TominCA
07-21-2011, 10:30 AM
There has been a lot of postings about the p380 where people had problems breaking them in. A fairly recent survey indicated that about half of them went back to Kahr for work. I had two and (finally) my P380 now works fine (after 500 rounds) and have some information that I can pass on which may be helpful to P380 owners and those who would like to get one.
First about me; I like shooting but I am not a good shot. I would probably be worthless in a gunfight. I am not a gunsmith and am only marginally mechanically inclined. I like to tinker with firearms and quite frankly I am probably only successful in improving the gun about half of the time. I’m not an expert and am offering this as a summary of my experience, not as a recommendation. Now that you know where it’s coming from here is what I learned:
The P380 is on the edge of what is possible for weight vs. cartridge so everything has to be just right, springs, lube, fit and grip.
Springs: My P380 had very heavy recoil springs. I could barely work the slide more than once or twice ( I weigh 190 pounds) I didn’t realize that something was wrong until I ran the slide on a new one at the gun store. I changed the springs to a new set and it became much easier to operate the slide. It also shot better. If you can’t work the slide 10 or 20 times you may have out of spec spring(s). The recoil springs last about 800 rounds. You will start getting failure to go fully into battery when they weaken. It can be very slight (you can’t see it when the slide is not in fully battery) and the result is a light primer strike.
Lube: – I used mil-tech with a good light gun oil over it. Oil everything, especially at first. Be especially careful to oil the rails (steel and polymer) and the slide stop pin.
Fit: – After 500 rounds it would go for 50 rounds without any problem. But if it got dirty or too hot it would stovepipe. I noticed wear marks on the barrel hood where it met the slide. I polished this area and the inside of the slide where it met with the barrel and hood and it worked better. It smelled like something out of spec to me. Working the barrel carefully in the slide I noticed that there was a rough “bumpy” feel near the end of the slide travel. There were three “bumps” on the bottom of the barrel in just that spot where they touched the slide at the end of the recoil cycle. I polished them with my dremel and jeweler’s rouge, followed by green glow. I suspect the slot in the barrel lug is off a little but the polishing worked and the gun no longer cares about heat or lube up to 150 rounds.
Fit Again: - In the beginning I was getting some failure to return to battery with good recoil springs and nothing apparently wrong. The extractor was the tightest I have seen on any gun ever. It held the rim with pounds and pounds of tension. I took about 1/10 of an inch off of the rear extractor pin and got the tension down to just a few pounds. Pins are $1.10 each from Kahr so it’s not a risky fix. I think there are some over spec extractor springs. Check your extractor tension with a cartridge with the slide off if you have return to battery problems with good recoil springs.
Grip: - This little gun doesn’t have enough mass to fully work the slide under recoil. You have to provide some of the need resistance. I had always thought limp wristing was sort of girly shooting. I noticed that if I double tap, I never had a problem with cycling because I am squeezing into the next shot and moving the gun back down and forward as the gun is recoiling. But one at a time slow fire was different. I finally broke my bad habit by training myself to watch the ejected case, not the sights. Roll a silhouette target out to 7 yards and shoot one handed (think old Marine Corps hand in back pocket) and watch the case NOT the target or the sights. It takes a while to train yourself to do this but it will will teach you two things; How your ammo works in the gun and when you hold the gun wrong. I found that “grip o death” isn’t enough to insure success.
I’m left handed and when I stovepipe the gun always rotates to the right in my hand. A grip that prevents that right rotation also never stovepipes if the ammo has enough power. Speaking of ammo, with new recoil springs (in my gun) Federal red box just pops the empties about a foot into the air above the gun. Black Hills 100 FMJ and Corbon 90 JHP throw them about 3 feet over my right shoulder and gold dot hits me right in the top of the head most of the time. My preferred range ammo is Remington UMC 95 FMJ. My preferred carry ammo is Corbon 90 JHP because of function under all conditions and holds. Cheap range ammo sometimes has a wide deviation in power. You will notice that as you watch the ejecting cases.
