Posted on 04/05/2019 4:40:25 AM PDT by w1n1
For Under $400 - These days you can browse the web and find tons of good quality .380 handguns for sale for under $400, but if you’re not familiar with the market. You won’t know which .380’s are the best. The .380 has been known to have the ability to effectively stop an attacker yet small enough to comfortably carry for long periods.
Which makes it a popular choice for many concealed carriers. Without further adieu here are the top five .380 handguns under $400 for men and women.
Kahr CW3833 - This is a smooth double action .380, the offset barrel and ergonomic grips gives the shooter better control.
Walther PK380 - Designed for the concealed carrier that wants a small gun. With its slim grip its a good match for female carriers. Other features includes manual safety blocks, 3 dot polymer and an ambidextrous magazine release.
Beretta Pico .380 ACP - This Beretta is a double action, frame made of polymer, magazine holds 6 rounds. Designed for self-defense and deep concealment. Can be used for ankle carry and inside-the-waistband carry. Read the rest of best 380 pistol.
Bulgarian Makarov- $300.00 if you can find one. They’re popular.
CC
There is also another after-market item, a plastic sheath that encloses the trigger area and provides and extra margin of safety for pocket carry. It has a cord attached that you can tie around a belt loop so it automatically pulls free when you pull the pistol from you pocket.
I've carried mine everywhere and no one notices that I am armed.
Very dependable and the double action trigger is smooth and controllable.
I fired mine yesterday at the range and easily kept all of the hits in the black at 15 yards.
Let me just say I LOVE my Ruger LCP. It is a sweet little gun, and I am very accurate with it.
It goes where I go, and is sometimes so un-noticed that I have forgotten to take it out of my pocket when I absolutely should have
Surprised Glock 42 isn’t on the list. I’m not a huge fan of Glocks in general (kind of corporate and soulless) but I got a good deal on a used 42 and find it to be a reliable, accurate, easily concealable little workhouse.
Not a fan of the LCP. I had an LCP II and it kept having problems. I finally traded it in for a Sig P238
I still love my Walther PPK....yes, a bit heavier than the others, but reliable, accurate and durable.
I like my little Bersa. It loves to take rides with me in my truck.
So many good ones.
I find the medium sized to larger ones about right for me. Large enough to fit my hands and reduce recoil a bit. Walther PPK, PPK/s or just plain old PP.
I bought a Llama .380 as one of my first guns because I could afford it. It turned out to be a first class shooter and had a locked breech to boot. Star made a similar one.
I also own a well performing Hungarian copy of the Walther. Not exact but close and also nearly as well made. Mine has performed perfectly.
The best one I ever owned just might be a Russian which was not technically a .380. It was almost off the scale accurate but was chambered for the 9mm Mak. A little bit more powerful than the .380 but very similar. It’s maker obviously had seen a Walther model PP.
I had a friend in College who owned a Browning double stack .380 and he loved it. Beretta actually made it for them. If you want top quality in a model just a little lighter then the single stack Beretta model 70 is good.
If you are lucky enough to own and old Colt or FN .380 or a
Savage then you are lucky indeed.
Oh, I forgot the Bersa. One of the really good ones. better than most.
Another vote for the LCP
My wife and I each have one. Great for backup or summer carry. We’ve recommended them to family and friends who have purchased a few....
Sig fit my jeans front pocket with scarcely a shadow...
Given that the trigger is so bad, the drift adjustable sights are a joke.
Good one!
Best analogy for a bad trigger pull that I've seen.
I'm gonna steal it.
Made me laugh.
“Bulgarian Makarov- $300.00”
I picked up a pair of Czech CZ-82s a few years ago for $199 each delievered right to my door under my C&R license. They’re 9mm Mak which is roughly equivalent to a .38 Spl.
I had 1,000 rounds of ball ammo on the same order. My total cost was around $550 IIRC.
They’re superb little pistols. Polygonal barrels, surprisingly accurate for military issue, well built, and reliable with the Hornady Critical Defense ammo. (Yes, they make them.)
I should have bought 6 of them.
L
I'm sure there's plenty of other pocket pistols that are just as good or better available now-a-days. d:^)
Ruger LCP often under 200 now. Dumb article.
I have a Ruger LCS9. I carry it IWB and it’s hardly noticeable.
A buddy worked in a gun store and range outside Tacoma.
A customer handed him a pistol she rented for the range to put away. The pistol was a loaded .380 and it fired.
Hit him in the lower abdomen, ran down his leg and exited downward from his left calf. Granted it was hard range ammo.
But the round offered surprising penetration.
He was OK but didn’t know it. Shock overtook him and he was medivacced in a helo.
The round missed all vitals, bones and major veins/arteries.
One lucky dude.
The moral of the story is: If somebody points a .380 at you, duck. It WILL kill you.
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