Odd malfunction

[fatelk]

I have this little Taurus .380, and have been tinkering with getting a good cast load that works in it. It has a really tight throat that negates the use of the first couple molds I tried, so I finally got the new Lee .380 "Ranch Dog" style mold.

The odd thing is that now testing these bullets, it's jamming up fairly regular like this. I can't understand that it could have anything to do with the bullet design, but it wasn't doing this before. The load is a moderate charge of 231. It seems to do this about once per magazine full or so.

The empty is in the chamber, but not stuck. It drops out easily. Somehow it is left there but with the next round pushing up under it. Extractor problem I was thinking, but not sure how. I can't see any damage to the extractor, or the gun anywhere. I'm scratching my head a little.

[MtGun44]

This looks like a variant of the XD malfunction with SWCs. In that situation,
the extracted case is being dragged HARD over the next up round in the mag,
and the rim hits the SWC step and pops out of the extractor, result is a loose
round in the action and a jam.

Here it looks as if the rim might be catching on he lip of the lower case and
popping out of the extractor. Possibly try more TC.

Bill

[Piedmont]

If Bill is right about that, a deeper taper crimp should fix it because there is a smooth ogive on the bullet, so it shouldn't catch on the bullet.

[tazman]

I just blew up the picture to get a better look at the cartridge in the magazine. It appears there is still some belling remaining on the case mouth. That would certainly interfere with extraction and cause the case to pop free of the extractor and cause the jam.
Looks like the previous posters are correct that you need to put a bit more taper crimp on it to eliminate the problem.

[44man]

That's what it looks like, the empty is catching in the edge of the next round releasing it from the extractor. Recoil then moves the empty back into the chamber some.
Load one, drop the mag and see how it ejects.
Just a little more crimp should solve it.

[cbrick]

Wow, I can't believe that nobody has mentioned the rim of the fired case catching on the mouth of the round in the magazine and that just a bit more crimp should solve the issue.

Ok, I'm being a smart a** but I agree, that is what it looks like to me.

Rick

[NSP64]

Lol
Yuup
It has happened to me with my 380 taurus. Touch more crimp is the fix.

[tomme boy]

Or the extractor is sticking out. Its a Taurus so check all the parts for burrs and improper machining.

[fatelk]

Thanks guys - I appreciate it.

On closer look it is kind of obvious but I got off on a rabbit trail trying to figure it out and missed the obvious. I'm not sure why but I had a little trouble setting up the crimp with my new dies and didn't get it right.

Funny thing is I could have gotten a Ruger LCP for about the same price, and foolishly went with the Taurus. It shoots fine with jacketed rounds, but the bore slugs at .358 and the throat is so tight that to use the 102rn Lee I had to seat them so deep that most cases bulged.

I'll re-crimp a bunch and try them out this weekend, but I'm pretty confident that you all are absolutely right.

[Keyston44]

Funny thing is I could have gotten a Ruger LCP for about the same price, and foolishly went with the Taurus.

Foolishly would have been to buy the Ruger. It's a $100 more, has a horrible trigger and doesn't stay open after the last round.

I have a Taurus TCP 380 and has had thousands of Lee 102gr bullets through it without any problems.

Key

[Petrol & Powder]

Or the extractor is sticking out. Its a Taurus so check all the parts for burrs and improper machining.

I agree that the taper crimp could use a little more......you know,....crimp.

My second thought is the extractor is not always fully engaging or as Tomme boy said, "sticking out". I had a brand new, out of the box pistol that had a TINY burr on the side of the extractor. It would fail to pull the spent casing clear of the chamber about every 20th round. It was so intermittent that it was very difficult to diagnose. Finally figured it out and dressed the extractor with a very fine stone and the problem never reoccurred.

[fatelk]

I finally made it to the range again. You all were right about the crimp - it worked perfectly this time. Thank you!

Foolishly would have been to buy the Ruger. It's a $100 more, has a horrible trigger and doesn't stay open after the last round.

Maybe I paid too much for my Taurus then, because the local gun shop where I got mine had the TCP for $280, and the Ruger LCP for $290 as I recall. I feel bad now, if I paid $90 too much.

No, it's actually not a bad little gun and I do like it. In all fairness, the Lee 102rn bullets worked OK so long as I seated them deep and only loaded them in certain cases. I had to watch out for foreign brass which seemed to be thicker and when I seated the bullets deep enough the case would bulge badly.

[MtGun44]

You're welcome! Glad it worked.

Bill