I will be very interested in this pistol when it comes up for sale, which I hope is soon. I am looking for a pistol close to the size of the PPK to carry around my farm. The specs of this pistol are close, and it is shorter in length. The only problem for me is it is a DAO pistol. All of my pistols are DA/SA, I have never owned a DAO pistol. I have shot one in 9mm. I do not know if I could get used to that part of it or not. Update: I tried the trigger on this, and several other small .380 pistols. The trigger on all are horrible, with the exception of the newest Ruger .380. It is the only one I will consider.

I'm thinking the same thing...

I was looking at the R-51 before all the bad information on them started to appear...hopefully the RM-380 will have a better introduction.

Yeah they sure better Shooter. Enough people sore already. Can't wait to read a review. We are awash with polymer models and some are very good but think Rem. was smart going with the metal frame. It sure looks appealing to me at least as I like those small autos and am pleased my S&W CS-9 is going for decent money at least on Gunbroker.

I have carried a CS 45 for years. I bought it new and love it. I have a number of pocket guns, most are worth too much money to carry around the farm. The closest one is a BERSA satin nickel Thunder .380 with a flat magazine, it is about the size of a PPK/S. Too big for what I want. I have been looking at a S&W .380 Bodyguard, but they have had problems with it, too. It is DAO. I have shot a DAO pistol, my neighbor carries a SKYE 9mm. It shot ok, but have always owned and been trained on DA/SA. I suppose I could get used to just one pocket pistol that was DAO, which is why I have great expectations for the new Remington .380.

Seems most have improved on the DAO trigger pulls lately. Lets hope Rem. has followed suit. Have not read any reports yet but will share when I do. Really like it having metal frame.

Heard suppose to be available today. Will have to wait to see if they will be compliant in my sh** state. Sure like the metal frame and the pocket carry ability.

I saw the new James Bond movie over the weekend and was sort of inspired to plan on taking the mouse guns along when I go to the range this week. So I stopped by the local big box outdoors store while running errands this am to get a couple boxes of .32 acp. I reload .32 but the brass gets lost so easy I have to use store bought from time to time to keep up. Anyways, as I was headed out to the front of the store and going by the display case full of guns the counter guy asked if I was looking for anything. I said no, but then turned around and asked if they might have any RM380's in yet. He lit up and said yes indeed, they just got 3 of them in and unlocked the display case and pulled one out. He pulled the slide back to clear the chamber and handed it to me. Tiny little thing. I released the slide and tried to ease it forward then the take-down pin fell halfway out of the frame and the slide got stuck out of battery. The guy tried to get it to move, rolled his eyes back, and picked it up and set it back behind the counter. He said, "Well, I guess that's the first review."

Oh Brother!!

Well, in it's behalf I would say it is definitely smaller than a ppk, lighter, easily concealed. Would fit in a pocket quite nicely. Think Kel-Tec with an alloy frame. The tilting locked barrel ought to soften the recoil somewhat but that will be a trade-off with the very light weight. It's concealable although I don't know whether you'd call it a back-up gun or a hide-out gun: The two are not necessarily the same. As far as shootability is concerned, I don't think any of these little guns are the sort you want to spend all day at the range with.

Here's a good review that shows the field stripping procedure. I guess that take-down pin is supposed to come completely out. I might take a closer look at one after the holidays if there's any money left over:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la7fgYVQtmg

Thanks for the tip. Good to hear. Sure looks like a great pocket job.

I'm new to Remington Owners but not new to firearms. I've been shooting about 61 years or so.

I picked up a new RM380 Tuesday, 11-17, based on my inspection at my lgs (he had 2 in stock for about 2 weeks but was not allowed to sell them until after the announcement this past Friday) and the opinions in these three videos. I paid $399.00 out the door (no sales tax in DE).

