My Best Shooting 380

[KCSO]

Back in 1968 I bought a old/new Beretta 1934 model that was made in like 63. The gun looked new but had a bulge in the barrel. It still functioned but wasn't much of a shooter so I got a mil surp barrel from Numerich and it dropped right in and the darn gun shot. In fact it shot better than my PPK. For a while I gave it to my Father in Law and he had it arond the farm for years and used it to shoot pests like coon and possums. When he died I got it back and by this time it no longer looked like new so I chucked it in the drawer and left it sit.

Last week I dug it out and took it to the range to see if I was somehow mistaken and the 1934 was now as good as I remembered it to be. I shot it through a qual course with my Beretta 84 and lo and behold the 1934 shot better than the new gun by a good margin. It shot so darn good I stripped it and did a dura coat on it and now it looks better than it did in 68. The lttel popper even shoots hollow point ammo flawlessly.

The only disadvantage of the old gun is the safety lever that is for all practical purposes useless on a combat gun. If you carry the gun your best bet is to leave the chamber empty and rack the slide as you draw Mossad style. It is not difficult and is about as quck as using a regular thumb safe.

[Bonz]

I love 380's also but not being able to keep a round "safely" in the chamber is a big issue for me and for most that conceal carry. Are there any small 380's that can safely carry a round in their chamber ?

[Rick Hodges]

I love 380's also but not being able to keep a round "safely" in the chamber is a big issue for me and for most that conceal carry. Are there any small 380's that can safely carry a round in their chamber ?

Taurus (TCP 738?) and Ruger both make small compact double action only .380's that can be carried with one in the chamber.

[NoZombies]

Are there any small 380's that can safely carry a round in their chamber ?

Depends on how you define "safely" since we're still talking about a loaded gun, but I carry my Sig P238 cocked and locked. The nice thing about the sig is that the safety does't lock the slide in place, so you can cock the gun empty, put the safety on, and then chamber a round.

The little DAO .380's rely on their trigger pull and internal automatic blocks to function as safeties, and they do a pretty good job.

[Bonz]

Depends on how you define "safely" since we're still talking about a loaded gun, but I carry my Sig P238 cocked and locked. The nice thing about the sig is that the safety does't lock the slide in place, so you can cock the gun empty, put the safety on, and then chamber a round.

The little DAO .380's rely on their trigger pull and internal automatic blocks to function as safeties, and they do a pretty good job.

I thought the same thing until I bought a Ruger LCP and read the manual

81536

[KCSO]

In the old days and in some places yet you keep the handgun chamber empty and rack the slide as you present to the target. This has only one drawback as you eed two hands to come into action. The alternative on the Beretta is carrying a round in the chamber with the gun on 1/2 cock and cocking the hammer as you present the pistol. Here you must have a holster that puts a strap over the hammer and you must be adept enough to not drop the gun while drawing it out. Both of these seem to be a huge problem with modern gun handlers as is lowering the hammer on a live round. Nothing is fool proof as fools have proved to me many times over, what ever gun you carry needs practice till the motions become second nature.