Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Thoughts on EZ slide pistol? 380 or 9mm

Looking for a hand gun my wife could manage. She’s 5’8, 150 lbs. fit but not really strong. Thinking of getting her a handgun for protection while she walks for exercise. I like the idea of the ez slide smith n Wesson, since it would be easier for her to clear the action if she had to. What are your thoughts on this handgun?
Is the 380 just as reliable as the 9mm?
What say you?

I got my wife one in .380 for Valentines day. I looked at it and the Ruger version which the name escapes me. My wife has weak hands too and can barely rack the slide. Between the Ruger and the S&W, there were things about both that could have swayed me. The S&W has the tabs on the side of the magazine that make it easy to load. It only holds 10 rounds to the Rugers 12 and 15. The S&W has a grip safety that seems to baffle my wife. The trigger was about the same on both. I could have gone either way but the S&W had a $75 rebate so that was the deciding factor. My wife has shot the pistol a couple of times but is far from comfortable with it. I've shot it a couple of times and think it's one of the mildest shooting pistols I've ever shot. I think it and the Ruger fill a niche that's been needed for awhile. IMO, not a great pistol like a Sig P226 or a Glock G19 but a great starter pistol that's reliable and has very mild recoil.

Sig P365 .380

I suggest you take her to a shop and let her try them for herself. They also make a .30 Super Carry that is a lot more powerful than the .380 and may be easier to rack than the 9mm. Paul Harrell says the recoil is pretty much the same as a 9 though. The easy-load mags are a nice touch. My new single-stack FN is a bear to load, even with an Adco loader. One reason the EZs are easy is that they’re hammer-fired, which also helps the trigger pull I expect.

Mrgunsandgear did a review of a new Ruger .380 recently. His wife liked it enough that it’s her new carry gun.

The wife has one in .380 EZ really likes it.Easy for her to load and rack the slide.Shoots it pretty well.

I bought a ez .380. It’s accurate easy to operate functional and my 8 and 9 year old granddaughters can rack the slide.

Does the sig have a safety? I like the Glock for myself. I don’t want a safety to fiddle with in an urgent situation.

RatherB,

The P365 is available with & without the safety. The P365 is quite a bit smaller (grip & overall) than the The S&W EZ, so recoil relatively is probably heavier than the S&W.

Regarding the S&W EZ in 380 (or 9mm for that matter)... I would definitely opt for the safety, as these are not striker fired. The reason they are easier to rack is that they are a hammer fired gun (internal hammer).

For concealed carry I would favor the P365, due to it's size. For a purse, vehicle or home the S&W would be fine.

About the only thing that I don't like (more like can't stand) about the P365 is the light rail.

Jerry

A .380 does shoot a .355 9mm diameter bullet and at self defense ranges, it should be just fine for a woman’s purse gun. In a light EZ a 9mm would have a pretty sharp recoil and she has to like shooting it to become reasonably proficient with it.

Bought my Wife a S&W EZ. She still had a hard time racking the slide (72 and weak hands)

So I traded the EZ for an air weight model 60, got a trigger job, and load it with 148 grain wad cutters.

NOW she's happy! Virgil B.

I had the EZ9. I liked everything about it except the grip safety. IME S&W dropped the ball on that design. My hand is not very fleshy in the web of the thumb, due to some nerve damage I suffered a few years ago. So even when consciously trying to consistently depress that grip safety, I occasionally failed to do so. Given the target market for the EZ, I consider that a design failure. If the intended user can confirm that this won't ever be a problem, then it is an excellent choice. But you won't be able to determine that in the gun store. Good luck.

As far as accuracy - that was very good. And the excellent trigger made it easy to shoot accurately. The mags are indeed easy to load, but every mag is easy to load if you have the UPLULA - so that feature is kind of moot.

Frankly, I'm disappointed about the EZ. I think S&W designed the grip safety with too much concern for cost and not enough for reliability. I have zero issues with grip safeties on the 1911 and the Springfield XD. I can't recommend the EZ.

Edit: They did make the grip safety more prominent with the PC version (which tells me they're aware of the problem), and maybe that fixes the issue. But the PC EZ comes with a ported barrel which I detest in a carry pistol. I contacted S&W to ask if they would make the PC version of the grip safety lever available for someone to upgrade their EZ, and their answer was basically "no".

Sounds like a wonderful option.

