Search for a good .380

[bulinm]

My wife, and I, sure enjoy her Mod 42. It's at the top of my list of .380s, except, of course,
for the Colt Government.

[mojo84]

I really like my Colt Mustang.

[Selcouth]

Love my Keltec P3AT. Not one issue... Ever

My wife has a Bodyguard and it has had numerous FTF, FTE, and misfeeds. I personally can't stand the gun and think its junk. We have used numerous ammo brands with all the same results. Guess she got a bad one.

[tk1700]

Love the P238! Easy to conceal in various carry methods. Handles well and has a great solid feel. Most importantly, it shoots good and haven't had any problems with numerous brands of ammo along with store bought reloads and my own reloads. Good luck.

[jbarn]

Love my Keltec P3AT. Not one issue... Ever

My wife has a Bodyguard and it has had numerous FTF, FTE, and misfeeds. I personally can't stand the gun and think its junk. We have used numerous ammo brands with all the same results. Guess she got a bad one.

Does her BG do it when you shoot it?

What is a misfeed? You referring to a double feed?

Did you know S&W has a lifetime warranty?

[Selcouth]

Love my Keltec P3AT. Not one issue... Ever

My wife has a Bodyguard and it has had numerous FTF, FTE, and misfeeds. I personally can't stand the gun and think its junk. We have used numerous ammo brands with all the same results. Guess she got a bad one.

Does her BG do it when you shoot it?

What is a misfeed? You referring to a double feed?

Did you know S&W has a lifetime warranty?

Yes double feed. I thought maybe she was limpwrisitng it, so I thought I'd give it a try as well and was thoroughly disappointed when I had the same reoccurring issues. I realize they have a lifetime warranty, but it's just disheartening when my wife(new shooter) was excited to pick out her first gun(anniversary gift) and she is rewarded with constant issues. It's more disappointing when the gun is brand new and expectations are high especially with being a S&W.

While in the gun store I was crossing my fingers she would choose the P938 or P238, but she opted for the bodyguard.

We own a KAHR, Colt, Ruger, Keltec, and a 2 Sigs and this is the first time we have encountered any sort of gun problems.

[jbarn]

Love my Keltec P3AT. Not one issue... Ever

My wife has a Bodyguard and it has had numerous FTF, FTE, and misfeeds. I personally can't stand the gun and think its junk. We have used numerous ammo brands with all the same results. Guess she got a bad one.

Does her BG do it when you shoot it?

What is a misfeed? You referring to a double feed?

Did you know S&W has a lifetime warranty?

Yes double feed. I thought maybe she was limpwrisitng it, so I thought I'd give it a try as well and was thoroughly disappointed when I had the same reoccurring issues. I realize they have a lifetime warranty, but it's just disheartening when my wife(new shooter) was excited to pick out her first gun(anniversary gift) and she is rewarded with constant issues. It's more disappointing when the gun is brand new and expectations are high especially with being a S&W.

While in the gun store I was crossing my fingers she would choose the P938 or P238, but she opted for the bodyguard.

We own a KAHR, Colt, Ruger, Keltec, and a 2 Sigs and this is the first time we have encountered any sort of gun problems.

Yeah, I understand. Send it to Smith. They'll make it right...

[Oldgringo]

My .380 Is a Sig P230 SL and no, it ain't for sale....yet.

[CoffeeNut]

I'd recommend the P238. I carry that nearly everyday and it is a phenomenal little gun that has functioned very well. The safety isn't everyone's favorite but it's easy enough to disengage. I got mine at Academy for about $500 after tax and that was with the night sights (rear), truglo TFO (front), 7 round magazine, holster and hard case.

[The Annoyed Man]

"build-quality." only one comes to mind- GLOCK 42

My .380 is a Sphinx AT-380. When I first got my CHL I picked it up at a gun show as my first carry gun.

My .380 is a Kahr PM9 9mm. Roughly the same size as most .380s............or close enough not to matter...........and a heck of a lot more firepower. Still easy to shoot.

