First Range Trip with P380

[awpk03s]

So I got a P380 a couple weeks ago:

http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=9950

And I finally got to get out and shoot it today after doing all of the "at-home" break in stuff.

I fired exactly 200 rounds, it was all the ammo I had. 50 rds of RWS 95gr FMJ, 50 rds of Remington 95gr FMJ, 50 rds of Federal 95gr FMJ and 50 rounds of Remington 102gr Golden Sabers.

I have owned a P380 previously, and my experience with this newer gun in it's first time out was similar.

- FTRB - too many times to count, I had to nudge the slide shut the last 1/4" of the way. This was exhibited mainly in the first 100 rounds, then it seemed to stop.

- FTE - Several times the empty case would get stuck in the ejection port, requiring a quick rack of the slide to eject it and chamber the next round. This happened less than 10 times, again mostly in the first 100 rounds.

- Light primer strike - This happened one time in the first 50 rounds with an RWS round. Re-chambered it and it fired just fine.

- Trigger dragging/sticking... At the end of the trigger stroke, the trigger would stick in the rearward position for a second and then flip back up to reset. This was highly prevalent in the first 50 rounds, then decreasing in the next 50, and by the second 100 rounds it was gone completely.

- Premature Slide lock back - this began occurring in the SECOND 100 rounds (101-200). It was not my grip, and I was not bumping the stop (I'm a lefty also by the way). Each time, a quick slingshot rack would send the next round in and it's good to go. It occurred with both of my 6 round mags, but not with my 7 round mag.

Accuracy was great, the Crimson Trace was great. The pistol itself had low recoil (I thought) and was enjoyable to shoot. I did NOT experience any brass to the face, which was a nice surprise.

The first 4 issues noted above, I feel can be chalked up to the break-in process. The last one however, premature slide lock back, is going to take some investigating on my end. When it was new and clean, I did not think that the mag follower was catching on the slide stop - however I need to recheck this. This is easily fixed with some quick file work on the follower to my understanding if that is the case... Another thought is that because this only happened in the second 100 rounds of shooting, that all the gunk and powder residue build up on the slide stop and/or follower or inside of the pistol in general - helped contribute to this issue. I had 100 trouble free (of this problem) rounds from a clean gun to start with, so this gives me some thought too. Very briefly, I took it down tonight and noticed the slide stop spring is a tad loose - so I may try to tighten it a bit if I can find the correct Torx driver.

I will say this - after 200 rounds this thing was FILTHY. There was nasty build up of powder/oil/grease/residue/etc all throughout the gun - everywhere.

So - tomorrow I plan to clean it all up and play around with it some more, and hopefully get it out and shoot it again to confirm it's track record.

I expected to have some issues in the break-in period, and as the FTRB/FTE stopped occurring the more I shot it, I am comfortable with that trend. The increasing of the premature slide lock is what gives me something to tinker with.

I have faith this will work into a fantastic CCW piece with more shooting.

[JFootin]

Could the premature slide stops be linked to one of those 4 brands of ammo? Maybe a slightly wider bullet nose could be bumping the slide stop lever, maybe the Golden Sabers. Like you said, some file work on the slide stop should help cure it. But selection of a carry round with thinner nose might not be a bad idea, either. A lot of guns are ammo sensitive, especially little micro guns.

[awpk03s]

That's a good point as well. On my way home from the range today, I stocked up on some more 380 ammo, some Hornady Critical Defense 90gr and some Cor-Bon DPX 80gr. I will examine them and see if there isn't more clearance...

[JFootin]

I believe there is good clearance with both of those rounds.

[awpk03s]

I did a deep cleaning of the P380 today, and as I mentioned above, it was seriously filthy. There was a great deal of residue and build up everywhere inside of the gun.

I found I did not have a proper size Torx driver to tighten the slide stop spring screw. It was noted to be a little loose? Touching the left (rear) side of it would engage play on the right (front) side of it. I will need to try and pick up some micro sized Torx drivers and try and tighten it a bit.

