range report for P380 after trip to mother

[socialwork911]

here is the history...new 380..49th round locks slide, unable to rack..goes back to Kahr....3 weeks later...they said it had a cracked frame

went to range today, fired 150 rounds of federal chap. fmj...had 2 FTF on extened mag round 2, reg mag was perfect....after that all was great...some ejections up to my face..I can deal with a few..3-4 of 150 rounds?...nice groupings at 15 feet, no recoil and feels great in the hand

plan on going back to range later this week and put another 150 rounds in it

Just finished cleaning it..and it racks fine :)....dare I say mother fixed it:eek:

I hope so....generally 500 rounds w/o a problem means it's ready to carry..yes? what SD rounds should I use to carry? and how many of them should be shot, before it's ok to carry..those can be expensive. then the hunt for a holster...more fun

thanks to everyone here for their support during this ST time event for me...and continued support with these and other q's as they come up.

[Bawanna]

I do so love a happy ending.

I used to use 500 perfect rounds as a solid measurement that all is well and trustworthy.

With ammo cost, age progression, and a much careless attitude I've lowered to the 250 to 300 range depending on previous history.

Get 2 or 300 good out of it and I'd say your good to go.

I'm not up on carry ammo for 380's so I'll recuse myself from that part of the question.

[wyntrout]

If you want the "fiercest", get the Buffalo Bore 90-gr +P Gold Dots... the most powerful JHP you can get. It's not for everyone... like shooting +P or maybe +P+ 9mm, as far as recoil in the small package. Also the Speer Gold Dots or Winchester Ranger T's are good. I prefer the BB with bonded Gold Dots, which surpasses .38 special +P Gold Dots in performance.

Wynn:)

[jocko]

justmy 2 cents on this breakin with th P380. KEEP REANGE SESSIONS SHORT. 50-75 rounds and then go home, do it again if u so desire. This little bastard is so so small and light that asmuch as might enjoy shootingit, u get tired and then things happen and we balme the gun itself for whenmaybe it is a tired shooter andu just don't know it. This is a gonna be ur real deep down gun anyways, not IMO realy a range gun.

Keep sessions low in round count, bring along a bigger borterh to make it worthwhile. I think ur gun is good to gon now find a nice defense round and just stick with it.

Nice report.

[wyntrout]

The P380's seem more prone to malfunctions after 60 rounds or so, too. They want to be clean!

Wynn:)

[gasem]

In 380 I like BB 95gr fmj.

[mluikey]

I like the Underwood 90 +p

[gasem]

Mluikey are you using that ammo in a p380?

[socialwork911]

jocko, Bawanna(a special thanks), wynn....thanks for the tips..I will (try) to keep the range work to 50-100 rounds...I have my glock 17 that I always practice with too...usually put 200-300 rounds in that

seems like the lttle bastard is fixed :).......

so any other ammo rec's....also... what holster is rec? I think I prefer an OWB...I was looking into a PDAtype..anyone have eany exp. with those??? so which OWB do you suggest?...any paddle types?

thanks again...I do like a happy ending too

[josp]

I have great results with Corbon powerball. Over 1000 fps in the "little bastard".

I have the CT laser on mine, so pocket or ankle carry most times( custom pocket and unlce mikes ankle) but there are several holster makers here that can help you.

[wyntrout]

Check out Ballistics by the Inch. This is the 2010 retest with BB and most of the popular .380 pistols, including the P380.

The BB 90-gr +P JHP (Gold Dot) is the highest performing round they tried in .380. I like the Bonded GD's and BB really pushes them out this 2.5" barrel.

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/380auto2.html

Here are some of my posts on this:

http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=11845&highlight=Buffalo+Bore

http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=7216&highlight=Buffalo+Bore

Wynn:)

[GOOFA]

went to range today, fired 150 rounds of federal chap. fmj...had 2 FTF on extened mag round 2, reg mag was perfect....after that all was great...some ejections up to my face..I can deal with a few..3-4 of 150 rounds?...nice groupings at 15 feet, no recoil and feels great in the hand

FYI... your problems with the ftf's and poor ejection were do to the ammo. Federal Champion should never be used when breaking in or evaluating a new pistol, period. The ammo is mediocre at best.

[socialwork911]

FYI... your problems with the ftf's and poor ejection were do to the ammo. Federal Champion should never be used when breaking in or evaluating a new pistol, period. The ammo is mediocre at best.
thanks...what "breaking in ammo" should I use...and in general what ammo should I use just to practice at the range? buying ammo at walmart is cheap..not sure what any LGS sells and I'm sure their prices are sky high.

thanks again.

[JFootin]

FYI... your problems with the ftf's and poor ejection were do to the ammo. Federal Champion should never be used when breaking in or evaluating a new pistol, period. The ammo is mediocre at best.

GOOFA, you must have a bank vault for a gun safe! :D And your flikr photo albums are awesome to look at and drool over! :p Quite an impressive collection!

