[Keepnbuzy]

I bought a new P380 a few weeks ago and maybe because I've always had revolvers and this is my first auto but It seems that my gun does not like ammo. Bought hollow points, won't load, so I sold them and bought "pointier" hollow points, Loads better but I'll have to get back to you after I shot someone to see if all 6 loaded correctly
Bought 3 boxes of 380's from Walmart last week and went to the range yesterday and spent most of my hour clearing jams.
Is this normal and I just need to find the "sweet spot" or should I be expecting more from a $650 gun?
Steve

 

[Toney]

Howdy!!! No it should work, you do know the little 380s are a little snappy, really need to hold on to make them work.

You know someone experienced with these little pistols? let them shoot it. If it still gives problems send it off.

 

[ron54]

Have you cleaned and lubed the gun well. Did it come with the feed ramp polished from Kahr. Reason I ask is that they can be fussy in the beginning, and you may want to run just FMJ's thru it for a couple hundred rounds before trying hollow points. When I got mine new i cleaned and lubed it well, then took it to a smith and spent $40.00 on a polish job. He polished the feed ramp, outside of the barrel and rails. After that the gun was still tight, but smooth as butter. Then took it to the range and fed it FMJ's, didn't have one FTF or FTE, she ran perfectly. The best $ 40 dollars I spent on it. You may want to consider trying it. And of course like Toney said in the previous post you must hang on tight, any limp wristing or weak grip can cause the gun not to cycle properly. Hope any of this helps.

 

[Keepnbuzy]

I've never shot a hollow point thru it yet, It has only been FMJ's and maybe 160 of them.
The polishing sounds like a good idea even though I feel a $650 gun should work.
Question: Aside from cleaning and the lightweight oil I use should I be using some type of white grease on the slide?

 

[ron54]

The grease really isn't necessary, and I don't think that would help your problem. You are right the gun should work, unfortunately they sometimes don't. Send it back to Kahr, let them get it going right. Once you get it shooting properly, it is a really great gun.

 

[navyrunner]

Put 480 rounds through my new P380 and still had issues. Sent back to Kahr. Gun came back and I have 350 rounds through the gun with no issues. I like the ideas mentioned above. may do that as well for good measure! I do know Kahr's take a few rounds to break in. My CM9 was horrible for the first 200 rounds. Absolutely flawless since then!

 

[cloud]

in the article it talks about the best ammo to use in the p380.

Kahr P380 ? Range Report




The P380 is extremely ammunition sensitive though, and if you run into a bad comment about them online, most likely ignorance of this fact is the source of the complaint. Right now, the cheapest .380ACP range ammo that you will find at Wal-Mart is white box Winchester, and it has a flat point. The P380 is a shirt pocket gun and it is extremely squat at 4.9 inches long. This requires a steep feed ramp, and it doesn’t like ammo with a flat point. With the flat point Winchester, as well as any flat hollow point or flat nosed bullets, you will get failures to feed occasionally, and hollow points with wide flat noses with leaves in the jacket won’t feed at all.

 

[62strat]

I love my K9 and two PM9's. No problems at all with break in. I trust them.
I just sold my P380 after going through a 9 month ordeal hoping the thing would work reliably. After multiple trips back to Kahr and a second replacement that still had serious problems with FTF and not going into battery I'm done. I had numerous experienced shooters try it at the range with various types of ammo. It shouldn't be a momentous event when a gun makes it through a full magazine. I cleaned the gun thoroughly and lubed it correctly. Cycled the slide manually hundreds of times. Just when I thought it was going to be okay, back to the same frustrations. Finally realized it was never going to be good and that I would never be able to trust it. PM9 isn't that much larger. Disappointing though I really wanted that 380 to work.

 

[Toney]

Howdy!!!....

