It is that time of year in Maine when a trip to the shop is only a quick icy slide from the house and the number of targets shot are governed by how quickly I begin to shed finger tips. With winter not formally here until December 21st, today was a sweltering 28ºF. So I thought I better give the Colt Mustang Pocketlite its day at the range.
Four types of ammo were selected. Three expanding or lateral shock loading and one, FMJ, for penetration. Remington Golden Saber ammunition has been my choice for self defense; it expands, holds weight and penetrates to the right degree. Ruger ARX has tested very well and is now also being used as an alternative for the same applications.
Locked breech or blow back
A direct comparison was made between the Colt Mustang 380 Auto with its tilting barrel, locked breech set up and the BERSA Thunder 380 with it 0.450″ longer barrel. With the exception of the 102 grain Remington, the shorter barrel Colt outperformed the blow back action BERSA. The Colt data compares very closely with the Remington RM380 and the Ruger 380 LCP by ammo type with the same exception of Remington Golden Saber tracking to barrel length rather than to action type.
Why is that? I have no idea other than the blow back action is remaining closed until the bullet exits the barrel, or the locked breech is unlocking early. Without being able to measure the pressure dynamic or high speed photograph the mechanical pieces, my guess would be as bad an any other. So what do we do now? Nothing other than being aware of the data as it relates to various types of ammunition and firearms.
|
Ammunition |
Bullet Weight Grains |
Recorded MV FPS 3.20″ BBL |
Recorded MV FPS 2.75″ BBL |
3 Shot 7 Yard Group “ |
| Ruger ARX Self Defense | 56 | 1275 | 1274 | 0.9 |
| Hornady Critical Defense | 90 | 990 | 1018 | 1.2 |
| PMC Bronze FMJ | 90 | 846 | 857 | 1.3 |
| Remington Golden Saber JHP | 102 | 860 | 774 | 1.0 |
I think accuracy is good. Shot at 7 yards, a critical distance for an armed encounter, the little Mustang delivered greater accuracy than would ever be necessary and it did so consistently. Groups were shot with a two hand hold, resting on the slope of a leather rabbit ear bag sitting on a shooting bench.
On the issue of lethality of the 380 Auto round, modern ammunition can easily provide adequate expansion and penetration to do the job. Training and proficiency remains the key ingredient for success in any circumstance. The 380 Auto is meant to be a close in defensive round where the greatest jeopardy exists and in that application it performs well.
Hardware handling and reliability
The Colt Mustang Pocketlite digested any ammo it was fed, even mixed in magazines. There as no failure to fire, there was no failure to cycle and the slide locked open on empty. The trigger while not exciting, did not hinder accuracy and, like most things in life, the dislike for the trigger faded to a lower priority with use. The grip is a 1.5 finger grasp… maybe 1.75, which proved to be sufficient. Recoil is modest. Anyone who would deem it excessive needs to learn how to hand a firearm and spend adequate time building proficiency. For folks who might feel the slide is difficult to actuate, cocking the hammer ahead of racking the slide reduces the required effort significantly.
The Colt Mustang Pocketlite is a shoot it as you buy it pistol. What does that mean? The Colt is a $599 MSRP handgun. Pricing out having trigger pull reduced to 5 lbs and cleaned up, cutting a dovetail front sight and recutting the rear sight for a low profile three dot or Tritium system, beveling the magazine well, undercutting the trigger guard, stippling front and back straps, and slicking up contact parts makes for a really terrific $1500 Mustang.
As sold, take away the Colt name and you’re left with a somewhat outdated single action only pistol. There are many alternatives, better constructed and with more modern features at a lower price.
Colt’s Mustang Pocketlite Part 1
Colt’s Mustang Pocketlite Part 2
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