Walther PK380

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precision_shooter

New member
Thinking about picking one of these up for my Wife as a HD weapon with a possibility of CC in the near future. I work late quite often so she is home alone and I would really like her to have something she can use for protection. I have a couple of Glocks, my Mossy 500, but they are all too much.

My wife is a little person with tiny hands. She is Very recoil sensitive. My PT111 Pro in 9mm was too much for her to handle/control. I saw the PK380 at a local shop and it fits her hands perfectly and comfortably. Being .380 and in a larger frame gun than a LCP size gun, I figured recoil would be more manageable than a 9mm of similar size....

What can anyone tell me about these?
The good or the bad....

Is there another gun of similar size that I need to check out?

Thanks,
PS
 
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Boncrayon

New member
I'm a Beretta kind of person on 9 & 40SW. Specifically, the PX4 Storm. But when it came to conceal carry, I went for the Walther PK380 with Hornady Critical Defense ammo. It's longer than many conceals, but it's great at the range for regular practice. The 380 ammo (mini-9mm) is more expensive than the 9mm ammo. But in conceal carry you want compactness and penetrative knockdown. With my Cross-breed internal carry holster, it's a comfortable carry anywhere with no detection. It's a real joy at the range...highly accurate!
 
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wally626

New member
Do a search on Walther PK380, there have been a couple of threads before. It has a reputation as being very good on recoil. The biggest hit is that for carry there are other much more compact .380 ACPs out there as well as 9 mm guns. This is not a real concern for a home weapon.
 
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carolmo

New member
PK380 has little recoil.

I bought a Bersa 380CC some time ago - it really, really, really hurts the web of my hand to shoot. I finally added some rubbery padding to avoid the pain. It does conceal well though.

A few weeks ago I bought a Walther PK380. It is a dream to shoot. I feel zero recoil, it feels just like the Walther P22.

I did have to go back to the gun shop to get help in field stripping. A little key has to be used to lower the field strip levers - what a pain. The directions in the manual are incomplete - one has to also wiggle the slide and use magazines in and out - I'll try to find my directions and repost them if anyone wants them. It does not conceal as well as the Bersa, but I have it in a fanny pack so it does not matter. This gun is very accurate. It is now my favorite. I will just have to learn to field strip and reassemble better, just as I had to do with the P22 spring and rod. Also, be careful of the spring in the PK380 - it is really hard to reassemble if it gets loose - I will try the extra rod from the P22 for this. People say to never clean both the P22 and PK380 at the same time - the rods and springs are not the same.
 
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samsmix

New member
Striaght up. . .

. . . Most .380s will provide MORE felt recoil than a 9mm of similar size/weight. This is due to the straight blowback operation as opposed to a semi-locaked breech design. My own wife has a Walther P-22. This she keeps loaded with CCI Quick Shok ammo. Due to it's light weight, low recoil and cheap ammo, she has become VERY good with it. This gun has the same frame & grip as the PK-380 my wife will soon graduate to.

If you go this route, make sure after practice you clean the P-22 (or any .22 autoloader) before loading it with Quick Shoks or Stingers. The case on those rounds is longer than a standard .22lr. They will hang up on the ring of fouling left by the shorter length ammo, causing balky ejection.
 
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samsmix

New member
Think about that for a minute, Longeyes. The Mak has a long trigger reach in the DA mode, and a 15+ pound DA pull. Not very suitable for small hands. It's a good piece to be sure. I steered clear of the standard Woman=.38spl advice for the same reason.

Off on a tangent here, but are you familiar with a cool little 9mm by Star, called the M-43 FireStar. It is a sub mini Glock-sized SA on a 40oz all steel frame. It's weight keeps recoil low, low, low. Heavy though.
 
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zombieslayer

New member
I've shot one and I heartily reccomend one for what you're looking for. My girlfriend's dad bought her mom one and we all love it. I own a P99 and a PPS, so the PK is natural for me. Imo, the current Walthers are top-notch.
 
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brabham78

New member
Felt recoil is one of the most subjective topics there is.

One member just stated that a Bersa .380 CC "really, really, really hurts the web of my hand to shoot"

My take on it? The Bersa .380 CC is one of the biggest *****-cats I've ever fired. I tell everyone how "gentle" it is.

Like I said, subjective. The only way you can know for sure if your wife will find any gun acceptable (regarding recoil), is for her to shoot it herself, because obviously you can't take my word for it, or the other guys word either. Trying to describe hard a gun recoils is like trying to describe how hot is hot. You have to touch it and decide for yourself. ;)

As far as .380 choices for your wife. Although recoil is subjective thing, I think it's safe to say that she might want to stay way from the 9 oz light weight pocket .380's like the LCP and Kel Tec P3AT. They are snappy.

I think the PK380 is a nice gun, and priced ok too.

If she can get her hands on one, she should also shoot the Bersa .380 CC, and she can judge the recoil for herself

And the cream of the crop when it comes to .380's (in my opinion). The Beretta 85fs. Expensive, but a work of art. Put on in your hand and you'll sense right away that you aren't holding your run of the mill .380. If you don't mind spending a few bucks, and want a .380, it might be your (her) gun. Note; the 85fs is a single stack gun, the 84fs is the same gun, but with a double stack magazine, and a fatter grip to go with it. A small handed woman will probably like the 85 over the 84. My hand are bigger, but I still prefer the 85.

