Kahr P380 Review and comparison

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Just bought one of these this week and hadn’t seen a review here, so thought I’d post a few comparison shots with a new Ruger LCP I had access to, as well as a few random thoughts on this gun. I shot about 225 rounds through my gun so far, FMJ RWS, Independence, Gold Dot JHP, and some hard cast reloads. Gun fed, fired, and ejected fine and I only cleaned it once at about the half-way mark. This surprised me as I’d read horror stories about some P380s being lemons, but I’m guessing that was earlier production samples or ammo the guns just didn’t like. I did clean and then lube the rails ect. well with RIG +P lube prior to firing.

Gun is similar in size and weight to the LCP as you can see. However, almost every part is beefier on the Kahr, including the extractor, guide rod, magazine, slide, trigger, and the firing pin.

Important functional parts are better polished on the Kahr of course, feed ramp, breech face, barrel hood, bottom of extractor, striker/hammer track on underside of slide, ect. are all very well polished on the Kahr and not polished at all on the Ruger. TCP is polished better than the Ruger but lesser than the Kahr. Basically I’ve found excellent mags and the proper polishing of moving parts to reduce friction is the key to small auto reliability, and Kahr does 98% of the work for you.

Construction of the Kahr is like a mini-Glock. Steel inserts for the slide to ride on in a plastic frame. The Ruger is an aluminum frame with full slide rails dropped into a synthetic lower. Some would argue the Kahr slide is riding on steel while the LCP slide is riding on aluminum. However, the Kahr system allows more flex than the LCP style of construction, which I don’t like, but the larger Kahrs are built the same way and hold up well. I think both methods work, the Colt Mustang Pocket lite has an aluminum frame and holds up just fine.

So is the Kahr worth the high price? The only modern DAO style 380 more expensive would probably be the Seecamp. The good points on the Kahr are:

Super trigger pull, only the Taurus TCP can compare, any other pocket guns I’ve tried (LCP, NAA Guardian, Seecamp, Kel Tec) aren’t even close. Wide smooth steel trigger is also a nice touch.

Great sights, only the S&W bodyguard (or Mustang with dovetail sights from the Custom Shop) have sights anywhere near this good, and the Bodyguard and Mustang are both larger/heavier.

Great construction, the Kahr parts are VERY well machined and heat treated, so much so that almost no wear is evident after a couple hundred rounds. I would say if you plan to shoot a lot, this gun would probably outlive most others in its size range. Mag followers even have a steel insert where they touch the slide stop (as does the TCP).

Soft recoil, the Kahr kicks less than any other polymer frame 380 I’ve shot, (TCP, LCP, Kel Tec). Ergonomics are great. This gun balances great and shoot like a little big gun.

Stays open last shot, this is really nice and another thing, besides a great trigger, that the Kahr shares with the TCP.

Already pre-polished, most important areas seem to be addressed by the factory, if you don’t feel comfortable doing your own fluff and buff, the Kahr would be your only choice as almost all other brands will need some attention.

What I don’t like:

Price, this is an expensive gun for its intended purpose. You can reach the same level of reliability with a LCP or TCP or P3AT with a little polishing and stoning, so if you are familiar with working on guns, you can save some bucks and still have a great carry gun. It won’t have the great sights or durability of the Kahr, but for many it will serve just fine.

Polygonal rifling, this is a mixed bag, it shoots great with loads it likes (mine shoots Gold Dots dead on and all into a tiny group at 25 feet) and cleans up easy, but I find it more picky than normal rifling, and lead bullets don’t shoot as well as they do in regular rifling, plus you have to be careful not to let lead build up and cause a kaboom situation, though if you clean or shoot some jacketed rounds every 30-40 rounds it isn’t a big deal. Point of impact seems to vary more from load to load with this type of rifling. My Taurus TCP will shoot about any type of 380 ammo to the same point of aim or nearly so, and it loves lead bullets.

Magazines could be polished better, though they seem to work fine. They are constructed nice and thick but at this price level it would be nice if they were polished up like a mirror. My NAA Guardian has the best finished mags of ANY pocket gun I’ve owned, they are polished bright and super smooth, made in Italy. I wish all manufacturers had mags that well finished.

Overall I’m really happy I took a chance on the Kahr, for what you get, it’s worth the extra money in my opinion. There is nothing wrong with the LCP, and the TCP is even better than the LCP I think (better trigger, more polished out of the box, and locks open on last shot) but the Kahr is just easier to shoot and better constructed than either of those, which it should be for the price. I got the night sight version as it wasn’t that much more than the standard version and when you are already spending this much why try to save a few dollars on sights?

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