I'm in the market for a pocket 380 that I can virtually take with me wherever I go, no matter what attire I'm wearing (work, casual, formal, athletic, etc.).

Any suggestions?


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MOST .380's (not all) are suitable for pocket carry. Personally, I chose a S&W Bodyguard. It's reliable (with almost 1000 rounds through it), it is accurate, has features that most .380's don't, shoots every brand I've put through it, is reasonobly priced, and is backed by S&W service. I'm VERY happy with it.

My wife, however, is VERY sensitive to recoil, so the Glock 42 turned out to be her choice. The gen4 design with dual-recoil springs makes it a very softer shooter, though it's a bit larger than the Bodyguard.

For regular pocket carry I would recommend the Bodyguard. It has a manual safety which may make some people more comfortable with it in their pocket. Whatever your choice....be safe out there!!

The Colt Mustang is pretty much the benchmark for the pocket .380. The Sig Sauer Colt clone - Model P238, comes in a close second. They are also the top dollar choice, in the $550 to $700 range.

The S&W Body Guard, Ruger LCP, and Glock 42 are also good, reliable weapons worthy of consideration.

If you're on a budget...

For the money, the Kel Tec P3AT is hard to beat. It can be had new for under $270, is reliable and weighs next-to-nothing (8 oz unloaded, 11 oz wit 6 rounds). It is also butt-ugly.

You may find this review to be of interest.
Gun Review: Kel-Tec P3AT .380 | The Truth About Guns

I had a Colt Government 380 and couldn't get it to cycle reliably. I ended up selling it and buying something else. I had an endless string of FTF and FTE malfunctions and couldn't trust it for carry. Replacing springs didn't help. If I can't trust it, out the door it goes.

Being as we are participating on a S&W board..... I have to say, the 380's out there are all good... but I can only attest to carrying my M&P 380... love it, great gun, haven't put it down since I picked it up... I've carried it OWB, IWB and all weekend IDP, "In Da Pocket". Performance at the range surpassed my expectations. Bottom line, I have no doubt, this little gun can do the job, if need be. I don't think we need to spend the next 10 pages sharing how this one and that one malfunctioned, or how the KT weighs 3 oz. and the BG weighs 4oz... if you like S&W get one, if you like Sig, get one of those, if you like Keltec..... etc.......

Do all the research you want, but in the end, they are all good...

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Jack C

I know this may seem heretical, being that we're communicating on a S & W discussion forum, but I recently purchased a Kahr P380 and have started to really enjoy it.

The gun is very small and concealable, and now that I've got a dedicated holster for it from Bear Creek, it's a joy to carry around.

I'm large handed, so I added a Hogue grip to it to give it a bit more purchase in my hands. So far, so good.

I've read many many reports on the Kahrtalk forum about the P380's penchant for being finicky, but so far, this pistol has fired every single round without a single misstep. Granted, I haven't really put very many down the pipe so far, but I'm impressed up to now. The only problem is finding ammo for it.

There are a bunch of great .380s to choose from. Personal criteria will best narrow the choices. Since your criteria sounds like ease of pocket carry... thin and light... LCP, P3AT and TCP. I only have one .380. I got it for pretty much the same reasons you listed.

When handling different .380s at the gun store it was easy to start losing sight of the objective. The larger heavier .380s felt better in my hand, so I had to keep reminding myself that I already have a 642 for pocket carry that feels better in the hand than any .380 ever will, and that the only reason I was looking at .380s was for something substantially smaller and lighter. Once I got that straight in my head it narrowed the choices.

After reading a ton of comparative and owner reviews I ended up with the LCP. It's been flawless with Hornady CD.

LCP/DeSantis
642/Mika

I have the S&W BG380 and it goes everywhere unless I'm carrying a 9mm. I carry the 380 in formal attire, to church, in my shorts, and even when running tucked in my running shorts. It's light and reliable. If I were buying today I'd get the newer M&P BG 380.

