recently I picked up a ruger security 380 with lite rack. and I am waiting for a security 9 with lite rack to get to my LGS. being a functional quad with issues of hand strength, I really like the lite rack or EZ type of actions. what other gun manufactures do this same thing and how do I make my security 9 full size into a lite rack?
I know s&w does the ez line, I was wondering who else does it?
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I don’t know about the Ruger system, but the S&W EZ line is easy because of the basic operating mechanism of the pistol. It’s a locked-breech, hammer fired, SAO pistol, and this allows it to have a lighter recoil spring than a typical striker fired pistol.
S&W has the EZ in a 9, and now the Equalizer uses the same exact mechanism with the option for a double stack magazine. I have one of the original EZ’s, and the only limitation I consider it to have is its 8+1 capacity. It could not be a more enjoyable gun to shoot and it’s been 100% reliable. My friend has the Equalizer, and the racking force seems about the same as the EZ.
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Have you considered an SA/DA pistol?
Me not knowing your limitations so bear with me. My 92FS with the hammer cocked is iny opinion easy. Same thing with my Kimber, hammer cocked and the slide is easy to rack.
As an “oddball” look at the FN 57 I know it’s pricey but it’s easy to rack the slide on it.
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yes I have several 38 specials. I just enjoy guns and collecting them.
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I have severe arthritis in my thumbs. As a new shooter, I am now just over two months into training one-on-one with a private instructor, using a 380EZ. There are several things I like about this firearm:
- Racking much easier on the hands.
- Magazine exponentially easier to load (for those with hand issues).
- Recoil much lighter.
- Lightweight and smaller for easier concealment.
The only negative (and this could be a positive) is the grip-safety, but I am working on my grip when not in a session. On the positive side, this reduces the chance of an accidental discharge and might (emphasis might) reduce the chance of someone firing a round at you if they were able to wrestle the weapon away from you.
Ammo is more expensive, but I am not concerned so much about expense as I am about accurate hits where it counts. I have not tried the EZ in 9mm, but that may be a consideration in the future. I want to get the fundamentals down and my accuracy down in a firearm I am comfortable with. I have tried several and this is the one I return to every time.
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With modern ammo, there may be no good reason to spend the money on an EZ9 if you’ve already got an EZ380. With 380 ammo, the decision always seemed to be whether you wanted penetration or expansion, but you couldn’t have both.
I ran across this test of the Federal HydraShok Deep 380, and he happened to do the test with a 380EZ, so you can accurately figure what the ammo will work like in your pistol. He got 18" of gel penetration along with full expansion, which I’ve never seen before in a 380 ammo test.
I’ve tested it in my 380EZ and it runs 100% reliable, so it has become my daily carry ammo whenever I’m carrying the EZ. I can’t tell any difference in feel between firing the Hydrashok Deep VS regular 95 grain FMJ.
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Thanks. Impressive gel testing, in particular, the length and width of the wound channel of the Hydrashok Deep at almost 18" would be serious defensive ammo to stop a threat. I have not yet made a purchase, I really like the weapon he is using, but would prefer a flat black finish all-around (barrel; trigger; grip-safety; etc.).
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In the tests I’ve seen with properly calibrated gel with or without a heavy cloth barrier the .380 Hydroshok Deep seems to get more in the 13 to 14” range for penetration. Which is still very respectable. The one situation it will likely not match up to good quality 9mm SD ammo is with barrier penetration like through multiple walls, auto glass, etc. Some people view this as a positive others as a negative. Depends on the situation you find yourself in.
But based on the tests I’ve seen it is the best .380 SD option out there and is what I carry in my little pocket .380. It can be hard to find though so anyone wanting to use it should buy enough to test in their pistol and have enough left over for carry purposes for at least a year which is about as long as I have had to wait in the past to find some at a reasonable price.
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It is hard to find, and expensive. If you don’t mind paying a high price, Federal sells it direct on their website, but I think it’s around $38 for a box of 20. Midway has had it recently at $31/box with a 2 box limit.
