.380 Pocket Carry

[UNK]

I was reading over at GunNuts Caleb's recommendation of a pocket .380 over a pocket 9mm.
So who pocket carries a .380? What do you carry? Any instances of poor pistol performance to report?

[TGS]

Kahr P380:

Didn't function. Tried all the tricks, did all the break-in. Even at 600 rounds, it would still suffer a stoppage every 30 rounds or so. The mags were crap as well; unless it was in the gun, the top cartridge would slide out of the mag. If the top cartridge wasn't fully seated, it would nose-dive on the feed ramp. After seeing the endless threads on Kahrtalk of people trying to give Kahr a chance (or three) to fix them, I decided Kahr's CS and warranty was worthless and sold it with disclosure. Other than it simply not working, the P380 was an amazing gun for a pocket 380.


Micro Desert Eagle:

What I'm rolling with right now. It's a ZVI Kevin, license built in the US by Magnum Research.

Trigger: It's a heavy DAO, but I like it. It's smooth. If you like DA triggers, it should be fine. IMHO, it's much better than an LCP as the LCP has an ultra-looooong travel, which is so long it irritates the joints in my finger. The MDE does not.

Shooting: I can hit 5" plates at 25 yards about 50% of the time in slow fire. Haven't yet run it under a timed reference such as the FAST or bill drill. The grip is surprisingly filling for what it looks like...the strange proportions make it look uncomfortable, but it's really quite good for such a tiny pop gun.

Sights: Ramp sights built into the slide. Not the best. The P380, P238, and LCP (with aftermarket sights) reign supreme in this regard.

Finish: Nickel-Teflon from the factory on the slide and frame, blued barrel. Makes the front and backstrap slick, so I've added grip tape to remedy that.

Reliability: Haven't been able to vett it yet. Only 270 rounds or so fired. 2 failures to feed with S&B FMJ. It should be a solid pistol....I'm still vetting mine, though. The S&B FMJ might very well be a cartridge it doesn't like, as most 380 pocket pistols are picky on ammo......most people report no stoppages over hundreds of rounds, and the only problem in the history of the pistol's line is some cracked slides due to a first-batch teething issue which has been resolved. The MDE as a product has no ongoing reliability issues.

Carry: The pistol is all metal, which makes it weigh more than an LCP. Still, most people make an overblown issue with the weight....it's only 13.5oz. That's less than an Airweight J-Frame. It's smaller than an LCP, and about 1/10th of an inch thicker. It's a miniscule pistol by any standard. Anyone who says it's too heavy or something are completely full of crap.

Recoil: Not bad, but nowhere near the pussycat a P380 is. Comparable to an LCP, but if your grip is loose it will bite.

1089

[TCinVA]

My Ruger LCP has been a good little pistol. If you are looking for a pocket .380 it's hard to go wrong with one...or one of the S&W Bodyguard.

[cclaxton]

Bodyguard .380 Auto.
Reliable, small, easy to carry, shoots good, reasonable trigger, etc.

I am ll *this* close to buying a Sig P238. Anyone else have one and love it?
Do you get worried about "pocket" carrying cocked and locked?
I would probably holster it anyway.
CC

[Joe in PNG]

I found that my favorite pocket .380 was a S&W J framed .38- after all, .380 acp, .38 special... pretty much the same thing, yeah? (kidding!)

[Up1911Fan]

I think a reliable Kahr P380 would be the answer due to the trigger and sights. As it stands, I have an LCP that has been reliable. Just not a fan of the trigger or sights.

[JodyH]

No such thing as a reliable Kahr P380.
I gave up after Kahr repaired mine 4 times then replaced it twice and still couldn't make it work.
Used the Kahr refund check to buy a Ruger LCP with CT laser guard that has been flawless.

That said I almost always pick my Kahr PM9 over the LCP for pocket carry.
My PM9 has been 100% reliable and 9mm > .380 all day every day.

[F-Trooper05]

The three I have experience with are the LCP, Bodyguard, and SIG P238. Of the three, the Bodyguard was the only one that had issues (and I didn't like the idea of having to send my whole gun off to the factory if the laser ever broke). The P238 was my favorite to shoot because it had virtually no recoil, but I didn't like the idea of having a safety on an "oh shit, I need it right now" pocket gun. The LCP, while really snappy, is the best of the three in my opinion. It's been heavily vetted with a lot of serious shooters, and it doesn't have a safety. A CTC laser is an absolute must though.

