OK, i have some direction anyway
I have been looking at the Maks but I don’t want ANOTHER damnable oddball cartridge in the house. yes, I know, the 9×18 is common as hell in other places but not HERE.
I like the 380 and I’ve cursorily looked at the Walther, as well as the Bersa, but I have only seen the Theunder Plus, which was too fat for my hand. I did not know it came in a single stack, and now that I do, I’m gonna go check it out. I wish I knew someone who had one I could shoot to see how it felt. They seem to be inexpensive enough to justify purchasing two right off the bat. The walther- I’m told that they have extended magazines that make the grip longer, and maybe that would help, but we’ll see, maybe this weekend.
31 comments Og | Uncategorized
I have fired a PPK (in .380) and found it comfortable. Again, for what it’s worth.
M
The Mak also comes in 380.
I have a 9mm Mak you are welcome to try.
Send me an E-mail and we can set it up, I’m just outside Detroit and can come down to you.
Dennis the librarian shusher
I’m thinking about buying Kel a small .32 cal. something. She can’t shoot my .40 without seriously hurting or re-breaking wrist since the pins were pulled, but she needs something.
diamondback makes a sweet little .380 now if your still lookin’
About 10 years back I bought a PA63, a nice little Walther looking pistol in a two tone finish and chambered in 9×18. Been very accurate and reliable since i swapped the springs with new ones from Wolffs. Check it out, you might like it…
A suggestion about .380 shootabililty.
I’ve owned several and found that the locked breech pistols had a more tolerable recoil. Blowback pistols, in my experience have a sharp and snappy recoil. Even (and especially) the PPK.
Another problem of a .380 is more serious, ammo availability and COST! The local and internet .380 ammo supply is limited and expensive, like more than .45 ACP. That is if you can find it. Personal defense .380 is quite difficult to find.
That Mak is probably looking more and more attractive, or perhaps a compact 9mm like a used Smith 3913. Much more power, good ammo availability, not much more $.
Roger
A buddy has a Ruger LCP in 380, it is easy to shoot and exceedingly concealable. Well rounded corners for front or rear pants pocket. Trigger is way better than my Taurus PT-145 carry gun. If I had the LCP I would certainly have the piece on my person more often. Just sayin’
I have a PA63, well it is my son’s, but on Dad’s CCW, 9×18 Mak. Accurate, concealable, fun to shoot, but snappy with original springs and the trigger pull could be improved. Ammo is cheap and fairly easy to find. Onlline. Also have a .380 Hi-Point. Son Number 1’s. Ummmm .380 is a bitch to find anywhere around here!!
I have heard rumors that there are some ammo folks coming out with defensive loads for the 9×18.
I’ve never had trouble finding 380
The Bersa 380 CC is, I believe, 8+1 single-stacked in roughly a PPK/S-sized gun. You’ll have to remove the annoying magazine disconnector, but that should take less than 10 minutes. It’s just a bar that runs between the heel to the trigger bar.
But the Bersa IS a “derivative” of the PPK, so you can expect feed issues with HP ammo. I recommend FMJs or (better!) the poly-tipped Hornady hollow-points.
I agree on the recoil for the Walther PPK. Ktreva (Contagion’s wife) has one and the recoil sucks for that small of a cartridge (plus the slide tends to bite me and I have small hands).
Hopefully the People’s Republik of Illinois will make concealed carry legal before I die of old age so I can have problems like this….
Brigid has the Bersa. She might let you try it. As far as 380 ammo, J&GSales has a thousand rounds of pmc for $379. I buy alot of stuff from them because they are only a couple hours away. I have bought alot of Aguila HP off gunbroker as well. It runs fine.
My Makarov is in .380, and it’s easy enough to convert with a barrel change. I think they might even use the same magazines.
It’s bigger and heavier than other .380s, but it’s also built like a tank.
(I prefer my Llama micro-1911 .380, though… because it’s a tiny 1911, like the Colt Mustang!)
I’ve always liked mouseguns, myself. I even have a Taurus .25. Because I can.
.380 is just about impossible to find in the Twin Cities (Mpls/STP). Bills in Robbinsdale has it and every so often Fleet Farm has it. But otherwise extremely hit and miss.
