Snappy .380 pistols

[Armored farmer]

I think the extended seven round magazine makes a world of difference shooting the LCP with little size penalty.

I've been preaching this for years, brother.


A long-time LCP advocate.
I carry with CorBon ammo. Shooting it is not recreational.

 

[EMC45]

Got a few .380s. Most uncomfortable to shoot - P3AT, nicest to shoot - G42.

 

[Bolson]

I'm with OP on this. I have all 3 versions of the lcp (max is actually the wifes), I have no issues shooting any of them. I shoot them well and often. I did add the hogue grip to the original which helps with gripping the small pistol.

 

[crstrode]

Lol, thanks I think. I guess I thought big hands would make it harder with a tiny gun but perhaps not.

My wife has a LCP as her only EDC. She shoots it quite well without a complaint. I, on the other hand find it to be a handful . . . And, yes indeed, it is snappy to me.
Practice makes perfect - regardless of hand size.

 

[gc70]

A Glock 20SF 10mm has less felt recoil than a LCP 380.

I assume you mean a Glock 20SF has less perceived recoil than a Ruger LCP because it has a much larger grip area to distribute the recoil impulse. However, a Glock 20SF actually has 10.17 ft-lb of calculated recoil compared to 5.35 ft-lb for a Ruger LCP.

An LCP's calculated recoil is slightly less than that of a Glock 17.

While no locked breech 380 is particularly punishing, the same is not true for blowback designs, which are simply nasty.

 

[halfmoonclip]

But S&W makes up for it by being gritty and lumpy, too…. I can shoot groups with it, but it is VERY deliberate….

Rabid Wombat and I discussed this elsewhere; my current Bodyguard has a heavy trigger, but it is butter smooth. Frankly, it's no worse than the trigger on the Gen I LCP, and it's bunches nicer to shoot.
Frankly, I'd judge the Bodyguard's size the the same as an LCP, and it's as comfortable to shoot as a G42. I need to try for some bragging groups.
Moon

 

[halfmoonclip]

Practice makes perfect - regardless of hand size.

Therein lies the rub. Always loved the LCP for times that you really needed to hide a pistol; it worked, and I could hit with it. But range practice was not something to enjoy, and there was always a question in my mind about how much shooting the LCP will tolerate.
The G42 is a honey, but it's big. So I went looking for something small, but more pleasant to shoot. The Bodyguard is filling that niche.
Moon

 

[Mosin77]

My P3AT (the original LCP, if you will) is Not uncomfortable for me. Not exactly a gun I choose to shoot a lot at the range, but not bad. I have small hands so always kinda figured it must just fit me better. I don’t dread putting a couple magazines downrange whereas I don’t enjoy shooting a S&W model 36.

Sig P238 is better than the KelTec though, obviously. Colt 1903 (.32 blowback in a larger form factor, heavy steel) better still.

 

[Tallball]

I've had a P3AT, an LCP, a Pico, and an LCPII. If my XXL hands are arranged properly, especially my trigger finger, they don't hurt me. I have to concentrate to shoot them well.

They aren't pistols for beginners and my effective range with them isn't much, but I can carry one when I can't carry anything else.

 

[Joshua M. Smith]

I have very large hands. The LCP II .380 shifts in my hands as I shoot it, but a Hogue grip takes care of that. It's really a very comfortable little pistol that I really like.

 

[toivo]

Sig P238 is better than the KelTec though, obviously. Colt 1903 (.32 blowback in a larger form factor, heavy steel) better still.

My sentiments exactly. Have you tried a P238 HD with the all-steel frame? Best-shooting small .380, IMO. Pardon the cliché, but it "feels like a .22" .

 

[MikeInOr]

So I’m an occasional .380 user, slipping the regular LCP in pocket during urban rucks. I’ve put a decent amount of rounds through this little thing. I keep reading of how snappy, uncontrollable, or inaccurate these guns are. What are people talking about?

My XL mitts hold the thing like a toy and every shot makes me ponder the lack of umph this marginal (but better than nothing for sure!) pistolola has to offer. Zero concern for recoil though; it shoots soft.

