.380 Picture Thread

[Goony]

Not much of a Smith &Wesson thread, since the company came rather late to the "9mm Kurz" party, and it'd pretty quickly get awfully boring looking at just Sigma and Bodyguard .380's. But it's always been a popular cartridge, and the advent of truly lightweight, pocketable pistols plus the development of more effective self defense loadings in this caliber has kept it a relevant option.

Here's an odd one to start off with, a stainless steel Walther copy made by Indian Arms back in the late 1970's. Supposedly only about a thousand of these were produced, but based on the serial numbers I've observed, I think the quantity may in fact be somewhat higher than that figure. Still, not a commonly encountered gun.

[Capt Steve]

The Bersa Thunder comes in a number of configurations. This my Concealed Carry model that comes with an 8 round magazine. Bang for the buck the Bersa is hard to beat with a very smooth trigger and retails, OTD, for just under $300.

[Martimus]

Here are three .380 auto's out of my collection to add to the picture thread:

The first is my personal favorite, a Colt Mark IV Series 80 Government .380:


Next is a Beretta 86FS:


And lastly is a Browning BDA-380 (which is essentially a Beretta 84BB):

[vic3620]

This is the only .380 i own.. AMT .380 DAO.

vic3620

[RonJ]

Shown here many times before, my CZ83. Nicely made and VERY reliable.

[Goony]

Originally Posted by vic3620

This is the only .380 i own.. AMT .380 DAO.

Before the AMT DAO type, there was a single action AMT Backup that was widely carried as a hideout gun by patrol personnel starting back in the 1980's. At some previous point, the AMT Backup was sold as the OMC (which I believe stands for Ontario Machine Co.) Backup.

[gunfish]

[Rule3]

Won't find too many of these:

[Horace & Daniel]

Originally Posted by gunfish

Savages, I take it, if the IMG code is correct. Very cool collection, my friend.

[The Last Standing Knight]

Originally Posted by RonJ

Shown here many times before, my CZ83. Nicely made and VERY reliable.

Yes, heavy and built like a tank....and yes, I love mine!

[Faulkner]

I'm not a big fan of the .380 ACP, but there are times when I've carried one as a BUG. I've carried this Interarms Walther PPKS on occasion and has been very reliable and very accurate.

[586L-Frame]

My Bersa/Firestorm .380.
586L-Frame

DLC’s Bersa Firestorm .380acp. with Bianchi Holster.


x

[sigp220.45]

1934 Beretta, circa 1966.

[keith44spl]

Only one....A Colt Mustang.





I don't have a special fondness for the 9mm Short...But,
it makes a great lit'l plinker for the grandkids.


Su Amigo,
Dave

[Rule3]

Originally Posted by keith44spl

Only one....A Colt Mustang.





I don't have a special fondness for the 9mm Short...But,
it makes a great lit'l plinker for the grandkids.


Su Amigo,
Dave

I'll see your Mustang and raise you a Pony Lite but concede your picture is better.

[Texas Star]

I sorta liked the Savages, three of them in the pic. My late uncle used to own one like the M-1917 on the bottom, but I think his was a .32. I used to admire it when i visited him.

He had a couple of .32 Colt revolvers, too. Don't know why he liked .32's. Maybe low recoil and cheaper ammo then. But he seldom shot; just had the guns for protection.

I like SIG P-220's Beretta, too. I had one of the military ones for a couple of years. Grouped into about the size of my hand at 25 yards. Would have done better, but the trigger pull was really hard.

BTW, the Portuguese issued some of those Savages. Their main sidearm then was the 7.65mm Luger, so the Savages may have been for high ranking officers or undercover work. The Dutch bought some Colt .32 autos, some for pilots. The Japanese captured many when the Netherlands East Indies fell and re-issued them, some in Jap holsters. What we consider to be pocket autos have been taken more seriously abroad.

[krautski]

Refering to Goony's post: I have the single action type .380 pictured. But instead of AMT or OMC, it is marked IAI, Irwindale, CA.

