The SCCY CPX-3.380
Top Quality — Affordable Pricing
The SCCY CPX-3 is very similar to their 9mm versions, showing the same degree of manufacturing excellence.
Photo: Will Dabbs, MD
By now, most gun-people know about the compact 9mm pistols from SCCY Firearms, the CPX-1 and CPX-2. They differ only in the presence or absence of a manual safety. The less-informed may be misled by the moderate prices, assuming this indicates a lack of quality. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
All SCCY pistols are made of the highest-quality materials, the fitting is precise and they have the design genius of Joe Roebuck. This brings us to their newest offering, the CPX-3 in .380 Auto. Except for a slightly shorter slide and barrel, it’s dimensional data is the same as the 9mm versions.
And, it has the Roebuck “Quad-Lock.” Like its 9mm brothers, the .380 uses the classic Browning tilt-barrel locking system. More than 40 years ago, SIG SAUER was the first to improve on the old system. They squared-off the barrel chamber area to lock into the ejection port. It was copied by GLOCK and many others. Fitting was functional, but not precise.
That is, until Joe Roebuck. He precisely fitted the barrel and slide engagement in four locations — hence the “Quad-Lock.” At the back, it’s the rear edge of the barrel, the cross-pin and the tilt-track below. At the muzzle, two bearing points below the barrel in the slide.
Note how the ejection port is opened to the front allowing easy ejection of a loaded round — handy and safe!
Unlike most gun manufacturers SCCY also makes their own magazines — these are 10-rounders.
Photo: Will Dabbs, MD
Accuracy
So, what does this do? After every shot, it returns the barrel to precisely the same position as the previous shot. Obviously, this will have an effect on following-shot accuracy. With several different .380 loads, at 15 yards using a casual rest, the CPX-3 delivered several well-centered groups. The average size was only 2″.
In a compact personal-defense pistol, does this level of accuracy really matter? Well, yes. It can mean rather than irritating your attacker, it will put him down. The sights are very good too, with three white dots with a square-picture. After backing out a tiny screw on top, the rear sight can be moved laterally for windage too.
The trigger is wide, plain-faced and shaped perfectly. The smooth pull (DA-Only) is around 8 lbs. but perfectly manageable. The CPX-3 is not striker-fired, it has an internal, pivoting hammer. The hammer is always in a “safety-rest” position, moved only by a full DA pull of the trigger. There’s no manual safety, and no need for one.
There’s also no magazine safety. So, if you lose it, you still have at least a single-shot pistol. There are some circumstances making this an important point. The controls are all left-side, and the magazine release is reversible, so you lefties will just have to compensate.
For those who like to have the numbers, the empty weight of the CPX-3 is 15.3 oz. The length is 5.7″ and barrel length is a tidy 2.96″. The width is 1.1″, except at the slide latch, where it’s 1.25″. With the finger-rest magazine in place, the height is 4.9″. With the flat-floorplate version, it’s 4.5″ so a bit trimmer. The finger-rest neatly mates with the two recesses on the front-strap, giving space for all three fingers. But, the height difference is so tiny, I’d say use the finger-rest mag for carry, and the flat for a spare. Both magazines have a 10-round capacity.
Take down is simple and fast. The recoil spring is self-contained.
The take-down cross-pin, mag release and slide-release are easy to manage,
and the ergonomics are spot-on.
Safety And Take-Down
In many pistols, when you stop shooting and need to eject a live round, there’s a little problem. The nose of the bullet will nick on the forward edge of the port, sometimes causing extractor disengagement. This can’t happen with the CPX-3. The front edge of the ejection port is extended and rounded, and any loaded round will clear easily. That’s thoughtful — and handy.
Another good thing about all of the SCCY pistols is the easy takedown for cleaning. With the slide locked open and the magazine out, use a strong thumbnail or a cartridge rim to free the cross-pin, taking it out. Then hold the slide, trip the latch, and ease the slide and barrel unit off forward. Take out the captive recoil spring and the barrel, and you’ve done it.
So, here’s a compact .380, made of high-grade materials, precisely assembled and extremely accurate. I’ve seen more than one “suggested retail” price quote, so I’ll just say all were way under $400, and one barely over $300! Most of you, unlike this computer-less dinosaur, can get the real figure at the company’s website.
For more info: www.sccy.com, Ph: (866) 729-7599
