Reassure me, Please...

[Ted A.]

Just bought a brand new P380 at a reputable dealer. Went out today shooting for the 1st time, and had a few (?5) FTF out of 220 rounds. I put thru about 100 winchester FMJ rounds, then about 100 Bronze/Brass (can't remember brand), then about 20 JHP rounds.

I think for the most part the shooting went well, very happy with how smooth the gun works. But it really has to be 100% (or darn close) if you're using it for self-defense. I know everyone says you have to pump 200 rounds thru it to start off, but those FTFs kinda were a little disconcerting.

I do think that they occurred when I tried to go 6+1; I put one in the mag, racked it, then popped the mag and filled it and put it back in the gun.. I would pull the trigger and ( - nothing - ). Would have to rack it again, pop out the "+1" and then the rest of the mag would fire without problem.

Can't be sure if it was an ammo thing or not. The Winchester's seemed to do well.


So... should I just ignore these FTFs (or failure to "shoot") and keep going with it?

Thanks in advance.

By the way, I have an "RB ____" series gun, but I hear they are now up to RC series. Is mine one of the "old" ones that had problems? Just wondering. I want to like this gun, but it's gotta be reliable.

[JERRY]

light primer strikes seem to be a regular thing (from what ive read here) with new P380s until they make a trip or two back to the factory.....unfortunately.

[spikedog]

Try giving it a good cleaning and read the stickies in the Tech section.

[Planedude]

Did your +1 round have a light primer strike or did the gun fail to cock? I have always loaded my +1 round by locking the slide open and dropping the round from the slide lock. It has worked every time for me (shrug) with WWB, Remington and S&B range ammo as well as all my SD ammo.
Don't give up on the P380 they are great carry guns when anything ealse is too big for your state of dress.

[JFootin]

Sometimes, a fairly new gun will fail to return to battery all the way, and that can prevent ignition. A little tap on the back of the slide is all that's needed to get it seated. Did you notice whether the slide had returned as far as it can go?

[wyntrout]

I just posted this on another thread:

I think that EVERYONE should go to kahr.com and watch the take down video for the particular pistol before doing any disassembly and putting the pistol back together. I think that a lot of problems are CREATED by improper assembly. There are several crucial areas and the biggest is reinsertion of the slide lock pin. This pin can be inserted outside the hole in the barrels lug and jam the pistol up... or incorrect insertion can damage the little spring that holds the pin in place or its free end which should rest on a ledge on the back of the slide lock to hold it down until the empty magazine follower pushes up the slide lock when the follower rises to the top as the magazine is emptied. The videos explain and highlight the proper procedure.

http://www.kahr.com/Videos.asp

There are many resources at Kahr.com to help you research... testing by gun and police magazines, and the F.A.Q.s are very helpful and will answer many of your questions:

http://www.kahr.com/faq.asp

There are a lot of links listed under Kahr-tech:

http://kahrtalk.com//showthread.php?t=210

Check these authoritative sources out and don't depend entirely on anecdotes and opinions here or any place else!

That said, I have had problems with my P380's, too. The last had a bad extractor. The "claw" rested on the breech face and the gun was operating as a blowback because the cartridge rims would not go under the claw and pushing the slide forward allowed it to usually fire but the case might not be ejected.

[wyntrout]

Also... you said you racked the slide. The recommended procedure is lock the slide back. Insert magazine and release the slide using the slide lock lever to chamber a round. This prevents any "riding" the slide... hanging onto it and reducing the force of the slide moving forward and not quite chambering the round fully. This is especially import with tight new Kahrs. A "proper" rack should work, too, but many add a bit of drag on the slide.

Wynn:)

[Ted A.]

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I've gone and recleaned my gun (using non-chlorine break cleaner) and oiled, and I think I'll be ready next weekend to put another 200+ rounds thru it.

I appreciate all your information. I'm new to this site, but it sure seems like you all are very helpful, and I'm going to read the Tech support sections and FAQs to get up to speed.\\

Cheers

[jocko]

Just bought a brand new P380 at a reputable dealer. Went out today shooting for the 1st time, and had a few (?5) FTF out of 220 rounds. I put thru about 100 winchester FMJ rounds, then about 100 Bronze/Brass (can't remember brand), then about 20 JHP rounds.

I think for the most part the shooting went well, very happy with how smooth the gun works. But it really has to be 100% (or darn close) if you're using it for self-defense. I know everyone says you have to pump 200 rounds thru it to start off, but those FTFs kinda were a little disconcerting.

I do think that they occurred when I tried to go 6+1; I put one in the mag, racked it, then popped the mag and filled it and put it back in the gun.. I would pull the trigger and ( - nothing - ). Would have to rack it again, pop out the "+1" and then the rest of the mag would fire without problem.

Can't be sure if it was an ammo thing or not. The Winchester's seemed to do well.


So... should I just ignore these FTFs (or failure to "shoot") and keep going with it?

Thanks in advance.

By the way, I have an "RB ____" series gun, but I hear they are now up to RC series. Is mine one of the "old" ones that had problems? Just wondering. I want to like this gun, but it's gotta be reliable.

this,,, that is a sh!tload lot of rounds in one outting for any shooter with such a smallass 380.It is so easy to get tired and not know it as u like what your doing. grip changes, etc, ..I am not saying it is shooter error but 5 rounds in 220 rounds does not seem like a gun issue. Certainly more rounds smooths out the gun alot to and the shooter and gun seem to mate up alot better. How about givng ur next outting a 50 round shoot doing all the things right and see what transpires. Light strikes IMO are usualy not shooter error,but one must release up on the trigger to allow it to reset, if noit ur gonna get light strikes.

Agood tourough cleaning of the slide internals is a good start, u need to eliminate all the possablilites before panicking. I would keep my shooting drills with the P380 to 50 rounds with a break in between. I would shoot fmj ammo until u feel good about the reliability then find a defense round and test out. If you have a shootin buddy, let him shoot 20 rounds to see how it does. If he produces alot of FTF's assume shooter error..