Which mid sized 380 carry pistol?

Z

zanemoseley

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My wife and I took the class today for our carry permit. I shoot a lot of NRA bullseye so the qualifying was easy money with my Sig 1911 38 super with target loads.

My wife shot her Glock 26 that she's had for over 10 years however she doesn't shoot much. She failed the first time with a 68, needed a 70. Then the instructor let her use his Walther .22 and she got a 100.

So she's got some options. First she can try to go with me shooting enough to get over her recoil anticipation. That may or may not happen, the investment of time that is.

Her second option is to get a decent sized 380 she can shoot more comfortably. I just got a LCP Custom which will be my pocket carry pistol. For her I was thinking of possibly a Walther PK380.

Which other mid sized 380 pistols should I look at in addition to the PK380.
 
My wife settled on the Kimber Micro .380. 1911 style, familiar controls. Easy to rack slide and unlike a lot of .380 pistols, it uses a locking barrel rather than a fixed one so recoil is very slight. She chose the Kimber over its cousin, the Sig P238 for the better beavertail and grip. I agree after handling and shooting both too. The Kimber Micro is a very nice little gun indeed. We looked at the G42/43 but she had problems with the slide.


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2nd a Beretta 84 or 85. It's not the cheapest, but is high quality with good sights, easy to handle within a med form factor and recoil is non-existent.
 
"mySig 1911"---Sig P238
"her Glock 26 "---Glock 42
"I just got a LCP"---Ruger LC380
Just some choces with a degree of familiarity.

However,
First she can try to go with me shooting enough to get over her recoil anticipation. That may or may not happen,
Click to expand...
That should take priority over any new gun to compensate poor shooting. In many more ways than just getting over recoil shyness.
 
CZ-83 or Beretta 84

Personally if I were going the .380 route, it would be a sub-compact. If going for a compact, I'd just go with 9mm and pad the grip a little.
 
380s

Hi - you say "medium size" 380 -- I second the Kahr P380 as a great gun (and there is a cheaper but equally functional version - CW380?). But if "medium-sized" is operative, she might try a Kahr P9 (or cheaper version) in 9mm with recoil-reduced loads. My experience is that the added size/weight of the P9 has recoil that is about the same as the smaller, lighter Kahr P380. Note that Kahr triggers are very long and very smooth -- DA revolver-like -- she will either like them a lot .... or not at all!
 
I got my wife a Sig P232, but the long trigger pull on the first DA shot might not be her cup of tea if she doesn't shoot it often. I have a Glock 380 that would make a dandy purse gun with every pull of the trigger the same and no safeties to manipulate that she would have to stop to figure out in a moment of crisis. The recoil is very light and it shoots as good as a lot of larger 9mm's I have used.
 
My Beretta 84 and CZ83 are both excellent. They are medium-sized and the recoil is far less than my smaller 380's. My lowest-recoiling 380 is definitely my Colt Government 380. It fires from a locked breech.. A SA auto might not be everyone's cup of tea, though.
 
One of the best midsized .380's I have ever owned is either the Beretta Model 84 (double stack), or the Model 85 (single stack). They are pricey, but are well built and easy to shoot. JMHO.
 
No love for the Bersa? Personally, I would have her try the Glock 380 since she is familiar with the 26.

What state actually scores and has a passing requirement for the CCW?
 
Bersa Thunder or Beretta 83,84,85 Cheetah, or Sig 232, or 238. I'd rather jump up to 9mm and get a Walther PPS M2. Super concealable but handles like a full sized gun.


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Here's another vote for the Browning 1911-380. If she's that recoil sensitive, the Browning should be the softest shooting of the bunch. It's larger and heavier than all the micro .380's, and it's short recoil operated unlike the blowback CZ-83 and Beretta 84/85.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'm reading more about the Beretta 84, Bersa Thunder and Walther Pk380. I'm curious though nobody mentioned anything about the PK380, is it disliked or just an obscure choice?

Honestly the Beretta looks the nicest but gotta decide if it's worth it or if I should just go with a Bersa. I'm also looking at some Berettas used in nice condition on Gunbroker.

I'd like to stay with a pistol right at 20 ounces. If I go too light like my LCP Custom it's just going to increase recoil back to what her Glock 26 is at.

We live in Tennessee, I found a popular shop that does carry classes for $40 and I felt like they did a very good job. The one thing I think they left out was they didn't cover the different coditions of carry or different methods of carry. The first part of the class covered firearm basics and the second part covered legalities. We shot 50 shots total from 3, 5 and 7yards at a reduced sized silhouette, basically you had to get 35 of 50 shots in the rings about the size of a piece of copy paper.


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