JMO- a 5 shot snubbie is great- if you have another gun to go with it- if you need a gun, you are going to NEED a GUN- I have read far too many accounts of failures to stop, multiple opponents, etc. to go with a slow to reload, five shot 38. Thugs tend to run in groups.
JMO- most blowback 380's are unreliable- very ammo sensitive-
There have been a bunch of slim, single stack 9mm carry guns offered in the last few years- Kel tec, the new ruger, and a new kimber
Most of them have a 7 +1 capacity, and weigh about 18-20 oz. You might look at a Glock 30 single stack .45, and the Kahr line of pistols also.
Agree completely with everything but Kahr. Their stainless guns can be made reliable but are heavy. The polymers are like a new age Para-Ordnance lottery. You get a good one and you're set. If not....
The locked breech micro .380s are pretty good, but I did sell my P3AT for concern with keeping up with it's maintenance. Replace springs, lovingly clean, test fire, repeat. Mine was reliable while I had it. That said, revolvers are no magic cure. I dropped my 325 this summer. Dropped while walking on the beach at the surf line.
That only took a few hours to get operational. *Well, that's how long it took to disassemble to the last screw and flush everything repeatedly. I gingerly tried the trigger once when it was full of sand. No chance that gun would have worked.
*Lost the trigger bar during disassembly, so it's still dead. (See procrastination thread.) I guess if I wanted it running badly enough I'd cannibalize my 625 for the part until I ordered another. Revolvers can go wrong huge when they do go wrong.
J-Frame should be a 2nd gun, but sometimes a person is only going to carry one no matter what, so a light J-frame is miles better than terse words.
And hey, when they're not hanging out on the beach a 325 is a great lightweight carry piece in a real caliber!
