 

[maxmayhem]

p232 vs p230

so what is the difference between these two guns...they look the same to me

Since the P232 is not on the list I will vote for the P230. (The P232 is a newer P230) I think the Walter’s are also nice .380’s. I do not have much experience with many .380’s so can not add much here from personal experience. The Sigs and Walters are on the pricey side, so may be out of the budget for a lot of people. I have never shot a Bersa myself, but some shops sell a lot of them and the people that have them seem to like them. They are more affordable and look well built.

 

[PapaScout]

I voted Keltec. I think the only good reason for carrying a .380 is concealability, and the P3AT fits this perfectly.

 

[686 Shooter]

I'm really partial to the forgotten one, North American Arms Guardian. They are steel, very simple design, fire every time you pull the trigger. Being steel, they are a little heavier than some of the other choices, but I will bear a little extra weight for a little peace of mind.

 

[right2arms]

I put down for Kelt tec too. It's not the most comfortable gun to shoot but it's the smallest and it's been around longer than the ruger, taurus, and other imitators.

try shooting with +P though, ouch! I bought grip extenders for the magazines which help a lot though.

 

[Mad Anthony Wayne]

A lot of good points and good pistols listed here. Of course the 380 isn't the most powerful cartridge so a lot of people don't like em. When I had my Beretta I carried Corbon +P 380 JHP in it for some extra power. Brought it up to 9mm Makarov velocities and stopping power. Corbon claimed a 70% first shot stopping power with their +P 380 ammo (I have no idea where they gathered their data)..."IF" you have a 380 that can digest it, that ammo is the way to go. If you have a lower end 380 you should stay away from it.

 

[Pocketman]

I have a Colt Mustang Pocketlite, which is IMO better than the "square" P238.

Although I like my Colt, I find myself carrying a Walther PPK/S. Nice firearm, if you get a good one. I've had two Interarms, both of which shoot well. The first (W. Germany) had a pretty stiff double action trigger. The second is actually pretty nice.

Being a Walther owner for 30+ years, I just don't see myself carrying a Sig P232, but don't deny it's probably a nice .380.

 

[8th SPS USAF]

Best 380

IMO it was HK 4 w/wo extra bbls

 

[maxmayhem]

hk 4?

Now this is a cool gun I have never heard of ...
Modern Firearms - HK-4


Characteristics

Type: Double Action
Calibers: 5.6mm rimfire/.22LR; 6.35x16SR/.25ACP; 7.65x17SR/.32ACP; 9x17/.380ACP interchangeable
Weight unloaded: 520 g
Length: 157 mm
Barrel length: 85 mm
Capacity: 7 rounds in 9mm/380 and 8 rounds all other calibers

The HK-4 was the first pistol to emerge from the now famous German company Heckler & Koch. HK-4 was the brain child of the Alex Seidel, one of co-founders and master minds of Heckler-Koch, and a former Mauser employee. During his years at Mauser Seidel participated in development of several pistols, including the famous Mauser HSc. In 1952 Seidel at HK developed a prototype .22LR caliber pistol, based on Mauser HSc, but the legal problems with Mauser precluded its production. In 1964, Seidel started the development of the multi-caliber pocket-size pistol of civilian and police use. This pistol, designated as HK-4 (Heckler-Koch, four calibers), had some features, based on Mauser HSc, but in severely modified form. Mass production of the new pistol started in 1968, and continued until 1984, with about thirty eight thousands pistols being made. Of those, about 12 thousands HK-4 pistol were bought by German police and other government agencies, the rest has been sold on domestic and foreign civilian markets.
HK-4 pistol was one of the first handguns to employ idea of modularity. Each pistol can be accommodated for one of the four basic calibers, with just replacement of the barrel, return spring, and the magazine. Many HK-4 pistols were sold with caliber change kits, which included three additional barrels with springs and appropriate magazines. The frame of HK-4 pistols were made from aluminum alloy, slides were formed from sheet steel. Double action trigger and, especially, the partially exposed hammer were somewhat similar in design to Mauser HSc pistol. Manual safety has been located at the left side of the slide, and, when engaged, moved the rear part of the firing pin out of the reach of the hammer and locked the firing pin against the movement toward the cartridge in the chamber. Additional automatic safeties included magazine safety, which blocked the trigger when magazine has not been properly inserted, and a disconnector safety. Return spring was located around the stationary barrel. Barrel was easily detachable from the frame, and the barrel lock lever has been located inside the trigger guard, at its front. To accommodate either centerfire or rimfire ammunition, HK-4 featured a removable breech plate with two channels for firing pin - one for centerfire ammunition and another for rimfire ammunition. To convert between those types of ammunition, one must disassemble the pistol, remove the breech plate from the slide and set it so the side marked with "R" will face the barrel breech for rimfire ammunition, or the side marked with "Z" must face the barrel breech for centerfire ammunition. HK-4 has internal slide stop mechanism, which locks the slide open after last shot from magazine has been fired. The slide stop is automatically disengaged when a new magazine is inserted. To close the slide on the empty chamber, slide stop is disengaged by the trigger pull

IMO it was HK 4 w/wo extra bbls

 

[WC Deer Hunter]

Just curious I have only shot one .380 ever and that was a long time ago. How is the recoil compared to say a 9mm?

 

[dhw9am]

Slightly Less

Just curious I have only shot one .380 ever and that was a long time ago. How is the recoil compared to say a 9mm?

I can only tell you, that I have shot a Beretta PX4, a SW MP and my
own Bersa in one day. The Beretta and SW being 9MM of course and
my Bersa being a 380.
In my opinion, the recoil on my Bersa, was only slightly less than that
of the 9MM's. If I had to take a pick, I feel the SW was easier to control
than my Bersa or the Beretta.
I'm no expert, just my opinion.

 

[maxmayhem]

recoil

Recoil is mild but tends to be snappy because of the small format of the pistols....i have to say that the blowback 380s without a tip up barrel tend to focus the recoil on one area of your hand ...the ppk, for example, stings a bit after extended shooting because the barrel is fixed and the recoil all focuses on one area when the gun is moved straight back.

Just curious I have only shot one .380 ever and that was a long time ago. How is the recoil compared to say a 9mm?

 

[maxmayhem]

bersa

this does not surprise me because the bersa is a walther copy to some degree and has a fixed barrel

I can only tell you, that I have shot a Beretta PX4, a SW MP and my
own Bersa in one day. The Beretta and SW being 9MM of course and
my Bersa being a 380.
In my opinion, the recoil on my Bersa, was only slightly less than that
of the 9MM's. If I had to take a pick, I feel the SW was easier to control
than my Bersa or the Beretta.
I'm no expert, just my opinion.

 

[jsharmon7]

I never had any interest in a .380 until I handled a Ruger LCP. Now that I own one, I carry that thing all the time. I'll admit that when I carried my Glock 23 I didn't carry it nearly as much as I should. The LCP is so easy to carry and easy to hide that I barely leave home without it. No malfunctions out of it yet either, so I voted LCP.

 

[Titanium Man]

Taurus TCP 738

I liked the one I bought my wife so much, I bought one.