I've never owned a centerfire semi-auto, tend to favor my revolvers. Wife has taken a shine to the neighbor's LCP, I've handled a few along with the new Smith Bodyguard 380's. To me, the Smith feels like a lot nicer pistol, but I'm not crazy about the location of the laser switch. A pressure pad on the grip would make much more sense to me, but I sure like the feel of the pistol otherwise. She hasn't handled a Smith yet but I'm going to take her window shopping soon, this will be hers and I want her to be comfortable with whatever she gets.

Anybody owned both? Own one or the other? Good, bad, ugly?

Thanks

I wasn't crazy about the tiny safety on the Smith BG, also it seemed bigger than the lcp but I didn't have them side by side. I think the Taurus TCP will get my money when the time comes.

The Taurus has had some problems; one guy I work with (and he's an OLD gun nut) has has his back to Taurus 4 times now.

Personally, I still like the little Kel-Tec .380.

If not one of those, then the SIG remake of the Colt Mustang.

Depends on who you talk to. A few minutes ago I talked with a cop friend of mine whose opinion I respect, and he is high on the Ruger. A dealer friend says the Rugers are outselling the S&Ws, although he didn't say why or which specific models of Smiths. He can offer good deals on the Rugers right now. Another dealer I spoke with this weekend wasn't fond of the Bodyguard, said it wasn't up to other S&Ws.

So it seems that opinions differ. Makes it hard to choose.

Paul

Agreed. Although the Sig P238 is a "big little gun" that operates just like a mini-1911, unlike the LCP and Kel Tec which are true "pocket guns:" e.g., no sights, smooth edges, etc.

Got the same story from my cop friend that I mentioned in my previous post. Yet recently my gunsmith said that current Tauruses (Tauri?) are very good.

Danged hard to sort it all out.

Paul

Current Taurus stuff, in general, is superb. The little TCP, though, seems not to be.

One thing for sure is both the LCP and P3AT have been around long enough to have their teething issues corrected.
Except for the price what about the Kahr P380?

I've been looking at the Kahr p380.. and I agree that it has some "Pricing issues."

As for the Ruger, I didn't like the trigger slap. And I mean SLAP. I was splitting a box of 50 rounds between the keltec p38T and the ruger lcp. I probably didn't shoot 10 through the ruger before it was back on the bench. The fit and finish on the Keltec wasn't as nice, which was noticeable even at such a small size. At least it didn't numb my finger! But pretty much wrote them both off.

I still haven't fired that Kahr p380.. has anyone compared these side x side?

Although the Diamondback has received some bad press I own one and have about a 1000 rounds or more through mine and it's a pretty good little gun.
I can easily fire two boxes of ammo through mine at a range session with zero pain.
What you mentioned about the LCP's slap is exactly what kept me from buying it or the Kel-tec as you are not the first to mention it.

Really? Without any trigger slap either? Hmm... I'm intrigued.

Carry the Sig P238, used to carry LCP for 2 years. The Sig cost a lot, I sure do like the trigger. Seems to be a little bit bigger, but not enough to bother me.
Make sure what ever you get that the wife has a good enough grip to rack the slide.

After some reading, it looks like they may have fixed some of the initial issues. Which MAY mean they are listening to their customers.

But there IS a lot of bad press out there.. I don't know man. That Kahr p380 is still calling me..

Ruger's got nearly 3/4 of a million LCP's out there. If they didn't work they wouldn't be selling like that. I like mine. There are a lot of nice guns out there but for what it is, the price, and size it's hard to beat. Plus (big +) it goes bang everytime.

Skivvy,I realize a customer should never be a beta tester for a new firearm and I can say that when Ruger and Kel-Tec introduced their little micro .380's there were plenty of issues,recalls (Ruger),pissed off owners,etc.
Even my early production Diamondback went back to the factory for a warranty issue in which the magazine would pop out after each shot fired.
Since then it has been flawless.
I guess it could disengrate one day shooting it but I am pretty happy with mine.
One of the quirks about this pistol though is if you forget your round count and dry fire it on an empty magazine YOU MUST rack the slide before putting in a fresh magazine otherwise the firing pin will cause the newly racked cartridge to fail to feed.
I see this complaint a lot of owners disgruntled because of the pistols failure to feed.
They obviously have not caught on to this little quirk.
Anyway it's got much better sights than the LCP or P3AT.
It is not uncomfortable to shoot and trust me I am no handgunner extraordinaire as for the last several decades I only owned rifles and shotguns but due to age have recently graduated to owning handguns and a concealed carry license for protection.
As far as the Kahr P380 if it's built like my newly aquired PM9 it may be very possibly worth the extra money.