I have two brands of .380s the lcp (first gen) and the cw380. Of these two I prefer the cw380 over the lcp due to it's better trigger and sights. I don't carry a .380 very often since I can carry other calibers, but when I need to carry much more discretely it is nice to have a small .380 option to turn to.

For a thin and light .380 the Ruger LCP is hard to beat. I carry mine in a Mika pocket holster when the Shield or 642 is too heavy. Great for light weight dress pants.

Guess I'm a heretic: I carry a Taurus 738 as my backup. I've never had a problem with it. Since I have a couple pocket holsters for it (Desantis and Uncle Mike's) it's also my "runnin' down to the mailbox" gun as well.

I have the kahr p380 and ruger lcp. I like them both , but for the money you can not beat the ruger. And if you have to return the gun for any reason you can not beat ruger for customer service. The lcp has been flawless from day 1.

I recently purchased an LCP, for the same reasons as ChattanoogaPhil. Was it my favorite 380? No, not really. Several others felt much better in my hand. But was it the most concealable 380 I held? Yes, without question. So I guess it really depends on what the most important factor is to you personally.

I have an LCP and like it quite a bit. It does everything I need a small .380 to do. It conceals very well in a pocket or IWB holster, it's lightweight, it's reliable and it's accurate.

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-Mike-

I just bought a new, 2nd generation Diamondback .380 at Rural King, on sale for $299.99. I have a 1st generation DB .380 and have had to get into the striker system to make it work properly but once I put it together properly it has functioned very well. It weighs in at 12.5 oz fully loaded with one in the chamber. I also have a KelTec .380 that will shoot anything I put in the magazine and weighs in an ounce lighter than the DB but it is hard on the hand. Recoil in the DB is less due to the ergonomics of the pistol and the larger recoil spring. The 2nd generation DB has an extractor twice as long as the 1st generation. The trigger springs have been redesigned along with the addition of splined pins.

I have the basic model Sig 238. It is the only 380 I own. In my experience it has been very reliable, and very accurate out to about 12-15 yards. It is really good at closer ranges. Holds 6+1 rounds. The basic sights are nice, with 3 big white dots for easy target acquisition. The only drawback is the price. I paid $500.

+1 . . . The P-3AT is the one that started the pocket .380 rage and is still hard to beat.

We bought a couple many years ago and still have them despite trying, and in some cases buying, newer offerings from other players. Ours have been reliable, but they are NOT easy to shoot, a fact that sometimes causes new shooters no end of difficulties.

Admittedly, my 642-1 is a much nicer pocket pistol. It would be very hard to "go back" to the P-3AT for several reasons, not the least of which is the hard to find, marginal power, .380 ACP cartridge itself.

Still, if you have to have a pocket .380 the P-3AT is the standard against all others must be measured.

The others often come up short, in my opinion. YMMV

Correction:
The Ruger LCP started the .380 trend, NOT the P-3AT.
Also, the only advantage it has over the LCP (or Bodyguard) is "price". All things considered (reliability, size, features, shootablitiy, looks, and price) the S&W Bodyguard is the "Class of the Caliber".

I disagree. When you conside r that the P3AT came out first, then look at the LCP, it's obvious that Ruger was jumping on the bandwagon. And I'm glad they did- I wanted a pocket 380 but the P3AT looked like it was cobbled up in someone's garage shop- the LCP is much more nicely made. I bought one as soon as I could after they came out. But the proof's in the pudding- while my LCP works flawlessly, I've also heard of a lot of P3AT's that do also.

Forgive me for being old school here, but the PPK/S is my choice, blues finish of course. The other pistols are all ugly as sin and the fixed barrel blow back design is incredibly accurate. My gun is a west German import and shoots everything I feed it and will reliably knock down half liter water bottles at fifty yards. The furthest I ever fired it for groups was 70 yards in a shoot off with a gentleman who mistakenly thought his shotgun could pattern tighter than my PPK/S, which it did not. This gun works for me, points well and disassembles without tools. I like the little bit of nostalgia.

