Originally Posted by
pr42
Yes, I would buy my CW380 again in a heartbeat, no question.
I went for this gun mainly because it locks the slide back on the last round (some other small 380's don't do that, I think it's useful). Also, I think the design makes it have a better (read: less snappy) recoil than other small 380's. Something to do with not being a blowback or whatever, I'm not certain of the details. But you'll read a lot about small 380's being "snappy", and the CW380 is not snappy at all (in my opinion). In fact, I was surprised at how smooth it felt, especially after firing my Springfield XD-S 9mm. I love the smooth trigger action on the Kahr.
I have had a few issues with certain ammo in the CW380, mostly stuff like the slide remaining locked back after firing the first round from a full magazine. But, this seems to be pretty clearly related to certain types of ammunition. The type that I actually carry in the gun (e.g. Hornady Critical Defense or Precision One XTP) has been pretty much flawless, I think. I've been to the range with this gun a few times now, and it has had a good few hundred rounds fired. I haven't been keeping count, to be honest.
I love that it is so easy to conceal for carry. I really like the way it fires. As long as you clean it, lube it properly, and take care to try out ammo at the range to see what works and what doesn't, then you should be fine.
Finally, not to cast doubt on anyone's negative experiences, but remember that people are more likely to be motivated to post on forums about problems, than if everything just worked as expected. When your experience sucks, then you are going to want to tell the world about it. When things are just working as they should, then you might not be motivated to go online and say that. Remember that there are most likely many thousands of satisfied users out there, who just don't feel all that motivated to post about it. Don't assume that just because you read about some issues online, that is what everyone is experiencing. Yes, it can indicate a trend in some cases. In the case of the CW380, I think the takeaway (as far as I can tell) is that this gun has issues with some types of ammo, you just have to try it to see what works. Don't buy a huge amount of any particular ammo until you know whether your particular gun likes it or not. As it stands, I made this mistake and now have three boxes of Independence FMJ which my CW380 apparently doesn't like much. Oh well. Even so, I'm happy enough with the way the gun works with the real self defense ammo that I'm sticking with it. I really like this little gun, it's what I have with me most of the time every single day, even in my home, because it's just so darned easy to carry everywhere you go.