After two years in development Kahr Arms has just introduced the P380, a polymer-framed, lightweight subcompact pistol chambered for the .380 ACP cartridge. Featuring Kahr’s famous double-action-only (DAO) trigger and a match grade barrel the little gun, loaded with 7 rounds of ammunition, only weighs about 12 ounces. It’s a sharpshooting gun that doesn’t cut any corners on quality.

Frank Harris, Kahr Arms Vice President of Sales and Marketing, first previewed me on the gun about two years ago. It was a rough prototype but I was encouraged to see just how small the gun would be. A year went by and I asked Frank about the .380 project. His face lit up and I could tell by his smile that things were on track. “We’re testing the prototypes right now, Mike, and hope to be in production by this summer.”

A couple months later Blue August hosted a writers meeting in Memphis and Kahr Arms was one of the presenters. Frank brought along a pre-production sample of the P380 that we would all get a chance to fire. I patiently stood in line while other writers took their turns with the P380 on the indoor range. The target was set out at 15 yards and the center had been pretty much torn out by the other shooters. So I slowly and deliberately fired six shots at the head of the silhouette target and then hit the return switch to bring it back to the firing line. My six shots found their mark and produced a nice group about the size of my fist. I looked at Harris with open-mouthed astonishment. He smiled sheepishly and said, “What did you expect Mike, you know that we don’t make junk.”