{"id":30118,"date":"2015-01-15T21:05:23","date_gmt":"2015-01-16T02:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=30118"},"modified":"2026-02-16T15:04:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T21:04:33","slug":"cheap-guns-cobra-ca380-semi-auto-199","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/cheap-guns-cobra-ca380-semi-auto-199\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheap Guns: The Cobra CA380 Semi-Auto $199?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The Cobra SA380 is the most simple and cheap semi-auto you can find. The design is not a new one, but this gun is fairly well built by a good company in the US.<\/p><\/div>\n

Cobra Firearms CA Series<\/a>
\nBuy One on GunsAmerica<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the start of a new series I have been thinking about called “Cheap Guns.” I don’t know if cheap is the right word, but it’s the word people use when they encounter a $200 firearm of just about any type. “That’s cheap!” But the next words are something like “I wonder if it is any good.” My goal is to go out and buy some of these guns, some of the more common ones, and go shoot them.<\/p>\n

My first subject is probably the most common inexpensive pistol design of all time. It is currently part of the Cobra line of very affordable firearms, and it was one of my first carry guns “back in the day” under the Raven name. Mine was a .25ACP, not a .380ACP like this one, and I still see those 25 Ravens on GunsAmerica<\/a>. I remember the gun as fairly reliable, considering that I spend $50 on it at the time. These new Cobra CA380s go for $135-$200ish, depending on where you buy it and the finish options. Are they good guns? No. Not really. But if you can’t afford more than a Corbra CA380, is one worth buying as a baseline of personal protection? Absolutely!<\/p>\n

\"My<\/a>

My biggest complain with the gun is that it is really hard to get it to cock. On the right you can see the cocked pin, and it was hard to get it to even cock the first time.<\/p><\/div>\n

I put about 200 rounds through my test CA380, which I bought in a local gunshop. Some of the criticisms of the gun are 100% true.<\/p>\n