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$1.33 per round plus shipping and tax. There are some other places listed on ammoseek for a little cheaper but I don’t recognize any of them. I’ve ordered from this company before without issue.
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Thanks for the price info. Not a bad price for good, reliable life-insurance with a weapon I can handle.
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With the talk about these rounds I had to try them, the results are in, my gun feeds them and they go where I want them to, so I just switched to them. Thanks for the info.
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The easiest pistol to rack and fire is one that does not require the slide to be racked.
I am talking about the .380 Beretta 86 and also its clone made by Girsan, the MC14T. Both have a barrel that tips up by grabbing the back of the barrel and lifting it up to expose the chamber. Then you insert a round in the chamber, close the barrel, pull the hammer back and fire a shot to start the single-action mode. You could also fire the gun in double-action mode with all subsequent shots in single action.
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I just had my LGS order me one of these
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For people with hand strength or grip issues let me suggest putting red dot optic on the side. My wife has real grip issues and therefore and real problems in the rack. 
. I put a Romeo Elite on a Sig 320 and by simply laying her hand flat across the top of slide in front of the optic then a push pull motion against the optic she is able rack quite easily.
For 380 ammo. I have an LCP 380 and have done a lot of looking at ballistic test. The best for both penetration and expansion appear to be the Federal HST and Sig Crown. Just MHO.
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I can’t speak to the Sig Crown ammo but the .380 HST is the only HST caliber that I do not trust based on the properly done tests I have seen. There is some variability in the tests but it has a disturbing tendency to over expand and under penetrate through properly calibrated bare ballistic gel and the tip tends to clog after going through denim layers with little to no expansion and significant over penetration. Not sure how they can get the HST to perform so reliably in other calibers but it is so unreliable in .380. Though they have similar unreliable expansion issues with their 9mm 150 grain Micro HST out of very short barrels even though it was supposedly designed for short barrels. Their standard 9mm HSTs seem to perform reliably out of short barrels.
The new Federal Hydra Shok Deep seems to perform consistently well through bare and covered ballistic gel based on all the tests I have seen and many of those tests were done with the short barreled LCP. My choice before that came along was ammo loaded with the old Hornady XTP bullets. They don’t expand very much or very consistently but they seem to always penetrate within the FBI standard range of 12-18” regardless of how much or how little they expand.
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After all the tests and videos I’ve seen of so many different 380 options, I also settled on the Hydrashok Deep as my only carry ammo for my 380 at this point. What helped me make the decision was seeing a few different tests by different testers using my exact gun (M&P 380 ez), so I know what to expect. It also feeds 100% reliably, so I didn’t see the need to look further. Now I grab up a few boxes when I see them at a decent price and build my stock. They can be hard to find.
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You are correct. I confused one of my 9m preference with 380. I feel shame 
. My second got to 380 is Hornady Critical Defense. Those are just my choices to make the 380 a respectable defensive round.
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Lots of ammo and caliber options out there nowadays. It’s easy to get them confused:)
My one concern with the Hornady Critical defense is that in bare gel tests it opens very quickly and significantly under penetrates. But it performs very well in the heavy cloth tests. My understanding is that the heavy cloth tests are a more accurate indicator of how bullets will usually perform in the real world but it still concerns me that there is a chance they might under penetrate when hitting a lightly clothed or shirtless threat.
.380 appears to be a tough caliber to make defensive ammo for. It has enough velocity to cause many bullets that don’t expand enough to over penetrate. But not enough velocity to make it easy for bullets that do expand well to penetrate far enough.
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A dude i see at the range all the time has a p365 x-macro with a dpm recoil kit. It is pretty easy to rack. I have a p320 with the dpm kit, and run the lightest spring…it’s easy to rack as well. Just my .02 if you can’t find an ez or lite rack model that you like, or want a softer sprung setup.
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