Why buy a 380?

I started carrying a Pocket gun about 11 years ago. It started a fascination with me toward them. Lousy shot at first, but for 11 years shot them religiously. They became a niche type of shooting.
Yea, there are some small 380's that have a horrible recoil and very snappy. And they require a lot of practice. So what have I chosen out of so many that I have owned and shot. "The Beretta Pico". Have to say, I love the gun. And SO MILD to shoot. And built like a solid rock with a all stainless steel build. I now own two. One for Carry and one for range. Thousands of flawless rounds through the range gun and over 1500 rds through the other one. Great sights and easy to Add night Sights. (I believe in good sights and contrary to people say that they will snag is simply not true.)
I do like the Kahr and that is also a mild shooter, but can be finiky on Ammo.
The Pico will virtually run every single ammo I have put through them and has "Restrike capability. AND THEY WILL HANDLE hot ammo or plus P and designed for it.

Any thing bigger I move up to a small revolver or micro 9mm.

https://imgur.com/gallery/cbuqy5C

Totally reliable. Easy to Shoot and Carry.
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380 is a good summer carry... if you should need to defend yourself not alot of cloths to go through in summer.

I personally would not carry a .380 in winter
 
The wife would not practice with her 38 or any of my pistols. Bought her a S&W M&P 380 EZ and she will practice now, and shoots very accurately.

And she’s irritated that her LTC card hasn’t gotten here yet, though mine
has.
 
Resurrected thread says there is no reason to buy a 380 when pocket 9mm (Kahr CM/PM) is available and still has 2x the power, 7 years later.
 
One of the most obvious reasons, I think, is because some .380's like the Ruger LCP or Kel Tec are significantly smaller than even the smallest 9mm.
 
Well, heck. I bought a Colt Government Model .380 Pocketlite in '92, thereabouts, for a backup gun to a 1911 or G21 or BHP. It was OK, carried it a lot for many years, but...had to carry with the hammer down due to no grip safety, and thumb safety I could not count on. Thumb cocking an auto for first shot under duress did not appeal to me, so I started using a Mak that came my way. It was kinda heavy, only 7 rd capacity, and aesthetically not all that pleasing. A while back I started hearing good things about Bersa's Thunder from a guy who shoots his a lot, more good things from others, and then discovered the Thunder Plus and decided that if one is going to carry a .380, might as well be 16 rounds in the hand than 8. So, in July, I got the brushed nickel finish with black highlights Plus (a goldang good lookin' pistol, if you ask me), a couple extra magazines and a Fobus holster, and I like it a lot. You all know how a Browning Hi-Power feels in the hand, just about perfect...this Plus has the same feel. I've run Wolf, Buffalo Bore, Federal factory loads through it (nearly 500) and just under a 1,000 rounds of 20 year old cast bullet hand loads without a single bobble, jam or hesitation (no cleaning, either). It just works. Like the .327 Federal, it just sips powder, and a pound goes a long way. I have, in fact, divested myself of all my 9mms, dies, and brass (gave it all to my son who likes his 9mms). I feel in no way under-gunned with the Thunder Plus and 46 rounds of hot .380 ready to go.
Really fun on steel, too.
 
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I haven't found a 9 mm pistol that I can carry comfortably in dress slacks. I can my Sig P238, and it shoots very nicely - locked breach, as some have pointed out, is not rare in the small .380s these days. 9 mm pistols are getting smaller, but there is a limit in that the .380 cartridge is physically smaller, and the pressure less.

I have a Beretta 84, too. Not a pocket gun, not actually a self defense gun at all in my use, but a pleasant gun to own and shoot. "Because I can."
 
Resurrected thread says there is no reason to buy a 380 when pocket 9mm (Kahr CM/PM) is available and still has 2x the power, 7 years later.
Click to expand...

I own a Kahr CM9, and it is nowhere near as small and pocketable as my Ruger LCP.
 
I prefer to carry a 44, or 9mm, or 38. Sometimes I just can't. I have owned a P3AT and an LCP. I am picking up my Pico tomorrow or the next day. I can carry tiny 380's like those no matter what I am wearing. It's the gun to carry when you can't carry a gun. There are no 9mm pistols that small.
 
I have a 380 because I can. The price was right, it's an all metal construction, and aesthetically, it pleases me. It checked off too many boxes to not make it mine. I don't care what anybody says. I like it, it carries well, it's reliable, it's accurate, it's American made(whatever that means these days), and I don't feel undergunned when I carry it.
 
Like many others have already said, you can have a reasonably effective self defense pistol in a very small package.
The Ruger LCP is so small you can carry one in your sock or just your boxer-briefs!
 
Because the sales clerk said I could not just have it for free.

I bought all of my handguns for the same reason, I like the looks, the function, the reputation, it filled a hole in my accumulation and I could afford it.

It often seems we tend to turn decisions into false dichotomies, into this or that, one or the other and tend to forget that it seldom in that simple. I'm sure there are fold out there that have just one handgun and one holster and for that person it may well be a black and white choice but I am not that person.

When I go out the door with a gun I put on a layer of responsibility and understanding that if I use the gun then I failed. It is a reminder to me to not take offense, to not get upset, to be extra aware, extra polite, extra understanding. Regardless of whether I am carrying a 45acp, 44 magnum, 357, 38 Special, 38 S&W, 9mm, 9mmKurz, 9mm Mak, 22, or 25 my goal must be to not need to use the gun.

For me, the caliber of heightened awareness is more important than the caliber of the gun.
 
I dont carry my sig p238 because I cant in my libertard state, however it is a fun gun to shoot and surprisingly accurate for its size.
 
I decided I wanted one of those smaller pistols. Usually I carry a 1911 or my XD45. I wanted a BUG and decided on ankle carry for it. I fondled a lot of the small pistols. Of those available to fondle, the Sig P238 fit my hand best.

I broke my back and couldn't take the weight of my 1911. I could take the weight of the P238. I go into surgery on the 25th. I suspect after a long spell of PT I will go back to the 1911.

OH! right now I carry the P238 on my right hip about 3:30.
 
On HOT HUMID day, I wear loose shorts and a Tee shirt. I do not want a Pound and a Half of lead and steel in my pocket dragging my pants off. Especially since on a HOT HUMID day, I do not like to wear a belt.
I like Pocket guns, and I like the 380.

FULLY LOADED WITH 7 ROUNDS

2FRDoGh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/gRzCjMl.mp4

In the fall, the Little Nano and Ruger LCR9mm will be ready for action. They have been getting plenty of range time this summer. They are rearing to to.
 
"you can have a reasonably effective self defense pistol in a very small package.
The Ruger LCP is so small you can carry one in your sock or just your boxer-briefs! "

This is just funny!
 
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