[fixer]

my research indicated a choice between a late model p238 and the lcp. I'm not an advocate of pocket carry but I found it nice to have for various reasons. After much consternation I picked the 238. I don't have a ton of rounds through it. I have about 100 rds through it with no issues.

My only disappointment isn't with the gun but with the whole pocket carry thing: none of these guns really "disappear" in your pocket, with or without a holster. I found pocket carrying an intolerable nuisance on an everyday basis.

[CCT125US]

My wife has an LCP, with about 1K through it. No problems with a variety of ammo. Replaced the two nested recoil springs at about 900. I compared my wife's LCP to a friends Taurus TCP, the TCP shot well and produced surprising accuracy. However the mag catch decided to split after 75 rounds and dumped the mag.... not so good. The LCP fits well in the pocket, but is more noticable than my P30 AIWB, but that is just me. Great little gun, that I never carry.
Did try the P238 and did not care for it. Also did not care for the Bodyguard .380, my sample had a very rough and heavy trigger. The laser was very hard to activate as well.

[Chuck Haggard]

I must be the guy that the .380 gods hate, I have never had a pocket .380 that works, the only .380s I have ever had work are the double stack Beretta and the Browning copy.

I've had Kel Tec P3ATs (plural, I'm a slow learner), Ruger LCPs (2, one that went back to the factory twice and still didn't work), Walter PPK/s and S&W Bodyguard .380s (2, one that went back to the factory twice and then they kept it and sent me a new gun) all take a dump on me. I keep coming back to my 642s.

[Ed L]

My Kahr PM-9 works reliably as well. However after reading about the number of people who have experienced problems with Kahrs I am hesitant to recommend the brand.

For me it is either the Kahr PM-9 or the S&W 640 for pocket carry.

[TGS]

I must be the guy that the .380 gods hate, I have never had a pocket .380 that works

You're not the only guy.

In addition, any 380 pocket pistol a friend had that claimed how awesomely reliable it was also jammed when I shot it. Ditto 9mm's, i.e. the PM9 and I had owned a Kel Tec PF9 at one point.

If this one doesn't work out, I'll just accept that the Walther PPS, Glock 26 and P2000sk are the smallest autos I can actually count on to even work. Unless of course I want to go back and buy another war-time era Mauser HSc or Mauser 1914/1934, both .32 ACP, both of which ran like a swiss watch.

[roadsiderob]

Both .380s that I have owned, a PPK/S & DB380, spontaneously disassembled themselves while shooting. I, too, am sticking with a J-frame. I have found remarkable contentment with a no-lock 640.

[Sparks2112]

Well, I sell a ton of pocket 380s to folks, so I guess I can weigh in.

The bodyguard sucks, you couldn't pay me to own one. Laser is useless, trigger is terrible, the break, often.

The Kahr would be awesome if it didn't suck :(

The lcp should work, unless it doesn't. Not fun to shoot, terrible sights.

The P238 is a JOY to shoot. Accurate, excellent sights, decent trigger. Safety works for me, and did I mention accurate? Ringing steel at 60 years with one puts a smile on your face. I'm dying to shoot the 938, but no one I know has one yet.

[jon volk]

If I'm in a situation that requires pocket carry, I want something that disappears. I have a Seecamp .380 for those situations. It sucks to shoot, is picky about ammo but if you feed it the same type of cartridge and can deal with a little sting it does what it's supposed to every time. I rarely carry it but I I do it's in an extreme NPE. Won't find a smaller package.

[JodyH]

One thing that really made my LCP lockup quicker and shoot a little softer was installing a +15% Wolff recoil spring.
It never malfunctioned with the stock spring but seems to function smoother with the plus spring.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2

[UNK]

Hmmm. Ok looks like a lcp or a P238. Thanks for all the info.

[UNK]

Dry fired the P238 this last saturday. Holy cow. It was like rubbing two bricks together. Not at all what I expected. Read up a little online and found that although the specs call for 5 lbs. it's more likely to be 8-10 lbs. Lots of creep too. Supposedly if you send it back to Sig they will take it down to 7 and proclaim it as 5. For that much money I think I'll pass.

[Sparks2112]

Dry fired the P238 this last saturday. Holy cow. It was like rubbing two bricks together. Not at all what I expected. Read up a little online and found that although the specs call for 5 lbs. it's more likely to be 8-10 lbs. Lots of creep too. Supposedly if you send it back to Sig they will take it down to 7 and proclaim it as 5. For that much money I think I'll pass.

It's an easy fix. Took about 750 rounds of .380.