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Re: My New Mousegun
When I finally decided on the Taurus PT738 TCP for my .380 Mousegun, I let my local gunshop know. I wanted the blued version (which at the time was somewhat uncommon), not the version with shiny stainless slide. The overarching consideration was (and is) ‘discrete’.
This past Thursday he left me a message that he had finally received a blued version. So, Friday, I went down and picked it up.
I gave a lot of thought to what 380 Mousegun I wanted. As I wrote earlier ‘discrete’ was at the top of the list.
I had tried to do my research. Looking at the available 380’s, I had listed six for consideration: Kel-Tec P-3AT, Taurus PT 738, Ruger LCP, Khar P380, NAA Guardian, and Sig Sauer P238. As I’d already demolished my gun budget earlier, I dropped out the higher MSRP guns, and settled on the three least expensive: Kel-Tec P-3AT, Taurus PT 738, and Ruger LCP. You may want to take a look at: http://www.mouseguns.com/PocketAutoComparison.pdf. I got that URL somewhere in the MGO Forums.
I did try to do some practical comparisons, probably more subjective than scientific. So what follows are my personal evaluations, and they may not be worth a toot.
I was able to shoot the Ruger LCP at length one morning. I did not care for the trigger. One trigger problem I encountered was re-set. My experience was an overly long travel for trigger re-set. In fact, it was a very cold morning and I was wearing some thin riding gloves. I had to pull my finger from inside the trigger guard to get the trigger to re-set.
The Kel-Tec trigger did not pass dry-fire. Never took it to the range.
I believe that of the three from which I was choosing, the Taurus had the best trigger.
There are some sources you can take a peek at regarding the Taurus. d**k Metcalf did a review in the Dec 2009 issue of “Guns and Ammo”. Of course, there’s also the recent article by Wiley Capp, “380 Compact Carry Pistols”, that appeared recently in American Rifleman (I think).
OK, now that we’ve got the gun, let’s get some first impressions. For starters, here’s the spec’s:
Action DAO
Rounds 6+1
Barrel 3.3"
Weight 10.2oz
Length " 5.19"
Height 3.47"
Width 0.88"
Trigger 5lbs 6oz
It comes with two magazines, nice. I like the fact that the slide locks back on the empty magazine. You can argue the relative safety of the fact that the gun will fire without the magazine. Interestingly it is a recoil-operated (ala John Moses B) as opposed to blowback.
As you may have noticed in some of my other posts I’m afflicted with a definite warranty paranoia. Taurus did not include a warranty registration card in the package. Having been bitten by a warranty issue in the past (that’s a story in itself), this lack of a warranty registration raised a red flag for me. I’ve written to Taurus about it. I’ll let you know the outcome.
I guess that more or less sets the stage for the next act.
I plan to be at the range this coming Tuesday morning (weather permitting and no other conflicts – you know how that goes). I’ll report then on the first trial run. Come back and read about it (assuming I don’t utterl
When I finally decided on the Taurus PT738 TCP for my .380 Mousegun, I let my local gunshop know. I wanted the blued version (which at the time was somewhat uncommon), not the version with shiny stainless slide. The overarching consideration was (and is) ‘discrete’.
This past Thursday he left me a message that he had finally received a blued version. So, Friday, I went down and picked it up.
I gave a lot of thought to what 380 Mousegun I wanted. As I wrote earlier ‘discrete’ was at the top of the list.
I had tried to do my research. Looking at the available 380’s, I had listed six for consideration: Kel-Tec P-3AT, Taurus PT 738, Ruger LCP, Khar P380, NAA Guardian, and Sig Sauer P238. As I’d already demolished my gun budget earlier, I dropped out the higher MSRP guns, and settled on the three least expensive: Kel-Tec P-3AT, Taurus PT 738, and Ruger LCP. You may want to take a look at: http://www.mouseguns.com/PocketAutoComparison.pdf. I got that URL somewhere in the MGO Forums.
I did try to do some practical comparisons, probably more subjective than scientific. So what follows are my personal evaluations, and they may not be worth a toot.
I was able to shoot the Ruger LCP at length one morning. I did not care for the trigger. One trigger problem I encountered was re-set. My experience was an overly long travel for trigger re-set. In fact, it was a very cold morning and I was wearing some thin riding gloves. I had to pull my finger from inside the trigger guard to get the trigger to re-set.
The Kel-Tec trigger did not pass dry-fire. Never took it to the range.
I believe that of the three from which I was choosing, the Taurus had the best trigger.
There are some sources you can take a peek at regarding the Taurus. d**k Metcalf did a review in the Dec 2009 issue of “Guns and Ammo”. Of course, there’s also the recent article by Wiley Capp, “380 Compact Carry Pistols”, that appeared recently in American Rifleman (I think).
OK, now that we’ve got the gun, let’s get some first impressions. For starters, here’s the spec’s:
Action DAO
Rounds 6+1
Barrel 3.3"
Weight 10.2oz
Length " 5.19"
Height 3.47"
Width 0.88"
Trigger 5lbs 6oz
It comes with two magazines, nice. I like the fact that the slide locks back on the empty magazine. You can argue the relative safety of the fact that the gun will fire without the magazine. Interestingly it is a recoil-operated (ala John Moses B) as opposed to blowback.
As you may have noticed in some of my other posts I’m afflicted with a definite warranty paranoia. Taurus did not include a warranty registration card in the package. Having been bitten by a warranty issue in the past (that’s a story in itself), this lack of a warranty registration raised a red flag for me. I’ve written to Taurus about it. I’ll let you know the outcome.
I guess that more or less sets the stage for the next act.
I plan to be at the range this coming Tuesday morning (weather permitting and no other conflicts – you know how that goes). I’ll report then on the first trial run. Come back and read about it (assuming I don’t utterl
