Sig is expanding their lineup of modular handguns with the Sig P250 in .380 ACP.
I know what you’re thinking, because I was thinking it too. “A 15+1 .380 that’s the same size as a 9mm? Why not just, I don’t know, carry a 9mm?” That was exactly what I thought, until I actually shot the Sig P250 in .380 at Media Day. Then it dawned on me that the little P250 in .380 was actually a neat little carry gun with an odd niche. Sure, it’s too big for pocket carry, but it has almost no felt recoil, a very smooth DA trigger, and was generally easy and pleasant to shoot. What it becomes then, is the new K-frame. There are a lot of people out there that want a gun but don’t want to become shooters – but they’ve taken a safety class and have decided they want a gun for home protection.
Here it is. The Sig P250 in .380 is a perfect no-muss-no-fuss little gun. The recoil won’t bother anyone, the trigger won’t be too difficult to pull for someone with small hands – basically, it’s the modern version of an old fixed sight K-frame, but instead of shooting 158 grain lead round nose, it shoots 90 grain JHP. And it holds more than double the ammo of a K-frame, while weighing less and having better sights. I’m not going to take a 1,000 round training class with this gun, and it’s not going to be the kind of gun that rides around in tactical thigh holsters.
But after kicking the idea around, it really is perfect for that niche. Buy a bunch of Hornady Critical Defense and the occasional box of CCI Blazer for practice and you’re all set. I imagine you’ll find yourself buying more than a few boxes to shoot, because it really is hilariously fun to burn rounds out of.
I bet it will do well in those countries that restrict calibers for civilians such as Mexico. Finally having a viable high-capacity .380 would be welcome in those settings.
Price?
Pretty cool, but none of the soul of the BDA or Beretta 87, though I’m sure it’s lighter…
They need to improve .380 ACP technology like they did with the 9mm over the decades.
Right now, .380 JHPs lacks severely in penetration.
“They need to improve .380 ACP technology”
I think the problem with improving .380 terminal ballistics are all the old guns out there that would be dangerous to fire higher pressure rounds. The .380 and the Makarov rounds are actually very similar in a lot of ways, but the guns chambered for Mak are usually built stronger meaning the average pressure in the Makarov rounds are often loaded to somewhere between .380 and standard 9mm Parabellum.
Still I wonder if the .380 could be pushed to 9mm performance in a modern gun +P+ style?
Sign me up! I’ve waited for years for a full-sized .380 that is truly recoil operated. I have a chronic hand injury that makes shooting even my steel framed 9mm painful after about 50 rounds. The blowback .380 pistols are just as bad. And forget a polymer .45! With the increasing availablily of .380 ammo and modern loads, this may be part of my new home defense strategy. I would hopefully be able to practice more and still have some confidence in the caliber I was using. Please post more vids if you have them.