Excaliber, I took a friend to DPC not too long ago and we shot his newly acquired Bodyguard .380, inherited from his recently deceased father. Despite the emotional attachment he had to the gun due to its provenance, he agreed with me that it was a lot harder to shoot than he expected it to be. I found that the trigger--which was functioning exacctly as designed--must have stacked up to about 20 lb (on my finely tuned seat of the pants scale) at the end of the stroke. My friend, who has some congenital orthopedic issues affecting his joints and his hand strength, found it very difficult to shoot because of the abysmal trigger. Compared to it, the trigger on the Kahr was a breeze. I used ot own a Kel-Tec P3AT a few years ago, and while it had a reasonably easy trigger, it was a knuckle-buster to shoot. In comparison, the Bodyguard was a knuckle-buster with a horrible trigger. My friend shot my PM9 and was surprised at how comparitively easy it was to shoot, and then he fell in love with The Annoyed Woman's CW9 and ended up buying one for himself.

The PM9/CM9/CW9 are excellent little 9mm pistols at a reasonable price and very easy to conceal. With the addition of the Springfield XDS-9, the M&P Shield, the Beretta Nano, and the Kimber Solo 9mm--to name a few--I just don't think there is any reason to carry a .380 that can't be negated either by a change in wardrobe or concealment method. Yes, a .380 is better than nothing, but I also think that people often default to a .380 because they don't think they can get a deeply concealable 9mm. But that is simply not the case, and one can get a gun which is more powerful, and which is so small that any extra effort to conceal it is negligible.

That's my 2 cents.

[asbandr]

I love my sig p238. I had a ruger lcp, but it hurt my hand after about 50 rounds, plus I hated the sights on it. My hubby and u went to the range and rented a few different guns, the sig being one of them, and as soon as I fired it I knew I had to get one. Got it within a week. It has jammed extracting the casing twice, but I am positive I was limp wristing. Unfortunately it was at my chl qualifier, which got me a bit frazzled but I still did well. Again, it was totally my fault and I love it. My husbands thinking about getting him one as his carry.

[TomsTXCHL]

I had a ruger lcp, but it hurt my hand after about 50 rounds

But apart from the qualifying test, when would you ever need (or want) to shoot 50 rounds with it?

My wife loves her LCP. It goes BANG every time she pulls the trigger, and it's small & cute & compact i.e. easy to carry so IMO any gun that goes BANG and that my wife will/wants to carry is A Very (VERY) Good Thing.

Having said all that, she likes my gorgeous P938 and wants something cooler/classier for herself now. And I am Deliriously Happy that she now thinks that way--she never fired a gun in her life until the LCP, this after six plus decades on this planet. She never before understood my interest in firearms, then went from Total Disinterest to Love (at First Bang)!

[asbandr]

Well I try to get to the gun range as often as possible for practice, so it is annoying to have a sore hand by the time I leave. But that's just my experience. If the LCP works for your wife and she is comfortable carrying it everyday, that's great.
I grew up around guns, but never cared to mess with them much until a year or so ago. I was going to take the CHL course with my husband last year, but didn't feel comfortable carrying, so didn't want to spend the money just to have the license. As the year went on I spent more time at the range and decided I want to carry, so now I'm just waiting on my plastic.

[RJGold]

Love my Keltec P3AT. Not one issue... Ever

My wife has a Bodyguard and it has had numerous FTF, FTE, and misfeeds. I personally can't stand the gun and think its junk. We have used numerous ammo brands with all the same results. Guess she got a bad one.

Does her BG do it when you shoot it?

What is a misfeed? You referring to a double feed?

Did you know S&W has a lifetime warranty?

Yes double feed. I thought maybe she was limpwrisitng it, so I thought I'd give it a try as well and was thoroughly disappointed when I had the same reoccurring issues. I realize they have a lifetime warranty, but it's just disheartening when my wife(new shooter) was excited to pick out her first gun(anniversary gift) and she is rewarded with constant issues. It's more disappointing when the gun is brand new and expectations are high especially with being a S&W.

While in the gun store I was crossing my fingers she would choose the P938 or P238, but she opted for the bodyguard.

We own a KAHR, Colt, Ruger, Keltec, and a 2 Sigs and this is the first time we have encountered any sort of gun problems.

I have a BG that I use when I want to pocket carry or carry something smaller than my XDm9.

When my wife shoots it, somehow the way she holds it will sometimes press the mag release and drop the mag out (resluting in a FTF). We've tried adjusting her grip but she ends up back in her standard grip. I've also seen the same thing happen when another female friend of ours shot it. My daughter shoots it with no problem.

As others have mentioned, the trigger takes some getting used to.

My wife much prefers my XDm9 to anything else she's shot.

My two cents.

[jbarn]

I had a ruger lcp, but it hurt my hand after about 50 rounds

But apart from the qualifying test, when would you ever need (or want) to shoot 50 rounds with it?

To attain and maintain proficiency.