If I had to buy a plastic pistol, I'd go with the Glock 42. I have fired the Keltec and the Colt Mustang and found them both to be ugly and undesirable.

The PPK started the .380 trend except we had the class to call it the 9mm kurz. As for the LCP starting anything, I've saw a helluva lot more Keltecs out there before the shockingly similar Ruger came along. At best it caused a resurgence in the plastic popgun movement.

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This≠DodgeCity&You≠BillHickok

I'm aware that the Kel Tec came out first, but the .380 didn't start being purchased (in large numbers) untill the LCP hit the market.

Hard to say anything bad about a Walther PPK, except that, due to its weight it doesn't lend itself to all forms of carry.

I've owned several small .380s, including a LCP, BG380, and a P238. I've looked at a number of others in shops, but didn't buy them.

I'd have to say that, overall, my favorite was the SIG P238...mainly because it's a mini-1911. LOL However, it wouldn't be my choice for daily pocket carry. The BG380 fit my hand and felt the best to me for carry, but I didn't like the laser. Now that the M&P Bodyguard is available without the laser, I might get one of those for carry.

Of all of the options, I'd definitely go with either the Ruger LCP or the S&W M&P Bodyguard...not only are they good guns (in their class) but the company support is excellent.

A very similar, but very good pistol is the Bersa Thunder. It's not what I'd call a pocket pistol, but I wouldn't mind carrying one IWB. I actually owned one for a short while, but at the time it was virtually impossible to find mags for it, so I sold it. (This was several years ago.) I didn't have any problems with it, just got tired of not being able to buy mags for it.

The most reliable .380 I have seen of modern design is the Colt Pocket Lite (all metal version) that came out two years ago. I've yet to see one jam and I have three friends that own and shoot them regularly. The ONLY issue is that you need to cock back the hammer before firing because it's a single action auto - but is perfectly safe with a round in the chamber because of the firing pin safety built in. Again....... NOT talking about the version that was around many years ago, but the one releases about 2 years back.

Pricey and somewhat ammo specific but a good investment and easy to carry..Seecamp LWS .380.
Or you could do a Rohrbaugh 9, but that a different story.

I have never owned a pair of pants that would not conceal a J-Frame extremely well in a good pocket holster. Then again, I don't wear disco "hip huggers". .380's are cute. So are puppies. However, when it comes to my well being I draw the line at .38 Special/9mm. If the significant other can't handle the recoil then it is a training issue and not a gun issue. It's far easier to train the wife you have then having to look for a new one and as well I never knew anyone who after a gunfight said "damn, I'm glad I had a powerhouse .380 with me!".

As Clint Smith said, guns are meant to be comforting and not comfortable. You carry a handgun to save life & limb, not because it's a fashion accessory. A .380 is a backup gun, not a primary. Just my 2 cents.

You know something? I carry a J frame or a Glock 29 usually, but even I had the good sense to stay on topic. You just had to go there. Nobody cares about your well being or my well being either. They might be remotely interested in our opinions about which .380 would make a good pocket pistol. I resisted the urge to scream don't get one, why couldn't you??

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This≠DodgeCity&You≠BillHickok

The .380 calibre was developed by John Browning and introduced by Colt in 1908 as a variant of the .32 ACP Vest Pocket Hammerless Model of 1903.

Walther did some wonderful things in 1929 with the invention of the PPK ( Polizeipistole Kurz or Short Police Pistol). Originally chambered in .32 (yes, Bond's PPK was a .32), it was offered in several calibers, including the .380.

Colt did it first. And they "only" sold a half million Model 1908's.

So There!!!

(Yeah, I'm a little biased )

I love my Sig P238 for this purpose.


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If you don't mind a 1911 style gun, the sig p238 is top notch and you pay for that too. I've not had any malfunctions since I bought mine.

I have the extended mag which gives me 7 +1. Very little recoil which is a plus in this size gun.

