Walther came oh so close to marketing one of the best .380 pistols on the market – the slide is easy to rack – great ( for a small pistol ) ergonomics grip wise – the rear sight cut out is wide compared to the front sight which makes it easy for old eyeballs to see – paddle magazine release / ambidextrous right out of the box – soft shooter – factory rail – factory laser available – night sights available – 8 round single stack magazine that’s really easy on the thumbs to load – all of that and they managed to miss it by just that much . . .

Size wise the PK380 is almost identical to the P232 . . .

The PK380 sure wouldn’t fare well in a beauty contest with the Sig . . .

Virtually the same foot print . . .

The PK380 is a nice little pistol if you don’t mind a polymer frame . . .

Really only two dings on the PK380 – one minor and one “What in the Hell kind of drugs are you people on??” – and won’t share them!

1st Ding – A take down tool is required – why not a solid head with a slot on the pin??

Counter clockwise about 1/2 a turn – back slightly on the slide – pull down on the tabs – push the slide off the front – not rocket surgery . . .

About like every other one out there – pull the guide rod up and out – remove the barrel and start cleaning . . .

Wait . . . What? Where did all that spring come from?

And there is the deal breaker – even with practice it is fidgety as Hell to put it back together. If you want to test drive it with me to see if maybe you would purchase one – referencing little old ladies – after we’re done it’s bath time – if a given firearm is your particular flavor and you are going to trot your happy ass out and buy one – if my fingers are in the pie you will have disassembled – cleaned it – and reassembled it twice – you do get your money’s worth out of the deal.

Three people total have managed to put it back together – one using no tools – two using tools – all three guys – have not had a gal put the recoil spring / guide rod back in the pistol yet – Damn Walther really screwed the pooch on this one . . .

Just about a complete wish list of features you could dream up for an older person to have in a pistol – and an incredibly easy to rack slide – arthritis tends to creep up on older people leading to diminished hand strength and the ability to manipulate small parts. BUT if Mrs. Abernathy can’t clean the damn thing – “Bruce – I can’t do this” – either it’s going to not be maintained on a regular basis – or not even shot on a regular basis . . . I got to the point where I wouldn’t even utilize it for training – if someone liked it and then couldn’t maintain it – it was a choice of not maintaining it or paying someone to clean it – not fair to someone who really liked it and then realizing there is no way to take care of it on their own . . .

I was talking to a friend about this series of posts and said I probably wasn’t even going to include the PK380 in it – so hard to reassemble as it is I didn’t really want to ding it without offering a solution – He said go to Galloway Precision and get a captured spring/guide rod assembly and be done with the issue – so I did and I am . . . Never even had a clue that someone had built this . . .

Now even my Blushing Bride can take the PK380 apart and reassemble it – and she DOES NOT clean guns – that is my job and I am happy doing that for her – that’s what she told me and I believe her – LMAO!

With the new recoil spring / guide rod assembly I have to say I really like the PK380 and recommend it if you are comfortable with what .380ACP brings to the table . . .

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

The people at Taurus really stepped out of the box with The Curve – one of the things folks get all head scratchy about when it gets to the “Bruce – can you help me figure out which gun to buy?” thing is the simple fact that’s just where it starts – they have decided on the pistol so now – which holster? – mounted light? – laser? – night sights? – People just don’t realize they have just started spending money with the purchase of a pistol . . .

And Furthermore – It’s raspberry – NOT pink!!

My blushing bride and I were perusing the internet one day and ran across The Curve in this color . . .

Comes with a belt/pants clip – no holster needed . . .

We were like – Damn – that’s so ugly it’s cute – let’s buy it! – so we did . . .

Hides pretty good under the Sig . . .

Sig P232 ain’t hiding behind it – that’s for sure!

Now you see why it’s called “The Curve” – Taurus curved the grip of the pistol as far as they could and still get a straight magazine in it – the curve snugs against you and the pistol just disappears against your hip when it is inside your waist band – no sights to snag – the “hash marks” on the back of the slide intersect with the center line of the barrel and work pretty good out to about 7 yards – the grip texture gives you really good purchase on the pistol . . .

And it comes with a laser/light combo and a trigger guard holster that covers the trigger and has a lanyard that you can thread through a belt loop or safety pin it to your jogging shorts – pretty complete package – all you need to add is ammo and practice . . .

I didn’t realize how washed out the laser dot was in this pic until I got it posted up here – and no I’m not digging it out of the lock box to retake the pic – the laser is adjustable – up / down / left / right – this laser is set up so the magic hole lands on the dot at 21 feet . . .

Small – lightweight – easily concealable firearms are out there in just about any flavor you desire these days – you see what I did there – The Sig P232 is like a Bentley or a Rolls Royce – most of the “little” pistols now don’t compare well to it but the Sig is no longer in production and unless you are willing to do the Gun Broker thing or something similar – or find one someone is willing to part with – your looking at something that is in current production – and there are a lot of choices out there . . .

I am already working on the next “Compared to” post – I wonder which one it will be? Let me give you a hint . . .

It’s frustrating to me when a manufacturer comes so close . . .

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!