What gives and what am I missing? Who finds these little marginal pistols to be hard/painful to shoot?

Here’s a mag shot at 7 yards with God Dots. Again, marginal fight stopping performance but EASY to shoot. What say you?

People are at all different skill levels, education levels, experience levels and grip strength levels. Some people have arthritis they are dealing with. Personally I think my original LCP is a creampuff. Easy shooter and I can place bullets well at self defense ranges. I also have XXL hands and don't have a problem holding on to the LCP or P32.

When I first got my DB9 it took some practice to get accustomed to the kick of such a light gun in 9mm and my XDs in 45 acp was the same. Both took time and practice to master.

Sometimes I don't think people realize it can take a while, many shooting sessions to get accustomed to and proficient with some guns.

 

[C0untZer0]

People who shoot the Beretta Model 86 have said that the recoil is fairly mild (feeling), and it is straight blowback.

 

[Zeabed]

Not snappy to me, but the slide is a beatch to retract with my ancient hook of a left hand. Even after switching off the safety. Lol.

 

[cfullgraf]

I find the Kel Tec P3-AT uncomfortable ti shoot. Nice small size but recoil is great.

I find the Colt Mustang or Kimber Micro much more comfortable to shoot. This is probably due to the locked breech design of the action.

Also, my Beretta M84 is comfortable to shoot but it is a large pistol for it's cartridge.

My Walther PPK is nice to shoot but it is all steel even though it is a blow back action. The gun is heavy for a 380 ACP pistol.

 

[CDW4ME]

I assume you mean a Glock 20SF has less perceived recoil than a Ruger LCP because it has a much larger grip area to distribute the recoil impulse. However, a Glock 20SF actually has 10.17 ft-lb of calculated recoil compared to 5.35 ft-lb for a Ruger LCP.

An LCP's calculated recoil is slightly less than that of a Glock 17.

While no locked breech 380 is particularly punishing, the same is not true for blowback designs, which are simply nasty.

Yes I mean perceived.
Get a few people to comparison shoot a LCP 380 and a Glock 17 and I doubt anyone will say the LCP has less recoil.
I have both and the Glock 17 is a premium defensive pistol; the LCP is a back-up (2nd gun) to me.
For additional point of view, I have a Kahr PM9 and PM40; the PM9 with +P has less perceived recoil than the LCP 380, recoil from the LCP is IMO on par with the PM40.

I don't need a calculator to determine recoil when the disparity is obvious; same as I don't need a shot timer to discern that my splits are quicker with a Glock 17 than 20.

However, the calculator is useful when recoil is close and guns are similar (full size 1911's)
The calculator allows me to objectively say some (disclaimer) 10mm loads have a felt recoil similar to 45 acp +P
2.5# firearm weight for 1911
Actual power charge used to calculate 10mm handloads, 45 acp estimated from AA manual.
10mm Handload 180 Nosler @ 1,228 fps / 603# KE - recoil energy 9.2
10mm Handload Nosler 150 JHP @ 1,402 fps / 655# KE - recoil energy 9.4
45acp Winchester 230 Ranger T @ 915 fps / 428# KE - recoil energy 8.2
45acp Remington Golden Saber 185 +P @ 1,157 fps / 550# KE - recoil energy 9.0

 

[lee n. field]

So I’m an occasional .380 user, slipping the regular LCP in pocket during urban rucks. I’ve put a decent amount of rounds through this little thing. I keep reading of how snappy, uncontrollable, or inaccurate these guns are. What are people talking about?

My XL mitts hold the thing like a toy and every shot makes me ponder the lack of umph this marginal (but better than nothing for sure!) pistolola has to offer. Zero concern for recoil though; it shoots soft.

What gives and what am I missing? Who finds these little marginal pistols to be hard/painful to shoot?

Here’s a mag shot at 7 yards with God Dots. Again, marginal fight stopping performance but EASY to shoot. What say you?

Blowback .380s are "snappy", compared to similar sized lock breech guns.