PS- They come in many flavors:

https://www.sigsauer.com/CatalogProd...tols-p238.aspx

That's a fine looking pistola, Sir.

Tangentially related...

Magazines for these .380's can sometimes be hard to find and when you can find one, it sometimes costs dearly.

One member here pointed out a web site Grab A Gun that not only had a factory mag for my Mustang Plus II, it was only $25 shipping included!

Handgun Magazines - Magazines Online Gun Store

Yeah yeah, let's take a walk and hang a target...you'll still be able to say Colt did it first afterward...that'll be about it.

What does plus eleven mean?? Number of shots it takes to hit the target at any respectable distance??

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This≠DodgeCity&You≠BillHickok

Because the OP has but a mere six posts and in my experiences the vast majority of people who want to carry a .380 as a primary CCW know little of handguns and as a result some good advice might save their life one day. Can you think of a better reason that that? I sure can't.

Getting a bit testy in here, isn't it. Since I'm a .38 Special throwback anyway and don't much enjoy testy, I think I'll leave this one.

Have fun.

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Oh well, what the hell.

After trying several different 380 pocket pistols I settled on the Kahr CW380. It is a great little gun that handles well. However the scarcity and cost of 380 ammo drove me away from that caliber. I traded the Kahr in on a Sig P290RS and havn't looked back.

BTW my reason for getting the Kahr was for hot weather carry. I wanted something I could carry when lightly dressed. The Sig is a bit larger and heavier but still fits the bill. If 380 Is your choice the Kahr will please you. If 9mm is in the running look at the Sig.

When not lightly dressed I carry a Ruger SR9c in 9mm while my wife uses the Shield in 9mm.

I typically carry a Shield 9mm, but there are times when it just isn't practical to carry it.

I've been leaning towards the CW 380, but may settle for the LCP for its affordability. I can get a brand new LCP at my LGS for under $300.



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You are a funny, funny man and I do love a challenge. If you ever can't avoid traveling through Ohio, stop by and we'll make a range trip - my treat!

And I know you're already aware that the Plus Two is a Government 380 frame married to the Mustang slide, but it does give me another opportunity to talk about mine.

And I will also have a PPK/S sometime down the road. They were a fine machine until about 2002...

He never said, "Oooh I want a .380 for my first primary carry gun." He asked for a .380 pocket pistol recommendation. I'm right there with you in condemning the .380 as the first and primary carry gun, but there are times when the .380 does it best. My PPK slips into a pants pocket and does a great job at those well dressed events where I absolutely can not print or be seen carrying a gun. It's just slimmer and I can carry a whole lot of ammo flat and discrete. We can go several different ways from here arguing everything from shot placement to stopping power to having vs. leaving behind. Why not for once just stick to answering the OP's questions? It was a simple question with simple constraints written by a person who knew what they wanted. He seems pretty competent now...doesn't he?? I've got a few grizzlies out back harassing my Cape buffalo. I'm off to sort the whole thing out...with my PPK.

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This≠DodgeCity&You≠BillHickok

I'd enjoy the chance to shoot with another pocket pistol enthusiast. I am glad you took my comments sportingly sir. My only Colt experience was with a .380 Government(Lady Colt) and I was so turned off to the whole thing as it lost out to both the PPK/S and a Makarov that was firing .380's in our tests. We had a great time that summer and played with the three guns a lot. Eventually it got goofy as we started stretching the range out on the tiny guns. We must have shot up 500 rounds easily.

I admit I researched the gun before I made comments and was until that time unaware of the fact that they switched to a bushing less design. I believe that was a great improvement to accuracy and practicality. I hope you enjoy your toys as much as I do my own.

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This≠DodgeCity&You≠BillHickok

I had a colt pocket 1908 .380 same shape as this one. It was my favorite and I also had them in a walther PPK and the Browning but this was my favorite. My ex sold it on me when she ran off.
https://www.google.com/search?q=colt...tm%3B600%3B414