P380 I Want One But To Many With Problems!

[MichSteve]

I am looking to buy a P380, but all I read is mostly problems, even the poll taken is reliability is 50%. Half have been sent into Kahr for repair, just not acceptable. So I have a 50/50 chance of getting a good one.

I had a LCP and now my son has it, it has been 100% reliable from the start. I don't like the sights or the trigger, but at least it works.

Come on Kahr you want $600 for a gun that is a 50/50 gamble from the start. I will admit my PM9 has been great and flawless for 800 rounds.

[Dietrich]

I can`t say that I blame you on this one.If I were in the market for a .380, I don`t believe that the Kahr would be in the running.Hopefully,they will get the bugs worked out of it soon and it will enjoy the fine reputation of the other Kahr models.

[toptog]

After the initial prepping and break in, my P380 is keeping me pretty happy. I've got 600 rounds through her now and she just keeps getting better. I'm loving it!

I think you read so much about the problem ones because people come on here looking for answers on how to fix it. It's the hundreds or thousands that you don't hear about that are going strong and keeping their owners happy. It's hard for me to believe that one out of every two guns that leave the factory are bad. Maybe I got lucky, but you have your doubts about it then the hunt for a pocket pistol continues.

[jocko]

My lcp is running good to but remember Ruger recalled all 50,000 of them for a safety recall and if you go to the elsi pea forum, your gonna find owners still having issues, . Ruger makes great guns but because u got a dandy one is not indicative of the total lcp line. I can't explain what is going on with the p380 MY POLL IS NOT GOING TO be A REAL INDICATOR OF REALLY MUCH OF ANYTHING AS i DOUBT IF IT WILL TOTAL OUT TO 40 OWNERS EVEN AND CERTAINLY THE RESULTS WON'T TELL WHAT THE ENTIRE p380 IS DOING OUT in the shooters hands. BUT it is an indication or a guidline for one to think about it alittle to.
Mine had to go back and I was not happy about it but I have now almost forgottenabout that event as the gun works perfectk, shoots great andit is super quality. I lived through the so called pain and disgust. If your in doubt don't buy one, get your lcp back, By the way I gavemy son my lcp and I kept the P380 also. I am not alibing for kahr, . to me this little gun has given more issues than any model they ever made, I cold be dead wrong on that to. Theselittle guns are just buggers I guess to get totally reliable. I owned 3 Kel Tecs back when they were the only game in town and I had to send my 3 back a total of 17 times JUST tofinally get them all running right so Icould sell them and move on. I still have the paperwork onthe 17returns somewhere in my cabinet. I went from the kt's to the P380 and thought, alright, Ia m now home with a great gun like my PM9 is and has been since day one. I was wrong :

[JPS]

Hello,
I bought a new P380 for my wife about a month ago and so far we have at least 150 rounds of FMJ ammo through it with out any problems. My wife is a rookie shooter and she loves it.

[jocko]

jps. super, great gun in all details IMO...

[Ljutic]

Based on my personal experience, the 50/50 assessment is right on the money.

My first one had to go back, and even after that would only feed Rem GS without premature slide lock.

My second has been fantastic right out of the box. It's a keeper.

[Bill K]

Based on my personal experience, the 50/50 assessment is right on the money.

My first one had to go back, and even after that would only feed Rem GS without premature slide lock.

My second has been fantastic right out of the box. It's a keeper.

Similar to my P3AT experience. First one was a problem child but once running reliably I liked it so much a bought a second one. Second one didn't have a single issue.

*Every good citizen of age should own and carry a pocket .380. Having a reliable Kahr .380 would be fantastic.

*[Unless of course you pocket your PM9.:)]

Bill K.

[HadEmAll]

I am looking to buy a P380, but all I read is mostly problems, even the poll taken is reliability is 50%. Half have been sent into Kahr for repair, just not acceptable. So I have a 50/50 chance of getting a good one.

I had a LCP and now my son has it, it has been 100% reliable from the start. I don't like the sights or the trigger, but at least it works.

Come on Kahr you want $600 for a gun that is a 50/50 gamble from the start. I will admit my PM9 has been great and flawless for 800 rounds.

A mirror image of my situation. My LCP was so reliable that I gave it to my son to carry. I'd never give anything unreliable to anybody I loved, or even remotely cared about.

My P380 ownership has not been successful so far. I wanted to add it to my small "stable" of Kahrs because it would complete the series for me, so to speak.

Mine has been back to the factory once. I returned it after just under 300 rounds. Premature slide lockbacks, and stovepiped rounds. Not many, just enough to keep it from being a trusted pocket pistol for me.