 

[ron54]

It's unfortunate when you buy a new expensive gun and it just won't run reliably. Sometimes even after break in or trips back to the manufacturer. The reality is when you get the size down to subcompact, you end up bending the laws of physics. Small size, very tight tolerances, very little mass, tight angles / steep feed angles, very strong tight springs to compensate for some of these attributes. Every manufacturer deals with these components. How they address them can vary, but they all have the same issues. Ftf's, Fte's, stovepipes, light primer strikes....etc. If you check around the Internet and other various forums, most of these problems are from subcompact or compact guns. And you will see most if not all gun makers represented. The list is a long one, Beretta nano, Kimber solo, Keltec p3at, Diamondback db380, Ruger Lcp, Sig p238, Kahr p380, Colt pocketlite, S&W bodyguard, Glock 27, Para hawg....!!!! And that isn't a complete list, just what came to my mind here. So these issues are a result of creating a product that pushes the limits of a physical characteristic (size). Most times we get a perfectly functioning gun, and other times nothing but issues.........!!!!!!!!

 

[Toney]

Howdy!!!...

 

[ron54]

Sorry to hear about your problems with the gun. If you have had the gun that long I'm sure you have been online checking for a solution to its issues. If you have done all the right prep and run 500 rounds thru it, you are right it should run properly. So I would guess that you have done all that you can. You have already sent it back to kahr once, sounds like you need to contact them again and send it back. As for being new on our forum...... welcome. We are here to help if we can and glad to do so. I understand your frustration at this point, keep in mind we didn't do you wrong here. And if you want to vent, you already have. So going forward if you want to talk about issues, please ask if anyone that has had the same issues, what they did, how and if they were able to resolve them. A trashing the gun and or kahr session does no one any good !!!!

 

[Toney]

You know, small hard to shoot guns aren't for everyone.

 

[ron54]

You know, small hard to shoot guns aren't for everyone.

Agreed !!!
Seems that I have seen you post that before..................and probably will again !!!!!

 

[Toney]

I haven't had any experience with the night sights.
I'm a big fan of the hoppes elite oil and tetra gun grease.

 

[ron54]

Everyone has their opinion on night sights for a self defense gun. Most of the time I would think in a true self defense situation, when you pull out your weapon you will most likely only have time to point and shoot. Sights won't be a factor at all. That said I personally like a tritium sight on the front, so in a dark situation at least can see tip of gun if time allows. It is what you feel comfortable with. As for lube I switched from CLP to FrogLube CLP a couple of months ago, and am giving it a kind of long term trial. So far I like it a lot, I have a post called FrogLube, you can go back and read it. But again there are a buttload of tried and true products out there and each one has many hardcore fans that use the product and like it enough not to try something else. So it becomes what you kind of start with and get used to..........just like guns there is no best one.........

 

[jobe1650]

My CM9, P9, P40 and CW45 all work fine, but threads like these make me cautious about a .380. I live in the wide open West. Because of that and from direct military and other experience, I zero all handguns at 50 yards, so the Kahr's decent sights are important to me. However, I am aware of how tight and critical everything is inside of small autos, so until the .380's begin to perform like the larger Kahrs, I will continue to carry my NAA Black Widow as a "better than nothing" tiny gun.

 

[ron54]

You got it, like I said earlier in the thread about small guns issues, then later Toney said small hard to shot guns aren't for everyone as they are truly harder to shoot. You pointed out all your larger Kahrs all work fine. Most of the issues you see in the posts on the site here are for the little p380. And if you belong to other sites and check its the same thing with other makers subcompact small guns. Sadly its the nature of the beast. I'm glad to see you understand...............

 

[ron54]

Good to hear your over the hump so to speak, once those p380s run well they are terrific guns. Sometimes it may take a trip or two back to kahr, and that is no fun when they are one expensive little gun. If the ammo you were shooting worked well for you, might want to continue its use or stock up on it if you can. These guns can be ammo sensitive, though others will shoot just about anything. Anyway good luck and finally enjoy it !!!!

 

[Toney]

I haven't hearted about similar problems with the Ruger LCP or the Sig Sauer .380
Anyway, I'm done complaining, my P380 seems to finally be working right. Last 100 rnds or so and no jams so I'm happy. They sent me a new magazine so I think that was the problem. Sukz that it took 8 months to get it right.

Sweet!!!....