Taurus M380 revolver

**Aguila Blanca** · September 13, 2018, 11:49 PM

Does anyone have one of these, or is anyone familiar with it? It's a small, lightweight, snubnose revolver chambered for .380 ACP. It holds five rounds, and uses moon clips. Taurus still has it in their catalog, but I haven't found any user feedback on it. Are they any good?

A big question for me is: As sold, the hammer has no spur and Taurus calls it DAO. I would like to know if a spur hammer from some other Taurus model can be swapped in to make it DA/SA.

Buckeye! · September 14, 2018, 04:03 AM

I owed one .. Great for pocket carry .. Trigger was pretty heavy .. Not like the 85 .. I think was designed that way , because of hard primers on the 380 acp ..
Overall a great carry revolver

This is a pic of the one I owned

mk70ss · September 14, 2018, 05:40 AM

I had one. It was a great little concept......but with a trigger that was ridiculously heavy and the gun shot groups far larger than it should at the close distances I was shooting at.

**Aguila Blanca** · September 14, 2018, 04:15 PM

I notice that both of you speak of your ownership in the past tense. That doesn't sound like a sterling recommendation.

walnut1704 · September 14, 2018, 04:28 PM

When I had one (yeah, another *former* owner) I had the same idea. I called Taurus and they said yes. They wouldn't sell the part but they'd do it for me. You can't get parts for Taurus guns except from them, and they restrict a lot of them. You often end up having to send it in which of course can get expensive on the shipping.

I got rid of mine because I quit carrying, and it's hardly a fun range gun. Shot fine for me but it ain't easy with that heavy trigger pull. Which could be improved I'm sure. It's got to be the most compact center fire revolver around. The frame is shorter than the .38 special Model 85.

mk70ss · September 14, 2018, 05:58 PM

Traded it off ASAP.

Buckeye! · September 14, 2018, 06:54 PM

Mine was a solid little revolver ... But ( always a but) my TCP was lighter , smaller & and had more capicity.. and the TCP was and is as realiable as any pistol I have ever owned ...

Also Charter Arms alumium framed 38spl revovlers weigh less than the M380 revolver ...and I have two of them ...

turkeestalker · September 17, 2018, 05:31 PM

I've been tempted by them in the past and likely will pick one up one day, simply for the sake of satisfying my curiosity.

Handled one extensively in a pawn shop I frequent, didn't pull the trigger, but it was a nifty little wheel gun from my impression messing with it.

smee78 · September 17, 2018, 06:06 PM

I had the 9mm version and it was a nice carry gun but the screw that held the crane stripped itself out one day. I pulled the gun out of the safe, opened the cylinder to make sure it was loaded and the cylinder dropped out into my hand. Upon further inspection I found the screw hole was stripped right out and after shipping it back for repair on my dime I decided to sell it off once it got back and moved on.

Ibmikey · September 20, 2018, 05:59 AM

My local gun shop will sell Taurus revolvers only on special order and with a notice to the purchaser that when it breaks deal with the factory direct not through the shop.

Buckeye! · September 21, 2018, 08:00 PM

I have owned alot of revolvers over the years .... Several being Taurus revovlers .. Three 605's , four 85's ,627 ,905,606 ,608 ,444, M44, 405, 450, 455, 327, 66 ,65, 80, 82 ,445 ,m380,
Non view ,944 and several other models ..... They all functioned flawlessly... Any 85 or 605 had better out of the box triggers better than any of the dozen + J frames I ever owned ..
Good solid revolvers ...
Thats my experience... Not what I read .. Not what I heard .. what I have experienced....

tallball · September 22, 2018, 08:35 AM

Admittedly, I've not owned an M380.

But, like Buckeye, I've owned a bunch of Taurus revolvers. Out of the dozen or so that I've owned, one had problems and had to go back to the factory twice. The others have been reliable. The latter have fallen into two categories: reliable with good triggers, and reliable with stiff triggers. The newer ones have tended to fall into the stiff category, while the older ones have tended to have nice triggers.

If my LGS had an M380 that I could handle, I would consider buying it. If my inspection of it went well, if the trigger wasn't too stiff, and if I could work a decent deal on it, I would probably buy it. I'm a revolver guy, and something even smaller than a J frame would pique my interest.

WCWV · September 23, 2018, 10:52 AM

I purchased one for my wife.
As many have said, the trigger was really heavy. I put a Wolf spring kit in it and got the trigger down to 8 lbs. I'm also no fan of the stellar clips or moon clips, and being that I reload, I bought some 38 short colt rimmed brass and cut it down and use it mostly.
I got it to shoot quite well and now it's been past onto my daughter and son-in-law.
All and all, it's a decent little shooter.

September 13, 2018, 11:49 PM	#1
Aguila Blanca Staff Join Date: September 25, 2008 Location: CONUS Posts: 18,467	Taurus M380 revolver Does anyone have one of these, or is anyone familiar with it? It's a small, lightweight, snubnose revolver chambered for .380 ACP. It holds five rounds, and uses moon clips. Taurus still has it in their catalog, but I haven't found any user feedback on it. Are they any good? A big question for me is: As sold, the hammer has no spur and Taurus calls it DAO. I would like to know if a spur hammer from some other Taurus model can be swapped in to make it DA/SA.