I just shot it on its return, and had 1 stovepipe and 1 premature lockback in 94 rounds. They were rounds 49 and 54 of the 94. That is still unacceptable to me.

The factory note said "tweaked this and adjusted that", and "shoots good". I have no idea how many rounds or what type they put through it, so that analysis is almost comical. Meaningless to me. (They did have it back in 7 days, which I thought was amazing.)

I'm not giving up on mine yet. I know I can have another LCP in less than an hour when and if I do. (I hope my second is as good as the first) One good thing about the LCP is that premature lockbacks drop out of the equation because of its lack of a automatic slidelock. And it draws out of the pocket a smidge better for me because it doesn't have that big honking slide release lever on the side, or the protruding sights.

I have a plan in mind for my P380 which involves tinkering with springs, cleaning cycles, and ammo. I'm not going to discuss it in detail yet with anybody. I'm getting kinda tired of talking and even hearing about the P380. I am encouraged only because I have had no failures to feed with any of a variety of bullet types in just under 500 rounds now. I basically believe the gun is oversprung due to the limited ejection distance with even the stoutest factory rounds I've shot. The only factory round I have not had any failures with out of several types is the Speer 90 grain Gold Dot JHP. I just ordered 500 of these expensive little pills to do further reliability tests with the P380.

I'm only going through this because I have a project type mentality, and am not yet prepared to take the financial hit I'll be taking trying to get rid of the P380.

At this point though, I'd sure recommend against, and will actively be recommending to anybody I know not to buy a P380. Never thought I'd be saying that about a Kahr. Usually I'm defending them. My previous K40, my CW40, and my PM40 have all been perfectly reliable out of the box. The P380 is different.

I won't be participating in any more P380 posts, tempting though it might be until I arrive at a final decision about mine.

My last word is that I thought mine was perfect after 261 rounds. Wrong. Then again after the first 48 rounds after it's return from the factory. Wrong again.

[HadEmAll]

PS:

I am carrying it in my pocket right now, all three magazines full of the 90 grain Gold Dots. I feel optimistic about those, with the pistols current springing. I just hate being confined to a single ammo type, good as it might be.

More later. Good luck to all P380 owners.

[GOOFA]

To those of you that have been disgusted with your P380's I share your pain. I had 2 of them that ended up being replaced and ended up with a PM9. I really wanted the P380 to be a reliable BUG but that was not to be. Gave it a good try with 1400 rounds between the two. Also had an original LCP that ended up being replaced and kept the original serial # and the replacement has been flawless and quite accurate within 21 feet with respectable groups (not that it matters ) for this type of pistol, but nice none the less. Yesterday I took out my new S&W BG .380 to the range for its initial romp. Not knowing what to expect, I took 3 boxes of ammo, 1 S&B, 1 UMC and 1 WWB, what I got back was 150 flawless rounds and believe it or not more accurate and less recoil than my LCP. The first 40 or so rounds the trigger was quite heavy and stiff but after that it continued to perform much better. It performed well enough to allow me to put 78 of my remaining 80 rounds in the black of my 5 1/2" Caldwell orangepeel bullseye target from 21 feet. The other 2 rounds missed by a hair. I never used the laser in my initial test. I was unbelievably happy with its initial performance, so far so good. I felt much better knowing that my 3 month wait and $300 price tag was worth it afterall. Too bad my Kahr P380 didn't turn out that way.:D

[MichSteve]

I may look at the S&W body guard 380, I too had good luck with the LCP, everything so far has me thinking to skip the P380 for now.

[jocko]

Is the bodyguard well proven yet???I don't read much about the gun, but I don't follow it either. I just chatted with the moderator on the P380 forum and he toldme his 380 kahrs shoots evertyhing he puts in it and has never given any issues. so go figure....

[Ljutic]

I may look at the S&W body guard 380, I too had good luck with the LCP, everything so far has me thinking to skip the P380 for now.

I had one of the first S&W Bodyguards in the EAXXXX serial number series. Several reports of bad pistols in this first batch, but I never had a problem with mine. Go figure. I recently sold my BG380 so I've stopped tracking the forum, but I've heard the frame was updated and several of the initial problems have been resolved. I didn't like the integrated laser and the very heavy trigger pull, but the gun was reliable and ate anything you put in it. I just didn't need 3 pocket 380's so it went. S&W rejuvenated sales by dropping the retail for his pistol recently, so availability has become a problem.

