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View Full Version : Michael's P380 Follow up Range Report...



Michael W.
06-11-2010, 04:15 PM
As some of you may remember my first outing with my P380
last week was somewhat disappointing to me due to the
couple of failures I got in the first 100 rounds.

The handful of failures in and of itself is probably right in the
realm of the status quo for the 200rd break in but I guess I'd
gotten spoiled by my PM9, PM45 and CW40 in how they functioned
near flawlessly right out of the box.

Plus I was disappointed to not have brought enough ammo to complete
the break in process. I even went out to check if the range counter
had any 380......yep they sure did........$24.......per 25!!!
So needless to say, I quit.

After getting home I ordered some S&B ball ammo from A1 Ammo at a
reasonable price and it was sitting on my doorstep when I got home from my
trip to NY yesterday afternoon.

So today, I decided to take the little P380 for the rest of the break in session.
But first I decided to give the feed ramp and throat a little extra polish with
a slow dremel and bullet felt tip with some metal polish. Then I buffed
up the stripper a tad and for good measure hit the extractor and breach face
with the dremel as well. I also decided to run it a little "wetter" today with a
few extra drops of FP-10 in the right places.

I shot 200 rds of S&B today and I'm happy to report it was a fabulous
session. I did have a few failures but they were all shooter induced
and mainly were of the "nudged the slide stop" variety. But she fed
and ejected like a champ today. At 100rds I ran a bore snake through
it and put a few drops of remoil on the slide rails before continuing
the session . I am extremely pleased at how well this little 380 shoots.
Ergonomically leaves everything in it's class (ie, LCP, P3AT, etc) in the dust.

So with a tad over 300 rds through her I think she's ready to join her
siblings already doing duty in the carry arsenal. Between my Glock26, PM45,
PM9 and P380 I think I've got just about every CCW scenario I can think of
covered. Since getting into these Kahrs I am more in the position of "always
carrying" than I've ever been before.

Here's an updated family portrait....

http://www.fototime.com/57C671D4AFD5374/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/8CDE790849831A3/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/23208D3E2DE0352/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/802836987138810/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/797CC04E41D2BE9/orig.jpg

Locked and loaded with my carry load, the Hornady Critical Defense .380
http://www.fototime.com/27770E27CEA9407/orig.jpg

The more astute of you may notice that I did not include the CW40
in these portraits. That's because it's going on the block in order
to partially fund this P380. As much as I love the CW40 it overlaps
the PM45 and PM9.

Michael-

Bawanna
06-11-2010, 04:39 PM
Wynn will be so proud of you, photo's showing hollow points in the barrel. Nice pics, sorry your 40 being put up for adoption but I can't criticize, I think my K40 is going on the block too maybe. I just hate parting with stuff. Always hate myself afterwards. Sometimes I hate myself just thinking about it, I hate myself right now for example and I'm not even sure why...........

wyntrout
06-11-2010, 04:44 PM
Hey! Nice catch, Bawanna. I missed that. I like the little red glow reflection from the polymer filler on the CD in the P380.
Nice report Michael and congratulations on your CCW addition.
Wynn:D

cgo99
06-11-2010, 04:45 PM
I'm glad everything worked out with your P380, that a very nice family portrait. I also noticed the hollow points in the barrel, quite the picture.

wyntrout
06-11-2010, 04:51 PM
Michael, how does the CD compare with the S&B. I originally intended to use CD, but decided to go with the Buffalo Bore 90-gr +P, so I sold the CD before I ever got the P380... remember the 11 month wait?
The BB is like 9mm CorBon +P. The Talons are pretty mild... about the same as the S&B.
Wynn

Michael W.
06-11-2010, 05:03 PM
Perhaps this is the picture that I *should* have taken.

All 3 HP's visible.

My carry loads from left to right, 230gr Federal HST, 147gr Federal HST,
90gr Hornady Critical Defense.

And I'm sure someone out there's going to be offended that I was
reckless enough to get in front of 3 loaded guns...to which I will reply
in advance that "gun's don't jump up an kill people"...........:)

Michael-

http://www.fototime.com/3B9CA41F9CE2D49/orig.jpg

Michael W.
06-11-2010, 05:15 PM
Michael, how does the CD compare with the S&B. I originally intended to use CD, but decided to go with the Buffalo Bore 90-gr +P, so I sold the CD before I ever got the P380... remember the 11 month wait?
The BB is like 9mm CorBon +P. The Talons are pretty mild... about the same as the S&B.
Wynn

I didn't shoot any of the CD's today since I'm already certain they will feed
from the last range session. They're very much designed to feed well with the
aggressively ramped ogive.


But from my impressions, the S&B was a much higher quality ammo than
the box of PMC Bronze I shot. I'd say about on par with Fiocchi which is
probably my favorite FMJ. The CD's were slightly stouter than both but not
by much. I'm not completely convinced that +P out of a 2.5" barrel is
worth the muzzle blast and recoil but it would be interesting
to see some performance tests on that subject. Having said that, I'm
not completely convinced that the Hornady CD will always expand and get to
10" of penetration either...heh. So I suppose when it comes to the 380
I subscribe to the Louis Seecamp Pocket Gun Combat methodology of "you
stick it in their face and pull the trigger.."....:)

M-

Bawanna
06-11-2010, 05:27 PM
Perhaps this is the picture that I *should* have taken.

All 3 HP's visible.

My carry loads from left to right, 230gr Federal HST, 147gr Federal HST,
90gr Hornady Critical Defense.

And I'm sure someone out there's going to be offended that I was
reckless enough to get in front of 3 loaded guns...to which I will reply
in advance that "gun's don't jump up an kill people"...........:)

Michael-

http://www.fototime.com/3B9CA41F9CE2D49/orig.jpg

I think I'm getting a chubby. I also know now what it's like to be in front of a firing squad. Guns' don't jump up and kill people? When did that news come out? Great photo, I'm not offended, I'm honored. If theres an earthquake during the photo session break right and know the drop safety's will save the day, or not!

wyntrout
06-11-2010, 05:53 PM
Thanks, Michael. The BB is no fun to shoot, but I think the BG's will like it even less. I switched to the Winchester Ranger "Talon". It's cheaper in 50-round boxes and easier to hold on the target or make follow-up shots, and it's supposed to perform well, too.

Oh, yeah, the second picture is much better! You should have heard or seen the outcry when I posted pix of the hollow point nestled in my PM9. I took it for my avatar.

Wynn:D