.380acp

RBHarter

West Central AR
When in doubt wash it out . I can't tell you how many times major , expensive , problems have been resolved with 50 cents in solvent and a dimes worth of oil . I saved a lot of $100 control cables with $35 dollars in labor and a quart of Chevron solvent that got stupidly expensive when it was renamed road paint thinner ........

You would be amazed at the hate and discontent a well oiled flake of powder will cause and how much gunk actually builds up in ram slots . The desert is an oasis to escape rust but it's a bugger for dirt and dust collection where oil evaporates and leaves sticky jelly .
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Anyone else ever hear of "flushing a bearing"? That was a common suggestion in a lot of my old farm/heavy equipment books. Goes with RB's observation, only it's a well placed flake of rust or dirt causing the hate and discontent. Stuff works better when it's clean.
 

Mainiac

Well-Known Member
Anyone else ever hear of "flushing a bearing"? That was a common suggestion in a lot of my old farm/heavy equipment books. Goes with RB's observation, only it's a well placed flake of rust or dirt causing the hate and discontent. Stuff works better when it's clean.
Im a millwright in a pulpmill,,,very familar with flushing oil!!!babbit bearings love new oil,,,
 

Michael

Active Member. Uh/What
Speaking of the 380 ACP, did anyone else see the article in the latest issue of the American Hunter?
Moose gun vs. Mouse gun. Dog sled team and a moose got into it. The musher, I guess that is you call him/her had a 380 with her, emptied the magazine on the moose, just pi$$ed him off, took it out on some of the team.
 

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
Took a look at the ram and shell holders. The ram is spotless. I had it apart about a month ago and completely stripped the press and cleaned it. Everything was then blown off with 155psi air gun.

Both shell holders slide in the exact same amount. So look at the shell holder itself. The RCBS will not allow the case to be inserted all the way. You can see this by putting a case into the holder and flipping it upside down. It is off by about 0.15" or so. You can definitely see even without my glasses on it will not go in.

I am going to try this shell holder with the 223 dies and the 350 legend dies and see if the cases need to be tipped like this 380 did. This might by why I have been having less than normal accuracy with a couple guns. This would make everything crooked from sizing to seating.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Im a millwright in a pulpmill,,,very familar with flushing oil!!!babbit bearings love new oil,,,
Jeeze, I'm surprised there's still a pulp mill left in the US! Used to be a buncha big ones in my area of the Adirondacks/Northern NY. Might be 3-4 widely scatterred ones left. Same for the big sawmills.

I've been amazed at the difference flushing a bearing makes on some of my old farm stuff. The old roller bearings? The long skinny ones? You can drown them in grease but if you pump some solvent through every couple years and get things clean the new grease you follow it with "works lots more better" to use my late FIL's favorite term. Between water, manure, dirt, hair, feathers and plain old organic matter mixed in with the grease it makes perfect sense!
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Speaking of the 380 ACP, did anyone else see the article in the latest issue of the American Hunter?
Moose gun vs. Mouse gun. Dog sled team and a moose got into it. The musher, I guess that is you call him/her had a 380 with her, emptied the magazine on the moose, just pi$$ed him off, took it out on some of the team.
I used to trap with an old Indian from up in northern Ontario. He said they had a way of hunting moose that worked. Said after finding the moose, you shot it in the heart lung area with something like a 25/35 or 30-30 or 303 Brit. Then you sat down and made a pot of tea and had lunch. Then, and only then, did you follow up the moose. Might be 50 yards away, might be a mile, but after an hour or so they were meat. He says chasing after one could result in them figuring out you were the cause of their discomfort and that could be rather unpleasant. Says it worked on bear too but they were lots harder to track.

If'n I was in Moose country and carrying something for Moose/Wolf/etc interactions, I don't think the 380 would be my first choice.
 

