[Gretschguy]

Today was .380 day. I took the Bersa BT-380 and the Beretta model 84 (c.1977) for an outing. I brought mostly P.P.U. F.M.J. plus some Hornady Critical Defense. I only shot two rounds of the Hornady in both guns. They fed, fine. I shot the first two rounds at 15 feet. They worked, I hit the target, they passed.
Now the P.P.U. ....I was shocked. I had my first F.T.E. or any failure with the BT.380. It was loaded with 5 rounds, the #4 round jammed. I figured that I limp-wristed it. Nope, all three O.E.M. magazines loaded to 5 rounds had a jam or a stove pipe. Once I settled down, my groups tightened up, so the gun is working fine.
So, next is the Beretta. I did the same drill by just loading 5 rounds per group. Well lo and behold the Beretta did the same thing. I don't recall a failure with it, either. The Beretta has the O.E.M. magazine and two Mecgars that I bought at my L.G.S.
I managed to collect most of my brass and I noticed that some was real dirty. Is that a sign of anything to worry about? I have shot this ammo before and although it's a bit dirty, it worked fine then.
Oh, and B.T.W. I shot better groups with the Bersa than the Beretta. I still need more trigger work so I guess I'll just have to force myself to go back, maybe Wednesday.
P.S. I almost forgot. I bought a box of Blazer Brass 95gr F.M.J. @ $24.95. And a "325" of Federal Target .22 for $23.95. How's that compare near you?

 

[Tony1990]

Today was .380 day. I took the Bersa BT-380 and the Beretta model 84 (c.1977) for an outing. I brought mostly P.P.U. F.M.J. plus some Hornady Critical Defense. I only shot two rounds of the Hornady in both guns. They fed, fine. I shot the first two rounds at 15 feet. They worked, I hit the target, they passed.
Now the P.P.U. ....I was shocked. I had my first F.T.E. or any failure with the BT.380. It was loaded with 5 rounds, the #4 round jammed. I figured that I limp-wristed it. Nope, all three O.E.M. magazines loaded to 5 rounds had a jam or a stove pipe. Once I settled down, my groups tightened up, so the gun is working fine.
So, next is the Beretta. I did the same drill by just loading 5 rounds per group. Well lo and behold the Beretta did the same thing. I don't recall a failure with it, either. The Beretta has the O.E.M. magazine and two Mecgars that I bought at my L.G.S.
I managed to collect most of my brass and I noticed that some was real dirty. Is that a sign of anything to worry about? I have shot this ammo before and although it's a bit dirty, it worked fine then.
Oh, and B.T.W. I shot better groups with the Bersa than the Beretta. I still need more trigger work so I guess I'll just have to force myself to go back, maybe Wednesday.
P.S. I almost forgot. I bought a box of Blazer Brass 95gr F.M.J. @ $24.95. And a "325" of Federal Target .22 for $23.95. How's that compare near you?

That's a real bummer that the PPU ammo was giving you problems. I have several box's of PPU ammo and have always had very good luck with them but have not used the PPU ammo for a while since I got a bunch of Monarch 380 FMJ ammo from the Academy for $16.99 per50 rnds.
Any reason you are only loading 5 round per mag?? I keep 7 in my BT380 and 8 in my BT380cc.

 

[Gretschguy]

Thanks for the ammo feedback. Like I said, I've shot this before with no problems. I just use it for the range. I have three or four more boxes to shoot, too.
Why only five rounds? This was practice, not E.D.C. I normally keep Remingtons H.P.s in the mags for S.D. (Still. testing the Hornady.) I have been shooting fewer rounds per group so that I can concentrate on the first few shots. It's the first two shots that count the most with handguns. If I can't hit and stop at that range in the first two shots, I'll be down anyway. My shooting distances are based on what I expect to need, close and quick, or room to room....less than 30 feet. I do ocasionally put the target at maximum of 50 feet, but those targets are not divided into quarters. I haven't tried 50 foot .380 shooting in a long time. (I can hit them with my six inch wheelies.)
I shoot at an indoor range where: "Rapid Fire is Prohibited". Double taps seem to be allowed, though. I wish that I knew of a place where I could start to practice shooting various targets while moving.
My targets are real cheap....that's me. I use computer paper, take a felt marker and divide it into 1/4ths. Usually, I don't even bother with an aiming point at 25 and under feet. That puts five shots into about 4 x 6 inches. Groups may overlap, but I carry four coloured markers, mark each shot, and circle the group for later contemplation. (Boy, that sucked....Hmmmm, getting better.) Each quarter is marked with distance and with info like: "#4 jammed", etc. ( )
BTW. The reason that I started using 8 x 11 paper is ,,,,,well hold a sheet up to your chest. Unless you weigh 115 pounds soaking wet, the sheet will cover C.O.M. A more experienced shooter pointed that out to me several years ago. As my groups shrank at each distance, I made the target area smaller or moved the targets farther away. I still do.
The weather here is actally turning into Autumn. I'll be putting the .380's away until Spring, soon. One more session with them, then they go into hybernation until Spring. With the locals switching from shorts to hoodies and coats, I'll be breaking out my PT-908 9mm for the duration in addition to the J-frame m605 that is always in rotation.

 

[Tony1990]

I too wish there was a range close to me so I can practice moving while shooting but there are none near me. There is a outdoor range close by but it is like an indoor range without walls. You have people to the right and left of you while shooting. I do enjoy the outdoor range because usually at the indoor range I go to, I may be the only shooter with a 380, everyone else have small cannons and I need to use ear plugs plus ear muffs...

 

[robhic]

I had an almost exact same problem a year or so ago. My THUNDER 380 would jam every 6th round in a 7 round magazine -EVERY TIME, all three mags! My thinking was that maybe the spring was a bit too strong and when it got to just 2 rds in the magazine not quite enough weight would cause it to overpower the 2 bullets and jam one. So I took my 3 magazines, jammed 8 rounds in these 7 round mags (you can actually do it if you try!) and let them sit for about 10 days or so. After 10 days I figured the springs might have relaxed a little so I went out and shot the gun WITH NO JAMS!!!! It seems to have fixed the jamming problem and I'm wondering if YOU'RE having this problem with the 4th rd of a 5 round mag jamming? Something to think about ....

 

[Gretschguy]

Hmmm, stuff in eight rounds and let it sit a week? I'll try that. Thanks.