S&W EZ9 and cast boolits

[DirtyDusty]

Anyone shooting cast in theirs? I tried a 125 tc and a 125 round nose. .356 and both fail to let the slide go forward all the way. Locks up and when I finally get the slide to pull back, the bullet is pulled partially out of the case.

[cupajoe]

Hey Dusty, I am shooting the Lee 356-124 TL bullet powder coated and the RD 357-135 RF bullet from NOE sized and lubed. The throat in my EZ measures .358. I am sizing both to .3576 or so. I am seating the Lee bullet to 1.125" oal, the case mouth is just behind the front drive band. The RD bullet is seated to 1.060" oal. These rounds feed and extract just fine. Sounds like you need to shorten your oal a tad so the rounds drop into the chamber and are flush with the barrel hood.
I am really liking the EZ. It fits my hand very well and the grip angle is perfect. The trigger is outstanding, a little takeup, just a hint of creep and 5.0 lb break, in my opinion its just right for EDC. I have only put a little over 300 rounds through it but it has been 100% reliable. I really liked the fact that it is hammer fired.

[Battis]

For what it's worth, I load for a S&W EZ .380 (I know yours is a 9mm) but, as cupajoe said, I had to shorten the OAL slightly, and now it works fine.

[LouB]

Battis:
How long have you had your .380 EZ? My better half currently carries a Kahr 9, but is now having problems working that slide. And for your loading for it, you using jacketed. Ever try Cast bullets?

THX
LouB

[Battis]

The S&W .380 EZ is my wife's. She had a Ruger 9mm and didn't like it - the slide was hard for her to work, and it kicked. She absolutely loves the S&W EZ .380. Now she likes to shoot. It's heavy enough to absorb the recoil, small enough to carry. You can breathe on the slide and it will move. Nice loaded chamber indicator. Even the mags are easier to load. Highly recommended.
I load with coated cast bullets that I got online.

[Warhawk]

We have had a 380 EZ for about two years now. It’s my wife’s and it’s one exactly three autoloaders that she was comfortable with. The 380 EZ has run flawlessly, I don’t load 380 or 9mm so it’s been factory loads only.

My wife likes the 380 EZ so well that I’ve ordered dies, brass and bullets to handload for it. Planning to use an 88 grain powder coated bullet, anyone have a favorite recipe?

In September I bought her a 9mm EZ, purple frame and silver slide (apparently anAtwood’s special). This one has given us problems from day one. The slide would stay back after firing, bump the back of the slide lightly and it would close and could be fired again. I sent it back to S&W, they sent back some blank repair paperwork with it so I don’t know what they did. Whatever they did, it’s still got the same problem. The next range tripe I was able to try 4 kinds of ammo in it, the malfunction was there with 3 of the 4 types of ammo. So I sent it back again earlier this week. S&W promised to have a supervisor check it out before they send it back.

We’ve taken several ladies to the range this year. A good number of them have had problems with the grip safety on the EZ models, my wife included. Enough so that I’ve considered pinning it in place, like I used to read about doing on 1911s.

The other auto that my wife likes is the Walther CCP. The slide is, if anything, even easier than the 9mm EZ. The ergos on it are great but the trigger isn’t as good and the magazine is difficult for her to load. There is now a CCP in 380 but I don’t intend to buy any more 380 pistols.

There are several 9mm guns of mine that my wife likes to shoot, but she can’t rack the slide or load the mags (without a tool). She’s likes my Shield 9mm, Glock 43X and 48, and Taurus G3. That Taurus G3 is a sleeper, and under perfect conditions my wife can rack the slide on it. I almost wrote it off since it’s a Taurus ... but it has proven to be a great gun, I like it so well that I bought a G3C (the compact version). Surprisingly my wife likes the G3 and not the G3C, she says the texturing on the C is too rough. They feel exactly the same to me, maybe the C kicks a little more? Both of the Taurii all but REQUIRE a loading tool, the mags are a bear to load.

[Battis]

I have two .380s.

Smith & Wesson .380 EZ
Ortgies 9mm Kurz (.380)
This works for me - might not for anyone else. Check before using.
4.1 gr Unique
95 gr cast bullet COL: .985”

2.9 grs Bullseye did not always cycle.

