.380 Auto advice

[Roon]

My father-in-law got a S&W Sigma 40 cal for Christmas that he doesn't want. He wants a 380 that he can carry "in his pocket", something like the Ruger LCP.

So at the gun show today, I was looking for 380's and saw a bunch that I've never heard of, Cobra, Jimenez??? (with big lettering on the box that says made in the USA), KelTec, etc.

Gang, what's a good compact 380? I shy away from KelTec, love my Ruger Mark III but I'm not paying what the asking price for the LCP is now. Suggestions?


As a side note, I sold the S&W for a tidy profit (I've never walked around a gun show carrying a gun and I was amazed at how many times I got asked by vendors and just people that saw I was carrying a case and asked me what I had, if they could check it out and what I wanted for it).

Bottom side-line note, I sold it for 90 bucks over what my mother-in-law bought it for at Cabelas and 40 bucks under the best price I saw at the guns show today.

[Nick!]

What kind of price did you get on the LCP?

[Roon]

Re-read;

but I'm not paying what the asking price for the LCP is now

[SANman1911]

Better off with a sub-compact 9mm than a .380, they are just to weak a round to be useful. Of course it is better than nothing. I would go with a Kel-Tec before a no-name brand, the Kel-Tec might be a cheap gun but you already know what you have. The other no-name brands may be more dangerous to you than they are to the target.

[tmiller]

I love my LCP. Be prepared to pay for it though. You should also search the numerous threads on here concerning this topic.

[toxie]

.380, they are just to weak a round to be useful.

Well, thats just not true. I tend to agree that a .25 or .32 ACP are too weak, .380 isn't much different then a plain jane .38, and both cartriges have been killing people for a century or more (.380 had been carried by european police at the turn of the century). It itn't a barn burner, but it is perfectly capable of disabling an attacker at nominal ranges. Hit location is FAR more important then caliber, DOUBLE so in a pocket gun (IMHO 9mm pocket guns are ALL going to be out of the price range he's talking about) .
That said, a P3AT or equiv. gun is not a bad gun. It Is a CHEAP gun (crappy trigger, sights, ergonomics, after all it's not a seecamp). You could buy a Sig 232, Etc. for a lot more money - but the Keltec has "proven" to be a pretty good little carry gun. Avoid the jimenez, raven, lorcin Etc. like the swine flu.

Last and not least - why no 5 shot revolver? They make the BEST pocket guns IMHO, and I bought a NEW S&W 637 for ~$420.

[Roon]

A 5 shot 38 revolver is what I have my wife and mother-in-law carrying, I agree it's handy and wouldn't mind getting another one. But I'm trying to get something my father-in-law will actually carry. He never even shot the S&W, I think it would've been fine for him but he never even tried it.

The cheapest LCP I saw at the gun show this weekend was going for $429. I may have to spring for it...

[oodn-oodn]

Wow, LCPs were under $300 when they first came out. That was way back . . . uh . . .
LAST YEAR?

Well, at least one part of the economy is going strong.

[tmiller]

The $429 is bullshit. They're hoping for a sucker. I paid $300 for mine.

[Dog Soldier]

It's a sellers market for guns now. Should have bought last year when it looked like Obama was going to win.

If you want it you're going to have to suck it up and pay.

[Roon]

The $429 is bullshit. They're hoping for a sucker. I paid $300 for mine.

Yeah, the first one I ever saw at the Fort Worth gun show was $297. There were two other dealer booths that were asking $450. Not going there...

It's a sellers market for guns now. Should have bought last year when it looked like Obama was going to win.

If you want it you're going to have to suck it up and pay.

Prices are up on everything I've paid attention too but the LCP was the worst mark up I noticed. Like I said, I made 90 bucks on the S&W and I'm sure I could've made another $25 if I'd pressed a little.

Ammo is another story, it's going through the roof. Another reason I'd prefer to get him off the 380 and into a similar caliber to what we already own. Ammo is best bought in bulk right now...