.380 ACP

Grand Power is getting three new handguns to add to their catalog this year, two guns chambered for .22 Long Rifle and a .380 ACP pistol.

SCCY has a new pistol design that is going to change the way pistols are made. Check out the Roebuck Quad Lock. It holds down the barrel in two places, and is in production on their CPX-3 .380. Shot Show 2016.

Bersa is prepping to launch two new handguns for 2016, a streamlined double-stack .380 ACP for concealed carry and a longslide competition-ready 9mm Luger pistol. These guns fit nicely into Bersa’s catalog of hard-use yet affordable handguns. Bersa’s concealead-carry guns have been making short lists for years and with good reason. They’re based on a simple, proven [...]

As the 9mm guns get smaller, fewer people are carrying their old .380s. But the .380 can be a deadly gun if it is running the right ammo. Today we’re testing out Sig’s new hollow-point .380s. How well do these little rounds run? Read the review…

I almost didn’t write this review because there have already been two reviews of the Colt Mustang here on GunsAmerica already. But this gun is very different from the others because for one, it is the shortest barrel that Colt makes for this gun, at 2 3/4″. But more importantly, this gun came with a factory Colt branded LaserMAX mounted on the gun. There were very few of these put out, but currently there are a few for sale on GunsAmerica right now, though I don’t know if they still will be by the time you read this. More importantly though, this LaserMAX accessory is being sold separately, by Colt, Midway and others, so if you have a Mustang Pocketlite, you can put this Colt branded nifty laser on your stocking stuffer list for Santa.

When you think about it, we wear our guns a lot more than we shoot them, yet they are designed primarily for shooting. The new Taurus Curve fixes that. The grip on the gun is curved, so that when you were it on your hip or carry it in your pocket, the guns hugs the contour of your body. It is a 6+1 .380 ACP semi-automatic pistol with a consistent trigger pull for each shot. The MSRP for the introductory model is $392, and it will come with an integral LaserLyte light and laser combo built in. The Curve also comes with a Kydex pull-off trigger guard holster, and screwed onto the side of the gun is a steel clip for inside the waistband or inside a purse pocket carry.

In 1982, Colt introduced the Mustang—a lightweight, single-action .380 ACP with a design very similar to the Colt 1911. The Mustang was an instant classic and was extremely popular as a back-up or off-duty gun for law enforcement officers. For a long time, it was hard to even find one to purchase. Colt produced the Mustang in a number of different versions before ultimately discontinuing it in the late nineties, when the company shifted its focus to military sales. As the demand for small, concealed-carry guns has skyrocketed in recent years, the market for used Mustangs has been very strong. Many of us have wondered over the past decade—why doesn’t Colt bring back the Mustang? Then in 2012, after a long hiatus, the Mustang officially rejoined the Colt stable. The new Mustang Pocketlight was an alloy-frame Mustang that revived the model line. The new Pocketlight met with rave reviews, but Colt did not rest on the old-school design. In 2013, Colt innovated with the new Mustang XSP—a polymer-framed version of the classic Mustang .380 auto-pistol.

One of the biggest stories at SHOT Show for 2014 is a new single-stack .380ACP 6+1 from Glock called the Model 42. We were able to get a first look at the gun, and it is a lot of gun in a very small package. Most important, it is a Glock, and that carries a lot of weight with gun buyers in the market. Known for their ubiquitous “safe action” pistols, Glock is perhaps the biggest name in pistols in the gun world. The G42, at 13.6 ounces, 6 inches long tip to tail, 4 inches high from the top of the sight to the bottom of the magazine, and 13/16ths of an inch thick, is slightly bigger and heavier than the other micro .380s in the market, but small enough to be pocketed comfortably. The barrel is about 3 3/16ths or 3.2 inches long. The G42 handles much better than the tiniest of the pocket .380s, and we were able to shoot it into less than one-inch groups at 10 yards with Winchester range ammo. The only hiccup was that the G42 didn’t like Hornady Critical Defense, but that could be just because this is an early writer sample, and it is a brand new gun of course. The best carry gun is always going to be the gun you will actually carry and that you shoot well. A nice light, small and easy-shooting Glock .380 has been long awaited. We don’t have a projected MSRP for it yet, but as an everyday concealed-carry gun, this new Glock 42 should do very well.

Kimber produces some of the finest single-action semi-automatic handguns on the planet, and its
introductions at the 2013 SHOT Show are no exception. A whole new lineup called the Master Carry
Series was unveiled last week, with all three siblings chambered in .45 ACP. The Master Carry Pro
version sports a four-inch barrel and an aluminum frame that shaves its weight down to 31 ounces. The
frame has been rounded in all the right spots to minimize printing and maximize comfort when carrying,
and it comes with Crimson Trace’s new Master Carry Lasergrips—striking G10 panels that employ the
company’s instinctive laser-activation system. MSRP for the Master Carry Pro is $1,568. The other pair
of members in the Master Carry Series have five- and three-inch barrels. Also new for Kimber this year
is a “pocket gun” called the Micro Carry .380, a .380 ACP single action with a 2.75-inch barrel. It tips the
scales at only 13.4 ounces.