My new (to me) Kahr CT380

[Bassat]

I walked off the range at Range USA last Wednesday completely sick and tired of my POS Charter Arms Off Duty. Upon perusing the used-gun case, I found a Kahr CT380 available for $214. I assumed it must be way used, or defective in some manner. It appears almost new. I traded the CA OD and $106 for the CT380. In the recent past, I've been looking for a CW380, but the barrel length (2.58") concerned me. I can comfortably carry a CM9 (3") in a Desantis Nemesis, sooooo... the 3" CT380 should not be a problem. It is thinner and lighter than the CM9, but equally long and high. Pictured below are a few comparison shots of the CT380 vs my newest carry, the Ruger LCP (original version). Notice I have a Hogue grip on the LCP; it is too small to shoot well without that. I do not plan to add a grip rubber to the CT380, but have ordered S and M versions from Kahr, just in case.

I have not fired the CT380, yet. When I got home with it, I disassembled it and thoroughly cleaned and lubed it. Initial observations: It still had factory lube on it. It was only minimally dirty. Only one of the two magazines had any powder residue in it. My guess is that there is nothing wrong with it, someone shot less than one box (perhaps only one magazine) through it, and found it impossible to rack the slide, and traded/sold it. It's my fantasy, let me have it. Anyway, it has dual nested recoil springs and THEY ARE QUITE STIFF! I bought my CM9 new, and this is way more stiff than that was. Same for the magazines. In the 5 days I've had the CT380, I have loaded/unloaded the magazines 15-20 times, and left each in the gun, loaded for at least 24 hours. To address the insanely stiff recoil springs, I have racked the slide 400 times, and left it locked open for 10 or so minutes about 6 times. I hope all of this helps it function well on its first outing this coming Wednesday (my day off). I will be testing it initially with S&B 95gr FMJ. If it eats 50 of those properly, I will test it with Precision One 90gr (Hornady) XTP, my carry load.

The trigger is identical to that on my CM9. Perfectly smooth, no stacking, no wall, just a clean pull all the way to a 'no-way-to-anticipate it' break. I don't have a scale, but I'm guessing it is 6-8 pounds, and glass smooth, and DAO long just like I like it. If Smith & Wesson, and Taurus could field a trigger this good, they'd be golden. The reset is audible w/o hearing protection, and noticeably tactile. I'm not overly concerned with the reset. I am training to get off the trigger completely when shooting DAO. Habits, muscle memory, tactile memory, and all that.

Updates after my planned range trip on Wednesday 10/2/24.

 

[Bassat]

I made it to Range USA this morning. I fired 50 rounds of S&B 95gr FMJ, and 50 rounds of Precision One XTP, all with no issues whatsoever. I did add a Pachmayr Grip Glove to the gun before the range trip. That made it way easy to handle. For the record, I've added a Hogue HandAll grip to my Ruger LCP. Both guns are way easier to manage if/when you have enough to hang on to. Both are still, easily, pocket guns with the additions to the grips.

The CT380 shoots to point of aim at 7 yards. It is not difficult to fire quickly and get 3" groups at 7 yards. Sub 2" is possible if I take my time, but that is not how I shoot. The gun remains oddly difficult to rack the slide. Kahr recommends inserting full magazine with the slide locked back, and using the slide release to charge the gun. I wholeheartedly agree. Sooooo... for me, it will be either combat reloads (ammo still in the gun), or reloading at slide lock. BTW, the CT380 locked open after every empty magazine. I can rack the slide easily while holding the gun in left and pulling slide with the right, but that is wrong-handed. Racking the slide from battery on a full magazine is a crap shoot left handed. I will try to avoid that.

I assume this gun had less than 50 rounds through it when I bought it. I racked the slide 500 times, and loaded/unloaded both magazines maybe 30-40 times before the range trip. The springs are still stiff. Everything functioned flawlessly, today. If I get another 100 rounds through this gun without failures, I will add it to my carry rotation. I like Kahr, and am happy with both of mine (CM9/CT380).

 

[92FSTech]

That's a cool little gun, I like the form factor. I assume it's a locked breech, not straight blowback? How is the recoil compared to the LCP?

 

[danowen12]

I personally have only owned one kahr and was not a fan. The thing worked but just didn’t care for it. I honestly can’t remember which model it was. But if you like it and it works every time. That’s all that matters

 

[Bassat]

That's a cool little gun, I like the form factor. I assume it's a locked breech, not straight blowback? How is the recoil compared to the LCP?

No, not blowback. It is a locked-breech Browning style mechanism. The recoil impulse markedly less than that of the LCP. I'm not sure, but I think that is primarily due the extremely heavy, dual, nested recoil springs. Two other factors help mitigate what recoil there is. The grip is about 1/2" longer on the CT380; that allows me to get most of a pinky on the gun. The other factor is the Pachmayr Grip Glove I added to the CT380. It fills my hand a bit better. Ditto my other Kahr (CM9). Both have very slender grips. For comparison, a Glock 21 gen 4 fits my hand just fine.

Well, just for the record, I also add a Hogue Handall to the LCP. That makes it more shootable.

