I scraped up all the 380 brass i had and loaded it with some HP bullets I had laying around and with 95gr CamPro Round Nose.
My plan was to shoot all my 380s in one session. I wanted to see if each was reasonably zeroed, and to get a feeling of how each handled, in comparison to the others.
After I loaded about 300 rounds I chronied a few for velocity. Turns out the 4 gr I loaded should have been at least 4.5. Velocity was only 675 fps. I wanted something like 900 to 1000. The laod was so mild that not only was it slow, it was also erratic. Some bullets barely made it out of the barrel. In fact, one did not.
So I went to the range with the intention of turning all the ammo into reloadable brass. Which I did.
This accomplished part of my test. I got a feel for each gun and found out where they hit with very mild ammo.
Only 2 pistols had issues.
The Browning 1955 has no sights. Intellectually I knew this. But did not really appreciate it until I shot it side by side with other guns that all had fairly good sights. The other shortcoming of the pistol is the grip safety. It has a very stiff spring and is hard to compress. I have a large hand and my palm just does not bear on the part of the backstrap that has to be compressed. I have glued a little block of wood on the safety so it can be depressed. Next time I go to the gunsmith's, this pistol will get the flat spring ground into a Coke bottle shape, so it easily compresses.
The funny thing is that even though I could not see any sights, it grouped very well.
This is a nice, small and very pocket-friendly pistol.
The other pistol with a problem was the AMT Backup. This is a tiny pistol with a very strong recoil spring. It would not cycle and feed. It is the only one that did not handle the mild ammo. I have reloaded the brass to 900 and to 1000 fps. I look forward to re-testing this little guy.
In a picture, the Astra 300 is a homely creature. But in the hand it is very well made and a solid pistol. It shot well with both types of bullets. I was thinking that the hollow points might not feed in the old pistol.
I shot the PPK/s the most. Sights and trigger are excellent - two things I think important. It shoot all ammo well. (That is hard chrome - not stainless.)
The other Walther is a PP. Like the PPK/s, but with a longer slide. It also shot well. Good trigger, too.
The following pistols all had excellent triggers and sights. They all use hammers and have excellent triggers. The one I have had the longest, and shot the most, is my HK4. This pistol handles and shoots perfectly. It has always been very accurate in my hand. It is an alloy frame and not very heavy. I also have a 22 LR barrel for it.
The miniature 1911s are the only 380s I have that shoot with a locked breech. They have the typical 1911 superb trigger (single action only). I have always considered Spanish quality to be suspect, but my Astras, and these Star and Llama pistols have been perfect.
I have two Llamas in 380. One has a steel frame (22 oz pistol)
The alloy frame Llama is about 4 oz lighter.
I have had this Star mini-1911 for a long time. It was worked perfectly. One interesting thing about the locked-breech pistols, compared to blow backs, is that they don't need such a heavy recoil spring. My wife can rack the mini-1911s easily, but can't budge the slide on a blow back 380.
The Astra Constable is the same size as the Walther PPK. In my hands, it feels a bit better, but the Constable and the PP are both a bit big to be considered "pocket pistols".
I will chrony some ammo in the PP (3.9" and the AMT (2.5") and see how much loss there is.
My plan was to shoot all my 380s in one session. I wanted to see if each was reasonably zeroed, and to get a feeling of how each handled, in comparison to the others.
After I loaded about 300 rounds I chronied a few for velocity. Turns out the 4 gr I loaded should have been at least 4.5. Velocity was only 675 fps. I wanted something like 900 to 1000. The laod was so mild that not only was it slow, it was also erratic. Some bullets barely made it out of the barrel. In fact, one did not.
So I went to the range with the intention of turning all the ammo into reloadable brass. Which I did.
This accomplished part of my test. I got a feel for each gun and found out where they hit with very mild ammo.
Only 2 pistols had issues.
The Browning 1955 has no sights. Intellectually I knew this. But did not really appreciate it until I shot it side by side with other guns that all had fairly good sights. The other shortcoming of the pistol is the grip safety. It has a very stiff spring and is hard to compress. I have a large hand and my palm just does not bear on the part of the backstrap that has to be compressed. I have glued a little block of wood on the safety so it can be depressed. Next time I go to the gunsmith's, this pistol will get the flat spring ground into a Coke bottle shape, so it easily compresses.
The funny thing is that even though I could not see any sights, it grouped very well.
This is a nice, small and very pocket-friendly pistol.
The other pistol with a problem was the AMT Backup. This is a tiny pistol with a very strong recoil spring. It would not cycle and feed. It is the only one that did not handle the mild ammo. I have reloaded the brass to 900 and to 1000 fps. I look forward to re-testing this little guy.
In a picture, the Astra 300 is a homely creature. But in the hand it is very well made and a solid pistol. It shot well with both types of bullets. I was thinking that the hollow points might not feed in the old pistol.
I shot the PPK/s the most. Sights and trigger are excellent - two things I think important. It shoot all ammo well. (That is hard chrome - not stainless.)
The other Walther is a PP. Like the PPK/s, but with a longer slide. It also shot well. Good trigger, too.
The following pistols all had excellent triggers and sights. They all use hammers and have excellent triggers. The one I have had the longest, and shot the most, is my HK4. This pistol handles and shoots perfectly. It has always been very accurate in my hand. It is an alloy frame and not very heavy. I also have a 22 LR barrel for it.
The miniature 1911s are the only 380s I have that shoot with a locked breech. They have the typical 1911 superb trigger (single action only). I have always considered Spanish quality to be suspect, but my Astras, and these Star and Llama pistols have been perfect.
I have two Llamas in 380. One has a steel frame (22 oz pistol)
The alloy frame Llama is about 4 oz lighter.
I have had this Star mini-1911 for a long time. It was worked perfectly. One interesting thing about the locked-breech pistols, compared to blow backs, is that they don't need such a heavy recoil spring. My wife can rack the mini-1911s easily, but can't budge the slide on a blow back 380.
The Astra Constable is the same size as the Walther PPK. In my hands, it feels a bit better, but the Constable and the PP are both a bit big to be considered "pocket pistols".
I will chrony some ammo in the PP (3.9" and the AMT (2.5") and see how much loss there is.
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