September 14, 2018, 05:40 AM	#3
mk70ss Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2008 Location: Tennessee Posts: 1,598	I had one. It was a great little concept......but with a trigger that was ridiculously heavy and the gun shot groups far larger than it should at the close distances I was shooting at. __________________ Say when.....

September 14, 2018, 05:58 PM	#6
mk70ss Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2008 Location: Tennessee Posts: 1,598	Traded it off ASAP. __________________ Say when.....

September 17, 2018, 06:06 PM	#9
smee78 Senior Member Join Date: July 14, 2008 Location: South Carolina Posts: 2,918	I had the 9mm version and it was a nice carry gun but the screw that held the crane stripped itself out one day. I pulled the gun out of the safe, opened the cylinder to make sure it was loaded and the cylinder dropped out into my hand. Upon further inspection I found the screw hole was stripped right out and after shipping it back for repair on my dime I decided to sell it off once it got back and moved on. __________________ We know exactly where one cow with Mad-cow-disease is located, among the millions and millions of cows in America, but we haven't got a clue where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are

September 14, 2018, 04:03 AM	#2
Buckeye! Senior Member Join Date: September 1, 2008 Posts: 849	I owed one .. Great for pocket carry .. Trigger was pretty heavy .. Not like the 85 .. I think was designed that way , because of hard primers on the 380 acp .. Overall a great carry revolver This is a pic of the one I owned

September 14, 2018, 04:15 PM	#4
Aguila Blanca Staff Join Date: September 25, 2008 Location: CONUS Posts: 18,467	I notice that both of you speak of your ownership in the past tense. That doesn't sound like a sterling recommendation.

September 14, 2018, 04:28 PM	#5
walnut1704 Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2009 Posts: 156	When I had one (yeah, another former owner) I had the same idea. I called Taurus and they said yes. They wouldn't sell the part but they'd do it for me. You can't get parts for Taurus guns except from them, and they restrict a lot of them. You often end up having to send it in which of course can get expensive on the shipping. I got rid of mine because I quit carrying, and it's hardly a fun range gun. Shot fine for me but it ain't easy with that heavy trigger pull. Which could be improved I'm sure. It's got to be the most compact center fire revolver around. The frame is shorter than the .38 special Model 85.

September 14, 2018, 06:54 PM	#7
Buckeye! Senior Member Join Date: September 1, 2008 Posts: 849	Mine was a solid little revolver ... But ( always a but) my TCP was lighter , smaller & and had more capicity.. and the TCP was and is as realiable as any pistol I have ever owned ... Also Charter Arms alumium framed 38spl revovlers weigh less than the M380 revolver ...and I have two of them ...

September 17, 2018, 05:31 PM	#8
turkeestalker Senior Member Join Date: February 2, 2015 Location: Cottleville, Missouri Posts: 1,115	I've been tempted by them in the past and likely will pick one up one day, simply for the sake of satisfying my curiosity. Handled one extensively in a pawn shop I frequent, didn't pull the trigger, but it was a nifty little wheel gun from my impression messing with it.

September 20, 2018, 05:59 AM	#10
Ibmikey Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2013 Location: Now relocated to Texas Posts: 2,943	My local gun shop will sell Taurus revolvers only on special order and with a notice to the purchaser that when it breaks deal with the factory direct not through the shop.

September 21, 2018, 08:00 PM	#11
Buckeye! Senior Member Join Date: September 1, 2008 Posts: 849	I have owned alot of revolvers over the years .... Several being Taurus revovlers .. Three 605's , four 85's ,627 ,905,606 ,608 ,444, M44, 405, 450, 455, 327, 66 ,65, 80, 82 ,445 ,m380, Non view ,944 and several other models ..... They all functioned flawlessly... Any 85 or 605 had better out of the box triggers better than any of the dozen + J frames I ever owned .. Good solid revolvers ... Thats my experience... Not what I read .. Not what I heard .. what I have experienced....

September 22, 2018, 08:35 AM	#12
tallball Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2014 Posts: 2,444	Admittedly, I've not owned an M380. But, like Buckeye, I've owned a bunch of Taurus revolvers. Out of the dozen or so that I've owned, one had problems and had to go back to the factory twice. The others have been reliable. The latter have fallen into two categories: reliable with good triggers, and reliable with stiff triggers. The newer ones have tended to fall into the stiff category, while the older ones have tended to have nice triggers. If my LGS had an M380 that I could handle, I would consider buying it. If my inspection of it went well, if the trigger wasn't too stiff, and if I could work a decent deal on it, I would probably buy it. I'm a revolver guy, and something even smaller than a J frame would pique my interest.

September 23, 2018, 10:52 AM	#13
WCWV Senior Member Join Date: January 19, 2015 Posts: 137	I purchased one for my wife. As many have said, the trigger was really heavy. I put a Wolf spring kit in it and got the trigger down to 8 lbs. I'm also no fan of the stellar clips or moon clips, and being that I reload, I bought some 38 short colt rimmed brass and cut it down and use it mostly. I got it to shoot quite well and now it's been past onto my daughter and son-in-law. All and all, it's a decent little shooter.