Is this a later company name? Pistol is accurate and feeds all types of ammo.

[Goony]

Originally Posted by krautski

Refering to Goony's post: I have the single action type .380 pictured. But instead of AMT or OMC, it is marked IAI, Irwindale, CA.

Is this a later company name? Pistol is accurate and feeds all types of ammo.

IAI = Irwindale Arms, Inc. This company acquired the manufacturing rights to AMT's line-up and produced the Backup for just a couple of years at the end of the 1980's. An interesting variation not too often seen.

[krautski]

Goony...Thank you for your information......krauski

[LouisianaJoe]

[Goony]

Here's a pair of .380's that don't have much eye appeal, but are technically interesting and historically significant. The Grendel P-10 (top) and P-12 were precursors of the ultra light, highly compact Kel-Tec which established an entirely new paradigm for concealed carry.

The P-10 is peculiar in having a fixed magazine that is charged through the top of the pistol. The P-12 has a conventional removable magazine with a generous 11 round capacity. Both sport a polymer frame and the small fully shrouded hammer, double action only sans safety design that has become so ubiquitous.

[rags]

I have a Walther PPK/S (Interarms) and a Beretta 84F Cheetah (Cat# 5802) holds 13...

[Goony]

Originally Posted by sigp220.45

1934 Beretta, circa 1966.

Here's another, dated 1942. Acceptance marks suggest it was originally Italian military issue but later passed into service with the Wehrmacht. A misapplied (overlapping?) slide stamping makes it look to be a Model "934" instead of "1934" as it should be.

[Rule3]

JMO, but he best overall .380 is the Sig 230/232 Tack driver, reliable, decocker, good trigger, size, design. The CZ is my favorite to shoot but a bit to large. For true pocket carry I still like the Ruger LCP.

[rch73]

My Sig Sauer P232 in Nitron with Hogue rubber grips

[Goony]

Here's another Walther copy, this one made in Hungary by FEG. It's essentially a PA-63 chambered in .380 instead of 9mm Makarov. The frame is aluminum alloy. The original grips were black plastic with a thumbrest, but it now wears a set made of rosewood.

[bobf]

Thread must have a Mod 51 Remington.



Colt 1908



Bodyguard with matching .38



also have a LCP.

[Shielded]

Originally Posted by Goony

Here's another Walther copy, this one made in Hungary by FEG. It's essentially a PA-63 chambered in .380 instead of 9mm Makarov. The frame is aluminum alloy. The original grips were black plastic with a thumbrest, but it now wears a set made of rosewood.

I have a FEG PA63 in the Mak 9x18, kicks like a mule!

A 380 I just acquired is the 738 TCP by Taurus. It's no PPK or a Bersa even, but it does ok

[Flint Ridge]

Sig P238 and the Kahr P380 - The Sig was an early model - that's the replacement after 4 trips to Sig and 1,400+ rounds and never able to go through two mags without a failure. The Kahr has been much better.


Real Sig 232SL's have a few of those. Target is the last 2 rounds of my first box - almost not fun to shoot so I tried something a little more challenging at 30'.



Kahr P380 - not the accuracy of the 232, but very easy for pocket carry.

[Mickey D]

Originally Posted by Flint Ridge

With a group that small, how could you not hit that dime?

[Gunzuki]

was surprised not to see a Mauser hsc. Have wanted one for a long time but just don't want to pay the price.

[deadin]

What's with all the "pocket" pistols? How about a couple of BIG .380's??

First is a Czech CZ38 Military DA only.......
THe second is a Swedish Husqvarna M1907 that was converted to .380 (from 9mm Browning Long) to make them more saleable on the surplus market.

[Goony]

Thanks to Dean for bringing up the Czech pistols, I hadn't even been thinking about them.