As stated previously, the P380 I have now is great and I also have a Diamondback DB380 that has been reliable. But, I had to buy 2 DBs to get one that worked well. Unfortunately, the quality of many guns coming off the lines in the last 2 years has been problematic. I recently had to send a new S&W 686 back because the cylinder wouldn't release. No brand or model seems to be immune.

Until things settle down, it's probably best to stick with the companies with the best customer service that will stand behind their products and pay for return shipping.

[jocko]

I bought a New Porsche in 06. Loved the car, worked all my life to be in the position to own one. Had 600 miles on it and it BROKE DOWN. would not run, Call Porsche, they sent within 2 hours a slider truck to pick the car up. They took it back to my selling Porsche dealer 110 miles away, two Days later a boxed big trailer truck brouhgt my Porsche back fixed.
Bad sensor on the something or other. I was not happy but being in the auto related business I realized it happens even to the best and most expensive of auto's. Porsche a week later called me to apologizie for my inconvenice and as a token of their appreciation, they send me a check for $600. Now that is what I call service. Been a perfect auto ever since. Now I could go on line and bad mouth them all I want and never mention what they did to make my pain go away,.and just only mention the bad sh-t. But it just happens and with guns it is no different. I don't really feel it is pandemic any more with kahrs than most other brands. We just read about it more on a KAHR FORUM.

[GOOFA]

I agree that sh_t happens, more so presently than in yesteryear. These tiny pistols are marketed as BUG's and CCW's. Many of us are buying these as a last line of defense, of our lives, they must go bang when the trigger is pulled, period. It seems to me that some of the manufacturers are producing these firearms like they were the hot toy at Christmas time and somewhere in the process lost count to "what are we making" and "what's at stake" instead of "how much money are we gonna make". I just hate to think how many lost their lives (soldiers, police, individuals etc.) due to a manufacturing defect or a production line oversight just to allow the manufacturer to increase their profit margin.:puke:

[jocko]

as u know I didn't say it was right. In the yesteryears we didn't see these sub compact pocket rockets. They were almost all big guns and for some reasons big guns seem to be able to make go bang easier and more often. Hell in my 40 yeaqrs of gun business we didn't have really any issues until later stages when junk like the jennings line came out and rohm pistols and I forgot some of the other compact 22's and 380';s. Really was not to many back then even . Then we started seeing the much smaller 45 coming out and they gave issues, amt's come to mind but I have since forgotten alot of the names back then. Goofa were seeing the same quality issue in $2 and 3 grand semi's to. For that money THERE SHOULD BE NO ISSUES. They shouldn't even need a service dept, for they should be perfect ONE WOULD THINK. But they ain't. It's not just in the firearms business as u well know..

No doubt the 2 and 3K guns are not made in the numbers like kahrs are made but I would hate to see the percentages of those guns that have to go back. Might just blow your mind to. Andn then one reads every once in awhile where one of these high high dollar gun makes even hassle a owner when he has issues. Makes no sense sometime, but it is what it is. If you get a good one out of the box, thank the good lord, if you don't jus thope the company is good enough to want to make it right.

[GOOFA]

Jocko... I think I know you well enough from this forum to know that you didn't say it was right, nor were those my intentions, otherwise I would have quoted you. I apologize if you took offense.
I also agree with your preceding post.

[jocko]

oh no, no offense taken, just didn't want u to think I was defending kahr either. no apology needed. I knew better.

[bonjorno2]

i have owned and sold 2 p380's the first one plenty of failure to feeds and 2 trips back to kahr.... sold it.... found one on buds cheap picked it up and never got to fire it because i needed cash fast and I wasn't selling my glock after the experience i had with my first p380. I ended up getting a kel tec and since i live right by them i had to make a trip to get it running tip top shape. Either way with time and effort it will be a nice gun to pocket carry if you have the time to wait for kahr to make it right. Or you could be lucky and have a tack driver right out of the box!

[TominCA]

I've had two and both have had problems - I would hold off buying one until this gets worked out or they get discontinued. I wish I could get an LCP or a Smith BG but I live in CA and the only little pocket gun is the P380. Too bad so many problems with them!

[jocko]

Oh, I'm sure your right on that but as small as this 380 survey is, to me it sends a mediocre signal..