This is the same video listed above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la7fgYVQtmg

Gunblast did a review also.

http://www.gunblast.com/Remington-RM380.htm

This is a 500 round endurance test of the RM380. The only problem they had was a dirty mag after 250 round or so. Clean the mag and no more problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVYhZ1tvXTU

Now, I was able to get to the range for a very brief visit. I didn't fire for accuracy (no time) but I did put 50 rounds of PMC Bronze 90gr .380 ammo through the pistol (4 full loads for the flush mag and 4 full loads for the extended mag with one 2 round round load). The accuracy appears to be good, though, on various dirt clumps an stones on the backstop. There were no, none, zip problems. The RM380 ate all fifty rounds easily.

I was carrying a Kahr P380 (do you want to buy it?). The difference is remarkable. The recoil with the Kahr is sharp and it is susceptible to "limp wristing" (not a good thing). I have problems operating the slide of the Kahr. The recoil spring is very strong and, at 70 years old, my hands are not as strong as they were. The Kahr is not that easy to dis-assemble (not hard but a little involved).

Now the RM380 is about the same size of the P380 but is about1/4" or so longer than the P380. It fits my DeSantis Pocket-Tuk holster I had for my P380. I just wrapped the RM380 in three layers of waxed paper and jammed it hard into the Pocket-Tuk over night and the next morning it fit fine with the paper removed (good trick for leather holsters). I like the way the P380 fits my small hands but it should not be a problem with larger hands. One of the mags has a flat, flush metal base and the other mag is the same but has an extended plastic base. I find both mags comfortable and quite usable. The flush mag base conceals a little better than the extended one. It's interesting to note that both mags have a spacer on the rear inside of the mags. There is enough space in the mag for a regular 9mm round with the spacer removed. Does this mean there may be a 9mm model in the future?!

I can rack the slide very easily. The only problem I had was "Operator Error" Once or twice the slide did not pickup the top round in the mag when I pulled the slide back from the locked position. The slide stopped with the round partially loaded into the chamber. I just pulled the slide back again and the round chambered. I failed to fully retract the slide or rode the slide a little when I released it. Learning experience.

The felt recoil is greatly reduced (especially when compared to the Kahr P380). This RM380 pistol is actually fun to shoot. I only stopped at 50 rounds because I was short on time. I could have fired many more rounds with ease. That is remarkable statement for a 380 pistol!

The RM380 comes apart very easily. Just remove the take down pin and push the slide off. Please note that there is no chance that the pin will come out when firing the RM380. The hole must be lined up with the pin for the pin to come out. Consider just how short that time is when the slide operates during firing. Microseconds! The RM380 cleans very easily. The manual also tells how to clean the firing pin (easy) and remove the grips and how to put the parts back if they fall out when you take the grips off. It appears to be a good manual.

I think that Remington really got this one right but time will tell. So far, I am very happy with my purchase. I think that, once reviews get out, the RM380 may be hard to find.

This is the first time I have written a post like this. Please let me know if I have missed anything.

Thanks for the review Mark. In addition to your report and the reviews you posted sounds promising. Many will bemoan a .380 for defense but many use them and if this functions and shoots well should be a consideration for those looking for a small defense pistol. I do like the fact it is metal. One chambered for 9MM if only slightly larger would attract more buyers.

I use the RM380 as a BUG for my Springfield XDs. I load the Buffalo Bore Barnes copper rounds which are a +P loading.

Awesome review Mark...Thanks !!

These photos will help you to see the size of the RM380 relative to the Kahr P380. I lined up the muzzles and the top of the slides of each gun. The size differences will show on the back of the grips and the bottom of the magazines.







As you can see, the RM380 is just a tad larger than the P380. Most of the difference is in the barrel length. The P380 has a 2.54" barrel while the RM380 has a 2.9" barrel.

MarkB, great review. Thank you for taking the time.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to see and hold an RM380 for the first time; unfortunately I'm out of state so a purchase was out of the question but I absolutely plan to buy one as soon as I can once I get "home" and find one at a LGS. But that didn't stop me from having some reactions to what I saw.

It's almost impossible for me to consider the RM380 without a more than passing comparison to it's DNA. The RM380 is Remington's "version" of a Rohrbaugh R380 which was derived from the Rohrbaugh R9 and I've had an R9 for at least 4 years; the R9 has been a trusted (totally trusted) carry gun though less so recently because after Rohrbaugh sold out to Remoington I think parts will become scarce and I'm hesitant to fire it as much as I'd like to - thus my interest in an RM380.

