I shot a couple boxes of american eagle .380 auto at the range today. I field stripped, cleaned and lubed her up extensively before taking her out the first time and I think it paid off. I shot a 100 rounds with no malfunctions of any kind. I was surprised by the harsh recoil, wasn't really expecting that and it took me a couple a magazines to get used to it but it was a lot of fun. It was very accurate as well. I was hitting bullseyes at 24 feet with not much problem. I don't think I would hestitate to carry this gun and the .380 auto seems more than enough for a defensive round in fact it had really nice pop to it and seemed comparable to 9mm. I've read where some people have had jamming problems but I'm a fanatic when it comes to cleaning and lubing my guns. I think it really pays off in performance. Take care of your gun and it most likely will take care of you.
Shot my Walther PPK/S today for first time.
- Thread starter Kurt+P+
- Start date
Careful Kurt, lube can cause jams more than a clean dry gun. Being fanatical about cleaning is one thing. Being fanatical about lubing is not good. It only takes a tiny drop on the frame rails, and maybe every 500 rounds a tiny drop in a couple other places.
380 recoil feels a little sharper than 9mm recoil to me, but 380s are smaller and have a direct blow-back action rather than a locked breech action like most 9mms. Also, most 9mm are bigger guns.
Make no mistake, 9mm is significantly more powerful than 380 ACP.
I believe 380 in either FMJ or HP would be adequate for self defense use. In self defense, we're not really shooting through car bodies, windshields, walls, etc.
How about some pix of the gun with target?
380 recoil feels a little sharper than 9mm recoil to me, but 380s are smaller and have a direct blow-back action rather than a locked breech action like most 9mms. Also, most 9mm are bigger guns.
Make no mistake, 9mm is significantly more powerful than 380 ACP.
I believe 380 in either FMJ or HP would be adequate for self defense use. In self defense, we're not really shooting through car bodies, windshields, walls, etc.
How about some pix of the gun with target?
Is it a Smith & Wesson or a German built gun?
I had a stainless Smith that would jam so much I got ride of it, even with good quality hard ball.
I have always liked the little gun and it had nothing to do with 007 and if I ever find a nice used German gun I will own one again.
I also had problems with the web of the hand, after 5 or 6 magazines I would get a red spot between the index and thumb and more than once drew a little blood.
I ended up getting a Glock 26 to replace the small little gun.
I am glad your having such good luck.
I had a stainless Smith that would jam so much I got ride of it, even with good quality hard ball.
I have always liked the little gun and it had nothing to do with 007 and if I ever find a nice used German gun I will own one again.
I also had problems with the web of the hand, after 5 or 6 magazines I would get a red spot between the index and thumb and more than once drew a little blood.
I ended up getting a Glock 26 to replace the small little gun.
I am glad your having such good luck.
Those of you who are lube crazy might just want to check out the new moly lubes.
You dab this stuff on,let it dry and then polish the dryed lubed areas.
The dry lube effect is reported to be incredible.
Especially with pocket autos,the moly lube seems to suit them very well.
Guns treated this way stay dry,don't attract grim as much as wet lubed guns and clean up much easier.
And the dry lube effect lasts a very long time if it is applied correctly and polished right.
A new age in lubrication for sure.
You dab this stuff on,let it dry and then polish the dryed lubed areas.
The dry lube effect is reported to be incredible.
Especially with pocket autos,the moly lube seems to suit them very well.
Guns treated this way stay dry,don't attract grim as much as wet lubed guns and clean up much easier.
And the dry lube effect lasts a very long time if it is applied correctly and polished right.
A new age in lubrication for sure.
My PPK/S is a Smith & Wesson stainless steel gun and this is the main reason why I lubed her up. We're talking steel on steel grinding against each other. I was worried about slide movement and ejection problems but I had none. It worked perfectly for me. Again, the biggest surprise to me was how harsh the recoil was. The empty shells were being shot out at light speed (LoL) This gun has a powerful feel to it and the .380 auto doesn't seem like a weak round to me. It was loud and had nice pop to it. The beaver tail on the back of the gun was causing some friction at the base of my thumb so I did experiment with different holds to alleviate the problem. It's a fun gun.