\Probalby 90-% of most peole don't even know or even mess with gun forums,

[GOOFA]

Actually, there's may be far more people without any P380 problems, but you don't hear from them. It's human nature to complain not champion.
That may be, but this indicates some concern. I find that many firearms owners out there have no idea that these forums even exist. They just shoot them when they originally get them maybe 50 rounds or so and if that goes well its back to the box or put away for a month, 3 months, 6 months or longer thinking everything is OK, not even putting it through it paces. The P380 is a BUG/CCW and it better be put through it paces or you may come up short when the time comes and you need it as a last line of defense. I went through two replacements and neither functioned properly as BUG's when I put them through normal drills as I would any of my BUG's. I had troubles with the magazines dropping during a rapid fire sequence. The fix was to remove the stuck mag, manually lock back the slide and insert a new mag or reinsert original mag and release the slide lock to chamber a new round. Kahr was able to duplicate and replaced the firearm, twice. I gave up after the second one. I really wanted the P380 to work for me, it was extremely accurate and it felt great, besides I love Kahr pistols.

[toptog]

Just go for it! Think of it as gold mining or diamond digging. You may end up with a gem, or a diamond in the rough that needs a little honing and polishing to turn it into one. It's another toy to fiddle with, make loud noises with, and either love it or put it into the junk drawer. (so to speak)

Hopefully you'll never have to test it's ultimate reliability to defend yourself or loved ones, but it should be fun finding a pistola that fits the bill.

Like I said before, maybe I got lucky with mine, and going with that I love it more and more. My PM9 as well. (knock on wood)

[jocko]

can't fault u goofa, u gave kahr a chance at making it right. Mine is running perfect now and has been for awhile to. but I just don't shoot it much at all. 380 ammo is not to availalbe around here and not cheap when I find it. Itis my not so often carry peace. I trust it but if I was a snooper on this site and read all the negatives on the P380, it wouldmake merealy thinki about it. Not alibiing for the P380 but havingt had the lcp and kel tec and reading alot on their forums also, these little guns are just not the easiest for some to handle right. Some of the issues are shooter related and not the guns fault but that being said, if u buy a gun and for some reason you and the gun just never mate up right, no matter who is at fault, it is time to part ways. Some guns are more forgiving to, the bigger the better no doubt and the little P380 is so so small..

[lwj]

I am too thinking about getting P380.
I own Baby Eagle from MR. and like it. I was able to compere sizes of two of them- very close.
I own MK9 which is probably the best compromise between size, caliber and shooting potential.
P9 is my #1, but little bit bigger than MK9.
My concern is small - when is realy to small. It is all about compromise.
How acurate and how fast is this pistol in comparison to above models?

[linksrds]

I have a P380 that was one of the first production runs. It will be 2 years old this July. In the initial breakin period, I had two FTF and one FTE and that was in the first 25 rounds. After that, there have been no problems with it at all.

just my .o2

[merlin3]

We just bought one for my wife about a month ago and the first 70 rounds it shot flawlessly. So far I like the gun and just bought myself a pm9.

[jocko]

super, two good reports in a row, hell maybe we are on to something, u think?????? they are indeed sweet as apple pie when they woirk as designed. I have never shot a more accurate 380. I out shoot my PM9 with it at 7 and under yards and I have no clue as to why. but as all know, when they act up it is a real BUMMER..

[TD2K]

haven't had any issues with mine. OCCASIONALLY the slide doesn't lock back after the last round, but that's no biggie. I figure it's something I'm doing.

[TD2K]

I got it for Valentine's day 2010

[Bawanna]

I got it for Valentine's day 2010

Thats the sweetest thing I ever heard. Get me another beach towel, I'm balling my eyes out. That's a good man you got there for a for real hubby. (I gotta assume he got it for ya?) A little woosey perhaps and he obviously made some sort of marital blunder to do something so wonderful but none the less that was sure nice of him.

Course we all know your worth it and deserve all the nice things that could be bestowed upon ya.

I know your my cyber fiance and all but since you've obviously been real busy and neglecting us around here I gotta tell ya I've been chatting with another girl.:eek: Ok, Ok maybe even courting.:( Ms Melissa seems real nice and since I've been cyber engaged to all the girls on kahrtalk Ms Zena, Ms MX5Fan and yourself I just didnt see no wrong in it. Actually if your ok with it I was thinking of popping down on my cyber knee and popping the question.
I know it's been a short courtship but I'm afraid Dietrich is moving in and you know how charming and mind altering he can be. You know you lag ya lose and all that.

Please let me know your ok with this.

Jocko

[jocko]

u have my blessing ol great one, I bow to the west everyday as u instructed me when I joined. now it is just a habit. They kinda look strange at me at Panera Bread though if I forget to do it at home and then I am seen bowing to the West. they think I might be some hindu or towel head in disguise of a Harley rider.. I have noticed what few times I have bowed by habit at that place, alot of people going out the other door. Seems for a short while I have the whole damn place to myself.

