Why are .380s so darn quirky?

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  • VERT

    Grandmaster
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    Seymour
    I am sitting here waiting on an appointment, mind wondering. Why do .380 autos seem to be so quirky and problematic. I have owned and shot a lot of .380s over the years. Everything from Walther PPK to little pocket rockets. Seen a lot of them at the range as well. I have yet see one make it 100+ rounds without hiccuping and I have handled a lot of guns. (I admit some ran OK with a few rounds.) Even a quick google search of the Glock 42 suggests some ammo pickiness. Why?

    my theories:
    1) low pressure round
    2) less expensive pistols built to a price point
    3) smaller pistols, I am beginning to think timing and such in small guns is tricky
     

    VERT

    Grandmaster
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    Yep I have shot (or witnessed) a couple P238s before. Both malfunctioned. Shot quite a few rounds through a P230 as well and it is a jamomatic. Glad to hear your Sig is working well. That is encouraging.

    edit: thinking back we had a lady with a 238 in class a couple of years ago. Gun ran pretty good overall. I remember it did have a fail to feed, but otherwise better then some of the little KelTecs and TCPs I see. +1 Sig
     
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    DustyDawg48

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    Most issues seem to be feeding related that I've seen. Maybe the smaller frame gives a steeper angle on the feed ramp and troubles occur? I'd also put crappy factory ammo on the list of possible culprits, too.
     

    BrewerGeorge

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    They're too little. By which, I mean the new crop of guns is too little. I owned a Beretta 84 for nearly 20 years and I can't remember it ever failing. But it was about the size of a G26 and weighed 5 oz more.
     

    halfmileharry

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    Yep I have shot (or witnessed) a couple P238s before. Both malfunctioned. Shot quite a few rounds through a P230 as well and it is a jamomatic. Glad to hear your Sig is working well. That is encouraging.

    edit: thinking back we had a lady with a 238 in class a couple of years ago. Gun ran pretty good overall. I remember it did have a fail to feed, but otherwise better then some of the little KelTecs and TCPs I see. +1 Sig
    Never had a problem out of my P3ATs. 4 of them now. Thousands of rounds without issue. 100% smooth as silk. I have a Mustang that runs 100% as well. WWB is a major FTF/FTE I have observed.
     

    VERT

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    Harry what ammo are you shooting? Last 380 we had puked on WWB and Federal AE & champion ammunition. It would run the UMC and PPU stuff ok though.
     

    VERT

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    They're too little. By which, I mean the new crop of guns is too little. I owned a Beretta 84 for nearly 20 years and I can't remember it ever failing. But it was about the size of a G26 and weighed 5 oz more.

    The Beretta 84 (I think also sold under the Browning brand) was a fine 380. The one time I shot one it handled fine. Not enough rounds though for me to form an opinion. I agree the new crop of guns are small. 380 has become associated with little guns. I will say the Bersa thunders I have fired have worked well. Again I did not get to shoot them for prolonged sessions. So maybe the 3.5" and longer guns with larger frames solve some issues.
     

    halfmileharry

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    Harry what ammo are you shooting? Last 380 we had puked on WWB and Federal AE & champion ammunition. It would run the UMC and PPU stuff ok though.

    S&B and MagTech are my favorites. Both are clean, consistent, and accurate. The MagTech JHPs run well in anything I've put them in.
     

    VERT

    Grandmaster
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    I had a couple of boxes of S&B 380s. They turned the Walther we had at the time into a single shot. They didn't work in a LCP either which is how I ended up with them. Been 15 years since I tried any of MagTechs products.

    I will share we no longer have any 380 pistols in the house. But the Glock 42 peaks my interest.
     

    halfmileharry

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    I had a couple of boxes of S&B 380s. They turned the Walther we had at the time into a single shot. They didn't work in a LCP either which is how I ended up with them. Been 15 years since I tried any of MagTechs products.

    I will share we no longer have any 380 pistols in the house. But the Glock 42 peaks my interest.

    I've found the S&B to be on the warm side and never had a cycle issue with them. I guess I've been lucky. I do admit to really holding on to the P3ATs. No way there's any limp wristing with them.
     

    Vamptepes

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    I have to say that my bersa has not had any problems In the 3 years I've owned it. Shot all kinds of ammo and reloads and nor problems. The only gun I own that is picky is a pr 1 but that is because the feed ramp is still rough.
     

    DustyDawg48

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    From what I can tell some of the earlier G42 models had issues. But it appears there is a fix and the newer models are 'fixed'. While not a lot of rounds, I've put over 200 rounds of different brands and hand loads through it without a single hitch. It shot as quickly as I could pull the trigger and when concentrating I could get some incredible groupings from the gun. It shot some Hornady Critical Defense rounds easily and it acted more like a .22 LR than a .380 with the recoil.
     
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