Better And Better

If you don't draw yours, I won't draw mine. A police officer, working in the small town that he lives in, focusing on family and shooting and coffee, and occasionally putting some people in jail.

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

That's kind of interesting.

The folks at Taurus have come up with a new one that I've not seen before:
A compact lightweight snubnosed revolver in caliber .380 acp.

Huh.

It makes sense, actually, given that there are many folks out there who don't want an auto, or due to their jurisdiction or the class of carry license that they have can only carry revolvers. Also, some may have recoil sensitivity, but are not permitted to qualify with anything less than a .38/.380/9mm caliber. Finally, with the recent surge in pocket autos in the caliber, there's a source of decent defense ammunition in that caliber, much of which is designed to achieve its velocity out of short barrels. 6 rounds of .380 at 70 to 105 grains out of a 1.75" barrel may not sound like anyone's idea of heavy thunder, but it's better than an empty hand, a .25, and a .32 (excepting the .32 H&R Magnum). 

It's double-action only, which means that you'd be able to fire it from a coat pocket. The rimless .380 cases are loaded in full-moon "star" clips.

Taurus calls it the M380 IB Mini Revolver. It comes in blued or stainless, and I'm curious what S&W will call their version when they eventually jump on the band wagon to make a better version.

I'm interested in the stainless version, but I wonder: if Smith could make my .38 Special M37 Chief's Special Airweight at less than a pound 30 years ago, why can't Taurus get their new .380 acp revolver out for less than 15.5 ounces?  Ah, well, it should be easy to shoot.

As a proponent of carrying mouse guns over carrying nothing at all, I'm interested.

Let's see how they go.

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5 Comments:

At Thursday, February 09, 2012 8:38:00 AM, Blogger TOTWTYTR said...

If Smith makes a version then they should make two versions. One in 9mm Kurz (.380) and one in real 9mm.

Maybe they could revive the extractor mechanism they used in the Model 547, which would mean no moon clips.

Or maybe they could revive the Model 940, only make it so that it can fire either round.

As to why S&W can make lighter weapons, I'd guess the reason is that they spend more on R&D for light weight alloys.

Either way, I'd love to buy one if Smith decides to produce them.

 
At Thursday, February 09, 2012 11:00:00 AM, Blogger Old NFO said...

Good point Matt, I would say I'll wait for the Colt version, but I don't think we'll ever see that... sigh

 
At Friday, February 10, 2012 7:03:00 AM, Blogger Tam said...

Given the complete failure of the 905 IB in 9mm, this surprises me.

Every single 905 IB we got in had to go back to Taurus for one issue or another, one of them twice. That's 0-for-5. One of them had so much endshake from the factory that the firing pin wouldn't reliably reach the primer, let alone strike it with enough force to set it off. That is simply unsat.

 
At Thursday, February 16, 2012 11:22:00 AM, Anonymous Blackwing1 said...

I dunno...my new Ruger LC9 has worked just fine (despite a lousy trigger), and I can't see going much mousier than that. It's so tiny compared to a real pistol (my regular carry gun is a Springfield MicroCompact 1911 in .45), weighs essentially noting, and is flat as a pancake. But it's still a full-bore 9mm. I guess I just don't see the need for a bulkier revolver in .380 ACP.

Fortunately, the magic of the marketplace, rather than a single individual's decision, is still allowed to function (sort of). The best democracy in action...that of a free marketplace, and people voting with their dollars.

 
At Tuesday, May 22, 2012 6:18:00 AM, Anonymous Russ said...

Hello Matt,

I work with Heidi at LuckyGunner.com and we specialize in offering in-stock product, fast shipping, and excellent customer service.

We have found that a lot of our customers appreciate product reviews and feel more confident in their purchases if they can read a review and relate with someone who has already tested the product.
Given your strong following of firearm and ammo enthusiasts, would you be willing to review some product for me and for our customers? I can ship you ammo for free if you will shoot it, enjoy it, and tell the world about it.

In the past, LuckyGunner.com has worked with the below bloggers (among dozens of others) to help spread the word about the products we carry and how they perform:
JerkingTheTrigger
Confederate Yankee
HausOfGuns
TheDonovan

If you’re interested, please let me know what calibers you shoot and I will arrange to send you some free product. We are currently doing reviews on many self-defense and hunting loads.

Thanks for your time!
Russ at LuckyGunner.com

 

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