Seecamp .380

[Gunnerdad80]

Texas summers are pretty hot and humid so clothes are worn at a minimum. I've been looking for a tiny 9mm or .380 pocket gun (mouse gun) for summer time. About 5 or 6 months ago I learned about the Seecamp pistols and was somewhat fascinated so I did some research. The only thing I didn't like about it was no manual safety, which I'm a big fan of. But as most reviews stated, it has a really long and heavy DA pull. Since the gun is so small and resale for them is easy, I decided to give it a shot. I finally found one at a pretty good price so I picked it up. It's the .380 so it's pretty snappy but fun to shoot. I bought an extra mag and two mag extensions for better grip. Anyone else have one and want to share thoughts and experiences?

[crosstimbers]

I don't have a Seecamp, though years ago a friend of mine had one in 32 acp. I did however have a Kahr p380. It too had no safety, the trigger pull being likened to a standard da revolver. The problem I had was that the slide was VERY hard to cycle, if you wanted to pocket carry it with an empty chamber (as I wanted to). In fact the suggested method of loading the pistol was to lock the slide back, then insert a mag and let the slide go forward. So, I ended up selling it. I have a Sig P365 now, its small enough for pretty much everything but bathing-suit carry or whatever.

Does the Seecamp cycle pretty easily with a loaded mag in place?

[Gunnerdad80]

I don't have a Seecamp, though years ago a friend of mine had one in 32 acp. I did however have a Kahr p380. It too had no safety, the trigger pull being likened to a standard da revolver. The problem I had was that the slide was VERY hard to cycle, if you wanted to pocket carry it with an empty chamber (as I wanted to). In fact the suggested method of loading the pistol was to lock the slide back, then insert a mag and let the slide go forward. So, I ended up selling it. I have a Sig P365 now, its small enough for pretty much everything but bathing-suit carry or whatever.

Does the Seecamp cycle pretty easily with a loaded mag in place?

I have a P365 too and love it. I just wanted something smaller but still reliable. I don't know about the Kahr P380 slide but the Seecamp isn't too bad. I keep one in the chamber though.

[1KPerDay]

The .380 seecamp bashed my trigger finger so hard against the trigger guard I could only stand it for 2 mags. I could shoot it fairly well even without sights, but it was too painful to shoot much. For me. Beautifully made though.

[Gunnerdad80]

Mine had a couple minor blemishes but the factory took care of it no problem. They were great to deal with.

[Gunnerdad80]

“Does the Seecamp cycle pretty easily with a loaded mag in place?”

Crosstimbers,
I’m sorry, did you mean does it cycle easily by hand or during live fire?

[Scorepion]

You have a great little gun!

The Seecamp is such a great little gun. The design is heavily based off the older CZ .25acp.  Larry (RIP  ) recommended using a band-aid on the finger when firing the 380. You basically make sure they work and seldom take it to the range but these are very convent little guns when you cant dress around one. They have some nice Wallet types that print a simple square when its resting. Seecamp have a fanbase and forum by the way. Some great advice for best ammo feeding etc, nice wallet shaped holsters etc..
The initial .32's were hand made about 100 per month. Making them quite hard to get a hold of and commanding $1000 in its day, if you did not want to wait for up to 2 years. I engraved my name in mine to stop me from ever thinking of selling.

The newer CNC versions are said to be very well made, if not better. Larry chose the new MA based company to take them over before his passing.

The DAO is perfect for no safety, but a pocket holster or wallet would be recommended. Larry's father was converting 1911 triggers to DAO before he came out with the LWS. Its as hard as a revolver pull. I find snap firing will keep it on target and its good enough for the distances its designed for.

[bang bang]

at one time people were going bonkers over them.

[Gunnerdad80]

You have a great little gun!

The Seecamp is such a great little gun. The design is heavily based off the older CZ .25acp.  Larry (RIP  ) recommended using a band-aid on the finger when firing the 380. You basically make sure they work and seldom take it to the range but these are very convent little guns when you cant dress around one. They have some nice Wallet types that print a simple square when its resting. Seecamp have a fanbase and forum by the way. Some great advice for best ammo feeding etc, nice wallet shaped holsters etc..
The initial .32's were hand made about 100 per month. Making them quite hard to get a hold of and commanding $1000 in its day, if you did not want to wait for up to 2 years. I engraved my name in mine to stop me from ever thinking of selling.

The newer CNC versions are said to be very well made, if not better. Larry chose the new MA based company to take them over before his passing.

The DAO is perfect for no safety, but a pocket holster or wallet would be recommended. Larry's father was converting 1911 triggers to DAO before he came out with the LWS. Its as hard as a revolver pull. I find snap firing will keep it on target and its good enough for the distances its designed for.