My main theory for the premature slide lockback though, now is that the bullets were touching the slide stop on the way up the magazine. Upon initial inspection of the gun, I loaded some mags and moved them in and out of the well looking at the slide stop and while at the time I did not notice any impact - now, with a completely filthy build up on the gun I can see that the tiny clearance gap that existed previously is now extremely prone to contact with bullets in the magazine. This makes sense since the premature slide lock backs only occurred later as I was shooting - and the gun was getting dirtier.

To me, this can be fixed in one of several ways. I can further polish and or file on the slide stop, or I can shoot bullets that have a wide gap of clearance to start with. I chose not to file and polish on the slide stop any further at this point - pending another range visit. However, when I inspected clearance (on a clean gun) using new ammunition, I noticed that the Cor-Bon 80gr DPX rounds do show clearance, but it is tight. Same is true of 95gr FMJ rounds, albeit more tight than the 80gr DPX.

The Hornady Critical Defense 90 gr FTX bullets however - have a mile of clearance due to the pointed profile of the bullet, there is no way these are going to contact the slide stop.

I need to go out and shoot a couple boxes of these, but in at least this initial test/inspection, I think I can say that these Hornady rounds are going to be the most reliable round of choice.

[jocko]

ur talking about a defense round s. find the one that fits perfect, works perfect with no mods needed and stick with it. Any of the rounds u mentioned are super rounds,just find the one that is best all around and stay with it. U can polish the inside of that slide stop till hell freezes over and ur not going to really take off any metal, so IMO do it, The slide stop spring NEVER really tighens either, just snug it up. a #5 torx can be bought signally at sears also. That springs serves two funcitons. The back side is what locks the slide stop in place from moving left and right. To loose of the screw can cause premature slide lockingopen to, so snug it and be done with it. One need not visit that critical area much. the screw won't work loose as it threads only into polymer, so strip it and ur screwed. SNUG works. The front (*pointed)( end serves to keept he slide stop lever in the downward position. To loose of a slide sop spring allows that slide stop to kind of wander up/down causing premature slide stop..
As long as the orunds pass by close, ur good to go, no contact that actually moves the slide stop lever even a tad is acceptable. Just screww it kand gind the good defense round that works great and go with it..:banplease:

[awpk03s]

Took it out again, and polished the feed ramp/chamber, slide stop, as well as the frame rails and ejector. Grease and oiled and reassembled - and now working the action and manually sling shot and ejecting rounds - this thing feels slicker than EVER.

May be too early to sing the victory song, but I think I've got a winner here.

Only complaint at this point - is the white rings on the Trijicon night sights are almost totally worn off.

[jocko]

wellu certainly did allu can to make that first outting a good one. Ur gonna come back and say THANKS GUYS.

[Cokeman]

Only complaint at this point - is the white rings on the Trijicon night sights are almost totally worn off.

Any idea why?

[awpk03s]

Not really... When I picked it up the "white" outlines were already kind of cream-colored, almost yellowish really. Now the front one is almost all worn off.

Can't decide whether to call Kahr and complain about it or not.

[Cokeman]

Let's see some pics of the sights.

What are you cleaning the gun with?

[Cokeman]

It's probably just paint. I think they are supposed to look like white dot sites in the light with centers that glow in the dark. Without the white paint, you wouldn't be able to see them well in the light. Here's a picture that I grabbed off the internet. I don't think it's mine.

http://i47.tinypic.com/244qkxf.jpg

[TucsonMTB]

http://www.bearbasin.com/trijicondiagram.jpg

[awpk03s]

I will have to get some pictures of the sights... give me a day or two and I will show them!

I use Mil-Comm MC25 cleaner, and lube with FP10.

On a side note, going back to that little torx screw and the slide stop spring... I bought the correct T5 driver today for this. I removed the screw, put a drop of blue loctite on it, and then re-inserted and snugged it up. I hope this will cure and prevent any issue of premature lock-backs (not caused by a wide bullet profile) in the future. Also polished the locking edge of where the barrel meets the slide a little bit.

This thing feels smooth as hot butter - but I need to get a chance to go out and shoot it again.