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Thinking about buying one for the wife. Anyone have any experience with this small 380?

PLEASE......get her a REAL gun!

Minimum .38 Special capable of +P's.

You can even get a lightweight one!

Best to STOP them instead of just making them madder!

Just one opinion

http://www.madogre.com/Interviews/p3at_review.htm

From reading posts on this subject in numerous forums, it appears you either love'em or hate'm. And being shot with a .380 either just makes a person madder or it has been used by thousands as an effective cartridge or it's a piece of junk or an engineering marvel. Take your pick on what you want to hear and believe that.

Me? I have one and find it fine for range shooting (no problems ever & manageable recoil ) and I carry one in a front pocket quite often. I also sometimes carry a .38 or 9mm.

There is a P3AT in my left front pocket as I write this. With good ammo the .380 is a marginal self defense caliber better than a .38 with round nose lead but not as good as a 9mm, 40, or .45. The P3AT can be painful to shoot and it isn't a long range gun but, at bad breath distances it will do the job.

Mark G26 wrote:Thinking about buying one for the wife. Anyone have any experience with this small 380?

yes... and it IS a real gun

pfgrone wrote:From reading posts on this subject in numerous forums, it appears you either love'em or hate'm. And being shot with a .380 either just makes a person madder or it has been used by thousands as an effective cartridge or it's a piece of junk or an engineering marvel. Take your pick on what you want to hear and believe that.

Me? I have one and find it fine for range shooting (no problems ever & manageable recoil ) and I carry one in a front pocket quite often. I also sometimes carry a .38 or 9mm.

Last time I checked it does contain 7 rounds and the point of a CCW is to protect yourself, if you have pulled a firearm and have deployed it, don't you continue until that threat is removed? I would almost bet money after the 1st one or two, any badguy is really reconsidering his options, yes it may not make the badguy sitdown and shutup with a single round (like the .45)..but multiple rounds can be effective, shot placement is crucial though.

How many DF conflicts are resolved by just brandishing a firearm? Noone knows...who reports when a crime has been stopped?

MoJo wrote:There is a P3AT in my left front pocket as I write this. With good ammo the .380 is a marginal self defense caliber better than a .38 with round nose lead but not as good as a 9mm, 40, or .45. The P3AT can be painful to shoot and it isn't a long range gun but, at bad breath distances it will do the job.

+1

AEA wrote:PLEASE......get her a REAL gun!

Minimum .38 Special capable of +P's.

You can even get a lightweight one!

Best to STOP them instead of just making them madder!

I carry a P3AT in my front pocket most of the time, in a side cargo pocket of shorts the rest of the time. It does not take the place of my permenant carry weapon, but it IS a real gun. Like any gun, range time is required to be proficient with it.

That said, I would not want my wife to carry one as her only concealed weapon. Poor wrist strength dictates a small, lightweight snubby revolver for her. The S&W 'Airweight' series is a fine line of weapons.

I have the 32 version - works great and I love it.

I got to shoot the 380 version this past weekend.

It is stout in recoil. It is not a fun gun to shoot in 380 - it definetly isn't a range gun. After a few rounds, that's about all U will want to shoot with it.

As it is gonna be for the wife - not sure she will like it. Now, the 32's recoil is fine. I could shoot it all day.

I was with lady student on the day she bought one - and on the day she sold it to another member. It would go bang repeatedly for everyone but her. She has wrist probs and it was a single shot for her every time.

Oddly enough, her Glock 26 runs fine in her hands. But her primary carry gun, like many, is a j-frame ...

Mark,
If you are able to, go to a range that rents guns and let her try out a few.

I've read the controveries about "how big is big enough" for personal protection, and I believe the answer is "the gun she can handle reliably".

Size might matter - but being able to feel comfortable and shoot the gun consistantly and on target - is going to be what makes the real difference. If she has a larger caliber gun she can't handle or feel comfortable shooting, what good is it in the long run?

I rented a 45 last weekend and I LIKED THE GUN A LOT, but I took a lot more concentration to shoot and the weight of the gun was tiring. Same with my husband's S&W 357. Man, that gun "feels" good to shoot, but it is heavy and would be hard to tote. Same with his Glock 19 9mm. I can shoot it and stay on target, but it's big and heavy, and hard to conceal.

There are a lot of women who can shoot "bigger guns" and trust they will be able to handle them. I'm new and I'm not there yet. As I get more experienced, I still plan on getting a 45. But I won't carry it till I'm ready to trust myself with it.

For now, the gun I keep going back to is my Bersa 380. It is easy to shoot, lightweight, easy to conceal, and "shoots where I point it". I trust I CAN shoot it. When my husband and I have talked about "how big is big enough" -- that's the conclusion we come to that matters.

Mark,

If your lady picked this gun out then it is the right one for her. If she didn't... Take her to a gun show to pick out 2-4 guns that she likes the feel of and then find them for her to shoot. There will be one that she is happy with. She won't carry or shoot it if it doesn't fit her.

If you are close to Pearland Sportsman's Club bring her by this Saturday at 9AM. We are having our Ladies Class. We try each others guns and share what works for us.

three words of advice:

DONT DO IT!

My brother in law has one of those and he has had nothing but problems with it. It stovepipes and double feeds / jams all the time - seriously, don't waste your money.

If you read the forums at Kel-Tec's website you will see this is a common occurrence with this particular pistol.

I agree with CompVest. Let her pick the guns to try. She will be more inclined to like it and use it.

That being said I would steer her towards one of the easiest and most reliable guns to use, S&W J frame.

BTW I've got a Kel Tec .32 cal that has always been 100% reliable. No experience with the 3AT.

CompVest wrote:Mark,

If your lady picked this gun out then it is the right one for her. If she didn't... Take her to a gun show to pick out 2-4 guns that she likes the feel of and then find them for her to shoot. There will be one that she is happy with. She won't carry or shoot it if it doesn't fit her.

If you are close to Pearland Sportsman's Club bring her by this Saturday at 9AM. We are having our Ladies Class. We try each others guns and share what works for us.

Thanks, we are here in the DFW area. Where is Pearland?