Sig P238 or Colt Mustang Pocketlite

[B. Lumpkin]

I own two Colt Mustang Pocketlites. I bought a pair with sequential serial numbers just to be cool. They have both been 100% with over 1,000 rounds between each one. At 25 yards, from a bag, 4 inches for 10 shot groups is normal and repeatable use 95 gr FMJ ammo. Triggers are decent for what they are. My only complaint is the front sight. I know, it's a "Get off me!" gun, but I plan to send them to Novaks for front sight installs.

[Petrol & Powder]

Back when the 380 was the only thing going in a small semi-auto pistol above 32 caliber I owned a carried a bunch of them. Some were SA and some were DA/SA types.
Like Lefty Red, I too became leery of SA pocket pistols. Not just because of the possibility of the safety being knocked off but due to the difficultly of operating the tiny safety on a small gun while under stress. I've carried and practiced with larger SA style pistols such as the 1911 and I'm comfortable with them but with the little hide-a-way pistols I prefer a DA trigger.
I'm also completely with Outpost on his preference for the SIG P230 (one of the best .380 autos I've ever owned) and his affinity for the Beretta model 1934. The Beretta may be SA, an old design and a tad large/heavy to be considered a true pocket pistol but, - It was a great design ! The Beretta 1934 may not be new but it is incredibly reliable and durable. It continues to be a milestone that other designs are measured against. The only drawback to that old Beretta is the safety, which is difficult to operate.

One of the .380's that I carried for a while was an original Remington model 51. That 1930's era pistol was amazingly slim and a solid piece of industrial art. Unfortunately, mine would only function reliably with FMJ bullets. I would keep a hollow point in the chamber but had to load the magazine with ball ammo. At that point in my life I had little spare time and even less money, so the Remington was traded in on a SIG P230.

As for the little Colts, I cannot comment on the current pistols but I did own several of the early Colt Mustangs, including a couple of plus 2's. They were decent pistols for the mid 1980's but never great pistols and I don't regret selling them. At that time they were affordable and one of the smallest 380's on the market. (The AMT 380 beat the Colt in price but probably not quality when it hit the market).

Obviously this is a gun forum and I think most "gun people" go down the path of selecting a small, concealable handgun for everyday carry and we spend a lot of time on this path. There's nothing wrong with this journey.
I eventually landed on the snubnose 38 Special revolver but that means nothing for other people. It's just where I landed.

I will say that lots of range time with your primary CCW is good in terms of familiarity but it can also have a downside. If you start to think that high capacity, all day shooting comfort and tiny groups at long ranges are key to a good deep cover gun; you may be off track a bit.
Ease of deployment, absolute reliability and fast accuracy may be the qualities that you are overlooking.

[Moonie]

My wife has a 938 and no concealed carry permit, yet. I carry the 938 quite a bit as it is very easy to conceal.

[Any Cal.]

SW Shield is a little bigger, but shoots like a mid size. Striker fired with or without a tiny little safety. Real sights. Light weight. Two finger or three finger mags. Not pocket carry, but smaller than the 230/232 as I recall.

[smkummer]

I have the mustang XSP and it's fine. It's even better with the finger extended mag. I have less than $400 in it as Colt was sending out a $75 rebate and some dealer had these for I believe 425 last year. I feel better carrying it with the hammer down as if the safety got bumped ( I don't use a holster) it would just be a single action trigger bump to go off. It functions perfect and I shoot it accurate. Cabalas has the new Ruger LCP for 199. That hard to beat for what it's used for. I know a female that carries one and shoots it fine. It doesn't shoot as good as her LC9 but it's small size means it gets carried.

[OptimusPanda]

I used to own a 238. It was one of the early production models and it gave me nothing but trouble. It would regularly fail to fire, fail to extract, fail to eject, and fail to feed....in the same 6 round magazine. Now in all fairness to that particular pistol, it never did that with really hot ammo. It would shoot corbon HP just fine but everything else would give it trouble. Slowly I've warmed up to the idea of trying another one. It *shouldn't* be a bad gun, most seem to like it these days.

[canthit]

I own and carry the Sig P-238 and carry it more than any carry firearm I have due to its size and the confidence I have in it. Todays ammo in 380 is so much better than a couple years ago. The sights on the 238 makes it easy to shoot. I have shot the 938 and liked it.

[Texas by God]

I had a p238 and the front sight would drift in its dovetail while shooting in addition to collecting debris under the ill fitted long blade. My buddy has two Colt .380s and the hidden portion of the barrel chamber looks like termites ate it(casting flaws) My daughter had an LCP and despite it being "angry" to shoot it shot well and ran 100%- at much less cost than the Sig/Colts. Brass flung far is a good thing in a defense pistol. I'm firmly in the thumb safety Shield camp. Butt forward Mexican carry under a shirttail and it disappears. I'm 6'2"/200# and this works for me. Best, Thomas.

