Tweet
It's been crazy hot here, making traditional carry less than comfortable. After one sweltering day, I was left imagining a smaller gun that I could easily carry in my pocket. I was thinking of a striker fired gun with a long trigger pull. Previously, I had a Kimber Solo. It was a POS, but the trigger pull was exactly what I wanted. The P380 seemed to fit the bill, so I bought a new one at a smokin' price off Gunbroker. Then I started reading all the negative reviews, which got me concerned. But from the onset, I was thinking of this as a "project" type gun. I was burned by the Solo, and understand that tiny guns present special challenges. My plan was to address the "challenges" before they even reared their ugly heads.
The first step after I picked up the gun, was to disassemble and clean. The magazine lips were kind of sharp, so I wrapped some 600 grit around a dowel, and took off the sharp edges. Then I gave it some Flitz. I carefully took a file to the sharp edge of the trigger. Although the ramp had been finished on a buffing wheel, I Flitz'ed it a bit, as well. I also stuck in a Lakeline striker, just for good measure. The extractor seemed extremely tight, but it made no sense to touch it until I could see how the gun ran.
Yesterday I took the little pistol out for her shakedown run. First fifty rounds of American Eagle went flawlessly. That seems pretty dull, so I got out 80 rounds of reloads that I did 24 years ago. Yes, I'm a binge reloader. The recycled brass was old when I loaded them, and the brass was now tarnished. One wouldn't expect the little Kahr to eat this up perfectly, and that was exactly the case. I had three or four failures to go into battery, all of which were resolved with a smack to the back of the slide with the heel of my hand. After that was gone, another 50 rounds of Prvi-Partizen went without a hitch.
The little gun was a lot more pleasant to shoot than I expected. And if I pay attention, it will shoot within 3 inches at 30 feet. If I get fast and sloppy, the group doubles in size. I really have no complaints about the way the gun runs. The trigger is stiff with a couple lumps, but that's just fine for a little pocket pistol. I think this one will find itself in my pocket quite often in the summer months.
Hey... I can't post pictures!
But it's not like you've never seen a P380 before.
Just in case:
http://www.rustyiron.com/temp/Kahr.jpg
The first step after I picked up the gun, was to disassemble and clean. The magazine lips were kind of sharp, so I wrapped some 600 grit around a dowel, and took off the sharp edges. Then I gave it some Flitz. I carefully took a file to the sharp edge of the trigger. Although the ramp had been finished on a buffing wheel, I Flitz'ed it a bit, as well. I also stuck in a Lakeline striker, just for good measure. The extractor seemed extremely tight, but it made no sense to touch it until I could see how the gun ran.
Yesterday I took the little pistol out for her shakedown run. First fifty rounds of American Eagle went flawlessly. That seems pretty dull, so I got out 80 rounds of reloads that I did 24 years ago. Yes, I'm a binge reloader. The recycled brass was old when I loaded them, and the brass was now tarnished. One wouldn't expect the little Kahr to eat this up perfectly, and that was exactly the case. I had three or four failures to go into battery, all of which were resolved with a smack to the back of the slide with the heel of my hand. After that was gone, another 50 rounds of Prvi-Partizen went without a hitch.
The little gun was a lot more pleasant to shoot than I expected. And if I pay attention, it will shoot within 3 inches at 30 feet. If I get fast and sloppy, the group doubles in size. I really have no complaints about the way the gun runs. The trigger is stiff with a couple lumps, but that's just fine for a little pocket pistol. I think this one will find itself in my pocket quite often in the summer months.
Hey... I can't post pictures!
But it's not like you've never seen a P380 before.
Just in case:
http://www.rustyiron.com/temp/Kahr.jpg
Comment