[wyntrout]

I've never tried the Federal Champion in my P380's, but it has worked for me in 9mm and .45. It worked okay in my P40 but after I had bought a box to try, I noticed the WARNING not to use it in compensated or ported pistols. Since I couldn't return it I went ahead and shot it without any problems.

I try to buy all ammo as cheaply as possible and look for sales, reduced or free shipping AND out of state for no taxes.

I use a LOT of Sellier & Bellot ammo... many 1,000's... Czech-made 92-gr brass-cased FMJ. I bought 2 cases earlier this year for $11.99 a box delivered. (SGAmmo.com 16 May 12)

I have used a lot of Herters, MFS, and Fiocchi FMJ... all brass-cased and made at Ozark, MO. They started just using the Fiocchi brass with some of the last batches I got.

I've tried a few other things, but these are the ones that I use the most, and I've bought some of that at Cabela's when they have sales and low or free shipping with orders over a certain amount. I've paid $13 or $14 a box shipped in those deals.

Go to some of those sites and get on their email lists for notices on deals. It pays off sometimes!

Wynn:)

[gasem]

I use freedom.munitions blaster 380 9 and 45 for range practice

[socialwork911]

for the 380..does it matter if the tip is flat or must it be round to avoid feeding issues???

[wyntrout]

I would only use round-nosed ammo and thoroughly check that defense ammo feeds reliably for CCW.

I do have Buffalo Bore +P 95-gr FMJ which is flat-pointed, and have had no problems with it. I got it to have for northern excursions where heavy clothing might be a hindrance to the deep penetration and expansion of regular JHP ammo, even the +P bonded Gold Dots By Buffalo Bore.

It's my opinion that the polymer based magazines can be gripped so that varying malfunctions occur as the magazine can be deflected slightly at the top with pressure on the bottom of the magazine. There's some slop at the top and if the mag's top goes right a bit, you get the top round jamming on the right side of the feed ramp... too much to the left at the top and you have premature slide lock backs. The metal-based mags are harder to influence, but a strong grip in that area could exert enough "influence". Again, my opinion, but something to think about.

I use my left thumb over my right thumb to keep it off the slide lock and mag release button.

Wynn:)

[socialwork911]

wynn..thanks..only round nose it is..i have seen some flat nose ones, but were hesitant to use dure to feeding issues...it seems many of the 380 ammo are flat nose though?

[wyntrout]

I usually avoid them, but I have tried a few brands of those... from Wally World. If given a choice I would only use brass (or Blazer-type aluminum) cased FMJ with rounded noses. The right side of the feed ramp seems to attract bullet noses and sometimes even the round ones stick there.

It seems that ALL .40 S&W is flat-nosed, unless you roll your own. I would definitely opt for round ones if they were available at the same cost.

Wynn:)

I've been getting misspelling indications that make me think I have the British version of FireFox for a browser... things like defence and aluminium are OK, but not defense and aluminum!!

Wynn:)

[JAAR]

I use the Buffalo Barnes 80 gr +P on my P380 as my defense round. It feeds reliably and is IMHO one of the best for .380. I wouldnt suggest flat nosed bullets, last time I used them it caused FTFeed 3 times out of 50 rnds. Congrats and good shooting.

[Cokeman]

I've never tried the Federal Champion in my P380's, but it has worked for me in 9mm and .45. It worked okay in my P40 but after I had bought a box to try, I noticed the WARNING not to use it in compensated or ported pistols. Since I couldn't return it I went ahead and shot it without any problems.

I try to buy all ammo as cheaply as possible and look for sales, reduced or free shipping AND out of state for no taxes.

I use a LOT of Sellier & Bellot ammo... many 1,000's... Czech-made 92-gr brass-cased FMJ. I bought 2 cases earlier this year for $11.99 a box delivered. (SGAmmo.com 16 May 12)

I have used a lot of Herters, MFS, and Fiocchi FMJ... all brass-cased and made at Ozark, MO. They started just using the Fiocchi brass with some of the last batches I got.

I've tried a few other things, but these are the ones that I use the most, and I've bought some of that at Cabela's when they have sales and low or free shipping with orders over a certain amount. I've paid $13 or $14 a box shipped in those deals.

Go to some of those sites and get on their email lists for notices on deals. It pays off sometimes!

Wynn:)

You need to alert us or at least me when you find these deals.

[GOOFA]

FYI... your problems with the ftf's and poor ejection were do to the ammo. Federal Champion should never be used when breaking in or evaluating a new pistol, period. The ammo is mediocre at best.


thanks...what "breaking in ammo" should I use...and in general what ammo should I use just to practice at the range? buying ammo at walmart is cheap..not sure what any LGS sells and I'm sure their prices are sky high.

thanks again.
Sellier & Belloit, Speer Lawman, WWB and Blazer Brass are a few you can try. Once your pistol is broken in and trouble free, you can use Federal Champion as long as you know that you may experience periodic malfunctions.