.380 question

[wgoforth]

Let us not forget the Kimber Solo (if money is no object): http://www.kimberamerica.com/solo

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Been a lot of negative reviews on the Solo. Anyone with personal experience?

[The Annoyed Man]

Been a lot of negative reviews on the Solo. Anyone with personal experience?

I know that at least a couple of members here have one. The "negatives" i read on it were two-fold (from Gun-Tests magazine):

1. the recoil spring. It's pretty stiff, which makes manually cycling the slide a bit of a chore.

2. the tang that sticks out of the front of the magazine floorplate can "bite" some people's hands.

Personally, I'd want to shoot one before I spent $700 on it, but if it didn't bite my hand and it functioned reliably, I wouldn't let the recoil spring be an issue. Pretty much any tiny 9mm has a stout spring. My PM9 certainly does.

[wgoforth]

Been a lot of negative reviews on the Solo. Anyone with personal experience?

I know that at least a couple of members here have one. The "negatives" i read on it were two-fold (from Gun-Tests magazine):

1. the recoil spring. It's pretty stiff, which makes manually cycling the slide a bit of a chore.

2. the tang that sticks out of the front of the magazine floorplate can "bite" some people's hands.

Personally, I'd want to shoot one before I spent $700 on it, but if it didn't bite my hand and it functioned reliably, I wouldn't let the recoil spring be an issue. Pretty much any tiny 9mm has a stout spring. My PM9 certainly does.

Yes, most small .380's have the stout spring too. The negatives I have read in reviews is not feeding properly, though some have responded saying it only does that when you use the less than suggested ammo. I believe they say it should have 124 grain minimum. For $700, I would want it to eat anything I feed it, though I know smaller guns can be picky about ammo.

[RPB]

something about metal shavings from barrel locking lugs
Solo
pros and cons review
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[Divided Attention]

I carry a M&P 9C on body most of the time. I do have a .380 for days I have to wear my belly band due to drawstrings on my waistbands for scrubs. Looking for singlestack 9 instead. What holsters have you tried, positions. The first time I strapped it on it felt HUGE! Then I realized the only person that notices it is Me I can even tuck a tee shirt in my jeans with my 9C and wear it anywhere legal.

eta - My .P238 does not throw brass at me, and I Love shooting it. I have tried a couple other .380's and was not a fan so much, but love my Sig. IIRC the new single stack 9mm by Ruger does not lock the slide back, but it is thin and feels nice to my hand. Really like the Kahrs as well, just haven't found one I am willing to put that much $$ on at this time, as right now I am looking for a shotgun

[2012CHLholder]

Interesting topic as I have been looking at .380s also. I had planned on a TCP738, until I shot a Bersa Thunder .380. Though larger, the Bersa felt good and performed well. The fixed barrel design has been said to help in the feeding. I have not fired a TCP 738. Would like to, but I am sure the recoil of the polymer frame will be much greater. The Bersa would probably hold up longer using the +P ammo also.

[wgoforth]

Interesting topic as I have been looking at .380s also. I had planned on a TCP738, until I shot a Bersa Thunder .380. Though larger, the Bersa felt good and performed well. The fixed barrel design has been said to help in the feeding. I have not fired a TCP 738. Would like to, but I am sure the recoil of the polymer frame will be much greater. The Bersa would probably hold up longer using the +P ammo also.

If interested in the polymer lineup, try the Smith and Wesson Bodyguard .380. Much less recoil and more accurate with a built in laser.

[rwg3]

Like many here I have a P238 that I love, both for it's ease of use and it's concealability. I have handled the P232 with Hogue grips and I must admit it was the first real crush I have developed since the 60's. It just fits my hand and looks so cool, but it is quite a bit larger than the 238. I would encourage you to look into the new Sig P938. Essentially the same as the 238 (.4") longer but same width and height. It is a single stack nine and If it works as well as the 238, I am sure I will be acquiring one. I would love to be able to consolidate my ammo and accoutrements around a single caliber.

[Matt78665]

I agree with all those that think you should try to find a way to conceal the 9mm you already have. I will bet there is a way you could do it with a slight alteration in wardrobe that would work great.