I once had a smc-380, a variant of the Hungarian PA-63.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEG_PA-63
I liked it. Nice shooter, a bit of a heavy trigger and lightweight so the recoil is a bit harsher but the price is the seller.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=166132022
This one went for $142
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/freeads/auction.cgi?action=ViewItem&ID=1217457267&Status=3
Wolff makes different springs to tune it to your liking.
Two caveats – the aluminum/titanium frame shows a bit of battering. I don’t put enough belly gun rounds through a little piece to wear it out, but it probably won’t take as many as an all steel piece.
Two – my fat hand, when taking a nice high on the backstrap grip, always got bitten by the slide. Same on a PPK, so it’s not this gun in particular – just my fat hand in particular :)
American Rifleman did an evaluation on 9 new 380s. They were:
Kahn P380
Kel-Tec P3AT
Magnum Research Micro Desert Eagle
North American Arms Guardian
Rohrbaugh R380
Luger LCP
Sig Sauer P238
Taurus 738 TCP
Walther PK380
All were new out of the box and all had feed malfunctions except for the Rohrbaugh R380 which is the most expensive of the bunch with an SRP of $1150.
According to Kahr, their pistol needs to be fired 200 times before going into service and the American Riflemen Editor adds that this is probably what it takes to break in all of the malfunctioning guns.
The CC Bersa has a slightly-changed grip to prevent Walther Bite. My old PPK was a blood-spattering bitch, but the CC slide clears my meaty mitts by a mile.
If you’re interested in 9mm, want all steel and can live with single action, you could look at the Star Firestar. Runs about $300 used, very compact, usually very reliable, and magazines are available but it isn’t very light.
I love my Ruger LCP. With my large body size there isnt a pocket that it can’t hide in even wearing shorts. Also got the galco horsehide holster which is nice and sturdy and has a hook at the top and bottom so you can pull against the inside of the pocket to unholster. I also have the mag grip extension for all of my magazines. If you want to try it just let me know.
If you are leaning towards the Makarov I have a case worth of once-fired 9×18 Sellier & Bellot brass and new Lee carbide dies that I never got around to using before I sold my Makarov when I was laid off. I’ve had two Bulgarian Makarovs, the first one didn’t shoot to natural point of aim, the second shot dead on to where you looked and was accurate enough I would have used it for Bullseye if it had a longer sight radius.
Go with the Swedish AT4 Rocket Launcher if size is a problem.
It’s not nearly the dimension of a M1 Main Battle Tank
I like the little LCP but it’s too small for my hands. I’m fucked in that I’m in between the small stuff and the full sized stuff.
The AT4 does make me want it
The LCP was too small until i tried it with the magazine extension(actualy I first tried a KelTec .32 w/ the extension). I can actually get my middle and ring fingers on it, and I have put at least 350 rounds through it without a problem of control.
Take a look at a Smiff 5904. Yeah its a double stack, but it fits the wifes hand just fine.
15 of 9mm will do it.
Love my LCP although ammo has been tough to find in Mordor
I know someone who has case of Sellier & Bellot 9×18 brass and brand new Lee dies for cheap sale if it would push you towards a Makarov. :-)
Give me a call for the details.
Snubnose S&W .500 Magnum. End result should be somewhat similar to the AT4
I think I still have a little Bersa .380 around here somewhere, Og. Be happy to lend it to you.
In my opinion, most of the Walther semi-clones are preferable to the original; dependbility’s about equal but the PPK has very sharp corners on the backstrap, making it “bitey” to shoot.
I like my Browning BDA380. It is very comfortable to shoot, and carries well. I don’t remember if you had a chance to shoot it when I took it to the range up there or not. I can bring it to the next Indy show if you would like to try the fit. I know Blythes has a couple in their loaner guns by their range as well.
Everyone who has mentioned it is absolutely right about the infamous Walther bite. If you’re the least bit careless about your grip, it’s going to gouge your thumb web with gusto. Lots of blood.
Wife was considering the new 9mm PPS, but she’s discouraged by the magazine release on the bottom of the trigger guard instead of on the grip frame where she is accustomed to it. Aside from that, she likes it enough to buy one.
I keep forgetting to mention Buffalo Bore’s excellent .380 defensive rounds. I consider that a resolved issue now.
http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=129