[Drm50]

I have had 9mm dies and molds for years. I never loaded many because 9mm was cheap and the pistols throw brass over the hill. Then I got a Target model Hi Power. It shoots factory very well.
Shot a few squirrel with it. I thought wow, with cast there is no limit to how it may shoot. I’ve tried a dozen different boolits, experimented with sizing, alloy and powders. Didn’t do jack, shoots terrible. Stoke it up with cheap FMJs and it’s a bullseye gun. Go figure.

[DirtyDusty]

Hey Dusty, I am shooting the Lee 356-124 TL bullet powder coated and the RD 357-135 RF bullet from NOE sized and lubed. The throat in my EZ measures .358. I am sizing both to .3576 or so. I am seating the Lee bullet to 1.125" oal, the case mouth is just behind the front drive band. The RD bullet is seated to 1.060" oal. These rounds feed and extract just fine. Sounds like you need to shorten your oal a tad so the rounds drop into the chamber and are flush with the barrel hood.
I am really liking the EZ. It fits my hand very well and the grip angle is perfect. The trigger is outstanding, a little takeup, just a hint of creep and 5.0 lb break, in my opinion its just right for EDC. I have only put a little over 300 rounds through it but it has been 100% reliable. I really liked the fact that it is hammer fired.

I messed around with it earlier. With the 125gr rfn I bought off of the swap and sell section, I have to seat to an OAL of 1.025. I reduced the load to 3.7 gr. Of 231 and going to start there. This pistol is a performance center version.

[DirtyDusty]

We have had a 380 EZ for about two years now. It’s my wife’s and it’s one exactly three autoloaders that she was comfortable with. The 380 EZ has run flawlessly, I don’t load 380 or 9mm so it’s been factory loads only.

My wife likes the 380 EZ so well that I’ve ordered dies, brass and bullets to handload for it. Planning to use an 88 grain powder coated bullet, anyone have a favorite recipe?

In September I bought her a 9mm EZ, purple frame and silver slide (apparently anAtwood’s special). This one has given us problems from day one. The slide would stay back after firing, bump the back of the slide lightly and it would close and could be fired again. I sent it back to S&W, they sent back some blank repair paperwork with it so I don’t know what they did. Whatever they did, it’s still got the same problem. The next range tripe I was able to try 4 kinds of ammo in it, the malfunction was there with 3 of the 4 types of ammo. So I sent it back again earlier this week. S&W promised to have a supervisor check it out before they send it back.

We’ve taken several ladies to the range this year. A good number of them have had problems with the grip safety on the EZ models, my wife included. Enough so that I’ve considered pinning it in place, like I used to read about doing on 1911s.

The other auto that my wife likes is the Walther CCP. The slide is, if anything, even easier than the 9mm EZ. The ergos on it are great but the trigger isn’t as good and the magazine is difficult for her to load. There is now a CCP in 380 but I don’t intend to buy any more 380 pistols.

There are several 9mm guns of mine that my wife likes to shoot, but she can’t rack the slide or load the mags (without a tool). She’s likes my Shield 9mm, Glock 43X and 48, and Taurus G3. That Taurus G3 is a sleeper, and under perfect conditions my wife can rack the slide on it. I almost wrote it off since it’s a Taurus ... but it has proven to be a great gun, I like it so well that I bought a G3C (the compact version). Surprisingly my wife likes the G3 and not the G3C, she says the texturing on the C is too rough. They feel exactly the same to me, maybe the C kicks a little more? Both of the Taurii all but REQUIRE a loading tool, the mags are a bear to load.

I despise smith and Wesson’s service dept. hopefully I never need them on this pistol. I have an TC encore .50 caliber muzzle loader. After probably 50 shots the barrel started swelling up about a 1/4th the way from the end. They are owned by S&W, so you when I sent it in I got a S&W gunsmith calling me telling me that I ruined the barrel by short loading it. I asked what he meant, and he said I wasn’t pushing the bullet down the barrel but a few inches. I told him that I had been shooting muzzle loaders for 25 years and I make a witness mark on my ramrod the first time I load it, to verify that I have fully seated the bullet. He said he didn’t care and that he had the final say on what happens. Needless to say, I have an encore frame with no barrel.