What ammo works and what doesn't work in CW380

[pr42]

I got some precision one when they first got supply in Sept. I purchased 4 more boxes more recently. Imagine my surprise when I took the mag I've been carrying, and began to fire it as if I needed to and after four rounds I get 'click'. I took about 75 rounds to the range yesterday and got 5 misfires. Not good for defensive carry! They all fired the second time. I checked my remaining two boxes and found a couple where the primer looked deformed.sent pic to precision today. FMJ fired okay in my sweet P380. So their ammo is on the sidelines until they can restore my confidence...or it turns out my gun is at fault.

See, that's what I'm talking about. So we have the ShootingTheBull review, which makes you want to go out and buy Precision One 380 HP/XTP, but then it's out of stock for months due to the rush, and then you buy some, and it doesn't work. So we are left as much in the dark as we were before. Self defense ammo has to be 100% reliable, not "it depends on the batch". So what's the point of those reviews? We need an independent standards body that can do ongoing tests. I would pay for a subscription to a guns and ammo version of Consumer Reports. But it would have to be truly independent, not some magazine that sells ads (and thus has to keep its advertisers happy).

Just to add to the anecdotal data: I purchased four boxes of the Precision One HP/XTP 380 on October 28th, and have shot just over one box without any issues at all in my CW380. So that's encouraging. But here's the problem: You can only find out if a box is good by shooting it. And once you've shot it, and know it's good, it's too late... d'oh!

[kwh]

All good questions. I was firing factory practice ammo in my 9mm last week and a primer was dented but the powder did not ignite. Fired on 2nd try. Firing pin light strike or defective primer? Last I looked Underwood was not loading any .380 XTP's. My take is that the XTP bullet should be OK in theory with whoever loads it. But Fiocchi did not work for one of our own. Buy a box of PrecisionOne ,shoot most of the box and save the rest of the for personal defense. Change to Federal Hydrashock if it feeds. Forget the .380 and buy a CM9. Thanks for bringing to light something we all have thought about,but I do not see anyone out there that is going to collect data on real shootings with the .380 and report on the bullet used and barrel length of gun. I guess we all try to collect data, talk to each other, and try to make the best informed decisions. topgun1953= let us know what Precision One says.

[TheTman]

I have a 1911 that is picky about HP ammo. I found that the WWB HP ammo works well in it, it has more taper to the bullet and a smaller hole in the middle than most other HP ammo. I haven't done any gel tests to see how well it expands, but .45 leaves a big hole anyway. I've not tried it in other calibers.

[topgun1953]

I got some precision one when they first got supply in Sept. I purchased 4 more boxes more recently. Imagine my surprise when I took the mag I've been carrying, and began to fire it as if I needed to and after four rounds I get 'click'. I took about 75 rounds to the range yesterday and got 5 misfires. Not good for defensive carry! They all fired the second time. I checked my remaining two boxes and found a couple where the primer looked deformed.sent pic to precision today. FMJ fired okay in my sweet P380. So their ammo is on the sidelines until they can restore my confidence...or it turns out my gun is at fault.

i got an email from Precision, that day saying that they have never experienced that many failures in a box before and perhaps it is the fire arm. They suggested I call the owner to discuss with him. First I don't want to call the owner to discuss, I just wont buy anymore. I hoped the lady at least told the owner. Anyway, went to the range today and had many misfires out of a box. I couldn't get two to fire at all. I guess there were about 7-8, but didnlt count. Intermixed with the Precision I fired 50 rounds of Freedom Munitions cheap flat nose without any issues at all. Yes they ran fine in my P380. They seem a lot hotter than the Precision. (If you haven't checked out Freedom yet you should...no shipping this weekend). My determination then is that the Precision ammo is bad. I have one more box to get rid of.

[Firemedic]

My P380 (now broken in) shoots Remington FMJ, Federal FMJ, Magtech, and Fiocchi extrema XTP without any problems. During my problem days Winchester flat nose was horrific but I haven't tried it since my gun broke in. I can't find the precision one most likely due to the STB video for the same reasons. I resorted to the Fiocchi extrema since it was XTP and like everyone else I want the most effective ammo for my little 380. I shot 1 of 5 boxes I picked up maybe I should try to sample a few from each box on my next trip to the range.

[pcormier]

I've put about 1000 rounds through my p380... 300 of which were after a barrel/recoil spring replacement.

The gun now likes
- Magtech
- Federal American Eagle
- Hornaday Critical defense.

[ulflyer]

My P380 (now broken in) shoots Remington FMJ, Federal FMJ, Magtech, and Fiocchi extrema XTP without any problems. During my problem days Winchester flat nose was horrific but I haven't tried it since my gun broke in. I can't find the precision one most likely due to the STB video for the same reasons. I resorted to the Fiocchi extrema since it was XTP and like everyone else I want the most effective ammo for my little 380. I shot 1 of 5 boxes I picked up maybe I should try to sample a few from each box on my next trip to the range.

I just ordered 5 boxes of flat nose from Freedom Ammo; hope it will work in my CW!

[clayflingythingy]

CCI Blazer Brass, PMC Bronze, & Critical Defense have all been 100%

Winchester WB, Remington UMC, Fiocchi, Geco, & Atomic have all produced failures. The failures seem to be from under powered ammo as the slide did not travel far enuff back to pick up the next round.

[muggsy]

Lets put this one to bed. While every P380 looks identical to every other P380 they are not. What works in my gun won't necessarily work in yours. Find a load that your gun likes and use it.

[TheLastDaze]

Mine eats anything except fiocchi extrema xtp. The bullet is longer any hasn't fed in any 380 I've owned.

the bullet is not longer, in fact the extrema you mention use 'star line' brass which are up to spec... funny thing my cw380 is the most finicky gun I own and it will shoot the extrema just fine...

we know PERFECTA is a no go... this casing IS out of spec....