How comfortable is your p38 to shoot...

Skippy

Skippy

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I'm thinking of buying a p-38 for my first 9mm plinker. It's either that or a Norinco sig clone...

How big is the p-38 in your hand?
how comfortable is it to shoot?
how reliable and accurate do you find yours?
 
I've had a P-38 for several years, and although I haven't fired it recently, my recollection is that recoil was on the sharp side, but nothing really difficult. A lot depends on how well the gun fits in your hand. My hands are small and just about every "normal" sized gun gives me some trouble or other. The thing is to use "normal" cartridges. If you try +P or very heavy or very light bullets, you may very well encounter problems. The gun was designed when there really were only a couple of loadings for the cartridge, and I think the WWII bullet was 124 grains. Could be wrong about that, but I'm pretty sure most feeding problems result from trying to use ammunition the gun just wasn't made for.
 
The P-38 is pretty much a single stack Beretta 92 without the frame dustcover and slide extended out to cover most of the barrel. Without the extra weight it is quite 'snappy' to shoot. Nothing that can't be overcome with a little practice, though. I actually prefer the grip of a P-38 as a single stack to the double stack Beretta 92 series.

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NAA.
 
I've never shot one, but I used to own a Taurus PT99, which is a copy of the Beretta 92 (basically the same guns), and I'd say the P38's grip isn't that much smaller than the PT99 grip. Yes, it is a bit slimmer because it's a single stack, but not much smaller. The PT99 had a better trigger, a much better balance, and a more comfortable grip for me. And to top it all off, it ejects to the right, as opposed to the P38's left hand ejection.

You should try to shoot one, or at least hold one, before you buy. I was about to buy one two months ago, but I waited until I went to a gun show to actually hold one in my hands. I'm glad I did, because that broke the deal, I didn't buy it.
 
I much prefere the war time P38 to the more 'recent' P1 and P38... the steel frame helps a bit.

But beside from been a bit 'jumpy', they are nice firearms. As an added bonus, spare magazines are plentyful and relatively innexpensive.

as for your questions...
- They are quite accurate (once you get over the narrow from sight)
- Grips and triggers are ok for me (long skinny hands)
- Using FMJ ammo, it's as reliable as any other pistol.
 
My P-38 is a very comfortable handgun to shoot, only after years of multiple models of handguns, I just can't get used to the brass ejecting to the left. I mainly use it now as a backup handgun to WW II re-enactor competitions these days.
 
I have a P38 ac41 which is far and away the most accurate of my WWII sidearms. Shoots like a bullseye gun. And if you don't like the barrel flip of the 9mm, use 2 hands:rolleyes:
 
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