>Reliable< 380 pocket pistol

Pistols of all descriptions.
wsitgm
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Post by wsitgm »

I'll more than likely keep both calibers of LCP II but until it runs in enough, I'd like a real solid player. I've been considering the Kimber micro as well and even the Springfield 911 but I hear it has the same break-in profile as the Springfield 1911 9mm I have (not great). Worried about more recent p238 quality issues I've only heard rumors of. Damn....is a reliable CCW 380 handgun just too hard to produce?

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Deputydave
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Post by Deputydave »

wsitgm wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 9:34 pm I'll more than likely keep both calibers of LCP II but until it runs in enough, I'd like a real solid player. I've been considering the Kimber micro as well and even the Springfield 911 but I hear it has the same break-in profile as the Springfield 1911 9mm I have (not great). Worried about more recent p238 quality issues I've only heard rumors of. Damn....is a reliable CCW 380 handgun just too hard to produce?
I'm not sure what to advise. Both of the LCP's I've had were spot on with zero issues.
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imnotryan
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Post by imnotryan »

Bmup wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 9:15 am I have a Kel Tec P380 I bought new in '08. It had lots of feed issues at first but after I figured out you need to have a death-grip on it to keep from limp wristing it's been very reliable. It's definitely not a range toy & the best I've managed to run through at one time was 75 rounds before my hands couldn't take it anymore. I have over 1,000 rounds thru it & will only add that it seemed to smooth out a bit after the 500 round mark.
This.

I cut my teeth on the early kel-tec mouse guns so I know you gotta squeeze them to death to make them work. It's simply physics... you aren't going to get around a .380 trying to unlock a breach against a 1 ounce nylon frame - without you making up the difference. You have to be firmly against the frame at the moment of the initial impulse. Once the bullet leaves the barrel it's over. If you notice the gun shifting in your hand at all during firing... you're losing that energy.
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Wasabi
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Post by Wasabi »

Kahr P380.
MiamiOffshore
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Post by MiamiOffshore »

Sig Sauer P230/232. Is a little heavy due to the amount of metal vs. more modern guns with more polymer. But it's one smooth firing .380 for sure!
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Wulfmann
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Post by Wulfmann »

I have had a Ruger LCP 4+ years and have not had a problem, 100%

IMO, again, IMO a SD EDC type should not have a safety. If you have been in a few shoot outs maybe you will know how you will react but the moment you pull the trigger and realize you left the safety on is the moment you die.

While I shoot the P938 well no way as a carry piece because, like the P238 it has a safety

The P232, as mentioned and I recently bought one from a member here, is an excellent shooter, a little heavy and a bit larger as a carry piece but accuracy and shootability make it a great choice but they are not cheap and extra mags are very expensive.

The SigP365 has basically made almost everything a poor choice by comparison.
The size of a 380 but a 9MM hold 10-12 or even 15 rounds but in spite of its light weight and small size is ergonomically a good shooting pistol.
That means you will not mind spending a lot of range time as it is comfortable unlike many Micro carry pistols like the LCP etc

Because you will be more likely to shoot your P365 more often it will be more likely to serve your SD situation
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Deputydave
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Post by Deputydave »

Wulfmann wrote: Thu Aug 27, 2020 8:12 am IMO, again, IMO a SD EDC type should not have a safety. If you have been in a few shoot outs maybe you will know how you will react but the moment you pull the trigger and realize you left the safety on is the moment you die.
The thing about a manual thumb safety is how you train. If properly trained, the thumb safety is swept off as you clear the holster using muscle memory. It isn't something you even think about doing and is off well before you're on target. It's placed back on before holstering, which would have eliminated a LOT of folks shooting themselves after placing a striker-fired pistol back in the holster with a foreign object in the holster that went unseen.

In regards to the LCP and LCP II, great pocket pistols! :)
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Wulfmann
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Post by Wulfmann »

I agreed with all that until I started doing serious close quarter training and running transitions would put my safety on without realizing it.
It is one more thing that can fail.
However, I also agree striker fired are extra dangerous reholstering which is the single most dangerous thing we do

In my search for the right (for me) SD pistols I found a DA/SA, no safety, decocker was not only safer it assured me of never making a mistake and being unable to pull the trigger when it mattered. It is also much safer to re-holster.
Drawing a 1911 and going off safe left me with a very short trigger pull a deadly thing for a first shot if the adrenaline causes me to shoot without intention
Before striker fired pistols there was never a Glock-legs for a reason.
DA/SA made it much more difficult to have an ND while holstering your pistol

Now I only use Sig DA/SA metal frame pistols. (Had the LCP right before I switched all primaries to Sigs)
I backed into Sigs as a second to the last resort (HK was the only major brand I had not tried)

Everyone has their own deductive reasoning as to why they use what they use
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Deputydave
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Post by Deputydave »

Wulfmann wrote: Thu Aug 27, 2020 8:48 pm In my search for the right (for me) SD pistols I found a DA/SA, no safety, decocker was not only safer it assured me of never making a mistake and being unable to pull the trigger when it mattered. It is also much safer to re-holster.
+1. I very much prefer hammer-fired DA/SA pistols over striker-fired pistols. Particularly HK DA/SA de-cocker/thumb safety pistols like the USP.
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Wulfmann
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Post by Wulfmann »

Deputydave wrote: Thu Aug 27, 2020 11:53 pm +1. I very much prefer hammer-fired DA/SA pistols over striker-fired pistols. Particularly HK DA/SA de-cocker/thumb safety pistols like the USP.
The USPC-9MM was my next choice if I did not get everything I wanted with Sigs (P228, P228-1 and M11A-1)
However, the Sigs delivered far beyond what I ever thought possible

I don't buy a gun I buy a system in quantity but yes the HK USP series is one of the finest pistol lines ever made
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