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Thread: TCP let me down as wild dogs were running towards me

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    TCP let me down as wild dogs were running towards me

    I always make sure anything I carry will work when needed....except when it didn't!
    Yesterday I was working on the place, and was on my 4 wheeler when 2 wild dogs (no collars)came from over the hill and were running towards me barking and growling. I grabbed my "trusty" TCP that was loaded with Lee 102gHP's from my saddle bags. I had the first one in my sights and "click". I quickly racked the slide and chambered another round. This one fired and I hit him, but it must not have been lethal immediately as he turned tail and ran over the hill with the other right behind him. I got one more shot off before another "click". I immediately went into the house and strapped on my never failed me S&W 329PD to finnish working the rest of the day. Never saw the dogs again. Funny..... the plastic ammo box in the saddle bags says "functions in the TCP". And to think I often carry a KelTec .380ACP as a concealed carry gun.
    You can bet that I'm gonna fire a lot of rounds thru that TCP that I carry in the saddle bags before I trust it again. Same with my KelTec. Meantime I have to admit my wife is right(for once) You can't trust a semi-auto and that's why she uses a Ruger LCR.
    It's all chicken, even the beak!

  2. #2
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    The saddest sound known to man is a click when you expect a boom! I had a similar situation many years ago with a .22 automatic. I was attempting to put a dog that had been struck by a car down and the firing pin spring had taken a set and did not have enough force to ignite the primer. Luckily it was not a critical incident and I was able to disassemble the pistol enough to stretch the firing pin spring and put the animal down.

    I do carry an automatic periodically, but, still prefer wheelies.
    Old enough to know better, young enough to do it anyway!

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  3. #3
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    That sure can be a scary moment. Glad it turned out in your favor. I always carry a back up in the woods. Usually my 10mm 1911 and my 357 wheel gun. During hunting season i carry my 44 mag.
    One round at a time.
    Member of the NRA,GOA and FAOC. Gun clubs Zerby rod and gun club. Keystone Fish and Game Association.

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    Shuz, did you check the ammo for light strikes? Some lots of primers are hard, especially if they are from the many panics of the last decade when makers were running full tilt trying to get product out the door. I honestly believe some small rifle primers were mixed in at times to keep production up. My small handguns always get Federal primers.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  5. #5
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    Listen to your wife
    grit yer teeth an pull the trigger

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by gon2shoot View Post
    Listen to your wife
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  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    Had to Google it to see what the heck a TCP is. Bad, semi-auto. Double bad, .380. I tell my buddy who has a .380, "You shoot somebody with that and you're gonna piss them off". Get yourself a decent .38 Special or .357 revolver and stoke it with the FBI Load.

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  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Sounds like light primer strikes. So it may be sensitive to certain brands of ammo. Some brands have more sensitive primers than others do. A gunsmith might be able to alleviate that though.

  9. #9
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    I’m the first to pour out praises for my pocket pistols, but if I was out and about doing ranch/farm work and getting down with the elements; a small 380 would be THE LAST THING I would carry.

    Glad you are ok, but get a sturdier pistol (preferably one that is NATO approved or has won at least two world wars!) or a revolver.

    This thread has also got me thinking about my pocket pistols I use for EDC. Been slacking on my weekly checks. Going to get back to doing those and then some.

    Glad you are ok. Wild dogs are nothing to mess with. I love south of Tazman and wild dogs are bad here too. They do no fear people, and are vicious.

    Lefty
    Last edited by Lefty Red; 04-07-2019 at 11:33 AM.
    I'll be needing that for squirrels and such.....

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    There’s a big difference in reliability between a pet range gun and a hard traveled carry gun. I have pets that have gone tens of thousands of rounds without a “click”. I have had “clicks” on: S&W mod 60, 36 and Bodyguard 380, Glocks 42 and 43, Kahr, Kimber and LCP 380s, Springfield XDMs 40 and 10, and today a Single Six in 32. The common denominator of my “clicks” is none happened to my pet range guns. A bit of grime, a few days of vibration, a rinse of sweat, repeat daily for a few weeks or months and you to can have a “click”.

    It’s no wonder that Wild Bill Hickok fired, cleaned and loaded his 36s daily.