Thanks for the info! I wondered why there was such a difference in prices. I did see a couple of the Seecamp 1911 conversions for sale on Gunbroker. They were asking a lot but they looked very interesting.
So the .380’s are CNC with minor hand-fitting of some parts?

[Gunnerdad80]

at one time people were going bonkers over them.

I got mine brand new in the sealed box for $529 including the $20 FFL fee. Some used ones were going for between $600-$800.

[Scorepion]

Correct- your's should be CNC. Which is good. Its not ammo specific like the handmade were. The older 32 ejector was specifically cut for the Winchester Silvertip casing. Winchester later screwed it and changed their casing design.

If its Made in CT it was under Larry's shop, if in MA its newer. He passed a few years ago. The difference in the prices back in the 80-90s was the supply and demand part. Even before Gunbroker there were gougers LOL.  $475 was about the normal price to order one and wait if I recall.

The .380 is the same size as the 32- just a bigger bore. There was tiny 9mm Roborough that was the spitting image but slightly larger. But you have the 365

[CCWLearner]

I never shot one, but I have researched them some.  It looks nice but I hear they are painful to shoot.  It seems some here on the thread agree with what I heard.

I also live in a hot climate so I can appreciate the need to pocket carry something when you want to dispense with the cover garment.  I pocket carry a Sig P290RS .380  in those situations.  They are discontinued but I got one for around $300 new in the box a couple of years ago.  It had some early reliability issues that Sig resolved after multiple trips back to the factory.  It's larger and heavier than some of the other .380 pocket guns but it's really easy to handle and shoot.  The slide racks easily.

Before I got the Sig P290RS, I tried and failed to get a Remington RM380 to be reliable enough for pocket carry.  It's a clone of the Rohrbaugh.  It shot decent when it wasn't jamming.  It went back to the "factory" numerous times, although it wasn't really the factory, but two different third-party gunsmiths they contract the work out to.  One was near the factory in Alabama, the other was up in Michigan.  The aluminum frame rails on those guns seem to get chewed up, no matter how well you keep them lubed, or how fresh your recoil springs are, then the slide starts sticking.  They replaced the entire frame at one point, giving me basically a new gun with a new serial number, but it still had issues.  At one point the gunsmith told me I'd need to replace the recoil springs every few hundred rounds, like on the old Rohrbaughs, even though Remington was saying the new springs were good for thousands of rounds.  Anyway I could go on about these issues but suffice to say I gave up and sold it, while picking up a strong bias against guns with aluminum frame rails, and a strong preference for guns with flat wound recoil springs.

I have also looked at the Beretta Pico, in case I wanted a smaller and lighter .380.  Like the P290RS, it has a polymer frame with steel rails.  In the case of the Pico it has a modular insert.  If I wanted something the size of a Seecamp, I'd probably look at one of these.  I know that a plastic gun doesn't have the craftsmanship of a hand-fitted stainless steel one, but when it comes to carrying a pocket gun, what I want is a light, rust-proof little thing that goes bang consistently, and that I can practice with often and not end up with a bloody hand.  Early Picos had issues but it seems that the later ones are pretty decent, from what I've read.

[tomboyjr]

 I have a similar story. Carried a Keltec 380 for many many years, but I wanted to upgrade. Even the smallest 9's are bigger than the small 380's, enough to make it hard for me to carry in the hot weather. I tried a Kahr PM9, and a Sig P938. I settled on a Kahr P380. A bit wider and heavier than the Keltec, but  so much more quality. I did have to send it back to Kahr once. It would feed FMJ stuff great, but not JHP. They fitted the extractor, and now the gun feeds anything. Super smooth DAO pull. And the nice thing is, shooting it doesnt bite at all. Even the PM9 was very comfortable to shoot.
It doesnt quite 'disappear' in my holster like the Keltec did, but the horsehide option for my Crossbreed helps since its thinner.
 There IS a model that has a safety, its the CA, NY, MA compliant model. Hard to find though.

[Gunnerdad80]

I’ve read reports about the Seecamp .380 being painful to shoot but it seemed fine to me. I put several mags through it too. I did have some random .380 that wasn’t a recommended ammo but it fed fine. I didn’t know it at the time of purchase but I’m glad I got one that’s CNC made. I definitely didn’t buy it for a safe queen.

[crosstimbers]

“Does the Seecamp cycle pretty easily with a loaded mag in place?”

Crosstimbers,
I’m sorry, did you mean does it cycle easily by hand or during live fire?

By hand. With that Kahr I had to lock the slide back, then insert the mag and let the slide go. Trying to rack the slide with mag inserted was very difficult. It could be done, but not easily enough to carry with an empty chamber. I have a .22 mini revolver for extreme hot weather carry....yeah I know, but its better than fingernails.