[FergusonTO35]

Well, a new wrinkle. Went to the fun store today to pay on my layaway and they had a Kimber Micro .380 under the glass. I examined it and the pistol felt really nice. It was just a bit larger than the Kahr CW380 next to it. The price was only $449.00, cheaper than Sig or Colt. Yeah, never thought I'd see the day that Kimber was the best value among similar guns! Anybody have experience with these? Do they use a unique dovetail for the sights? The three dots it comes with seem fine but it's nice to have options. My understanding is that mags and many other parts are interchangeable across these three pistols.

[Lefty Red]

Nope, I just picked up a Sig 938 and Kahr PM9! I will be eating PBJ until Spring, but damn if they weren't giving them away. prices have dropped since the election.

Co worker bought the Mirco, picked it up Monday. Will let you know how he likes it. He has pretty high tastes, but I still don't see how the Micro or Mustang or 238 does anything better than my TCP.

Lefty

[Petrol & Powder]

Kimber Micro 380 = Still a SA auto, still a .380.

[Greg S]

No experiance with the Sig 238. Own 2 Colts, a Mustang and a Pocket-lite. Both no problems. Repair parts are available, mostly aftermarket.

[FergusonTO35]

Nope, I just picked up a Sig 938 and Kahr PM9! I will be eating PBJ until Spring, but damn if they weren't giving them away. prices have dropped since the election.

Co worker bought the Mirco, picked it up Monday. Will let you know how he likes it. He has pretty high tastes, but I still don't see how the Micro or Mustang or 238 does anything better than my TCP.

Lefty

Went to the fun store and they had a full stock of AR's, hi-cap mags, and ammo. Glad that the post-election locust swarm never materialized. Yes, please tell me how what your friend's experiences with the Micro are.

[catmandu]

[QUOTE
Co worker bought the Mirco, picked it up Monday. Will let you know how he likes it. He has pretty high tastes, but I still don't see how the Micro or Mustang or 238 does anything better than my TCP.

Lefty[/QUOTE]


Soo.. does he like the Micro? Do you like your 938?

[Lefty Red]

Oops! Sorry, the holidays are pretty busy with vacations and short staffing.

I got with him this week during feeds and he is ok with it. Not 100% reliable but he only has 200 rounds through it. And I have to say most guns now a days need more break in time. He is small guy, and in his hands the Micro seems to fit well. I just can't get over trying to take the thing off of safe and firing with my medium hands. Everything seems jammed up.

[Lefty Red]

I love my 938! It's just about right, with a rubber grip sleeve, how it fits in my hand and allows me to operate the safety and mag release. Getting a second one as backup to this one is my next purchase. Maybe the Rosewood version.

The 938 eats up my crappy reloads and everything that I put in it's expensive magazine. Breaks down easy and is smooth. The grips are too rough for me, so I put in a Pachmeyer Tacial Grip Sleeve to add just a tad on the width and cover up the aggressive checkering. I didn't like the Hogue aftermarket wrap around grips, because it would add too much and snag my shirt. But wish they made just replacement panels.

The extended 7rd mag is great. I can shot it with the flush 6rd mag, but the 7rd barely adds any length just enough to get a partial pinky on it. Balanced nicely.

Comes with Sig night sights, which are very nice.

I think its worth the cost. And I don't say that allot.

[FergusonTO35]

So far I think Sig is in the lead. I wish they would make one without expensive night sights though.

[The Governor]

]

His and hers Sig Nightmares. I like the 380 for what it is but carry my LCP when I want a pocket piece.

[charlie b]

Are you going with .380 because of other reasons (stockpile of ammo or reloading stuff)?

A gunsmith friend of mine has carried a Mustang for many years and likes it.

I know you are asking about specific guns but.....

I picked up a Radom P-64 and carried it for years (cause it was really cheap ). I did put in a lighter Wolff spring so the DA trigger pull was manageable.

The darn thing was nearly indestructible. Given the poor sights I was shocked at how well it shot and I never had a malfunction, despite firing the cheapest ammo I could for practice. I did wear gloves when shooting for practice. Made the recoil bearable

If you don't want a 9Mak then what about the CZ in .380? I've considered getting a CZ-82/83 for sometime now.

[FergusonTO35]

I'm going with .380 because I really like this cartridge and shoot it well. I can't shoot anything bigger in a gun of this size. This pistol will mostly be pocket carried and the mini-1911 offers the right balance of small size and shootability for this application.