 

[Bassat]

I personally have only owned one kahr and was not a fan. The thing worked but just didn’t care for it. I honestly can’t remember which model it was. But if you like it and it works every time. That’s all that matters

Thanks for commenting. Most certainly, we all have different preferences. I really like the Kahr line for the same thing most other fans like: the long, incredibly smooth, DAO-style trigger, with a positive, audible and tactile (long) reset. Which, by the way, is the feature most folks also dis-like about Kahr.

The Ruger LCP is a nice gun, too, with a very similar trigger. The LCP has a false tactile 'click' in the reset. That is NOT the real reset. You have to get off the trigger completely with the LCP. I don't love that feature, but it works for how I shoot.

By the way, I am going to take the CT380 back to the range dirty. I put 100 rounds through it two days ago. I just want a measure of what it will tolerate. I don' see ever doing a 200+ round session with it. I do not anticipate any problems; the gun is very well made.

 

[92FSTech]

I really like the Kahr line for the same thing most other fans like: the long, incredibly smooth, DAO-style trigger, with a positive, audible and tactile (long) reset. Which, by the way, is the feature most folks also dis-like about Kahr.

The Ruger LCP is a nice gun, too, with a very similar trigger. The LCP has a false tactile 'click' in the reset. That is NOT the real reset. You have to get off the trigger completely with the LCP. I don't love that feature, but it works for how I shoot.

The Ruger LCR had that same false reset, and it's the reason I'll never own one. It's also one of the reasons I never warmed up to the LCP... they're also just too darn small for my hands. Your Kahr is a more realistic size, IMO.

I like a long DAO first shot for safety when carrying. I don't like having to deactivate a manual safety to bring the gun into action, so that long, heavy-ish pull is a good compromise. I'm not a fan of a long reset, though...once I'm already shooting, I'd like for things to be as quick and easy as possible. As such, I've gravitated towards DA/SA guns for carry. The one exception is revolvers...the non-LCR Rugers and Smiths have a strong enough rebound that they tend to force the trigger forward on their own and I've never had trouble short-stroking them like I have some DAO autos. On the rare occasion that I change any springs as part of a trigger job, I always leave the rebound spring alone, as I want that forceful reset.

There are a few systems out there like Sig's DAK and H&K's LEM that are kind of a hybrid DAO but still offer a short reset. I don't own either of them, but should probably try them at some point just to see how I like it.

I was kind of interested in the Kahr X9, but at this point it seems to be vaporware. Supposedly they were offering two trigger options for it, the traditional DAO and something else, but I was never really clear if the "something else" was a hybrid DAO design, or more of a regular striker system. If it's the latter, I'm not interested, but a DAO with a shorter reset in a gun that size might convince me to give it a try...if they ever put them on shelves.

 

[Bassat]

The Ruger LCR had that same false reset, and it's the reason I'll never own one. It's also one of the reasons I never warmed up to the LCP... they're also just too darn small for my hands. Your Kahr is a more realistic size, IMO.

I like a long DAO first shot for safety when carrying. I don't like having to deactivate a manual safety to bring the gun into action, so that long, heavy-ish pull is a good compromise. I'm not a fan of a long reset, though...once I'm already shooting, I'd like for things to be as quick and easy as possible. As such, I've gravitated towards DA/SA guns for carry. The one exception is revolvers...the non-LCR Rugers and Smiths have a strong enough rebound that they tend to force the trigger forward on their own and I've never had trouble short-stroking them like I have some DAO autos. On the rare occasion that I change any springs as part of a trigger job, I always leave the rebound spring alone, as I want that forceful reset.

There are a few systems out there like Sig's DAK and H&K's LEM that are kind of a hybrid DAO but still offer a short reset. I don't own either of them, but should probably try them at some point just to see how I like it.

I was kind of interested in the Kahr X9, but at this point it seems to be vaporware. Supposedly they were offering two trigger options for it, the traditional DAO and something else, but I was never really clear if the "something else" was a hybrid DAO design, or more of a regular striker system. If it's the latter, I'm not interested, but a DAO with a shorter reset in a gun that size might convince me to give it a try...if they ever put them on shelves.

I started with revolvers. In the US Army I learned to shoot a 1911. I trained weekly, and was very comfortable with Condition 1 carry... for a while. When I got into competition with the 1911 I was OK, no better. After not touching a 1911 for years, I went back to my roots: revolvers. Cocked and locked just seemed unnecessarily 'touchy' to me. I did buy one of the original Sig P220s. It took some time to get used to the DA/SA trigger, and I never liked it. And the decocker seemed like an accident waiting to happen. I put up with for a while, but eventually sold that, too. I'm a huge fan of DAO triggers; they just feel right to me.

Kahr announced the X9 in January, with a summer '24 release date. That got pushed back to September officially. Still no X9. I have written to Customer Service twice, and gotten no response. This is only my opinion, but I believe they have given up on it. I actually no longer want one. My CM9 is quite carry-able, and the LCP/CT380 are pocketable in light shorts. House gun is a G21g4. Not sure I need a fat-grip 9mm with a short (3.54") barrel. If they do release the X9, I'd be turned off if they changed the trigger.