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gwashorn wrote:Not to resurrect this thread but my next comment is based on my wife getting her new P238 last week. I have to compliment her. So sitting at the table tonight cleaning guns. Getting it ready for break in for a few hundred rounds this weekend. I take it apart clean etc. She is out of the room and has never watched me strip the Beretta 92F, XDs and did not see me take her P238 apart. She walks in and I am done and tell her so put it back together! She picks up the parts, looks them over and she gets it all done except knowing exactly how to align the slide for the pin. I miss it on that gun too. But I was darn proud of her. Had to just say it. Thanks

Gary

Cool! But did you make sure she got the recoil spring in the right way? That's one of the big complaints I've heard - that it is too easy to get the spring in wrong, leading to failures and even spring damage. Check the manual - I think the big end goes against the slide, but check to make sure.

Did y'all see the new P238 models that were just introduced? My wife was pretty sure that she wanted a P238, but when she saw the "Copperhead" on the website she said "THAT'S my gun!"

Grokked wrote:However, I was at Gander Mountain on 59 South today and they said they had plenty, including CCI Blazers for around $18/50. I didn't pick any up as I'm hoping to score a better deal at the gun show next weekend.

Good luck with that. No, seriously! It seems that the gun show folks haven't heard that the supply is loosening up yet. Unless things have changed in the last few weeks. I was able to pick up some Monarch brass today at Academy in San Marcos for $15/50. They still had another 1K rounds or more on the shelf, but that's the only .380 they had. All other calibers were well represented, and fairly well priced, too.

philip964 wrote:Nothing wrong with a .380 gun other than there is no ammunition to speak of that you can buy other than very expensive self defense rounds that come 20 to a box.

Not sure where you are looking, but I've seen 3000+ rounds each from more than one manufacturer on the shelf at Academy (a week ago, and again today) and Cabela's (a few weeks ago). The Academy FMJ stuff was $17/50, which ain't bad, in my book, for something so scarce for so long. It wasn't too much more at Cabela's, either.

gwashorn,

Definitely get your wife to try the LCR. I could have gotten a no-lock S&W 442 for a song, but my wife HATED the trigger. She's still not all that pleased with the recoil of the LCR, but she'll run a box of ammo through it at a time unlike the 442, which she only ran 15-20 rounds max at a time. It is amazing what the trigger alone will do to your shooting experience.

BTW, we're still looking for a few pocket .380s on the shelf which need their triggers test driven.

txrr wrote:CHL is in the mail too. I was set on the LCR until I found out the SW380 has better sights, second fire capability, and stays open after the last shot. Plus, I want a manual safety option. Life time warranty included. All that said, I'd love to hear more about how the two guns compare next to each other on the range.

Did you mean LCP or LCR? From what I've heard, the S&W soaks up recoil much better that the LCP. I know nothing about the trigger on the S&W other than what I've read online, but I have heard from various folks that the Taurus TCP trigger is better than the LCP, but I don't know where the S&W falls on that spectrum.

Pucker,

I'll have to try that next time. I asked the counter guy (not a manager) if we could try the trigger, and he said they don't allow it. Maybe with cash on the counter he would have, I don't know.

As to the S&W .380, the Academy in San Marcos had it for $460 or $470, IIRC. Just about $100 more than the Coyote Special LCP they had.

I handled one at Academy the other day and compared it to the Sig P238, Ruger LCP, and Taurus TCP. My wife liked the S&W feel and controls, but being Academy, we couldn't try the trigger. I've heard it really stinks, but I'll have to reserve judgment until I actually get to try it.

BTW, her preferences just by feel and controls were: Sig, S&W, Ruger, Taurus (she's a 1911 woman). As to the S&W, I liked the feel and weight, the laser controls and option to use a manual safety or not (it has a very positive engagement/disengagement click), and the real sights. It is a bit bigger than the LCP and TCP, but it is lighter than the P238. Again, all bets are off until I pull the triggers.