I have never been impressed much with "plastic" guns BUT I am thoroughly impressed with the Smith and Wesson 380 EZ that meets all of your listed preferred qualities in my opinion. Wife's favorite. For a smaller 380 the Springfield 911 is a good one.

 

The EZ is not striker fired but instead has an internal hammer. For all intents and purposes it functions similar to a 1911 but the hammer is inside.

Hector

 

I like the NAA Guardian. I've got one in .32 and another in .380.

 

I was hot to suggest the PPK till your third paragraph. Proper grip and grips remedy the bite.

 

The Ruger LCP and LCP 2 are both hammer fired. I have both and like them.

My friend has a Sig 232 and it is a neat little gun.

Beretta also makes several 380s that are not striker fired.

If you are looking for one that is fun to shoot at the range, stick with an all metal gun. The lightweight defensive pistols are pretty snappy to shoot a bunch.

 

Bersa thunder .380 is available and relatively inexpensive. Basically a ppk copy without the hammer or slide bite. I had one put 1k rounds through it and had no problems. It is a little bigger than the Walther hammer fired and double action with decocker. May be worth a look. Sig also has a larger .380 in the same vein as the ppk but again larger. P230 alloy frame blued. P230 sl stainless excellent pistols. Discontinued collecter. Cost a few shekels. Ruger has introduced a larger .380 easy slide sort of thing similar to s&w. Don't own on but heard good things. Relatively inexpensive.

 

I second the Bersa mine runs great 👍

 

It really is hard not to like a beretta or the 380EZ. I have both.

 

I have owned about every 380 you can name. I have got rid of everyone now except a SW MP Bodyguard, which I carry a lot, a Glock 42, which I never carry but have shot a lot. My wife used the Glock when she carry’s. Beretta Pico are hammer fired. The Beretta is actually pretty easy to shoot for me, and it is a tiny pistol. Very high quality little pistol. I never liked Kahr. Tried two of them, and sold them.
If I was buying one today, and wanted a small hammer fired pocket 380 to actually carry, and shoot, I would buy a SW bodyguard, or a Beretta Pico.
If I wanted a range 380 to have fun with, a Beretta 84 would be the number one choice for me.

 

If I wanted a range 380 to have fun with, a Beretta 84 would be the number one choice for me.

I was going to suggest the same thing about the 84/85. Amazing little gun but plenty big enough to shoot comfortably and accurately all day. I found NOS real Beretta wood grips about 10 years ago and now mine is such a nice, beautiful, well-engineered and well-built quality piece of machinery.

I would personally avoid the Bersa Thunder at all costs. A group of friends and I all got one during a big sale right about 20 years ago. Each of had to send ours back for warranty repair due to ejector issues and failure to feed hollow points reliably. Mine was never 100 percent so I rarely ever carried it. Mine never blew up but two of the other guys did. I had it about two years but after it gave me the worst slide bite I've ever had (only one of two times it ever happened to me, other time was my fault with a different pistol), I couldn't sell it off cheap or fast enough. Around that time many other much better 380s and 9mm subcompacts were entering the market. I've heard the Bersas got better after that but it soured me off Bersa for the rest of my life.

 

Sig P232 for carry. A bit on the heavy side compared to lightweights. No longer in production but worth the effort to find.

Browning 1911-380 for the range. What a pleasure to shoot.

I own both a Sig (232 and a Browning 1911-380 but my very day carry is a Glock 42 because it is a true pocket pistol, striker fired or not.

 

The Bersa Thunder, as @Vz.58 suggests, "feels" surprisingly good in the hand, seems well made, and the pricing is good too. The catch, though, like the PPK/s (which I have one of), is also direct blowback action, so has felt recoil well above what a delayed unlock would deal you. Unfortunately, the SiG P238 is no longer made, but they are available. I have one of the harder to find HD models, that has a stainless frame, rather than the more common anodized aluminum frame (either works well, but if not a carry gun, I'd take the extra weight of the HD).

I know this isn't a caliber discussion, but .380 is near bottom of what I consider a worthwhile caliber for self defense. But then I'm a 40 guy and so that's my primary reload for caliber too. Haven't shot any of my .380's in years.

 

I recommend doing some research on the 360 as a defensive round ,I't not giving up much to the nine ~with the new ammos things change.~~JMJ~~

 

I like the styling on that Bersa Thunder . . .And yeah, the Sig P238 or 232 looks like a nice design as well.

 

Kimber micro 380 perhaps? My micro 9 is pretty nice

 

Browning 80% 1911-.380 Black Lable

 

Another vote for the Bersa

 

Sig P238, Galco pocket holster, I never leave home without it. Kinda like a miniature 1911.

 

I also have this SIG P238. It never has had miss fire or jam. Very accurate. Accurate is desirable for the OP who plans to shoot at the range. Steel frame SIG are all great guns. It might be a little small but not as impractical as some ideas posted.

Tiny 380's are not that fun to shoot. You know that right? A big heavy all steel 9mm is more pleasant for 1/2 the ammo cost.

