Opinions on the Kahr CT380?

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BigMikey76

New member
I've been going back and forth for a while now on getting a small single stack for a deeper concealment option. Ive looked at the little mouse guns (LCP, Bodyguard, etc.) But they are all a bit too small for my hands. Ive looked at the single stack 9s (Shield, BP9cc, etc.), but they are all a bit bigger and heavier than I really want for this role. I put some serious thought into the Bersa Thunder CC, but I just couldn't get past the manual safety (or the mag safety, for that matter), and, while it is lighter than a lot of the 9mm options, it is still considerably heavier than the mouse options.

I think I have found the right balance in the Kahr CT380. It is a bit bigger than most of its .380 brethren, allowing a better grip, but it weighs in at just under 13 oz, according to the specs I found online, which makes it a better deep conceal option than the single 9s. It really appears to be hitting the sweet spot, and the price is also right, which is very important to me.

I have gotten to the point where I just don't trust most of the reviews I find online, so please fill me in on the good bad and ugly of this little gun. Most importantly, I'm interested in reliability and whether this is a legitimate option for pocket carry.
 
Personally I would recommend the the CM9. It is a little shorter in the grip than the CT380 and it is still light. I have the CM9 and it runs like a top.
 
I have no issues with our CT380 and it is 100% reliable for me. My wife, though, has trouble running it reliably. It's just a hair too snappy for her.
 
Personally I would recommend the the CM9. It is a little shorter in the grip than the CT380 and it is still light. I have the CM9 and it runs like a top.
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How much shorter in the grip? My biggest issue with the little guns is the grip length. My hands are very wide, and guns that give most folks a 2 finger grip often only give me 1 or 1 1/2 fingers on the gun. Based on some comparisons I've seen on YouTube, I expect that I'll be able to get 2 or 2 1\2 on the CT380.
 
Kahr

I have the CW380 and really like the size for pocket carry. Unfortunately it has not been reliable. They seamed to be hit or miss some have had positive experiences many have not.

I have just over 200 rounds which is the recommended round break in period and still have failure to return to battery. It is ammo picky the best I have found is Hornady jacketed XTP. I have not totally given up on this pistol yet as I love the trigger and size. I will continue to shoot and work with it hoping eventually I can feel confident enough it to carry daily.

Go to the Kahr forum lots of info there on this pistol.
 
Check out the Taurus PT709. It is a 9mm, but it is considered a "pocket gun" by many standards, but it's a single stack 9. 7+1, very thin, pretty lightweight, but well able to absorb recoil and it's easy to shoot. If you have larger sized hands, you are only going to get the 2 finger grip with the pinky underneath, but you can purchase a grip extension for $4 (not kidding) on CheaperThanDirt (don't crucify me too much).

Thought I'd look up the specs for ya:
19oz, 1"x4.5"x6" So it appears to be a little heavier than the KAR, but potentially thinner/smaller. I haven't held the CT380, but the PT709 fits my hand very nicely.

Give it a look, last I checked they were sub $200 and mine has been reliable with all carry ammunition I've used. The only thing it doesn't like is bottom-of-the-barrel Federal FMJ. YMMV, but I wouldn't expect it to choke on any self defense ammo, or handloads for that matter.
 
Thanks for the suggestion, PlatinumCore. You won't get crucified by me for suggesting a Taurus - my EDC for the last two years was a pt111 g2, and I never had a problem with it. I made the decision recently to switch to only carrying guns that have no manual safeties, though, so it is now retired and soon to be gifted to my son. The 709 is a good gun, I have no doubt, but it has a safety.
 
BigMikey76 said:
How much shorter in the grip? My biggest issue with the little guns is the grip length. My hands are very wide, and guns that give most folks a 2 finger grip often only give me 1 or 1 1/2 fingers on the gun. Based on some comparisons I've seen on YouTube, I expect that I'll be able to get 2 or 2 1\2 on the CT380.
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According to the kahr website the cm9 is .4" shorter than the ct380. Also I know you looked at ruger LCP. With a factory 7round mag it makes the grip longer. My lcp is very reliable. Here's mine with the 7 round mag.


BigMikey76 said:
How much shorter in the grip? My biggest issue with the little guns is the grip length. My hands are very wide, and guns that give most folks a 2 finger grip often only give me 1 or 1 1/2 fingers on the gun. Based on some comparisons I've seen on YouTube, I expect that I'll be able to get 2 or 2 1\2 on the CT380.
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According to the kahr website the cm9 is .4" shorter than the ct380. Also I know you looked at ruger LCP. With a factory 7round mag it makes the grip longer. My lcp is very reliable. Here's mine with the 7 round mag.

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Kahr fan here! I have 2 CT-380's and carry them some when larger caliber not feasible. I had 2 FTE's at the 50 round mark on one of the CT's and the other no probs at all and 300 or so rounds thru both! A bit of a tradeoff size vs power but these CT-380's have a place!
I carry them quite a bit in the summer and a spare extended mag in back pocket! I really like these pistols, your mileage may vary!
 
I really like the trigger on Kahr pistols, super smooth. I had a CM9 but it kept having issues even after the break in period. Take a look at Ruger's LCP custom or the LCP II. Never a hiccup with my old LCP.
 
Have you tried a Kahr trigger before?

It's indeed super smooth, but the pull is so long Kahr describes it as double action [style] and it has a similar reset.

I like it and feel such a trigger is fine for a carry pistol, but it draws a lot of hate from those who find it unfashionable or are concerned it's too different from their other pistols.
 
Have you tried a Kahr trigger before?