Caribou,
There are 800,000 Yugos in the world. That just means they are a car manufacturer. But that doesn't mean it's a good car.

I'm glad you like your LCP. I have a friend who swears by his. But I still don't like them. As is the way with opinions. I guess we will have to agree, to disagree.

Texas,

Well, I am still intrigued. According to what I was reading, and even though some were negative, most praised how the DB handled. (Recoil, grip, etc.) I may still check it out. If I am blessed to have 2 pocket guns, then maybe the DB would be there.. right along side my p380. (assuming it IS worth the $).

You have a pm9? I did fire that, and loved it. Which is why i went looking at their 380 in the first place..

I just bought an LCP. I really wanted to go with the Sig but read too many negative forum reviews. The LCP is what it is, a $300 pistol that is pretty dependable, even so I would have paid the $500 for the Sig if I hadn't been deterred by all the negative posts I had read.

The Kahr would be my choice

Thanks for the opinions, everyone. I got my paws on a LCP at a gun shop today and that thing feels like a toy, just can't figure out where to put the caps.

lol. I'm going to have to remember that one..

Interesting to hear that Diamondback may have their problems corrected. That was my first choice. Haven't shot one but it felt the best to me.

What I find intriguing and actually kind of funny is the fact that to my knowledge www.Diamondbacktalk.com is the only forum specifically for that pistol and they have a whole 322 members.
Now here's something else,my DB is a very early production gun with serial number ZA18XX.
They ran serial numbers ZA's,then went to ZB,then ZC,and where they are now in the production scene I do not know but last I heard they have produced over 30,000 of these pistols and probably more to date.
There is a lot of vocal critics over at the website(I am a member by the way) but with 322 members and thousands of these pistols produced you have to ask how balanced that is.
I am not trying to be a drum beater for Diamondback and I do know a lot of the early production pistols had issues and some more than one issue and even I had to send mine back to get the magazine catch replaced with an upgraded material.
Again owners should not be the beta testers for a new pistol but again look at how many other new models have been down this same path before the maker finally got it right.
Mine may go to Hell the next time I head over to the range with it and if it does I will certainly report it honestly but as of now mine is well broken in and works very well.

I have been looking more and more at the S&W Bodyguard 380 as well.. but for that price, might as well go kahr.

Buds has the DB for 300(ish) shipped. Not bad.

Thanks for the link. Will check out diamondback talk.

Along these lines, I would like to know what the pros think of the recent prolifertaion of all these sub compact carry guns. The 380 will certainly work but to me it's at the bottom end of the scale.On the other hand all these 45 ACP and 40's hat are coming out would seem to be heavy in the recoil department and for someone wanting a carry gun that has not much experience in shooting might find out they are in for a big surprise when they do start to use it. So what are the pros and cons? I am asking because I don't know.

There is a very interesting read on this very subject on the High Road.org,at least until the moderators slam the door on another thread.
Sure a .380 is no 454 Casull.
But then again neither is a 45acp,357,40,9mm,32,25 or 22 and on and on we go down the favorite caliber of my choice war.
All hand guns will kill but most are pretty limp dick by shotgun and rifle standards.
Frankly I dont even want to be shot with a .22 short fired out of a Berreta Minx from a hundred yards away.
Do you??

Any chance you could post a link to that thread?

Apples and oranges. Yugo sure didn't do it in 3 years. If the LCP has huge problems you would hear about it here. If Yugo's have a problem you'd buy a problem.

Sorry,I too much of a friggin old dinosauer to have the puter knowledge to do that.
I do good just to post and that's no B.S.

Apples and oranges? Really? And with more arbitrary numbers to boot.

You are using arbitrary numbers to try and demonstrate that Ruger can produce quality weapons. I used similar arbitrary numbers to show that Yugo can produce cars, though most would agree they aren't quality.

Here is some more arbitrary information: The Yugo was manufactured for more than 3 decades. SO. If they had problems, why did people keep buying them? Because it's quality vs. price point. (See what I did there?)

By the way, there is a problem with the Ruger LCP. It's called trigger slap. (and I mean SLAP) I think I mentioned it early on..

Gun Tests gave the Diamondback a D in its evaluation. They gave the LCP and Kel-tech an A.

MHO: ( not worth $0.02 but it's lunchtime and I'm bored )
I've shot several LCP's and I feel it would be a fine back up , ankle holster gun.
But just don't shoot it a lot to practice.
The narrow little frame just bits the crap out of my grip.
( other's have told me to try crossing my thumbs, I haven't tried it yet )

The wife's Walter PK 380 is a much bettrer shooter and not much larger in size ( but double the thickness )
It has real sights, a real safety and hits what ever we point it at.