But after handling the RM380 I do have some observations on some of the changes Remington has made to the basic design:

ergonomics: the RM380 seems to have more "edges". Mark's observations and his efforts to round and soften some of them (his posts here describe this) make a lot more sense to me now that I've handled the RM380. This is partly due to the grips, partly due to the stippling and not all bad - just different. The increased beaver tail seems effective though not anything I ever found lacking in the R9. The finger rest on the magazine is also effective and gives me a full "3 finger grip" though again, not something I sorely missed on the R9. Otherwise the RM380 fits the hand well and should result in a very "shootable" design - I was glad to see that didn't get lost in the transition.

slide lock: for me this is a solution in search of a problem as I never felt its lack was an issue on the R9. The one thing I like about it is how snug the slide lock fits to the grip and the way it's not too likely to be accidentally engaged during firing. But I don't think it helps reloads much because it's not so easy to unlock the slide. I prefer a full slide rack on small guns anyway as I think you're less likely to short stroke the slide (I thin Mark experienced this during his range session) if you start with it fully forward and use some momentum to make sure it gets fully retracted.

trigger: sadly I can't comment because I didn't dry fire the RM380. Hopefully not much has gotten lost as the R9 trigger is great.

take down: I think this is an area where there will be much controversy - and it's started already. Some of this is the result of some changes Remington has made to the basic design. First of all in 4 years of R9 ownership and lots of forum posts I have never read of anyone having a problem with the take down pin accidentally or unexpectedly falling partway out and locking the slide partly retracted. But Remington seems to have made a couple of changes here to make take-down easier and has perhaps introduced some possible issues.

One change is that the holes in the slide are now two different sizes - the one on the right side is smaller than the pin but the one on the left side is larger than the pin (by quite a bit). This makes it easier to use "something" to push the pin out (I use a piece of 12 gauge copper wire on my R9) from the right to the left (the only way the pin can be removed). But the second change seems to be to have made the pin fit a little looser so that shaking the pistol is enough to make the pin fall out easily - that really didn't happen on the R9 and it's this that may prove to be controversial - either perceived as a problem or a real problem.

First of all as Mark pointed out this pin can never fall out during firing - the slide simply moves too fast past the small "window" where the hole lines up with the pin. In addition, when firing there's pressure from the barrel against the pin (chamber pressure is still bleeding down after firing a round) that locks the pin in place with friction. The only time this pin can fall out accidentally is during handling of the gun. And this was something related to me by the salesman who showed me the RM380 and the LGS. He told the story that several of the guys at the store had carred the gun (empty) in the store in a holster in their pocket and found that after a couple of hours of bending and lifting "stuff" they found that the slide had been retracted enough for the holes to line up and the pin to fall far enough out to lock the slide. Obviously this would have resulted in the gun being unable to fire (it was out of battery) and that's not good.

I believe the story told, but have one problem with the story and that problem is that any holster that allows the slide to be retracted while the gun is being carried in the holster is not a proper holster - if it was it would keep things away from the trigger and would keep the slide from being accidentally retracted while in the holster and in your pocket and whatever it was these guys used either didn't fit the RM380 or isn't a good holster to begin with. But it does point out one thing - if I (or perhaps anyone else) is going to carry the RM380 (and I plan to) - get a proper holster first!

First, thank you JR for the comments.

I agree with JR that a properly fitting holster should not and will not allow the slide to move during normal daily activity. As I mentioned, I use a DeSantis Pocket-Tuk that I had for my Kahr P380. The RM380 is just a little larger so I just wrapped the RM380 in several layers of waxed paper and jammed the gun into the holster overnight and now the RM380 fits very nicely in a stiff leather holster that will keep the gun secure in my pocket (I don't use the Pocket-Tuk on my belt).

