[Czechbikr]

The first magazine today, one of the converted Model 84 mags for .380 fired fine. The next had a failure to go completely into battery. The slide was jammed and I was unable to cycle the slide after dropping the magazine. I lowered the hammer and used my knife to push the round forward and it fired. a couple of rounds later it jammed again and nothing would open the chamber. The RO suggested he take it to the gunsmith (on site) to get it open and he returned a few minutes later with the empty pistol and the round that jammed the works. The reload is a 7.65 case which is probably bulged at the base which kept it from chambering. I haven't dug into it yet, but my theory so far is a bulged case, gunked up chamber needing to be buffed out, oversized bullet bulging the case...and who knows what else?

These reloads are the same that fired fine the last time out.

 

[taurustoter]

They fired fine in the same gun before, but not now? That doesn't make sense. How does factory ammo shoot in that particular gun?

 

[Czechbikr]

They fired fine in the same gun before, but not now? That doesn't make sense. How does factory ammo shoot in that particular gun?

That's what I started with as I had no brass. Fired about a box of 50 with no issues.

 

[silverstring]

Need to check your COL on those reloads. Do they pass the plunk test in that 81 barrel chamber? Also I am not entirely sold on the idea of using those modded 84 magazines. The 81 magazines are starting to show up again, may be better to bite the bullet and get a mag made for the 81.

 

[Czechbikr]

Need to check your COL on those reloads. Do they pass the plunk test in that 81 barrel chamber? Also I am not entirely sold on the idea of using those modded 84 magazines. The 81 magazines are starting to show up again, may be better to bite the bullet and get a mag made for the 81.

I have the round sequestered that jammed the action...Need to get down to the reloading room to gauge it, plunk it and closely examine the chamber. They feed off all of the mags just fine...that the circumferance of the case locked up the slide tells me that either the case is too fat or the chamber too skinny. Length should be good...they all ran on the same die set adjustment.

 

[Czechbikr]

Here's the look at the round. The case is headstamped G.F.L 7.65mm. I see no noticeable bulge which is usually at the base of the case. One thing that stands out not is the somewhat aggressive crimp which was applied by the Lee Bullet Seating die. I only have the 3 die set foregoing the FCD die that I have for all other sets except for the .380. Once I check the gauge at the top of the case and plunk it I may learn what the issue is.

 

[Czechbikr]

One thing has been proven...the extractor is good...

 

[silverstring]

The crimp does look a bit on the heavy side, but I haven't loaded 380 acp yet, so not sure. What is that black line between the bullet and case showing in the second pic. Looks like either a lube banded bullet band, or some kind of case issue?????

 

[glenwolde]

Looks like it's deforming the jacket. Did you seat and crimp in one step?

 

[Czechbikr]

They are plated round nose. Maybe the plating was pushed up as it tried to chamber? I'll have to compare this one to one that hasn't been loaded up in the gun.

 

[darbo]

I'm also wondering if maybe the case mouth was not flared enough and caused the jacket build up. In the vertical photo it looks like the build up is limited to the left side, more or less. But that right side is shadowed a little so it's hard to tell for sure.

 

[glenwolde]

They are plated round nose. Maybe the plating was pushed up as it tried to chamber? I'll have to compare this one to one that hasn't been loaded up in the gun.

Did you seat and crimp in one step? if yes, that's a problem. Try seating and crimping separately.

 

[Czechbikr]

Did you seat and crimp in one step? if yes, that's a problem. Try seating and crimping separately.

It's a three die set...my .380 three die set produces great ammo. I'll probably back off the crimp a tad to see what that does. If I cannot get it to produce good ammo, then my hunt for the .380 barrel will intensify to convert that pistol.

 

[Flash60601]

If you are using once-fired brass with PLATED bullets, I would suggest a mild chamfer/deburr of the case mouth, as a definite first step.

Then, check your casemouth exander plug for proper diameter. The base of the bullet should fit INSIDE the case mouth before seating begins.

Plating is notorious for "misbehaving" maybe because it looks like a jacketed bullet, we somehow, expect it to behave like a jacketed bullet, when in reality it is a cast/swaged bullet with a deceptive appearance. Neither fish nor fowl, so to speak.

Your expander-plug should make the case, below the mouth, tight enough to hold a bullet without a roll crimp in all instances. The top .060" or .070" should expand the case to accept the base of the bullet deeply enough that it will not fall over or out. That .060" or .070" is what your taper crimp die should resize down to fit in the chamber without friction. If you can set your dies up to that program, you will find that you can load for nearly every firearm without problem.

See pic below. I have turned or ground almost all of my exp-plugs to this kind of step to fit the bullets I load. Most factory plugs have a step, but it varies in size from manufacturer to manufacturer. It was difficult getting my LEE "powder-through-expander" dies to this condition, while also activating the powder measure.

 

[taurustoter]

Here's the look at the round. The case is headstamped G.F.L 7.65mm. I see no noticeable bulge which is usually at the base of the case. One thing that stands out not is the somewhat aggressive crimp which was applied by the Lee Bullet Seating die. I only have the 3 die set foregoing the FCD die that I have for all other sets except for the .380. Once I check the gauge at the top of the case and plunk it I may learn what the issue is.

View attachment 450817

View attachment 450819

Why that dirty little...

 

[Czechbikr]

Got to the reloading room to install the new used grips that I won off Ebay. They are much nicer than the ones the gun came with. The grip screws have the thinnest slot that I have ever seen and my screwdriver set only has a 1/4" wide bit that is thin enough to fit. The screws were already boogered up a bit and I added to it. New screws might be in the offing to match the prettier grips. I put the soldering iron on them to loosen and I am pretty sure that the original grips had been on for decades. Gunky frame underneath and the screws have a bit of rust around the screw head.

While I had it apart from the range trip I cleaned it and examined the chamber for any clue that would indicate why the rounds would not chamber. I used a bronze brush to clean it well and began to plunk test the rounds I have loaded.

The ones that plunk are on in the rectangular bin and the out of spec rounds in the circular one. The good ones measure .333 +/- .002 and the ones that are causing the jams are at .337 =/- .002. The measurements are near the fop of the case at the bullet seating position.

All are loaded with the same die set at the same time with the same Berry's bullets. Almost all of the cases that are too fat are the G.F.L 7.65 cases...the Herters are a bit fat also. The US brands like R-M, WW and so on comprise the ones that are in spec and plunk well.

The issue has to be with the wall thickness of some of the cases. The first thing I'll do is sort the brass to better insure that I am producing ammo that works. Glad that I didn't load a bunch more!




Pretty new (er) grips

 

[darbo]

The pistol looks great with the new grips!

Looks like you have the feeding issue figured out. I do have one other thought on it. Have you measured any of the projectiles? I would measure some unloaded projectiles, if you have any left, and I would measure some of the loaded ones just above the case mouth to see if there is any size difference there. I'm thinking you probably wont' find in variation but I would check anyway.