Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns How uncomfortable are pocket guns to shoot?

First version LCP.
Was a snappy little bastard.
Shot well but was kind of annoying.

One way to tame em, is to shoot those light weight ARX bullets. But they hit lower.

I ditched my LCP which was very easy to conceal and went Sig P365.

Its comfy but doesnt hide as easily.

I run an innertube material wallet and the LCP would slide in back pocket under the wallet......stayed put, but would come out easy when done on purpose.

Pretty sweet setup. But also a .380.

So i said screw it and went w 9mm since I also carry a full size. The LCP sure was convenient. Just not enough power or capacity.

The P365 is in a paddle holster.

I am most comfortable shooting revolvers, and until a couple of years ago I had never shot a Sig of any flavor. Then my buddy brought over his P365 and let me shoot it for the first time and I was simply amazed with the accuracy and shoot ability.
Yep, got my own, now.

You'd likely have had the same reaction if your friend's gun was an S&W Shield Plus.

Or a full-size 1911, which like the Shield is not exactly a pocket gun.

While not quite the same, I do have a Shield .45 which I like, but there was just something different about the 365.



Have one of those, too, which my wife bought me for our anniversary a few years ago. Totally different beast but it also is very nice and a great shooter.

what i carry depends on the time of year and outside /indoor temp. my favorite pocket pistol is a derringer 410 3 inch / buckshot ammo its nasty to shoot but this pistol will get the job down .

Recoil is very subjective.
I've had several aluminum and scandium Smiths.
Unless I put huge grips on them, (which would defeat the purpose of a pocket pistol), the recoil of the gun would always drive the bottom of the trigger into my trigger finger.
I started putting a BandAid on the trigger finger for range trips.

The females I've had shoot the lightweight guns never like them at all.
For most people, who won't put in consistent range time with them, a J frame is a bad choice.
Most people will never get proficient enough to make accurate hits regularly with a lightweight revolver.

I love revolvers, but my only two now are a Smith .22 and a .22 WMR.
They are more pleasant to shoot.

The .380 LCP can be uncomfortable to shoot, but never as painful as a Airweight or Airlight revolver.
As always, your mileage may vary.

See if you can rent the gun to shoot that you intend to buy.
May save you some heartache later on.

+1 for my Ruger LCP Custom (ie, with red aluminum trigger). It is not painful to shoot at all. I did put a Kidd extra strength recoil spring in it, and this obviously helps but I really did not need it. Like the quote above, I do not shoot more than 50 rounds in a session due to ammo availability/cost. My LCP really likes the Barnes brand all-copper bullet ammo.

I put a Hogue Handall slip on rubber grip on my Ruger EC9s and it made a big difference. Not that it was all that unpleasant to shoot before.

Ron

I on the other hand have shot several hundred rounds through mine and never cut myself.

Mike

The Kel-Tec P32? Huh! No matter how I gripped it, I couldn't stop the slide from swiping against the top of the web of my hand. Just sawed away at my skin. Doesn't matter much, considering its last ditch defensive role, as I don't intend to spend afternoons plinking with it.

Just shoot a couple.

LCP II in .380 is F U N to shoot. I have the +1 mag which allows the pinky finger to get on the grip.

I shot a friend’s subcompact Glock in 9mm. Still fun, but no pinky to add control. Felt like I might drop it.

Neither one is uncomfortable from recoil in the least, IMO.

I enjoy shooting all of my pocket guns but I do find them to be snappy. I usually try to bring one with me each range session and shoot it for a bit at the end. I like to try to run enough ammo through them that I feel comfortable and proficient, without hurting my hand an extended LCR session taught me not to be make a ful range day of the pocket pistols. Of course with the price and availability of ammo they aren't coming out as much as they used too.

i kinda like derringers the 9 mm is easy to carry and shoot , my 410 / 3 inch with buckshot has nasty recoil like a 460 S.W. , derringers are much easier to hide in the pocket . what i carry depends mostly on time of year and what clothes i have on , rather its cold or warm.

The s&w bodyguard in 380 is easy to shoot and can be concealed as well as anything.

The 938 is a bit more to hide, but is great to shoot and tosses a 9mm well.

The 43 isn't bad, but the 43x sees much more daylight than my 43.

The bodyguard is actually probably one of the few pocket pistols that I feel like I can do a range day with. Very nice shooting and they used to be priced very cheaply.

I am the only person that carries a Colt Govt. 380. No probs.

I had one of the first ones that came out back in the (what was it?) 1980s. I liked that little gun, and it shot great. Large and heavy enough not to hurt when you shoot it. I used to carry it around in my back pocket.

Yep, I have a stainless Colt Government .380 that I like a lot, but at 22 ounces, it got replaced for a carry gun for a Scandium frame 9 ounce 12 loaded S&W 337PD .38 Special shooting +P. The Colt is more fun to shoot with that longer grip, but the S&W hits harder from both ends.