It's been years since I ran any round through an LCP, but I don't remember it being unpleasant. Just annoying.

The rather larger Bersa Thunder .380, I definitely notice the recoil with .380.

 

[American_Fusilier]

Who finds these little marginal pistols to be hard/painful to shoot?

I do. I had a Bersa thunder in 380 that I found to be painful to shoot. I wanted a gun in 380 because that would be just an extra caliber I could get in a shortage. But I disliked the gun so much that I sold it and swore off 380.

 

[Joshua M. Smith]

I carried this guy with this ammo years ago when I took a second job for a bit doing night clerk at a gas station/convenience store.

The double action was atrocious and the slide bit my hand. I had to sand off the left grip's thumb shelf they added for import since I'm a lefty.

Still, there was something comforting about an all-steel .380 with hotter ammo than I'd put through an LCP in my pocket.

I sold the Carpati after I was done with that job, and bought an LCP later. I wouldn't mind having the Carpati back. It had potential; I just wasn't at a place in my life then where I could sit down and figure it out. Today, I totally would.

 

[bnolsen]

So I’m an occasional .380 user, slipping the regular LCP in pocket during urban rucks. I’ve put a decent amount of rounds through this little thing. I keep reading of how snappy, uncontrollable, or inaccurate these guns are. What are people talking about?

My XL mitts hold the thing like a toy and every shot makes me ponder the lack of umph this marginal (but better than nothing for sure!) pistolola has to offer. Zero concern for recoil though; it shoots soft.

What gives and what am I missing? Who finds these little marginal pistols to be hard/painful to shoot?

Here’s a mag shot at 7 yards with God Dots. Again, marginal fight stopping performance but EASY to shoot. What say you?

3xl motorcycle gloves (olympia only, other brands too small): last time i took my p3at out my trigger finger was bleeding because the thing is so small and jumps around. Yeah they are pretty good for what they are, as long as you can find ammo that feeds reliably and understand that they are not enjoyable.
I have a bersa 380 I bought long ago which is IMHO pretty easy to shoot. Problem is that 380 is too expensive and the walther type design is woefully out of date, way too big for the limited capacity it has.

 

[doubleh]

I have never shot an LCP and never intend to. My wife has a Walther PPK/s and it is not a pleasant gun to shoot especially if you have lots of age on your hands. I did not do my research (dummy) and bought a RIA Baby Rock thinking it was just a minature 1911. It is in looks only and was just about as unpleasant to shoot as the Walther is. The Smith EZ beats either by a huge margin in all categories.

My hand size is slightly larger than the medium size in the American hand size chart so none are too big are small to hold comfortably. However with age comes such problems as artheritis and reduced padding in the hands making them more susceptible to pain. I have the latter problem so no blow back 380's for me.

 

[EMC45]

Another thing I’m not fond of the KT P3AT is it wrecks brass. All ejected case mouths are crushed halfway. The mouth looks like a “D” when I pick them up.

 

[vanfunk]

I think my PPK recoils about like my S&W 442 with +p hollowpoints. “Snappy,” yes, but very controllable.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Another thing I’m not fond of the KT P3AT is it wrecks brass. All ejected case mouths are crushed halfway. The mouth looks like a “D” when I pick them up.

Hmmm. That's interesting; had one years ago, and don't recall the problem. I went through two of them; the second had a flat, leaf spring to operate the extractor, and it was stone reliable. The first generation, not so much. Finally went to the Ruger when they became available.
Moon

 

[bannockburn]

Not a big fan of straight blowback .380s, having used a few over the years like a Walther PPK/s, Mauser HSc, and several AMT Back-ups. None of them were particularly fun to shoot. Enter the Colt Mustang, smaller and lighter than most sub-compact .380s and a real treasure to use. Part of that is due to the fact that it uses a delayed blowback system which mitigates quite a bit of the felt recoil. Also helping out with getting some very good accuracy out of the diminutive gun is a decent SAO trigger. Sights could be better but SIG fixed that problem with some great sights on their P238.