That’s my P380 experience. I love the little gun and hope that some of this may work or help for current and future owners.
First about me; I like shooting but I am not a good shot. I would probably be worthless in a gunfight. I am not a gunsmith and am only marginally mechanically inclined. I like to tinker with firearms and quite frankly I am probably only successful in improving the gun about half of the time. I’m not an expert and am offering this as a summary of my experience, not as a recommendation. Now that you know where it’s coming from here is what I learned:
The P380 is on the edge of what is possible for weight vs. cartridge so everything has to be just right, springs, lube, fit and grip.
Springs: My P380 had very heavy recoil springs. I could barely work the slide more than once or twice ( I weigh 190 pounds) I didn’t realize that something was wrong until I ran the slide on a new one at the gun store. I changed the springs to a new set and it became much easier to operate the slide. It also shot better. If you can’t work the slide 10 or 20 times you may have out of spec spring(s). The recoil springs last about 800 rounds. You will start getting failure to go fully into battery when they weaken. It can be very slight (you can’t see it when the slide is not in fully battery) and the result is a light primer strike.
Lube: – I used mil-tech with a good light gun oil over it. Oil everything, especially at first. Be especially careful to oil the rails (steel and polymer) and the slide stop pin.
Fit: – After 500 rounds it would go for 50 rounds without any problem. But if it got dirty or too hot it would stovepipe. I noticed wear marks on the barrel hood where it met the slide. I polished this area and the inside of the slide where it met with the barrel and hood and it worked better. It smelled like something out of spec to me. Working the barrel carefully in the slide I noticed that there was a rough “bumpy” feel near the end of the slide travel. There were three “bumps” on the bottom of the barrel in just that spot where they touched the slide at the end of the recoil cycle. I polished them with my dremel and jeweler’s rouge, followed by green glow. I suspect the slot in the barrel lug is off a little but the polishing worked and the gun no longer cares about heat or lube up to 150 rounds.
Fit Again: - In the beginning I was getting some failure to return to battery with good recoil springs and nothing apparently wrong. The extractor was the tightest I have seen on any gun ever. It held the rim with pounds and pounds of tension. I took about 1/10 of an inch off of the rear extractor pin and got the tension down to just a few pounds. Pins are $1.10 each from Kahr so it’s not a risky fix. I think there are some over spec extractor springs. Check your extractor tension with a cartridge with the slide off if you have return to battery problems with good recoil springs.
Grip: - This little gun doesn’t have enough mass to fully work the slide under recoil. You have to provide some of the need resistance. I had always thought limp wristing was sort of girly shooting. I noticed that if I double tap, I never had a problem with cycling because I am squeezing into the next shot and moving the gun back down and forward as the gun is recoiling. But one at a time slow fire was different. I finally broke my bad habit by training myself to watch the ejected case, not the sights. Roll a silhouette target out to 7 yards and shoot one handed (think old Marine Corps hand in back pocket) and watch the case NOT the target or the sights. It takes a while to train yourself to do this but it will will teach you two things; How your ammo works in the gun and when you hold the gun wrong. I found that “grip o death” isn’t enough to insure success.
I’m left handed and when I stovepipe the gun always rotates to the right in my hand. A grip that prevents that right rotation also never stovepipes if the ammo has enough power. Speaking of ammo, with new recoil springs (in my gun) Federal red box just pops the empties about a foot into the air above the gun. Black Hills 100 FMJ and Corbon 90 JHP throw them about 3 feet over my right shoulder and gold dot hits me right in the top of the head most of the time. My preferred range ammo is Remington UMC 95 FMJ. My preferred carry ammo is Corbon 90 JHP because of function under all conditions and holds. Cheap range ammo sometimes has a wide deviation in power. You will notice that as you watch the ejecting cases.
That’s my P380 experience. I love the little gun and hope that some of this may work or help for current and future owners.