The Smith we have is her Christmas Present
An M & P 9C with crimson trace grips.

I carry both of these guns ( one or the other ) when not packing a large frame.

My suggestion?
Find a range like mine and go rent guns for an afternoon.

I'd take a Single Six Ruger in .22 Magnum before I'd have any .380 auto.
Well, you did ask.... E

I have the LCP and I shoot a heavy load of Power Pistol and the 95g HP at 1030 fps(stout). I shoot this pistol very accurately at 9 yards and and what ever all this "slap" is all about, I shoot the LCP better than a I do my Smith Model 36 Stainless with a trigger job from the custom shop(1985).

My LCP has never jammed.

Tough to pocket carry with a Single Six unless you're wearing MC Hammer pants....

I bought a LCP, no complaints with its reliability, about 250 rounds thru it and not a single hiccup. The sights kinda suck, but at the distance I would need to use the thing, they aint gonna matter. It rides nice in cargo short pockets or in a coat pocket, almost too easy to forget you are carrying it.

When I bought mine, I had a tough time deciding between all of the 380's out there. I would have liked the Kahr, since we have 2 CW9's, but they are a little pricey. Came down to the Taurus and the Ruger, and the Ruger won.

IYO, are the CW9's too bulky/heavy to carry full time?

Skivvy,

I wouldnt say they are too bulky or heavy at all. I just wanted something I could throw in the pocket on my cargo shorts in the summer, and just about anything other than a polymer framed 380 was too much for that.

Skivvy,

When I bought my Kahr PM9 last week at the gun show the dealer had Kahrs and Kel-Tec's beside one another so I could easily tell the size,weight,and feel of each pistol.
The Kel-Tec PF9 was priced right but it had a bargain bin feel to it I just did not care for.
The Kahr CW9 had a better feel in the grip than the PM9 but since I wanted to stay as close to a .380 in physical size and weight as possible I stacked the PM9 right on top of the CW and the size and weight difference was substantial enough to sway me to spend close to $200 more for the PM9.
I bought the model with the night sights so it was $50 more than the standard PM9.
After getting home and stacking my Diamondback .380 on top of the PM9 just as the case of the CW9 vs PM9 again the size difference was substantial.
My PM9 is more powerful and I am quite sure better built than my current carry .380 but no way is it going to be as pocketable like my current .380 and there probably will be a weight difference of at least 6-7 ounces which is readily felt when pocket carrying.
Currently researching outside the waist,inside the waist,and pocket holsters for my PM9.
But when the hot Texas summer gets here I would not doubt I find myself carrying the .380 more than the Kahr.
But who knows until I come up with the holster selection what the final decision will really be.
But one thing I will say is the makers of all these new micro .380's on the market get a big hand of applause from me.

FWIW, I owned both the LCP and several KEl TECs with no issues. However, In one of my American Rifle mags they tested 9 micro .380s's dont remeber all of them, but the LCP, Taurs, Sig, magnum research,Kel Tec and rorbuagh are the ones I remembered.

Outt of the 9 guns tested, the Rorobaugh was the only one that didnt malfunction. They are all going to require some T&E time before carrying, regardless of brand, so you might as well get he cheapest one that feels best to you and hope for the best as you have equal chances of it not working 100%. Seems like there is no "out of the box" reliabilty that we have come to expect from some of these manufactuers.

Long story short, its a crap shoot any way you go.

I understand. I was looking at the P9 and CW9 the other day. (I have a Sig 239, which is a bit heavier than both.) But to your point, I probably don't need another WB gun. A .380 would probably fill a larger gap for me.



Texas,

This is the EXACT comparison I have been looking for. I have been eyeing the pf9 as an alternate to the Kahr PM9, (its just so darn affordable) but the feel is nothing like the Kahr.

Going back to what Hawk was saying, I think I will be looking at a .380 before I am looking at another 9m. I still like the kahr .380, but man there are a lot more options at half the price.

Need to try to get my hands on a DB..

OMG. Rohrbaugh is absolutely out of the question. (Average price on GB is $1200.) That thing had better NOT malfunction for that price.. I could have 2 Kahrs for that. T.W.O. Kahrs.

Rohrbaugh flyer

Rohrbaugh Firearms Website

Here is a link to a scaled comparison of several discussed above: " Mouse Guns"

Enjoy!

Sounds like you made up your mind ...