Ammo selection for P380

[Monolith]

It would be great to know what other P380 owners are discovering concerning ammo selection for their gun.

Since I bought the P380 on August 4, 2009 I have put 423 rounds through it. Some ammo runs better than others.

Here is the breakdown:

Qty Brand
64 Blazer Brass 95gr FMJ - No problems
131 American Eagle 95gr FMJ - Approx 25 slide lock opens
100 Winchester 95gr FMJ - No problems
25 Federal - Low recoil Personal Defense - No problems
45 Remington Golden Saber - 9 slide lock opens, 3 jams going into chamber
11 Cor-Bon 90gr JHP - No problems
47 Speer Gold Dot - 4 slide lock opens, 1 stove pipe
423 Total

Note: I only tried limited quantities of some brands, so my report of "No problems" might not be a good indicator of reliability! Ideally I would put through 200 rounds of a given self defense load without any failures to really gain a level of dependability.

[jocko]

yr slide locking opens on most allthose rounds is because the bullet ishitting the slide lock lever on the inside and pre engaging the slide lock lever. Call kahr and have them send you a new lever.

I cannot shoot 102 grain golden sabres at all , as the rounds hit the inside of t he slide lock lever causing pre mature slide locking open. all else works great. I would also say u may need more rounds down range to get it running perfect to.

A good way to check to see if Iam right aboutt he slide lock lever, is to take the slide off and then insert a loaded magazine with any rounds you think you want to test out. Look and see inside what that bullet is doing concernng hitting the slide stop lever. If it hits, it will pre engage. Not a hellof alot of room inside this small gun for the auto slide stop lever to do its thing but for most all rounds it is perfect. I went to the corbon 90 grain hp and it works and clears perfectly. I would think u should have no issues with fmj ammo at all.

Very easy test to check out though.

there are only two ways for that slide stop to engage.

#1, Your thumb is hitting it causing it to engage
#2 Bullets are hittingon the inside causing it to pre-engage

other than that, nothing can cause what is happening. if u had the slide stop lever over that little springy thing on the left side, it would engage every time, so you are good to go there.

[Monolith]

Hi Jocko, and thanks for the reply.

I did wonder if my thumb was hitting the slide lock lever during recoil, so I held it straight out for a bunch of shots... no improvement, the slide stilled locked open.

Your assessment is correct about the slide lock. Certain brands of ammo definitely interfere with the slide lock. After 290 rounds I did contact Kahr tech support, and they sent a new slide lock that was apparently buffed more than the original. This brought remarkable improvements with my limited testing. Now I wait until my backordered defense ammo arrives to really test things out

[Jeff00042]

My P380 with 1300+ rounds through it now feeds everything but Golden Sabers. The Golden Sabers won't reliably chamber, even from slide lock! I've settled on Hornady Critical Defense as my #1 choice. In contrast, my LCP has always fed everything from day one.

[Monolith]

Jeff00042, thanks for the reply. I am happy to hear that your P380 is running so well. I look forward to trying Hornady Critical Defense and more of the COR-BON 90 gr (as Jocko uses). COR-BON 90 gr JHP did not work in my LCP, but the 11 rounds I had on-hand worked fine in the P380.

I have the following brands on backorder, and look forward to trying them out and reporting back here (the backorders on these span from this month until the end of November).

Hornady Critical Defense .380 Auto 90 Gr. FTX
Hornady Pistol .380 Auto 90 Gr. JHP / XTP
Speer Gold Dot .380 Auto 90 Gr. GDHP
COR-BON Pistol / Rifle Self-Defense .380 Auto 90 Gr. JHP
Federal Premium Hydra - Shok .380 Auto 90 Gr. HSJHP

[Rogereh]

Just yesterday I finally got to shoot my new P380. I worked at putting the required 200 break-in rounds through it with the limited rounds that I could find to purchase.

Started with a 100rd box of WWB from WallyWorld. I was worried about the flat-nosed rounds feeding correctly. No problem, they all feed and fired perfectly.