But then the police cars start showing up and when one or two of fhe officers sees it is me, I see him getting back on his mic to the powers to be and saying. "heh guys its only ol jocko"

[TD2K]

Thats the sweetest thing I ever heard. Get me another beach towel, I'm balling my eyes out. That's a good man you got there for a for real hubby. (I gotta assume he got it for ya?) A little woosey perhaps and he obviously made some sort of marital blunder to do something so wonderful but none the less that was sure nice of him.

Course we all know your worth it and deserve all the nice things that could be bestowed upon ya.

I know your my cyber fiance and all but since you've obviously been real busy and neglecting us around here I gotta tell ya I've been chatting with another girl.:eek: Ok, Ok maybe even courting.:( Ms Melissa seems real nice and since I've been cyber engaged to all the girls on kahrtalk Ms Zena, Ms MX5Fan and yourself I just didnt see no wrong in it. Actually if your ok with it I was thinking of popping down on my cyber knee and popping the question.
I know it's been a short courtship but I'm afraid Dietrich is moving in and you know how charming and mind altering he can be. You know you lag ya lose and all that.

Please let me know your ok with this.

Jocko

yeah, he's a keeper. :)

I guess I'm OK with you courting another woman. But only because I've been so darn busy and I realize I've been neglecting you.

[Bawanna]

yeah, he's a keeper. :)

I guess I'm OK with you courting another woman. But only because I've been so darn busy and I realize I've been neglecting you.

Reading between the lines, you sound angry. This isn't code for "Whatever" is it. I dont want to jepordize our relationship ya know? I'm struggling to think up a really sweet nick name for ya here but I'm not good at this stuff. I'll get with Dietrich and get back to ya, ummm Buttercup? Sweetums?

[TD2K]

It's not code for "whatever". I just don't want you to forget about me or anything.

[Bawanna]

It's not code for "whatever". I just don't want you to forget about me or anything.

Perish the thought. I've even gotten to where I remember TD2K and don't go RD2K or some other combination since I can't remember. I forget lots of stuff but never my cyber fiances. Lets see Oklahoma, far piece off. We're ok. Hugs and kisses to the mister. (not in any kind of mano mano way you understand.

[MikeyKahr]

Perish the thought. I've even gotten to where I remember TD2K and don't go RD2K or some other combination since I can't remember. I forget lots of stuff but never my cyber fiances. Lets see Oklahoma, far piece off. We're ok. Hugs and kisses to the mister. (not in any kind of mano mano way you understand.

Ah, KahrTalk's own version of "Sister Wives". :photo:

[tomwalshco]

Mine has been picky, but running OK now after a few hundred. It won't run dirty very long. And the recoil springs may be a bit on the weak side.

Hates the russian stuff, but my Kel-Tec will shoot it all day.


I may look at the S&W body guard 380.......
I've never shot a Bodyguard, but I have seen a bunch of used on the market (cheap) only months old. Makes you wonder. Some of the complaints I've seen revolve around the laser switch and trigger. Trigger is a full pull every time, 2nd strike capable, though.

But with any little gun, there's always a compromise........throw a limp wrist in now and then.....and.....

[onegun]

I haven't got mine back from Kahr yet. They had to throw everything on a new frame. I was hoping to replace this BUG with the P380.
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t201/IkenI_photo/IMG_0752.jpg
but I'm still carrying it. If the P380 is as reliable as the J frame it will work. If not, I think I've scratched that itch. Should shoot it this next week. Wish me luck.

[jocko]

nice grips, are those smiths grips or good aftermarket. Nice gun.. looks like a 357, if so I bet that is one handfull to shoot.

ain't no 380 as reliabe as a J frame... IMO never will be either..

[onegun]

Those are some Craig Spegel boot grips. Usually about a 4 month wait for them. It is a .357 and I have shot that in it, but it's no fun in a 14oz J frame. Those are Speer 135 short barrel .38 +Ps. They work well in it. I really like the XS front sight (reg dot night sight).

[flowergirl]

I first bought a Ruger LCP then shot the PM9 Kahr and loved it so much that I decided to try the P380. I bought it ( P380) and a PM9 and love them both so am selling the Ruger LCP. I am thrilled to have the Kahr's and couldn't be happier with them. Kahr is superior but really needs to be used as directed and it is actually easier, more comfortable and absolutely more accurate than any other conceal carry pistol out there. Read the directions and you won't be disappointed.