does any one know of a match grade or very accurate 380

[furfinsandfeathers]

Does anyone know of a accurate 380 other than the Walther PPK? My 11 and 14 year old daughters like shooting at bowling pins using a Bersa... We load it with 90gr. LRN and it shoots surprisingly well but I would like to upgrade it. Has anyone heard of a 380 with a match grade barrel?

 

[Havok7416]

I've never heard of a .380 with match-grade ANYTHING. They are relegated to carry pistols. Well ok, the VZ61 Skorpion too!

 

[WestKentucky]

I had a llama minimax that would stack up rounds like crazy out to about 40 yards when the groups started opening up. I had come into money trouble fresh out of college and sold my first shotgun to dad to get some grocery money. That llama went to dad as he is a cheapskate 1911 freak and I wanted my shotgun back. Too bad I cracked the reciever on that shotgun shooting a lot of turkey loads into coyotes up close and personal.

 

[Drail]

Shooting a bowling pins with a .380 is ill advised. I have personally seen .38 Spl. and 9mm bullets bounce off of pins and come back to the line. Several times. I saw one guy standing right next to me have a lightly loaded bullet come back and strike him right between the eyes. Be very careful if you are going to do this. Those pins are much harder than most people think. Reactive targets are a lot of fun but think about one of your precious daughters being rushed to a hospital. Be safe.

 

[jimbo555]

My beretta 84 is very accurate.

 

[IBEWBULL]

Some Links

Chuck Hawks
http://www.chuckhawks.com/compared_380_pistols.htm

I would look for a nice K frame Smith and Wesson in .38 special her.

That being said , now to drift back on course.
The Bersa is a better choice than a plastic pocket gun.
The CZ , Beretta http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-239325.html

 

[Shear_stress]

If you're set on the .380, track down a Browning 1910/71. These were imported in the 70s after importation of the Model 1910/1955 was banned by the Gun Control Act of 1968. The 1910/71 was fitted with a long barrel, adjustable sights and thumbrest grips.

 

[Girodin]

I don't know that it is match grade, but I was rather impressed with the accuracy of the CZ82s I've fired. I'd imagine that a CZ 83 (essentially the same gun chambered in .380 instead of 9x17 Makarov) would likely be very accurate as well.

That said they are blowback guns and felt recoil is more pronounced than with other guns of similar caliber. I've not shot any of the .380s so I cannot speak to it. With the 9mm Mak the gun has as much or more felt recoil than a number of my 9x19 pistols. Given that is also relatively large, at least in the makarov chambering it quickly begs the question why not a 9x19? Maybe someone will have better input specific to the CZ 83.

Kahr advertises their P380 as having a "Lothar Walther match grade barrel"

http://www.kahr.com/pistols/kahr-p380.asp

Of course I think they say the same thing concerning the K9. Again the tiny size and light weight might mean the little bitty 380 is more difficult to shoot than the larger steel frame K9 (or similar 9x19 gun).

 

[MikeJackmin]

I came here to say "CZ83" and "Beretta" but I see that others have beaten me to it. The CZ s are both wonderful and inexpensive, but the Berettas are worth the extra cost if you can afford it.

I've seen used, Israeli-surplus Beretta .380s on gunbroker, and the CZs can turn up anywhere. If you do get a used pistol, clean it well and drop in a new, five dollar recoil spring and you're good to go.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Semi-Auto-Pistols/BI.aspx?ca=5000112&mfg=1000038

http://www.gunbroker.com/Semi-Auto-Pistols/BI.aspx?Keywords=cz83

 

[Wil Terry]

MY ASTRA CONSTABLE II will shoot right at 1 1/8" at 25 yards dead on the sights with FEDERAL 90gr JHP loads. ALL of my handloads with JHP or LRN/LRF cast bullets shoot right at 1 1/2" at 25 yards all day long.
SHUCKS, my BERSA is accurate enought to knock off blackbirds at 35 yards.
And so it goes...

 

[Nom de Forum]

My beretta 84 is very accurate.

That is also my experience with the Beretta 84 with jacketed bullets of 95grs and cast lead bullets up to 121grs. It is also my experience that girls and women love the looks and feel of the older curving trigger-guard Beretta 84s. The same can be said of the old Browning BDA .380.

 

[Sam Cade]

I'll vouch for the astonishing accuracy exhibited by most CZ-82/83s.

 

[huntsman]

The double stack 84 might be too thick for small hands so the 85 would work if this was the case, A Sig P-232 was very accurate maybe a bit better than the BDA I kept.

 

[rcmodel]

Buy a S&W Model 14 Target Masterpiece .38 Special revolver.
Shoot 148 wad-cutter target ammo in it.

And everyone can Bee Happy!

rc

 

[VA27]

If you're set on the .380, track down a Browning 1910/71. These were imported in the 70s after importation of the Model 1910/1955 was banned by the Gun Control Act of 1968. The 1910/71 was fitted with a long barrel, adjustable sights and thumbrest grips.

This. I deeply regret selling mine.

 

[bannockburn]

Both Berettas I owned, a Model 84 and Model 85, were very accurate. I would also venture to say a Model 70 would also do well in terms of accuracy.

 

[19-3Ben]

My Sig P232SL is extraordinarily accurate for a gun. The fact that it is small, and female shooters seem to gravitate to it (perhaps due to the super sleek and sexy lines?) is just a plus.

 

[Jim Watson]

I think a 9mm P with low end loads would be accurate and more comfortable to shoot than a .380.
I was able to get one down to 9mm Makarov ballistics, to see if it would be a reasonable caliber conversion back when Mak ammo was dirt cheap.

The club teenybopper was shooting a 3913 at age 11 and a 1911 at 13.

 

[MedWheeler]

I think a 9mm P with low end loads would be accurate and more comfortable to shoot than a .380.

Possibly true, but the OP has already stated that his daughters enjoy shooting the Bersa .380, which is a blowback-operated pistol. Comfort doesn't seem to be an issue.

 

[Jim Watson]

Yeah, but he wants something more accurate, too.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I'd say look for a nice CZ 83 as others have said.

Also, a Colt Government Model .380 - these and Mustangs have been made into very accurate pistols - slim and pretty to boot.

 

[Istvan]

As many have already said, the .380 auto was originally designed to be a military/law enforcement/self defence cartridge in various countries, and to my knowledge, no match grade ammunition is, or has been manufactured. Sticking to your criteria of caliber and gun model, the only options I can think of are either hand loading, or sticking to the reputable, major ammunition manufacturers. The only experience I have with the .380 was an old PPK, which I no longer have, and a 1934 Beretta which was brought back from North Africa after the war. Certainly not match-grade by any stretch of the imagination, but both were fantastic shooters.
As a side note, as a few others have said, I would be a bit nervous about using a .380 for bowling pins, just my opinion though.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I have to agree the CZ 380's are accurate guns and so is the Sig P232 but I have to add the Sig P238. The Sig P238 is like a 1911 shrunk down to .380 size. It's a all steel gun with a 1911 action so the felt recoil is low and the SA trigger is great. The two I have shot have been easy to shoot well and very accurate. I highly suggest the Sig P238! (great trigger!)
http://sigsauer.com/CatalogProductList/pistols-p238.aspx

 

[Jim K]

IIRC. there have been a few target pistols made in .32 ACP, but I don't know of any gun in .380 that could really be called a target pistol. That does not mean that some of the small guns in that caliber are not accurate for that type of gun, but I don't know of any that could compete at 25 and 50 yards with a real target pistol.

Jim

 

[JERRY]

Sig Sauer P232, one of the most accurate guns I own.