A unique old pistol, and trouble with .380 acp.

[wilecoyote]

A 223 FL die can be used as a taper crimp die for the 380 ACP. If you have one remove the decap assembly and adjust the die to the tapered crimp needed.

with my utmost respect,
this is the touch of a true Boolit Grand Master!

[Hanzy4200]

A 223 FL die can be used as a taper crimp die for the 380 ACP. If you have one remove the decap assembly and adjust the die to the tapered crimp needed.

Really? Might have to try that. Thanks

[Hanzy4200]

Not ammo related, but do some research on firing pin troubles with that model. I seem to remember Massad Ayoob writing about some such.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

I will look, but I highly doubt it. This is a fairly obscure model. Not many made, far fewer left serviceable after the war.

[canyon-ghost]

Should a taper crimp not solve it, I always run a Wilson case tool for 5 turns over the outside of the case mouth. It's an extra step but, it keeps a sharp edge from stopping at the chamber. It's called a deburring tool. I do the inside too. Then, a good flair that barely fits inside the seating die. That way there isn't anything to hang up. It's tedious.

Ron

[Bigslug]

Sounds like a classic case of insufficient taper crimp to me. The bell that you produce to be able to seat the bullet must be squeezed back down. Measure the case mouth of the factory ammo, then compare with yours, THEN compare both with the dimensional blueprint for the round.

[bedbugbilly]

Load up a bump round, coat the bullet and casing with black magic marker - let it dry and then chamber it. It should show you where it is hanging up and tell you what you need to do to correct it - i.e. more crimp, issue with bullet size, shape, etc. If you can get a few flat nose boolits that taper down to the casing when seated - try making a couple of yummy rounds, loading as you normally do and see if the chamber any better. I use both a round nose cast and a flat nose tumble lube truncated shape bullet from a NOE mold - I have several 380s - my Beretta will chamber the RN but it chambers the FN easier - I have always attributed it to my Beretta having a shorter throat depth than my other 380, if that makes any sense.

Larry - thanks for the tip on the 223 FL die - wasn't aware of that and good to know.

[rintinglen]

I am not a huge fan of PC in pistols. I have had issues with my 9mm's, with the build up on the nose making for problems just as you describe. The bullet catches on the shoulder of the of the 358-242 in my Sigs, which seem to have a short throat and a tight chamber. I went back to tumble lubing and reserve my Smoke Powders for my revolvers where it seems to work just fine.

Now, were it I, I would try a smaller sizing die-.354 or .355-- and see how that works.

Oh and Larry's advice on the 223 die is dead on--just don't be a dufus like me and mislay the decapping rod. It won't re-appear until you buy a replacement.