The trigger is nice. There is a little "twitch" in the first 1/8" of travel as you start to move the trigger as the slack in the linkage is taken up. This "twitch" has reduced after 50 rounds and I expect that it will further reduce with more use. The pull is long and not excessively heavy. It is easily controlled and breaks sharp when the hammer is released. You don't notice the "twitch" when you fire the gun. The long trigger, not light pull is a safety feature for SD use with all the stress involved and will help prevent a negligent discharge.

I noticed that Buffalo Bore 380 Barnes bullet ammo would hang up on the barrel feed ramp about half the time when I racked the slide to load the chamber. The ramp was dark like the rest of the barrel and not shiny like my other semi-auto pistols. I polished the ramp by first just sanding the ramp with a dowel and 400 grit paper and then polishing the ramp with a Dremel tool felt tip and Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish (auto parts store). The polishing took about 5 minutes or so. The ramp now has a mirror finish and is very slick. The Buffalo Bore ammo now feeds smoothly and easily with no jamming.

Based on the review videos that I saw, my experience with firing the rm380 and the polishing I did on the ramp, I have complete confidence in the operation of my RM380.

Mark - thanks for the tip about the Pocket Tuck; I had one on my short list for a Glock 43 but went another way but I may try one for the RM380.

I think your comments on the RM380 trigger are exactly what I'll find and your description is not the first report about the RM380 that describes the same trigger. The R9 trigger was / is a real joy but it was something that took a lot of hand tweaking of each gun - when in production all the guns made were tweaked by hand by Eric Rohrbaugh but that doesn't translate well to a mass produced $400 gun. I believe Remington tweaked the design to make it mass producible and the slight hitch is one result of that. It still sounds like a very good trigger for the purpose which isn't target shooting.

Your fix for Buffalo Bore makes sense and it's pretty easy to do a little feed ramp polishing if necessary. I will try first without it and see if my carry ammo needs it.

I'm not sure I like the take down pin design. Not that I'd so much be worried about it falling out but it sure looks eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaasssssyyyyyy to lose.

Tater wrote:I'm not sure I like the take down pin design. Not that I'd so much be worried about it falling out but it sure looks eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaasssssyyyyyy to lose.

You do have to be careful! Without that pin you just have a new chunk of metal.

An observation: As you may or may not know, the RM380 has a loaded chamber observation port on the top rear of the barrel. You can see the rim of a cartridge in the chamber through this port. You can also tell if the chamber is loaded this way: Run your finger over the edge of the extractor. If you can easily feel the edge of the extractor, the chamber is loaded. You cannot (on my RM380) feel the edge of the extractor if the chamber is empty. Try this when you get your own RM380 and you will see what I mean. This way you can quickly check the chamber in low light without having to look at the gun.

Tater wrote:I'm not sure I like the take down pin design. Not that I'd so much be worried about it falling out but it sure looks eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaasssssyyyyyy to lose.

I recently bought an RM380 and did have one or two instances where the take-down pin fell out. I didn't lose it but I did have to crawl on the floor with a flashlight to find it. I plan to order a 3rd magazine (called Remington today about that) and found out that they don't (yet) have parts available as everything is going into production guns, but expect magazines around the end of January. I may order a spare take-down pin "just in case".

The instances when the take-down pin fell out were when I was playing with the gun after cleaning and it was bone-dry - no lube at all. There was an owner's manual addendum that came with my gun specifically talking about the take down and advising that if you don't want the pin to just drop out, put a little oil or grease on it and that will keep it from falling out and they are right - that works. I would never run the gun dry anyway because that pin cams the barrel to unlock the breach and I think should always be oiled however slightly.

All mechanical designs have some sort of trade-off and manufacturers and users have to deal with the trade-offs. In the case of the take down pin it's completely flush and can't catch on anything in a holster and it keeps the gun thin - the same sort of design philosophy carried forward to the slide lock which has also been kept flush with the grips (contrast this with, for example, the Kahr P380 slide lock and take down) so I really do understand why Remington went with the design they went with.

I agree on the point about "trade-offs", JR. After all, how many people have put "idiot scratches" on their 1911s? The RM380 design (with its take-down pin) is just something a guy has to get used to and not be careless about. I, for one, think that it's a pretty clever set-up.