Anyway, since everyone was shouting out their favorites, I thought I'd join in too

And by the way - in the argument about caliber. The .380 isn't the hardest hitter in the world, but I happen to believe it to be an acceptable defensive caliber, and if it's lighter recoil allows a recoil sensitive person to shoot it well, and to do it with confidence, then it makes good sense.


I'd only suggest that she try several different guns, and then decide.
 
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RamSlammer

New member
I think the PK380 is a great choice for the needs of the OP. It's a locked breech design which will recoil less than most blowback .380's not to mention the slide will be much easier to rack without a heavy recoil spring. It's a real sized gun with decent sights, good grip area . . . what's not to like about the gun? It's a .380 not a 9mm is all. Also a good deal cheaper than a Beretta 84 which would fill a similar niche.
 
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brabham78

New member
I think the PK380 is a great choice for the needs of the OP. It's a locked breech design which will recoil less than most blowback .380's not to mention the slide will be much easier to rack without a heavy recoil spring. It's a real sized gun with decent sights, good grip area . . . what's not to like about the gun? It's a .380 not a 9mm is all. Also a good deal cheaper than a Beretta 84 which would fill a similar niche
Click to expand...

He makes some excellent points. My soft spot for the Beretta 85FS aside, from the perspective of a non-gun person like your wife, I'd agree that your criterias is best met by the PK380. The locked breech offers some advantages for a recoil sensitive person. And the light slide spring on the PK380 (which it's known for) will make manual operation of the slide easier for smaller person. (Note: even though my Bersa is a blow-back .380, it has a light feeling slide spring, which I didn't expect)

Not sure whether you've read this report on the PK380:

http://www.gunblast.com/Walther-PK380.htm
 
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precision_shooter

New member
Thanks for all the info guys! I'll see about picking up a PK380 here in the next couple of weeks, and If she doesn't like it, then I have a new PK380 and we will keep looking for her a gun that she likes/can handle...
 
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Sevens

New member
My shooting buddy has a Bersa Thunder, a PK-380 and he just recently picked up a Kahr P380. I haven't shot the Kahr yet, but I've wrung out the other two.

PK380 pro: Decent gun for the money. Very accurate for a smallish .380 pistol. Lightest recoil I've ever experienced in a .380 or larger caliber handgun, by far. The recoil is very soft compared to the Bersa .380. If there is a softer recoiling .380 pistol, I haven't had the pleasure of shooting it. (yes, I'd like to try the Beretta, but they are very expensive for what you get) I think the price on the PK380 makes it a very, very good choice if you need a light recoiling and easy to rack pistol.

PK380 cons:
It's no pocket pistol, so if your specific needs aren't centered around light recoil, doesn't make sense to me to carry something this large and it only be a .380.

It has no external slide lock lever, which I cannot understand. Apologists will tell you that it's not needed -- they are full of it. Know going in that if you are carrying this pistol with a loaded magazine, you will not lock the slide back unless you go through the hassle of gutting a magazine to use the empty mag to lock the slide open. This is inexplicably ignorant and obnoxious. Call me obstinate, but no amount of rational explanation is likely to change my mind -- this pistol needs a manual slide lock. (edited to add: perhaps there is a way to lock the slide with a finger tip from the inside?!)

The take down lever and accompanying tool is silly. Give the pistol a properly installed external lever and be done with it.

In comparing it to the P22 series, it's impossible not to worry about it's longevity and durability. The P22's have a well-earned reputation of not being life long durable firearms. The PK380 is still relatively new and the ammo so expensive that I doubt many of them have yet been put through the ringer. But my knee-jerk reaction without actual evidence is that for as good as this pistol is as a shooter, if you put hundreds of rounds through it every month that it's not going to last. I suppose we'll see about that.

Bottom line:
If what you need is a .380 with very light recoil, a slide that is easy to rack and you would like accuracy with it, this pistol can't be topped and at this price point, it's a must purchase. But it's got it's issues, too, and those issues are some that I can't overlook at any price.

Me? I don't need any .380 at any price, really, so I don't need this one either. If that need changes, this one will absolutely be in the running.
 
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carguychris

New member
I agree with everything Sevens wrote, but the post leaves one important thing out:

PK380 Pro: Safety does not decock pistol = it can be carried cocked and locked.

PK380 Con: Safety does not decock pistol = decocking isn't foolproof. The fact that you can drop the hammer against the actuated safety may lull some shooters into highly unsafe decocking habits. ("See it's simple. Just actuate the safety and pull the trigger like this..." BLAM!!) :eek: To do it safely, you have to thumb the hammer down, but this is difficult because the PK380 has a fairly small hammer with a rounded profile.
 
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Brian48

New member
So long as the safety is engaged, there should be no concern about lowering the hammer on a chambered round using your thumb.

I have a PK380 and use it as a CCW when I'm not carrying my j-frame. I would not classify it as a pocket pistol like the LCR, but it's still fairly small. As mentioned by others, it's not a blow back gun like most .380s. It's soft shooting, accurate, and reliable with every type of ammo I've tried (although I prefer plain ol' FMJ for CCW purposes).

summer_carry.jpg
 
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