CW380 200 Round Break-In

[SafetyFirst]

For the first 100 rounds I used Winchester 95 grain Flat Nosed rounds. Had about 7 failures to fully load next round with most happening during the first 50 rounds.


The second 100 rounds did not go as well as the first 100 rounds. Bought different ammo to see if my few failures to go into full battery may have been due to the flat nosed ammo used during the first 100 rounds. This time I started with a box of Perfecta 95 grain FMJ. Unfortunately these always failed to load properly. Each round always had issues loading properly and I had to fiddle with each round. The second brand I tried was Tula 95 grain FMJ in steel cases. Kahr says not to use steel case ammo but these ran the best to date in my CW380. I did have a few rounds that failed to go into full battery but not as many times as the flat nose ammo did during the first 100 rounds.


I still like this gun very much for what it offers:




Great size and weight for pocket carry
Nice stippling on front and back of grip
Very nice wide trigger, clean breaking, long pull but not too heavy
No external safety
Slide locks open after last shot
Steel magazine
Extremely accurate for such a small gun
Decent sights for such a small gun
Mild recoil for such a small gun
Hands felt fine after 100 rounds
Slide always locks back after last round
No spent case ejection issues
Easy takedown and cleaning
Made in the USA



After reading many posts on this forum I will try some of the ammo brands/types others have had success with. The ammo I used during the first 200 rounds was just the easiest to aquire in my area. If I can find the right ammo so that the gun is 100% reliable then I will be a happer camper. If not, will need to look for a better pocket carry option.

[SlowBurn]

Try Blazer Brass.

[Coppertop]

Once I sent the CW380 back to Kahr twice to get the slide lock fixed, I had the best luck with Hornady's Critical Defense Rounds. Asides from one issue that I believe was more an issue with a magazine than anything else, they feed reliably.

[SlowBurn]

Perfecta is a Fiocchi line I believe. I've had no luck in my Kahr 380s with Fiocchi FMJ nor with flat nose FMJ. Everything else runs fine for me.

[DavidR]

I think you inadvertently picked some of the ammo that consistently performs poorly in Kahr's 380. You may have better luck with brass cased FMJ and Hornady Critical Defense.


Dave

[MurrayNevada]

I've had good luck with 90gr XTP from Precision One and Hornady. Fiocci Extrema 90gr XTP will not run in my P380.

[jocko]

For the first 100 rounds I used Winchester 95 grain Flat Nosed rounds. Had about 7 failures to fully load next round with most happening during the first 50 rounds.


The second 100 rounds did not go as well as the first 100 rounds. Bought different ammo to see if my few failures to go into full battery may have been due to the flat nosed ammo used during the first 100 rounds. This time I started with a box of Perfecta 95 grain FMJ. Unfortunately these always failed to load properly. Each round always had issues loading properly and I had to fiddle with each round. The second brand I tried was Tula 95 grain FMJ in steel cases. Kahr says not to use steel case ammo but these ran the best to date in my CW380. I did have a few rounds that failed to go into full battery but not as many times as the flat nose ammo did during the first 100 rounds.


I still like this gun very much for what it offers:




Great size and weight for pocket carry
Nice stippling on front and back of grip
Very nice wide trigger, clean breaking, long pull but not too heavy
No external safety
Slide locks open after last shot
Steel magazine
Extremely accurate for such a small gun
Decent sights for such a small gun
Mild recoil for such a small gun
Hands felt fine after 100 rounds
Slide always locks back after last round
No spent case ejection issues
Easy takedown and cleaning
Made in the USA



After reading many posts on this forum I will try some of the ammo brands/types others have had success with. The ammo I used during the first 200 rounds was just the easiest to aquire in my area. If I can find the right ammo so that the gun is 100% reliable then I will be a happer camper. If not, will need to look for a better pocket carry option.

why not try plishing the feed ramp and chamber. If u have a dremel, it is a no brainer. No dremel, just wrap some 1000 grit paper around a dowel and smooth away. Ur not taking off any metal and it might look shinny and smooth but, if it goes back to kahr they will indeed polish the ramp,. You never know until you try...shoot good american brand ammo, I hate to look at the flat nose ammo in such a small gun, , sureit is supposed to work but by and large, alot have issues with it. It just looks iffy to me. sometimes it just takes more rounds down range to get the bugs out, and basically to let the recil springs take their designed set, and the action itself to wear in/out any sots of friction. do check to see if your mag spring is in correctly. don't be in a hurry to send it back yet. I hate to tell you to test it out with 20 rounds of good defense ammo, but sometimes a new gun needs that hotter ammo to work the action faster and to get the reliability needed....keep your sessions short, 50 rounds, so u don't get tired and then things happen tha tis not the guns fault. Have u read the PROPPER PREPPING THREAD? Might be some tips there thatyou can do yourself...good luck and keep the forum posted, we have some very wise guys here that can help you.

[timboy]

I would find some better ammo and try it,nothing too expensive(ie.expensive self defense rounds)but a reputable brand round nose should be sufficient to break it in.
Perfecta is known to be bad juju in these guns,some feed the winchester flat nose fine(mine does),others do not.

[happypuppy]

It's the ammo. Use a different one. Take the Fiocchi round and measure with a few rounds in the box. Compare it to critical defense or Remington

I think you will see why you have problems.

[DXTAC]

Buy some PPU online. That's what I broke my CW380 in with along with Polycase ARX for carry. I am not kidding, I have not had a single issue ever. I did run one box of Federal aluminum without a hitch as well.

Cheers,

Derek


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DavidWJ]

My CW9, I know it's not a .380, has been flawless at over 200 rounds with round nose FMJ reloads. However, my Colt .380 has never fed hollow points correctly, although round nose feed flawlessly.

[marchboom]

Just finished putting 200 rounds thru my CW380. The first round from the first and second magazines failed to chamber correctly (probably my fault while releasing the slide) but after that every round fed and ejected properly. Never a problem. These rounds were my reloads using Rainier 100 gr FMJ plated bullets, Starline cases and 231 powder. Overall length was .975" The action seemed to get smoother as it got past the 150 rn mark. Group size was about 1 7/8" at 15'. Have no complaints about this gun. Small, light, reliable, quality made.

[Pointblank]

My experience with my CW380 was that just at the point I thought it would never break in, it suddenly smoothed out and has become 100% dependable. I tried some Precision One XTP +P for the break in and I think it helped. These days I just carry the regular Precision One or the Hornady Custom XTP in it.

[TheLastDaze]

Perfecta is garbage and is out of spec I made a thread about it but since its been handloaded a few times/ resized and my chamber has been bored out it will feed... these 380's are probably one of the most expensive out there as uou may spend a ton of money before you can 'consistantly' at least fire 100 rounds with zero malfuntions, and yes ftrb even ever so slightly..if it doest go bang it doesnt get carried...period, there are far more proven guns for this caliber that will

[SafetyFirst]

After what I would consider a dismal 200 round break-in, I scoured the forums for ammo that others have had success with and tried some. Now I am a happy camper. This gun is VERY picky regarding ammo but once you find the right combination it is everything that I hoped it would be – a great pocket carry gun.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice.

[muggsy]

The rim of some foreign made ammo is slightly thicker than ammo manufactured to SAAMI specs in the USA. If the extractor on your gun is a little on the tight side you will experience failures of the slide to go into full battery.