The guy who recommended Beretta 83,84 or 85, I wish I had experience but this sounds like a good advise. If I was the OP, I would pay attention to this idea. That assumes it is bigger than a P238. If not, then look at the SIG. I think this was a great post. I dont know, first hand.

I do own and enjoy the old school steel and controls on the PPK. The James Bond gun. If you want to eventually buy 2 or 3 that is probably a must have classic. Maybe not a just one situation.This was my first 380. Complaints? I dont know? Funny. None here. That is three ideas. Two are mine.

EDIT: I want to correct a couple mistakes. it turns out the PPK, CZ and Beretta are all fixed barrel blow back designs and should all have the snappy recoil. Also the Beretta is not all steel. It has an aluminum alloy frame. It seems the industry is almost all small & light wt 380.

 

Browning 1911 380 is my suggestion.
If you can find one, an FEG AP9s or one of the Hungarian PA 63 type pistols in 380 would be nice.
I know you asked about a handgun....Hi Point makes their very affordable carbine in 380. That would be a lot of fun.

 

Two of my carry weapons are a PPK and an LCP2.
Slide bite? Hammer bite? I've experienced neither with the PPK, and I'm not a small man.
I like the PPK because it is perfectly safe to carry safety off, hammer down on a chambered round.
And the LCP2 doesn't even have a safety.
As an old, left handed, revolver shooter, I'm kinda partial to simply drawing and firing with no extra steps involved.

 

Remember when making suggestions, 380 ammo is expensive. I see Cableas has CCI 9mm brass case 115 gr fmj ammo at $15 a box of 50. Nix the Hi Point.

 

I just had a thought for the recoil sensitive people or for fun minded shooters The 380 where barrel unlocks and moves with the slide will kick less than a fixed barrel design.

The PPK, CZ83 and some of these eastern European imports (Makarov) have a fixed barrel. I really like my PPK, but; if people are complaining about recoil this is probably a factor. .

The SIG barrel locks & moves. The mini 1911's obviously move. I watched a youtube and the Beretta 84 barrel unlocks and moves. That is three steel guns with a barrel that unlocks and move for a reduced recoil impulse.

I already posted, I dont find any of these 380's any more fun or more peasant to shoot than a big old heavy Beretta M9 or full size 1911 in 9mm.

 

If I was looking for a “range” gun in 380, I would probably get one of these.
The 380s I currently have are for when I need something small. One is an M&P BG380 that’s double action only, and I’ve always HATED the trigger. The other 380 that may replace the BG380 is a Ruger LCP Max. It’s SUPPOSED to be single action, but when you pull the trigger, you can see the hammer moving back about 1/8” of an inch, so it’s not a true single action.
I’m kind of an accuracy nut, and the tiny 380s drive me nuts because about the best I’ve ever shot either of them is about a 3 1/2” group at 25 yards. I SHOULD actually practice shooting them more.

 

Lots of good suggestions, I am surprised no one recommended the Colt Mustang.

 

Should you want to go down that road a local gun/pawn place has both a Colt Pony and a Mustang II on the shelf (or did last Monday)

 

I've had two 380s - a Bersa (picked up NIB at a funshow for $90) and a Llama that was a mini-1911, right down to barrel bushing. With nothing for scale and not reading the slide you couldn't tell a difference in the pile-o-parts when it was fully disassembled vs. a real 1911.

Both were 100% reliable and great and fun to shoot. Bersa got sold to a buddy, the Llama got turned into a CZ455 Varmint (which became a ....)

That said, if I were to buy a 380 today, I'd look grab one of these CZs and not look back - AimSurplus, LLC

 

I'll put in a vote for the Beretta 84 - I loved mine.

 

I should not be following this conversation. Becasue I feel myslef wanting!

 

Cz-83 shoots like a full size gun.

AimSurplus, LLC

I like the beretta also, get both

AimSurplus, LLC

 

Depending on your hand size, and preference, Sig 230, single stack, unlike the232 no rebounding hammer, always irritating to me.
or the beretta 84 Cheetah, double stack, a fine gun too. If you want new , tisas makes a nice copy. Then the FN 140 aka the Browning BDC, same as the 84, but no open slide. The CZ 83 is also a nice double stack, polygonal rifling, but a different trigger , mushy on da, crisp on sa. Beretta has a new 84, but I haven’t shot that yet. The PPK , has grown in size so no slide bite on the new ones, they copied the S&W changes, but imho, its now a bit clunky. Id go with the PPKS with the longer grip. The LLama and the later Stoeger mini 1911 comes in 2 varieties, one a real 1911 with the link, and a-later version that is just blow back. The Rugers and kel techs are pocket pistols, not really range toys.
The Bersas are a copy of the ppk, not bad, but cheap guns and expensive magazines just bug me. Heres a FN 140 , the bdc versions come with wooden grips.

 

Heres a Beretta 84 Cheetah , the Cheetah has a 92 trigger guard, the 84s is round.

 

Heres a Sig 230 and 232, the stainless versions are all steel, the blue ones have an alloy frame.