[CC Italian]

Definitely stay with 9mm if you can. I won't go into it again but there is a reason I do not own a .380acp anymore. As for what gun, everybody has experiences pros and cons. I personally don't like the micro 9mms. Being a woman will make it harder to dress around obviously because of your body shape and clothing. I know several women who have gotten their chl and all pocket carry or purse carry if and when they carry because they have a hard time with concealment. The best advice you can get is to listen to the ladies on this forum and talk to them about how to make it easier to conceal on your body. They are more then willing to help!

A lot of people will recommend the Kahrs. I never bought one because 2 of my friends sent their P9s back 2-3 times each within a 1000 rounds because of feeding problems. This was of course 3-4 years ago when they bought them and as TAM and others have said they have had few if any problems with the newer models. The grip is great for women with small hands!

I personally recommend sub-compact 9mms like the Glock 27, S&W M&P and XD etc. Try to hold everything you can get your hands on and fire. Just out of curiosity what S&W 9mm are you referring to that you can’t conceal?

[Divided Attention]

See that you are in SW Houston, I know it is a bit of a drive, but this might be something you are interested in. Great instructor, and usually a great group of ladies.

http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=52615

Another thing you might want to look into is the group that meets at the Arms Room Monthly called "A Girl & A Gun". They will be having a field trip to GRB gun show to do something similar, but at the monthly Girls' Night Out they discuss stuff just like you were asking. We gals have issues to concealment that guys don't have to deal with EVER. Have met a few of the southside ladies and they are an awesome group of girls with a lot of varied experiences to share.

BTW, congratulations on your class and welcome to the board!

[johncanfield]

--snip--... Bersa is a nice gun, but the recoil is stouter than my Sig P238 because of that blowback design. Due to the 238 being all metal, the perceived recoil is minimal. And, with the extended mag, I can get all 4 of my fingers around the grip with a 7+1 (8) round capacity. The slide is unusually easy to rack for such a small gun, which is often a problem for the ladies. I think half of us who have the P238 have it because our wives got them due to ease of racking....then the husbands tried them and liked them. I encourage spouses to have matching guns anyway.

Our Sig P238 is a fabulous little handgun and a delight to shoot - we can put 100 rounds through it at the range and not have any soreness/tiredness/hand cramps/etc (it is not a blowback design.) Finally (after a thousand rounds) we can reliably get the Sig on target in a decent group. The Sig's sights are 12 o'clock and not the usual 6 o'clock which took a bit of getting used to (you cover up the target with the Sig's three dots.)

The P238 is dear wife's favorite carry so I rarely get a chance to carry the thing (she has it at the moment) - guess we need another one! I usually carry the M&P compact IWB/OWB but when you just want to tuck something small in your normal sized pants IWB, you just can't beat something that size.

[Heartland Patriot]

Interesting topic as I have been looking at .380s also. I had planned on a TCP738, until I shot a Bersa Thunder .380. Though larger, the Bersa felt good and performed well. The fixed barrel design has been said to help in the feeding. I have not fired a TCP 738. Would like to, but I am sure the recoil of the polymer frame will be much greater. The Bersa would probably hold up longer using the +P ammo also.

My wife is not a "shooter". That is, even though she is comfortable handling firearms, shooting is not something she'd just goes and does without perhaps a bit of prodding from me. She also has a bad wrist, the result of a fall many years ago. We bought her a Bersa Thunder .380 and she likes that pistol. (She tried holding a Ruger LCP and said it FELT like holding a "water pistol", her words.) She does NOT find the recoil of the Bersa to be too great in the least. And once I showed her how to grip the slide more effectively, she can rack it pretty well. Its a solid pistol and pretty accurate. We both like it.

[TexGalRK]

I currently carry a Taurus 709 slim in an Uncle Mikes holster quite comfortably. Love this thing... my husband does too.(He went and bought the same for himself.) I had carried my Bersa 380 a little bit, but wanted to carry at least a 9mm(besides my bersa is finicky about ammo and I never know when it won't like something. ) Carrying my Taurus 24/7 was kinda bulky and heavy in the purse, not to mention carrying it on my person was hard to conceal, so the Slim 9 was the way to go for me. As you can see I am partial to the Taurus. Only had good experiences with em. That's my 2 cents, hope it helps!
RK~

[S&Wgrl]

Thank you SO much everyone! This forum is wonderful. I'm definitely going to get a 9mm. I'm leaning strongly towards the compact Springfield XD, and the Kahr CM9. I would like another S&W, I need to check out their compacts. I'll update when I purchase whatever I decide.