When I went pistol shopping with and for the mrs. the EZ were right where I was heading. The wife liked the feel and trigger of something else. I said the Ez magazines are easy to load. “Won’t you already have them loaded for me before I go?”,she said. “I think if I need more than one magazine it better be already loaded or I’m in trouble.” Good point. I said it will be easy to rack one in. “Again, if it’s not already loaded and ready to go then I’m in trouble. “ She says. I bought the other one. Just my 2 cents. Stay safe

"KISS", consider a revolver.

They fill a niche for sure, my father in law ended up with one in 9mm due to decreased hand strength from cancer treatment, had him check out a shield, p365, glock, m&P 2.0 and brother in laws Cannik. For him, it was a good choice. The trigger isn't bad and he can manipulate it which means he might actually train a little and enjoy shooting it. He got the performance center blingy one with gold barrel etc, but whatever, if he likes it and actually uses it thats a win for a guy that a few years ago wasn't interested in guns or self defense. The mag tabs on a centerfire was a smart move from S&W.

The 38 wadcutter option is sound.

One day I put an alloy 1911, an alloy CZ 9mm, a Colt .380, a S&W 34 .22 and S&W 337PD .38 Special out on the bed and asked the wife which one she liked best? The 12 ounce lightest one, the .38 Special revolver. She likely won’t ever shoot any of them, but anyone who has ever operated a cap pistol could shoot a revolver if need be. We sold her Buckmark because she couldn’t work the slide.

Mine has the safety, it’s been 100% reliable. It’s an option for shooters that don’t have enough hand strength to rack a 9, or the recoil sensitive. But, it requires a fairly firm grip. I found it easier to rack than a G42. About 3 ounces lighter than the 9 mm version.

Too late now, but Tandemkross makes nice loops for the slides of BMs and Victorys that helps a lot. I was skeptical, but huntsman22 uses one, so I thought it was worth a try. It was.

Here are my perceptions.

S&W EZ .380
Pros:
Soft shooting
Easy to rack
Easy to load magazines
Long barrel gets the most velocity out of ammo
Large size makes it easy to shoot

Cons:
Large size makes it harder to carry concealed
The EZ part comes from weak recoil and magazine springs
See Bluedreaux’s post about many women having trouble gripping the grip safety tightly enough either initially on the draw or by loosening their grip at some point during a training class. https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...s/17835769/re-s-w-equalizer#Post17835769 When Bluedreaux talks, I listen.
If the grip safety is not depressed enough before pulling the trigger, you have to release the trigger and reset it before firing.

Sig P365-380
Pros
10 round standard capacity with 12 round extended magazines that act as a grip extender
Easy to shoot
Easier to carry but still large enough to provide a decent grip (use 12 round magazine with grip extender, if necessary) for home.
Can be obtained with or without a thumb safety.
Good night sights standard
Optionality: Frame and fire control unit is the same as 9mm version; numerous grip modules available
Grip circumference may be better for shooters with smaller hands than the EZ

Cons
Shorter barrel than EZ gives up velocity
Magazines are hard to load; it comes with a tool for that
Not nearly as easy to rack as the EZ but not as hard as a 9mm P365; not nearly as hard as a Glock 42. Still, a person with weak arm and hand strength would need to try it.

I went to the range yesterday, so I brought the EZ and the P365-380 with me. Recoil with my mild 95 grain FMJs was negligible with both guns. I did have 1 stoveipe with the EZ, but I don’t hold that against the gun because it was a handload. (It has been very reliable with factory ammo.) I shot a few rounds of Hornady Critical Defense through each, and the Sig had a little more recoil but still was very mild compared to a 9mm P365. I turned on the timer and shot 8 rounds of my handloads through each at 5 yards at an 8 inch circle, starting with the gun on target and getting a sight picture between each shot. With the EZ I got 3.67 seconds and with the Sig I got 2.86 seconds. (I did one run before that with the Sig and got 2.52 but one shot was slightly outside the circle.)

I don’t have any experience with the new Ruger Security .380. I did own a Ruger LCP Max. It was light racking and had good capacity. It hid well. It was awful to shoot and I would not recommend it for a novice or occasional shooter. I also don’t recommend revolvers for novices or occasional shooters because their accuracy usually falls apart under bad stress and they tend to shoot them very slow on a good day. But, everyone is different, so try before you buy if at all possible.

Good luck with your search.