    I used to think my guns were 100% reliable. That was before did much shooting of guns that had been carried a lot.
    "Time and money don't do you a bit of good until you spend them." - My Dad

  11. #11
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by USSR View Post
    Had to Google it to see what the heck a TCP is. Bad, semi-auto. Double bad, .380. I tell my buddy who has a .380, "You shoot somebody with that and you're gonna piss them off". Get yourself a decent .38 Special or .357 revolver and stoke it with the FBI Load.

    Don
    I've always been inclined to agree with that, but the odd thing is the various studies I've seen in recent years that show in actual shootings the little 380 is surprisingly effective. It's also interesting that .380 and .32acp used to be common police issue in Europe.

    I still wouldn't trade a .357 for a .380, but the statistics are interesting. They seem to indicate that in our quest for "the best", we might tend to forget that "good enough" can still be effective too.

  12. #12
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    Glad to hear/read that you are OK!


    IMO, you now need to decide just what you may need to do to prevent the "hesitation" in your firearm, if there "is" a "next time. I hope it never happens that way again. I would be glad to know that it happened the way it did & it was not a bit more dangerous a situation where that "click" meant your life or limb was in jeopardy in a more urgent way, if ya know what I mean....


    I am sure you will make things to better suit ya & likely pretty soon.


    G'Luck!
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  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    aye, most likely problem people will encounter is when carry to working ratio gets too high. I seen people carry a gun in a holster for a year straight without even taking it out of the holster the whole time, definitely wouldn't trust it after. my carry gun if Im carrying it regularly, apart from target shooting, about every 2 weeks I take the ammo out clean dust buildup off work the action dryfire reload it, should increase chance of function a lot.

  14. #14
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    I'm glad that you are okay.

    I was helping a friend load some ammo for his S&W 40. We ran into lots of very light primer strikes with clicks. Tore his gun down and hosed it out with brake parts cleaner especially the firing pin channel.
    Put it all back together and it ran fine.

  15. #15
    DOR RED BEAR's Avatar
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    Glad your ok. Your wife sounds just like mine. She absolutely refused to carry an auto. Had a charter arms 32 hr that she liked a lot but two ftf and she said buy me something different went with a sw 442. And now she is happy. As with the keltec i have never had a single malfunction with it. A 380 is a good round for self defense has been for more than 100 years. It has also went to war. As long ad you do your part it will do its part.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmortell View Post
    aye, most likely problem people will encounter is when carry to working ratio gets too high. I seen people carry a gun in a holster for a year straight without even taking it out of the holster the whole time, definitely wouldn't trust it after. my carry gun if Im carrying it regularly, apart from target shooting, about every 2 weeks I take the ammo out clean dust buildup off work the action dryfire reload it, should increase chance of function a lot.
    Yup I like firing my carry weapons at least a couple times a month. Can’t trust what you don’t shoot regularly.

  17. #17
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    I suspect the issue here is not that the TCP is a ***, but rather, that any gun can malfunction if not getting regular attention. One outfit I worked for went to weekly firearms inspections after a Detective's snubby went click instead of bang. The story goes, when asked when he had last cleaned the gun, He replied, "Not since I qualified with it a few years back." Now granted, this was nearly 40 years ago, when the practice of carrying one gun on duty and qualifying with another was still quite common, but dust, dirt and lint don't care what you qualified with. It's what is in your holster when times get interesting that matters.
    If you don't keep it clean and functional, it might not be your friend when you really need it.
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  18. #18
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    In hindsight, that was clearly a job for a 1911!
    Got a .22 .30 .32 .357 .38 .40 .41 .44 .45 .480 or .500 S&W cylinder that needs throats honed? 9mm, 10mm/40S&W, 45 ACP pistol barrel that won't "plunk" your handloads? 480 Ruger or 475 Linebaugh cylinder that needs the "step" reamed to 6° 30min chamfer? Click here to send me a PM You can also find me on Facebook Click Here.

  19. #19
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    Sounds like you need a Hi Point for carrying in saddlebags. They always go bang, just not a high style gun! I've found they are great beater pistols though, that you don't need to worry about.
    The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
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  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by waksupi View Post
    Sounds like you need a Hi Point for carrying in saddlebags. They always go bang, just not a high style gun! I've found they are great beater pistols though, that you don't need to worry about.
    I agree. For plinking fun & also as a tool for repelling critters of more than one kind, at a low cost, but a pretty good, "bang for the buck.". Pun intended.
    2nd Amend./U.S. Const. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

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    For the Fudds > "Those who appease a tiger, do so in the hope that the tiger will eat them last." -Winston Churchill.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check