.380 options – locked breech

What options in a 380 semi auto would you suggest for a lady who is recoil sensitive and has very small hands? Looking for a soft shooting, compact 380 with the following characteristics:
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The locked breech ones that I'm aware of are the really small ones, and the one example I'm familiar with (Ruger's LCP) is not pleasant to shoot. They make them locked breech, in order to be able to make them that small and shootable.
 
EAA Pavona might not be small enough for your requirements, but should be a soft shooter. The effort to rack the slide is said to be reduced also.
 
cluznar said:
If you want reduced recoil and less muzzle flash simply use good defensive ammo like Corbon Pwrball.
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Using good defensive ammo is not a guarantee of less muzzle flash and reduced recoil. Most of the Corbon rounds I've fired or used had substantially more recoil than other rounds. (I just checked their website, and their 9mm and .45 ammo is mostly +P. The only offer one round for .380 or .32.) I don't know how Corbon's muzzle flash compares to others, but I would be suprised if it's a lot LESS than other defensive rounds.

A lot of things affect recoil and how it's felt -- including the bullet weight, the powder/load used, the weight of the gun, grip size and shape, etc., etc.

Good defensive ammo will probably offer good reliability and, well placed, enhanced lethality.

hardhat harry said:
This thread is 5 years old. I think the OP probably found what he was looking for!
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Yeah, but others are apparently interested in the topic and other input... Twelve people have posted in the past day or so...
 
hardhat harry
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Join Date: August 27, 2010
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This thread is 5 years old. I think the OP probably found what he was looking for!
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HAHAHA... I wondered why nobody mentioned the Glock 380:eek:
 
I have a CZ 82, 83, Bersa Thunder and a Sig P232. My subjective opinion is that they have heavier recoil and the slides are noticeably harder to rack than my daughter's Sig P238. On the other hand I'm more accurate with my blowback .380's than the P238 and I have shot it a lot.
 
For a person with small or weaker hands, the main advantage of a locked breech pistol over a blowback is that the slide of the former is usually easier to retract for loading/unloading. Even small folks can get used to recoil, but if the strength to operate the slide isn't there, the gun can't be used in the first place.
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Quite right. A number of years ago I picked up a Bersa Thunder 380. Nice carry gun. My wife, who has small hands and Rheumatoid Arthritis (which greatly limits her grip strength), tried to use it and just couldn't. She can't rack the slide to save her life. She can't load the magazines (with ammo) by herself. Even though the weapon is sized right for her hands, it is just unusable to her. Recoil isn't the problem -- grip strength is. She ended up getting an older S&W model 15 revolver and loves it. (it is a -2, ok for +p) After all, there's no slide, and no magazines. Perceived recoil is similar with SD ammo, and loaded with light wadcutters (I handload them) it is like shooting a .22.

We have a niece who has recently gotten herself a Walther PK380. We haven't met up with her since she bought it, but I'm curious if my wife is better able to work the slide of that locking breech pistol than the blowback operated Bersa or any of my other locking breech pistols. She really hasn't been able to work the slide of any autoloader that she's tried other than her .22, a S&W 422 (and even then I have to load the mags). OTOH, it really doesn't matter all that much. She loves her .38, and it'll get the job done just fine if need be.
 
On the other hand I'm more accurate with my blowback .380's than the P238 and I have shot it a lot.
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That is one thing to keep in mind about blowback operated weapons. The barrel is fixed. Granted, in most cases the sights are on the slide and therefore never completely accurate (meaning the sights and the barrel are both completely fixed to the frame), but that is 1 point of inaccuracy rather than 2 points when both the sights (on the moving slide) and the barrel (which itself moves) are variants.

In many weapons, that "slop" factor isn't enough to matter anyway, even with breech lock mechanisms that have 2 points of inaccuracy. Even with particularly "sloppy" ones like my KelTec PF-9 (my EDC) it is still plenty accurate enough for its intended purpose: minute of bad guy's boiler room at 15 yards or so.

With us civilian types and concealed carry handguns, the point isn't really about what sort of MOA you have anyway. You aren't dealing with that kind of ranges. An inch of slop at 15 yards is insignificant, when the aim is to be able to put rounds, consistently, in the "boiler room" at that range. Yeah, slow fire tight groups are nice at the range. They don't really matter all that much in life-or-death SD situations. I'm not a LEO, so I'm not really concerned about the hostage drill head shot* -- a COM hit will do or I'm not going to take the shot as it is beyond my pay grade.

*Yes, I'm capable of making the shot. But I'm not going to CCW the weapon capable of consistently making it. Open carry is illegal in Texas...
 
380

I have the new Walther PK380 and to date, it has never jammed or malfunctioned in any manner.

Feeds perfectly with FMJ ammo and for a bit more power Mag Tech 380+p also function without any problems.

Nice little DA/SA semi=auto with a very well thought out grip.
 
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