It's indeed super smooth, but the pull is so long Kahr describes it as double action [style] and it has a similar reset.

I like it and feel such a trigger is fine for a carry pistol, but it draws a lot of hate from those who find it unfashionable or are concerned it's too different from their other pistols
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That's actually one of the things that I find attractive about the Kahr. When I decided to switch to only carrying guns that have no manual safeties, I also decided that getting used to longer trigger pulls was a good idea. My current carry gun is an SD9 - fairly long pull and reset, heavy, but not problematic for me. I plan to keep all of my carry guns as similar as possible, so the long pull on the Kahr fits into that plan. I'm also looking at an LCRx in .38 special. I figure if all of my carry guns have long triggers and no safeties, then it makes it easier to switch between them when one or the other just isn't appropriate for the situation.
 
I had a PM9, but thought it was too bulky as a pocket pistol. Very nice gun & great shooter, but my son wanted it.
Pocket carry either my LCP or CT380 95% of the time. The Kahr is larger than the LCP of course, but I like its thinner frame & slide and the 7 round mag capacity. It fits my hand better than the Ruger too. Bought another LCP just because of the $199 deal. One con about the Kahr - the slide is pretty tough to rack with its stiff springs. Other than that, it is a excellent gun.

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My buddy had the .380, went back to the factory twice second time they replaced the pistol, still not reliable so he got rid of it and now carries a Smith Mod 60.
 
What is most appealing to you (size, weight, length, width) about this as better for "deep concealment" than single stack 9's? Just curious...most are only about 1/4" wider and maybe 8 oz heavier.

I was also looking at the CW380 for a while. I rented one at a range and had nothing but problems with stovepipes and a few light primer strikes. Out of a box of 50 Federal rounds, probably 8 of them resulted in some manner of failure. I later tried a P380, which is even smaller. It had about 500 rounds through it and had just been cleaned. It constantly failed to lock the slide on empty, and I had 12 light primer strikes out of 100 rounds...Federal and Winchester, so not crappy ammo. After reading on a lot of Kahr forums, I decided against it. The Kahr 380 models just seem to have notorious reliability problems and lots of warranty trips back to the company. The 9mm models seem to fare better.

Too bad about the Kahrs, because I found both guns to be extremely accurate (not even "for their size" but very accurate, period!) and easy to grip well. Triggers were long and slightly heavy, but very smooth and easy to operate.

I ended up getting a Walther PPS M2...also looked at the Glock G43. Neither is much bigger than the CW380. I'm a pretty thin guy and both of them concealed easily under a t-shirt (appendix carry). I would think that even the CW380 would be a bit large for pocket carrying.

In the end, my verdict was: pocket carry = mouse gun (LCP, Bodyguard, etc.) and easy IWB concealment = single stack 9, especially those like the G43, PPS and XD-s whose flush magazines keep the height to 4.5" or under. Unless you strap one to your forehead you shouldn't have any trouble concealing those :)

Last consideration--if you're sold on the .380 caliber (and the tremendous reduction in weight and width that comes with it), the Glock 42 is one heck of an accurate gun, with dimensions comparable to the CW380 (slightly bigger but still smaller than any 9mm). I'm not a Glock fanboy by any stretch, but that one really impressed me a lot, and its reliability history is quite good (vs. Kahr where "hit and miss" seems to really describe the reliability well, from one gun to the next).
 
380 FMJ

Yes, having your carry guns with similar triggers is a good idea. I've done the same. I very much like my Kahr 380 and PM9. The triggers are somewhat comparable to my revolvers. The PM9 is too big for most of my pockets. The 380 needed break-in, and had trouble with hollow points. It has no problem with FMJ. I still don't carry hollow points in it, but since hollow points don't penetrate enough in 380, FMJs are recommended anyway, which makes it reliable for carry.
 
My favorite pass time now seems to be shooting the Pocket guns. I am a range junkie, go at least once a week. I went through 4 Ruger LCP's. I still have the fourth. The Gen 2 is the only way to go on them. Forget the new model.
Looking for something else, I bought the Beretta Pico. Oh my God! Fell in love with that gun. Just out of the world. Great Quality, and MILD shooter. None of the "High Five Slap known to the LCP. After 500 rounds, I like it so much I ordered a second one. I now have over 1200 rounds in the first one with mixed ammo and NOT one hiccup. 500 rounds in the second one.
Steel frame, Mild shooting, modular design, double strike capability, Great Trigger great sights. (later switched out the factory with Night sights, easy to do) very easy take down, and on and on.
Well since I have been on a roll, I read about the Kahr CW. So I have now ordered one which should arrive first of next week.
It will go into to toe with the Pico. That will be a tough challenge. LCP is down for the count.



 
I bought the Beretta Pico. Oh my God! Fell in love with that gun. Just out of the world. Great Quality, and MILD shooter. None of the "High Five Slap known to the LCP. After 500 rounds, I like it so much I ordered a second one. I now have over 1200 rounds in the first one with mixed ammo and NOT one hiccup. 500 rounds in the second one.
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My experience echoes yours.

I think if people "knew" about the Pico, future LCP sales would be in big trouble.

I believe if a guy shot a mag from a LCP, and then shot a mag from a Pico, he'd say something like, "What's this, a .32 or a .25?"

And the Pico doesn't need a dozen or two magazines fired to "break in" like the LCP. The little Beretta jumps out of the box up and running with no nonsense.

It will go into to toe with the Pico. That will be a tough challenge. LCP is down for the count.
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Please follow up on the Kahr. I used to be interested in that one too.
 
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