Does the CW380 need to be clean to be reliable?

[Rustle54]

I have used PMC 90 gr. FMJ to break in my new Cw380. During the first hundred rounds I had 4 failures to go into battery, one light strike and one stovepipe. All but one FTRB occurred on the second round with a full magazine and one in the chamber (6+1). Following suggestions here I greased the recoil springs lightly while cleaning to address the FTRB issue. Returning to the range for the second hundred rounds I had no FTRB, however the range rules prohibited loading more than five rounds in the magazine, and experienced three stove pipe failures. After the first occurred at about 40 rounds I noticed a lot of granular powder residue throughout the action and ran a bore snake through it. Again it fired fine for about 30-40 rounds and stove piped. I also brushed the rails off. After thirty more, finishing the second hundred I ran the bore snake through and tried self defense rounds using Federal Hydrashok LE 90 gr. the gun again stove piped at about 25 rounds.
I am not willing to carry this with its current performance but my question is has there been any experience with reliability being 100% with cleaning the bore and action every thirty rounds or so. This will be my next step since if that gives me perfect reliability over 100+ rounds by doing so i will consider carrying it since I would ordinarily carry a cleaned gun anyway. Should it be less picky about being cleaned? Should I just shoot it and if it continues to have such frequent issues without constant cleaning send it in for service.
Thanks
Russell

[DavidR]

Stovepipes are sometimes caused by not having a firm grip - but you probably already know that.

You should definitely keep it clean but if you can't get at least 50 rounds without a malfunction something is wrong. I would shoot it some more as you have just hit the 200 round mark.

My CW380 has battery problems that are related to ammo (flat nosed or wide mouth hollow points), not a dirty gun.

What did you grease the springs with?


Dave

[kwh]

I agree completely with Dave. Shoot more. Use different ammo. I know .380 a.c.p. is expensive and hard to find. With ammo it likes,my CW380 is 100%. It is still iffy with certain ammo. Hornady with the taper bullet profile seems to feed well. If PrecisionOne Ammo ever gets a supply of XTP bullets, that is a good one to try at a not too bad price. I also found out that a tight grip and a stiff wrist are not the same. My grip does not have to be overly tight, but a completely straight wrist is important in my CW.380. With the tiny pistol I would sometimes "cock" my wrist which could lead to a FTF. Keep us notified if you have more difficulties along the way or leave a smiley face if your problems disappear.

[smokersteve]

I've shot over 200 rounds in an outing with no issues with my CW380. And I shoot cheap ammo including steel. I think most feeding problems are mag related.

I fixed all 4 of my mags on my Kahrs before even shooting them. Here's what I did.
Took the mag apart to see if the follower when being pushed up rubs or catches at all when being pushed up by the spring. Every follower of mine did not go up smoothly so I took 400 grit paper and sanded the sides down on the follower until it would go up smooth. I also sanded the inside of the mags some including the inside of the lips at the top of the mag. Rolling sandpaper up on an ink pen works excellent for inside the mags. Some followers required more sanding than the others.

[KingWulfgar]

I put the first 100 rounds (flat nosed FMJ) through mine and had a handful of failure to go into battery on the first round. I took it home and gave it a quick wipe down on the exterior and a small, dry clean of the feed ramp (just what I could reach through the ejection port)--no real cleaning. The second time out, I used real round nosed FMJ (American Eagle) and it ran much better. Of course it's still in the break-in period, but mine seems to like the round nosed FMJ better. Clean/dirty didn't seem to matter as much as the ammo. The only time I got a stovepipe, I was one-handing it and not really locking it down well. I think even that will go away after breaking it in, though. It already feels "different" after only about 150 rounds.

I snagged some XTP PrecisionONe and it feeds well. I didn't have a single issue with it (although, it being hard to come by, I didn't shoot a ton of it).

[TheLastDaze]

did you clean the gun before you took it to the range the first time??

if you did you'll notice kahr uses an excessive amount of lube and I'm now am under the impression its there for a reason, these guns like to run wet...

I always clean any gun I get for the first time before taking it out shooting and think this may have been my problem with my 380 as I use minimal lube...

[ReManG]

I cleaned my CW380 prior to the first range trip. I have been using the Seal1 CLP paste and did the whole heat, apply, cool, wipedown routine twice before the first range session. My only issue was some Fiocchi ammo, but it was the ammo as even the flat point WWB cycled fine. The fact is that even dirty your CW380 went 25 rounds with your SD rounds before stove pipe fault occurred again, so that is four mags worth. Why would you doubt the effectiveness of your CW380 unless you were swapping mags for the fourth time in a gunfight? The whole reliability thing is between your ears, no matter how much you prepare and have a perfect weapon that goes bang on the range EVERY time, it could still misfire on the first round in a DGU..... then what? Practice clearing the jams and keep up the break in...

By the way, sorry you have such a crappy range that 5 rounds is all they let you load... that is some bad training to ingrain, only reload on slide lock and do not count your rounds, or you will be reloading every five....

Check out the Froglube/Seal1/Tracklube+ type of lubes, they seem to make clean up easier for me, and do pretty well as lube on my CW380. Good luck and let us know the outcome of your experience with your CW380....

[Rustle54]

Thanks for the replies.
DavidR-I used a light coat of Mobil 1 wheel bearing grease on the recoil springs and rod.
KingWulfgar-the PMC is FMJ round nose.
TheLastDaze-I did clean before first use. I used CLP on rotating parts and for surface coating and Mobil 1 grease, very lightly, on the sliding parts like rails. I was sparing with all lubricants so I will try it wet.

[KingWulfgar]

I cleaned it, but I wasn't crazy about it. Just field stripped it, sprayed it down with CLP, blew it out with compressed air, lubed the slide rails with some Shooter's Choice oil (I think), and reassembled. I don't go crazy about greases and crazy new types of lubricants. If it won't run with the basic cleaning/oiling, it's not going to be for me. I do tend to leave them a little bit on the wet side inside.

I'll look for some PMC. Honestly, at this point, I just buy whatever 380 I can find at a reasonable price. It's not exactly prevalent.

[muggsy]

During the break-in I cleaned my P380 every fifty rounds. You might try a new recoil spring to cure the failure to return to battery problem. Do disassemble and clean your mags and check to see if the followers are operating smoothly. I ran my gun wet during the break-in. Follow the instructions in the lube chart sticky.

[Longitude Zero]

A gun that is not reliable is a boat anchor in waiting.

[ReManG]

So what is a good indication of reliability? 10, 100, 1000 rounds with no failures? On EVERY trigger pull, you could have a failure, so pick a number for you and train to clear failures anytime you get one.... I personally would not trust a pistol I had not shot, over something like the OP has where at least two mags go between jams..... Would I work on that "reliability" yes, especially in a niche pistol like the CW380 that fits where others don't. just my opinion though...

[pbagley]

During the break-in I cleaned my P380 every fifty rounds. You might try a new recoil spring to cure the failure to return to battery problem. Do disassemble and clean your mags and check to see if the followers are operating smoothly. I ran my gun wet during the break-in. Follow the instructions in the lube chart sticky.

What muggsy said, and never carry a dirty gun. Care for it as if your life depends on it.

[GeezerD]

Accumulated dirt and fouling in a gun is one of the variables in operating conditions that we have some control over so why not keep it clean and feed it what it likes. Mechanical failure can happen on the first shot or shot #10000. If you mix dirt with oil it makes lapping compound = keep it clean. --------------------- GeezerD

[muggsy]

What muggsy said, and never carry a dirty gun. Care for it as if your life depends on it.

Couldn't have said it better myself.