Ryan,
Thanks for that detailed response. It's much appreciated. I asked because at one time I packed a P11 9mm as my BUG. Had it for over a decade. With the factory belt clip it slid nicely inside my pants. Very reliable as it went bang every time I pulled the trigger. BUT it was an absolute POS to shoot.... long heavy trigger pull despite being fluffed 'n buffed. It simply didn't lend itself to any decent range time so although reliable it wasn't a second nature BUG. My son has it now and with his bigger hands loves it. Go figure
I also had an AMT 380 Backup II which was one of the good ones they built. But it too was not ergonomically friendly for my hand requiring a major grip shift for my thumb to be able to snick off the safety. It also was a POS to shoot at the range. After well over a decade of ownership it got traded in on a Mossy 500.
The P238 is a different kettle of fish. Fun to shoot. Very accurate. Great ergonomics. Easy to carry concealed condition one and deploy quickly. An excellent BUG. I too use it as a prime when my CCO (stoked with Winchester Ranger RA45TP 230gr +P JHP) doesn't make sense to carry. It may not be a 9mm but the little 380 works as a close range defensive caliber especially with Buffalo Bore 27A 100gr +P hardcast flatnose or Winchester Q4206 95gr JHP-FN. BTW mine is a basic Nitron without nite sights with a build date of May '10. I'm quite pleased with the CCO/P238 combination. I had flirted with the notion of the new Kahr CM9 (cheaper version of the PM9) simply for the 9mm chambering but that has long since passed. Your experience simply reaffirms that my thinking was spot on!