Next came a 100rd box of Remington JHP. Two rounds didn't fire and I had one or two mis-feeds. Was thinking that maybe the hollow points maybe were causing the problem so after 50rds I switched to a 50rd box of Remington FMJ. Pretty much the same results, one mis-fire and one or two jams in 25rds. I was now thinking that maybe the gun was getting too dirty. I still had an unopened box of American Eagle's so I put 25 more rounds to finish up my break-in. Surprisingly they all fired perfectly and were the best for accuracy. Several right in the X-ring at 7 yds. It definitely likes the Eagles the best. Finished up with one clip of Hornady Critical Defense to make sure that they would function okay as I want to use them for defense carry. They fed like butter.

I stopped in at D-i-c-k's on the way home and all they had for the 380 was a 250rd box of UMC for $89. I really didn't want UMC's as they seemed to not like my little gun but I thought I better not pass up a chance to get some 380s so I bought them.

The Kahr P380 is a fun gun to shoot, even after 200+ rounds. All magically appeared in about 6 inch circle at 7 yds (even some one0handers). The Am Eagles were popping in at about a 2" group. 200 rounds pretty much left little to see of the target
~ROGER

[jocko]

Jeff00042, thanks for the reply. I am happy to hear that your P380 is running so well. I look forward to trying Hornady Critical Defense and more of the COR-BON 90 gr (as Jocko uses). COR-BON 90 gr JHP did not work in my LCP, but the 11 rounds I had on-hand worked fine in the P380.

I have the following brands on backorder, and look forward to trying them out and reporting back here (the backorders on these span from this month until the end of November).

Hornady Critical Defense .380 Auto 90 Gr. FTX
Hornady Pistol .380 Auto 90 Gr. JHP / XTP
Speer Gold Dot .380 Auto 90 Gr. GDHP
COR-BON Pistol / Rifle Self-Defense .380 Auto 90 Gr. JHP
Federal Premium Hydra - Shok .380 Auto 90 Gr. HSJHP

rounds listed should be good to go in ur P380. Even if they all feed great with no issues, again retest with the slide off to see if any of the brands are indeed hitting that slide stop lever. If they are, even ever so slightly, I think I would pass on them for my defense carry.
I really think most every brand u listed there and the bullet weight will be good to go.

[jocko]

[QUOTE=Rogereh;1729]Just yesterday I finally got to shoot my new P380. I worked at putting the required 200 break-in rounds through it with the limited rounds that I could find to purchase.

Started with a 100rd box of WWB from WallyWorld. I was worried about the flat-nosed rounds feeding correctly. No problem, they all feed and fired perfectly.

Next came a 100rd box of Remington JHP. Two rounds didn't fire and I had one or two mis-feeds. Was thinking that maybe the hollow points maybe were causing the problem so after 50rds I switched to a 50rd box of Remington FMJ. Pretty much the same results, one mis-fire and one or two jams in 25rds. I was now thinking that maybe the gun was getting too dirty. I still had an unopened box of American Eagle's so I put 25 more rounds to finish up my break-in. Surprisingly they all fired perfectly and were the best for accuracy. Several right in the X-ring at 7 yds. It definitely likes the Eagles the best. Finished up with one clip of Hornady Critical Defense to make sure that they would function okay as I want to use them for defense carry. They fed like butter.

I stopped in at ****'s on the way home and all they had for the 380 was a 250rd box of UMC for $89. I really didn't want UMC's as they seemed to not like my little gun but I thought I better not pass up a chance to get some 380s so I bought them.

The Kahr P380 is a fun gun to shoot, even after 200+ rounds. All magically appeared in about 6 inch circle at 7 yds (even some one0handers). The Am Eagles were popping in at about a 2" group. 200 rounds pretty much left little to see of the target


striker channel spiffy clean. that is what that little hole is for in the bottom of the slide, just insert your spray nozzle of what ever brand of cleaner u use and spray away. fluids willcome out of both ends. DO NOT OIL THE STRIKER CHANNEL. that only adds to gumming up faster .

eash to his own for a god spray but I have paid enough big bucks for gun scrubber brand cleaner, which is good stuff. If u go to NAPA and buy the #m (black can #08880) high pressuere non cholorinated brake claner that stuff is the same stuff but far less in price, $under 3 bucks and much more pressure to, which really aids in cleaing those hard to get areas. It WILL OT HARM POLMER one bit, as it is non cholorinated. Great stuff guys, about half price of Gun scrubber and others and I have used that stuff ofr over 3years on all mysemi's, glocks, Para's and kahrs and Rugers. Ifyou weapon has woood grips, take them off before using any spray cleaners. this is no different either..

YMMV