The smallest pistol in the test group was Remington’s RM380 Executive, which sports a stainless slide and laminate Macassar grips for a touch of elegance. The RM380 is a double-action-only (DAO) semi-automatic pistol that utilizes a locked-breech design and incorporates a bobbed hammer. It comes with a pair of six-round, single-stack magazines—one with a flush-fitting baseplate and one with an extended baseplate.
Remington made a few changes to the original Rohrbaugh design by including an ambidextrous magazine release as well as a beavertail to negate slide bite. Remington also included a slide stop to lock the slide back after you fire the last round.
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The triggerguard has decent undercut for a slightly higher grip, and the frontstrap is checkered for a positive purchase. Probably the least functional feature is the plain, integral sights machined into the slide, though the RM380 is not built for long-distance shooting. It’s intended for deep concealment and fast presentations.
Terrill liked the revolver-like trigger on the RM380, precluding the need for a safety, though he said he’d rather see the pistol in 9mm, not .380 ACP. Terrill also liked the metal frame and appreciated the removable laminate grips. The sights were only adequate for slow, aimed fire, but the pistol was still very accurate. Even with the DAO trigger, I was able to shoot a 1.25-inch group at 7 yards.
I found the RM380 Executive almost as appealing as the EVO SP (CS), though I liked its small footprint and light weight even more. The magazine release was very easy to operate, but the slide release was recessed and felt slippery to me. The trigger pull was better than the company’s 10-pound rating. Our sample had a 6.5-pound pull, though the last half-inch seemed to take a little extra effort.
I found the RM380 Executive’s reliability impressive. I wrote a separate article about it, so I shot it more than some of the other pistols in this test. Even with the extra rounds fired, it didn’t have a single hiccup. The pistol adeptly combined rock-solid performance with a sense of style, and it’s hard to ask for more than that.