The Vz38 was a unique service pistol, certainly full-sized despite its .380 caliber. It also stood out, as has alreadty been noted, for being double action only. Although adopted by the Czechoslovakian armed forces, it was never issued, all production being diverted to meet the needs of the Third Reich, where it was designated as the P(39)t (the "t' standing for "Tschechoslowakei" which is Czechoslovakia rendered in German).

The other pistol shown is another .380 made by Ceska Zbrojovka, the Vz24, which did arm the Czechoslovakian military in the prewar years, although not in large numbers. The example pictured is a documented but little known variation, unserialed, bearing a single Nazi proof mark on the barrel.

[Goony]

I'm kind of surprised no one has brought up the Glock 25, which is mid-sized in the company's lineup, but nonetheless at the large end of the spectrum as far as .380's go. Perhaps few are even aware of its existence, as I don't believe it's ever been available in the U.S. market. There's a blurb on this model at: Glock 25 - History, Specs and Pictures

There's also an ultra-compact version, the Glock 28, which supposedly is limited in this country to law enforcement sales (why that should be, I've no idea).

[MP22]

Although not a big .380 fan, I have really enjoyed this thread. Thanks to everyone who posted their pics.....love it.

[WardenRoss]

I have a very early edition Beretta 84.

[dereksfl]

Really enjoyed this thread. Thanks to all.

[Fuquayvarina]

Haven't seen one of these yet so let's add this one. Mauser HSC

[gregintenn]

and here's the one that actually gets carried.

[Goony]

I mentioned it in the first post, but since it hasn't yet made an appearance in this thread, here it is - Smith & Wesson's initial foray into the .380 field, the Sigma Series Model SW380. This product will not go down as one of S&W's better efforts. primarily because the company ill-advisedly skimped on the construction of the slide, which is made of a nonferrous metal finished in some sort of paint-like coating that leaves a great deal to be desired in terms of appearance and durability. Also, the sights are rudimentary at best and the plastic magazine floorplate with its integral retention tabs is on the flimsy side.

[Goony]

Have to share this, a very bizarre .380 pistol.

JO-LO-AR

[Screwball]

My cera-plated LCP.

Only difference is that I have the Hogue Handall grip on it. Very happy with it.

[Iggy]

Only one I got left. Colt Model 1908

[LedFowl]

Beretta 84f. Probably saw some European police service. Now in active retirement.

[wbraswell]

What? no Browning 1910s? Come on, Man.

[pdg45acp]

Haven't seen any of these yet.

The awesome Taurus TCP



An old school Llama 380

[yashua-p]

I have three:
1. Sig 238
2. Colt 1908
3. Colt Pony Pocketlite.

All great shooters but the favorite is the 1908.

Regards,

yashua

[Cocked & Locked]

SIG P230

[Clean Break]

This isn't mine, but mine looked exactly like it.

I bought an AMT Backup in 1989, NIB at a gun show in California for $220. I carried it oiled and in a ziploc baggy in my shirt pocket for six months in a foreign land and no one ever knew I had it despite close living conditions. It was surprisingly accurate and usually fired 5 or 6 times out of 6 with the last or second to last round not always cycling. Still, it was a comfort when walking on the beach with my wife in Crips and Blood land.

When I went to graduate school I wanted to trade it off for something my wife could shoot accurately, was simpler & more powerful and could wear on her hip in camp while I was off deer hunting in the National Forest. We didn't need a concealable gun anymore so I sold the AMT at a gunshow in Lewiston, ID, added $20 and bought my first Smith and Wesson, a 1941 Military & Police in .38 spl. What an awesome trade up that was! That .38 is so accurate anyone can hit with it ... at long range.

Were I to get another compact/concealable gun, it wouldn't be a .380 but instead a 9mm or .38 or more.

C.B.

[deadin]

Another one I used to have (but no picture) was a Piper-Bayard Vest Pocket. It was just slightly larger than a Browning Baby and was in .380, blow-back. (Even with the recoil "damper" spring it was still unpleasant to shoot.)