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Best .380 available in MA

Midnight412

Midnight412

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My wife is looking for a .380 for her daily carry, but having a lot of trouble finding one that is MA cmplient and available. Any suggestions, or known shops that have some in stock?

I've looked at Sparky's, Match Shot, Four Seasons and R&R. Nothing but the Walther, which she doesn't want. Something like the P3At or the LCP would be great. Suggestions?
 
I bought a sig 232m used afew weeks ago and I love it. It costs more than the Walther but it is a much better gun. I had bought a Walther PPK/S at 4 seasons in May took it to the range twice and both times it jammed. Returned it to 4 seasons who shipped it back to Walther and now they tell me I might get it back by the end of June that will mean they have had it for a good 8 weeks. Hope this helps
 
I don't know, but it looks a little crowded.

Untitled-2.jpg
 
Does she really want a .380? I'd try to convince her to get a 9mm instead, and start hunting for
something like a Kahr MK9 or PM9.... 9mm is like half the price, and far better in terms of being
terminally effective, and the recoil won't usually be any worse than .380.

There are the Beretta .380s 8x series which can be found easily in MA... but those are sort of
pointless, too, like the Sig P232. Too big for the caliber. .380 is for pocket guns.

-Mike
 
drgrant said:
Does she really want a .380? I'd try to convince her to get a 9mm instead, and start hunting for
something like a Kahr MK9 or PM9.... 9mm is like half the price, and far better in terms of being
terminally effective, and the recoil won't usually be any worse than .380.

There are the Beretta .380s 8x series which can be found easily in MA... but those are sort of
pointless, too, like the Sig P232. Too big for the caliber. .380 is for pocket guns.

-Mike
Click to expand...

There are a number of 9mm guns roughly the size of the P232 and PPK, so if you don't need something small, what he said is true.

While we are talking of .380s, though, I wonder if sig will ever get the P238 approved here. I'd buy one...

Even with out approval, you can still just FTF it if you can find one. Keep your eye out for any of the above mentioned .380s, you might find one.
 
Midnight412 said:
My wife is looking for a .380 for her daily carry, but having a lot of trouble finding one that is MA cmplient and available. Any suggestions, or known shops that have some in stock?

I've looked at Sparky's, Match Shot, Four Seasons and R&R. Nothing but the Walther, which she doesn't want. Something like the P3At or the LCP would be great. Suggestions?
Click to expand...

Piece of advice, if you buy a Mass. compliant KelTec (meaning in state before 10-21-98), it will be one of their early run of pistols, which were plagued with problems. New ones turn up from time to time, watch the NES classifieds, local ads in your newspaper, etc., get one of them instead.

Also check out State Line Guns in Mason NH, it's not too far from Match Shot, and they turn up some gems every once in awhile. You might also want to start finding #'s or websites of other FFL's in the state to see what they have in stock. It might require an hours long drive to get there, but if they have what you want the drive may be worth it.

drgrant said:
Does she really want a .380? I'd try to convince her to get a 9mm instead, and start hunting for
something like a Kahr MK9 or PM9.... 9mm is like half the price, and far better in terms of being
terminally effective, and the recoil won't usually be any worse than .380.

There are the Beretta .380s 8x series which can be found easily in MA... but those are sort of
pointless, too, like the Sig P232. Too big for the caliber. .380 is for pocket guns.

-Mike
Click to expand...

What this guy said.
 
I like the PF-9...it's a great little gun and way cheaper than the Kahr and reliable. Recoil might be an issue though, you should have her shoot one first.

P3AT, I.O. Hellcat, or TCP, are other good 380's....that I've seen in MA. I like that new Smith as well......
 
Last edited:
seanc said:
A LaRocca smithed PPK would be my first choice in a 380.
But, I'd probably push for a smaller 9mm.
Click to expand...

Some of the PPKs can do 9mm, I'm not sure which ones.

I can see reasons for the tiny, tiny .380 guns, I've been looking for one myself. Deep concealment in a pocket, going where other guns would be difficult/unwise.

The larger .380s start to lose their appeal when it comes to a lot of things - ammo availability, it isn't any harder to control a bigger .380 vs a similar sized 9mm, etc.

I assume that anyone looking for a .380 has a reason for it.

edit: hit a button and posted early...
 
Last edited:
The P3AT is pretty light weight and compact, and is around $300 new in MA.

Also, don't overlook the Makarov. It is sometimes available in .380, but more often in the more powerful 9mm Makarov (9x18).

makpak.jpg



drgrant said:
Does she really want a .380? I'd try to convince her to get a 9mm instead, and start hunting for
something like a Kahr MK9 or PM9.... 9mm is like half the price, and far better in terms of being
terminally effective, and the recoil won't usually be any worse than .380.
...
Click to expand...

Also the Kel-Tec PF9.


I wish they made the Micro Kahr MK9 guns in alloy, instead of steel. I'd prefer alloy over plastic or steel. Same with some of the other guns. A P3AT in alloy instead of plastic would be pretty cool. Even better would be if they took the same design and upped the quality (manufacture quality?) even just a little. That would then become a fantastic gun. I think the Sig 232 is steel also. An alloy frame would lighten it, and then it would just be a little big, but not too heavy. Hey, I wonder if there is a patent on the Makarov. Are they still being made? It would be cool if someone could buy the tooling for those and start building them again.
 
Last edited:
If the criteria is best reliable easy to shoot .380 I would go for the Sig P232. It really is a great gun. For carry, it has a thin slide, and if it were a 9mm I would probably carry it myself. It is the only non-pocket .380 that seems worth its weight to me. Basically, if for some reason I wanted a .380 but also wanted the best gun I could find for comfortable and accurate shooting I would pick the P232. But, like many have said, with a recent proliferation of quality 9mm guns in comparable size and weight, the argument for the P232 is less convincing.
 
this guy asking twice is more for LCP then anyone on the internet - $529+shipping. everyone else on the net selling LCP as highest as $350.
so must be a reason.
 
The PPK/S isn't bad. I've had one for a while now and aside from a slight bite when shooting a lot with it the gun has been very reliable and reasonably accurate. I have read where some folks have had issues with theirs so maybe I am just lucky. Plus it is Mass compliant so your not going to pay the in state mark up like some of the other guns you have to buy FTF.
 
Coyote33 said:
The P3AT is pretty light weight and compact, and is around $300 new in MA.

Also, don't overlook the Makarov. It is sometimes available in .380, but more often in the more powerful 9mm Makarov (9x18).

makpak.jpg
Click to expand...

I love the Mak. and I do think it is a great carry gun. But, it is fairly large. But between a sig 232 and a mak.. I'd take the mak any day.
 

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