[Guest]

Beware that the extra pressure of the BB could cause your side plate to partially come out of alignment - not saying it will but that it could and it's not a serious issue. Just the top right corner of the plate came out of its groove on my gun after shooting BB. I pushed it backin with my finger no big deal but something you should be mindful of. A too hot round would no doubt blow the plastic plate out - that's a good thing, a squib is another thing altogether. Better the pressure is released this way (safely) than to have a kaboom with flying metal parts and possible injury.

Otherwise BB is safe to shoot in your P380.

 

[Guest]

kraigster,

How many rounds of BB had you fired in your P380 before that happened?? Wondering if just a few rounds will cause it.

og

 

[jocko]

Beware that the extra pressure of the BB may cause your side plate to partially come out of alignment. Just the top right corner of the plate came out of its groove on my gun after shooting BB. Not a big deal, I pushed it back in with my finger but something you should be mindful of. The side plate is designed as a safety valve. A too hot round will literaly blow the plastic plate out. Better the pressure is released this way (safely) than to have a kaboom with flying metal parts and possible injury.

Otherwise BB is safe to shoot in your P380.

I ain't buying that BB round causing yor side plate to pop out. You got a bad side plate IMO...

BB shows their 90 grain JHP in a kt (same barrel) at 1100 fps
and corbon shows the 90 grain JHP dpx in the kt (same barrel) at 1050 fps.

Not that the BB round is not one of the hottest out there but IMO it sure ain't critical enough to blow side plates off of the P380.

 

[Guest]

Hold the phone my esteemed Jocko. ....MV and pressure are not intertwined. You can have two different factory rounds (same bullet weight) leaving the barrel at the same speed with different pressure characteristics. Pressure is a factor of the choice of powder (slower burning powders are more "forgiving" all things being equal), amount of powder, amount of crimp, diameter of the bullet, seating depth, even the choice of primer. An extra grain or two of Bullseye for example could cause a dangerous pressure spike, depending on the caliber and with the tiny .380 there is not a large margin for error. Then there is always the possibility of a bad lot of ammunition (that's why I asked him for the lot number) - bad powder, incorrect charge, contamination, poorly mixed etc. all these things can happen. Reloaders are all too familiar with the factors that can make a difference between a safe round and one that is going to create problems. Going back to Bullseye, the difference beween the suggested starting load (w/ a 95 grain bullet) and the maximum load is only .3 grains. That shows you how little it takes to experience potentially dangerous pressures (ref: Speer Reloading Manual #14). There is also the possibiilty that metal/stress fatigue (with the gun itself) contributed to the kaboom though I seriously doubt it but I just want to illustrate how may variables could be involved. Rather than speculate further, let's see what additional information surfaces. For starters, I'd like to see photos and the lot number has to be called in to Magtech.

As for the side plate in the P380 you may be getting an extra margin of safety over other pocket .380s. It's possible that the Magtech +P round that caused the kaboom in the LCP would have simply blown the side plate out with less damage to th the gun. The pressure has to go somewhere and the side plate is a path of least resistence. With BB ammo, only the tiniest section of the side plate in my gun came out of alignment - top right corner, no big deal. And yes, Kahr indicated to me that hot loads could do this. A couple of rounds of BB was all it took in my case.

 

[jocko]

Then why would kahr even say the BB round is safe to shoot if it even has the slightest chance of blowing out the side plate.

that makes zero sense to me. they might say it is a pressure release feature but it was designed only to get those parts in the polymer frame which there is no other way to do it. the lcp and kt are not close to being as built as the P380 is even. You ight be right to,but I just don't believe it. but I sure won't screw with BB ammo if they are that sensitive in even the P380.

 

[Guest]

Jocko, it did NOT blow out my side plate. The top corner, an area about 1 mm in diameter came out of alignment. It could also have been a factor of how I held the gun, pressure on the plate (I am left handed), whatever. I do not believe the side plate was incorrrectly designed or needs to be replaced, it seems to fit fine, flush, no gaps. I am still loading BB in my P380 for carry and will continue to do so. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages IMHO.

 

[Guest]

To be clear Kahr told me that hot loads (like BB although safe to fire in the P380) could possible dislodge the side plate. Emphasis on could. I don't consider it a safety issue, at least it was not in my case. No harm to the gun, only the tinest section of the plate - the top right corner had to be pushed back in. And it might have been just the way I was gripping the gun. Plastic does flex - all in all that's a good thing.

 

[Guest]

All very interesting, but...
How is chamber pressure getting back there to the side plate area? The end of the cartridge, rim area, is where the ejection port starts and any excess gas getting past the body of the cartridge should be relieved there before it could build up pressure in the back of the pistol. At the moment of the slide moving back there is even a bigger opening to relieve gas pressure. I'm sure not clear on this. So it seems to me it's more like the slam of the added recoil that might be putting stress at the back of the pistol. And then added chamber pressure makes sense in terms of added recoil.

Maybe I missed it, but have you fired any BB in the LCP?? and what were the results??

Also, I suspect muzzle velocity should be lower with the P380 since the barrel is a tad shorter than the kt or LCP. Velocity is also a factor of barrel length, in addition to chamber pressure, etc., whatever.

I wonder if Kahr has actually fired any BB in a P380 and what were the results?

Sorry to have such questionable questions about the question! ;D

og

 

[jocko]

To be clear Kahr told me that hot loads (like BB although safe to fire in the P380) could possible dislodge the side plate. Emphasis on could. I don't consider it a safety issue, at least it was not in my case. No harm to the gun, only the tinest section of the plate - the top right corner had to be pushed back in. And it might have been just the way I was gripping the gun. Plastic does flex - all in all that's a good thing.

I'm left handed?? not arguing with you here kraingster, as it may seem but to me the BB rounds did not cause your side plate to pop loose, nor does shooting left handed . Not sure what all that excess pressure is doing back there at the back of the grip area either. would seem to me alot of velocity lost if that is the case and a very loose chamber also

 

[conchmariner]

First post, and I hope I don't ruffle any feathers by non-Kahr content.

I don't have a Kahr, but a Micro Desert Eagle. I don't want to hijack the thread, but this has me a little concerned since I have some BB rounds which I haven't tried yet in this gun. Is there a forum for MDE owners similar to this one or the LCP, or does anybody here know anything about using BB ammo in the MDE? Thanks guys.

 

[Guest]

All I would say is stay on top of this thread at our sister site:

http://elsiepeaforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=2435.0

Regartding the MDE, I have no firsthand knowledge of the gun, sorry. As for the Magtech Guardian +P, note the most recent posts in the above link. What occurred is consistent with firing a live round behind a squib or extreme metal fatigue but we still don't know for sure. Typically a +P round would not cause a catastrophic failure of this type and we have since had a report from another shooter who used the same Magtech ammo in his LCP with no problem. As for me, I continue to load BB in my LCP and P380 when the guns are used for primary carry until I see conclusive evidence that BB could cause a major failure without warning specifically in the less robust LCP (be mindful that Ruger does not sanction +P ammo in the LCP). 'Strictly a personal call on my part. I am not advocating for everyone and I no longer range fire BB in either gun.