I cranked out 200 rounds of 380ACP ammo on my Dillon. Did not take very long. I used the Campro 95 gr plated RN bullet over 3.6 gr of 231. It averages about 950 fps. A perfect load.
BUT, they are loaded a tad too long and hang up in some mags. I can’t seat them any deeper, because the crimp shears thru the plating.
What to do? Shoot it all and reload the brass properly.
So I did something I have wanted to do for some time. I bundled up most of my 380 pistols and shot them all in one session with the same ammo.
This allowed me to make comparisons and firm up my scattered opinions of the past.
My general impressions, shooting at 10 yards:
The little AMT Back-Up has poor sights and will never be a target pistol.
But it is a nice pocket pistol for someone who needs one. I shot two of them. One was reliable – one was not. Some ammo tinkering might help it. It was the only gun that did not function perfectly. Recoil was unpleasant.
The Browning 1955 (the 380 version of the 1910) has no sights. It is a sleek pocket pistol.
Each time I shoot one of these I find the group is surprisingly good for a gun with no sights.
The Colt 1908 is a sleek pistol that feels very good in the hand. I find it shoots better than average, each time I shoot it.
One of my favourite pistols.
The HK4 is one of the first 380s I ever bought. It came with the 22 barrel and mag, too.
It feels excellent in the hand and always shoots a tight group.
The Walther PP works well enough, but for some reason it seems to accentuate the felt recoil in the hand.
The smaller, PPK/s also seems to accentuate the felt recoil.
The Llama is a miniature 1911, as is the Star Super S. They feel great in the hand, shoot well and are a bargain.
Cheap to buy. The Llama is a blowback, whereas the Star is a recoil operated locked breach. Of all the guns in this test, the Stars were the only non-blowback actions. Too bad, because the locked action has much less felt recoil.
BUT, they are loaded a tad too long and hang up in some mags. I can’t seat them any deeper, because the crimp shears thru the plating.
What to do? Shoot it all and reload the brass properly.
So I did something I have wanted to do for some time. I bundled up most of my 380 pistols and shot them all in one session with the same ammo.
This allowed me to make comparisons and firm up my scattered opinions of the past.
My general impressions, shooting at 10 yards:
The little AMT Back-Up has poor sights and will never be a target pistol.
But it is a nice pocket pistol for someone who needs one. I shot two of them. One was reliable – one was not. Some ammo tinkering might help it. It was the only gun that did not function perfectly. Recoil was unpleasant.
The Browning 1955 (the 380 version of the 1910) has no sights. It is a sleek pocket pistol.
Each time I shoot one of these I find the group is surprisingly good for a gun with no sights.
The Colt 1908 is a sleek pistol that feels very good in the hand. I find it shoots better than average, each time I shoot it.
One of my favourite pistols.
The HK4 is one of the first 380s I ever bought. It came with the 22 barrel and mag, too.
It feels excellent in the hand and always shoots a tight group.
The Walther PP works well enough, but for some reason it seems to accentuate the felt recoil in the hand.
The smaller, PPK/s also seems to accentuate the felt recoil.
The Llama is a miniature 1911, as is the Star Super S. They feel great in the hand, shoot well and are a bargain.
Cheap to buy. The Llama is a blowback, whereas the Star is a recoil operated locked breach. Of all the guns in this test, the Stars were the only non-blowback actions. Too bad, because the locked action has much less felt recoil.
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