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
My first introduction wIth the 380 was with Pop... It was about late '69 or 1970 and he bought himself a Illama 380 semi and a bod of fmj (cause thats largly all there was then)
He did a nightly walk if the gardens and use it for chucks and rabbits found in the garden. Well I think its safe to assume we all know how easy Rabbits give up the ghost... Well we say them run off time and time again taking centerd hits to the body. Head shots of coarse was instantly fatal but this wasn't a super accurate pistol. Pop sold that Illama off doe a Colt Diamondback 38. Thats when pop started casting bullets. The mold I still have its a oHause 35809 IIRC 148 button nose wad cutter. Pan lubed and seated atop Bullseye. Rabbits never ran (far) with a torso hit any more!!

But I got to shoot that Illama. It was the first CF gun I ever shot and the caliber stuck.
 

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
Took them out today to see if they cycle. Lee 356-120 powder coated and 1.7gr bullseye. Seated at 0.98" Barely fits in the mag. So I will shorten just a hair. Took 25 rounds with me and all cycled fine. I was reaffirmed about why i don't like to shoot this gun. Recoil is very sharp and it digs into my palm really bad.

I think I might look into the RIA baby 1911 in 380. Seems like a decent gun.
 

Michael

Active Member. Uh/What
The article indicated that she carried the 380 out of concern for 2-legged vermin.
But seriously a 380 in the Alaska bush. Just going to pi$$ something off, oh wait, she did.
Was wondering if maybe the moose thought the sled dogs were wolves or had been chased by dogs before, can't blame it for wanting to stomp them into mush. I feel sorry for the moose.
 

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
I shot a friends Browning 1911 MINI (not actual name) its a 3/4 size 1911 chambered for 22 LR and 380.
What a dandy lil booger!! While shooting another friend walked by and said how he loved his in 380! I said thats one that interested me more than a 22.
He said he had it with him & would I like to try it? SURE!!

It was as nice as I expected it to be a d has been on my radar since.

CW
 

Red Bear

Member
some of the light weight guns for carry can be unpleasant at the range. but thats true for all light weight guns as far as i am concerned. my pt 58 is old but a pleasant gun at the range.
 

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
I do not find my LCP Max unpleasant at all.
But a friend, right after one magazine commented about recoil.
So recoil is very subjective.

CW
 

Red Bear

Member
I do not find my LCP Max unpleasant at all.
But a friend, right after one magazine commented about recoil.
So recoil is very subjective.

CW
i have a couple of light weight 380 and it may be arthritus or i might just not handle pain well. becouse mine hurt me. i just figure i carry it more than i shoot so light weight it is.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Once my East German Makarov arrived in my safe c. 1991, 380 ACP pistols really lost their luster for me. I owned Walther PPK/S and a SIG P-230 for a time, but when my old shop authorized 380 ACP in the early 1990s I sold them both. I recall one of my rangemaster buddies (RIP, Charlie V.) making brisk comments to the Suits and a couple detectives that hauled 380s to quals. "Be careful with that thing, those bullets raise quite a welt!" Yeah, he wasn't known for his reverence for rank.

To some extent, his sarcasm had merit. If you run USA-loaded 380 ACP ammo through the usual run of autopistols so chambered, chronography gives the lie to a whole lot of ammo ad copy. The 95 grain FMJ loads usually clocked somewhere between 780-810 FPS--NOT the 905 FPS claimed in the scandal sheets. European ammo meets and slightly exceeds that standard--I've clocked it myself. Our Silvertip 380 carry loads (85 grainers) ran about 875-900 FPS in my pistols, which is superior to a thrown rock, but lacks the decisive immediacy of more powerful calibers.

A few months ago, I snagged a Glock 43 in 9 x 19. It is a 380-sized 9mm Luger. It is affordable, fits my hand well, and having a locked breech its recoil is stretched out a bit, unlike the PPK/S, P-230, or Makarov's blowback actions--which push back some. There have been locked-breech 380s produced, Colt once sold such items as their "Government Model 380 ACP". Those were very smooth rides, even with the Euro loads aboard. Someone should start that line up again.
 

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
Anyone with a LCP try the Lee 110gr swc bullet? I had this mold before but could not get the bullet to cycle in my 3 9mm handguns. A cz75 polymer compact, a FEG Browning HP clone, G19. I tried all kinds of different lengths but could never get them to be reliable. I have seen a few mention that this bullet cycles in the ruger lcp. But I dont want to order the mold again if it does not work.