.380 issues

[Big_John_1961]

Hey all,

A couple of things with my recently purchased Rohrbaugh 380.  

• Is it okay to dry fire a Rohrbaugh pistol?

• As of yesterday, the trigger has started to stick in the rearward position after pulling it, and I have to fiddle with it to get it to reset.  Whereas it was really smooth when I got it, there's now the slightest hint of grittiness.  Any ideas as to what my be causing these problems?

• I've put 250 rounds through the gun using largely PMC Bronze and some Blazer.  From about the sixth round onward I was experiencing numerous stovepipe malfunctions (about 15 over the 250 rounds), often with the last round of the magazine.  Obviously, I'm a little concerned about this, as it is to be one of my EDC pistols.  The good news is that the last 50 rounds I fired using Federal Hydra Shok were flawless.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd be grateful.  The gun shoots very well, and I'm hoping these issues are easily fixable.

Thanks!

John

[coyote]

i ask the same first question. everyone seems to agree that it is definitely a better idea to use a snap cap or spent case to absorb the shock to the firing pin. will dry firing it a few time damage a rohrbaugh? very unlikely. but most folks will say its not a good standard practice to click it thousands of times.

re: rough trigger - first try tightening grip screws. lose screws effect trigger action.

due to small size, these handguns are ammo sensitive. keep it clean and lubed and use only proven factory ammo you have personally tested. in your case it may well be hydrashoks.

but that's just my opinion...

[kjtrains]

Hey all,

A couple of things with my recently purchased Rohrbaugh 380.  

• Is it okay to dry fire a Rohrbaugh pistol?

• As of yesterday, the trigger has started to stick in the rearward position after pulling it, and I have to fiddle with it to get it to reset.  Whereas it was really smooth when I got it, there's now the slightest hint of grittiness.  Any ideas as to what my be causing these problems?

• I've put 250 rounds through the gun using largely PMC Bronze and some Blazer.  From about the sixth round onward I was experiencing numerous stovepipe malfunctions (about 15 over the 250 rounds), often with the last round of the magazine.  Obviously, I'm a little concerned about this, as it is to be one of my EDC pistols.  The good news is that the last 50 rounds I fired using Federal Hydra Shok were flawless.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd be grateful.  The gun shoots very well, and I'm hoping these issues are easily fixable.

Thanks!

John

John.  On dry firing, I would say, don't do it, however, there are those that say it doesn't hurt a thing.  Here are some comments on dry firing.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061213034015AA5J39B

On the sticky trigger, sounds like on the PMC and Blazer, you have dirtied up your .380 as this is some dirty ammo I'm told.  Have you cleaned it since shooting those two?  

The Federal Hydra Shoks should cause no problem as you have stated.

[Big_John_1961]

Guys, thanks for the replies.

Coyote, the grip screws are so tight that I've been unable to loosen them, even with a high-quality allen wrench.  I don't think that's the problem.

kjtrains, yes, I thoroughly cleaned and lubed the pistol after the initial range session.  I pretty compulsive about that.  The trigger problem arose just this morning, a good week after I shot it and after quite a few dry fires.  I've never had issues with dry firing my other handguns, and it is a good way to get a feel for the trigger.

I appreciate the input. I love the gun, but right now I can't really trust it.  

[yankee2500]

If it was only with range ammo you had the issue and the premium ammo was flawless after the problem started it would seem it was an ammo issue.
   I would try some more Hydra Shocks or another brand of premium SD ammo and see what happens, maybe some Gold Dots which are usually fairly easy to find.

[coyote]

... Coyote, the grip screws are so tight that I've been unable to loosen them, even with a high-quality allen wrench.  I don't think that's the problem....

every ultra mini i've owned needed a bit of fiddling to get it right.

ie: it still might be the way the grip interface with the trigger spring.

the trigger spring rides under the right grip. in my case, i swapped factory grips with a set of lovely VZ grips. there are very slight differences in the way they were inletted under the right grip. the VZs interfered with the spring, causing the trigger not to reset correctly and caused me to feel the action working. i could have ground of the grips but instead i made the slightest adjustment to the spring's shape. took all of 2 minutes. now its 100%.

its a possibility...

.

[yankee2500]

  I agree it's a possibility but it would seem unlikely with 250 rounds fired and the problems being only with the range ammo, the last 50 rounds were flawless and were the Hydra Shocks.
  The other possibility is the problem worked its self out, maybe just a speck of metal or something stuck somewhere after the sixth round and worked loose after 200.
  The next range session should tell more.

[Big_John_1961]

I should've mentioned that everything about the pistol is stock, including the grips.  What I can't figure out is why the trigger started acting up just now, a week after I fired it last.  

Thanks again for the help.  I also have an e-mail in to Rohrbaugh.  I'll see what they say.

[yankee2500]

I have two pups one that has been to Robar for the NP3 that is my current carry gun and the other is a work in progress.
The point I headed for is the second pup has a sticky trigger and it is caused by the grips rubbing the sides of the trigger. I loosened the front grip screws and it works fine, if I tighten them back up it sticks.
   Try a drop of lube on each end were the trigger rubs the grip or loosen a grip screw and see if this helps. In your case I would try the lube first if you can not loosen the grip screws.

[tracker]

John [yankee2500],

Could this problem be related to the sear trigger bar spring riding up against the inside of the grip like we discussed before?

[yankee2500]

John,

Could this problem be related to the sear trigger bar spring riding up against the inside of the grip like we discussed before?

I can't say its not that, it's completely stock with the factory G-10 grips. When I get it back I can find out for sure by loosening just the Left grip screws and if it still sticks it would indicate it's the sear trigger bar spring rubbing.  

[Reinz]

 I agree it's a possibility but it would seem unlikely with 250 rounds fired and the problems being only with the range ammo, the last 50 rounds were flawless and were the Hydra Shocks.
  The other possibility is the problem worked its self out, maybe just a speck of metal or something stuck somewhere after the sixth round and worked loose after 200.
  The next range session should tell more.

I agree, this is the first thing I thought of when I read the first post.

[Big_John_1961]

Just to update, I ran a tiny amount of Gun Butter down between the right side grip and the trigger bar, and the problem of the trigger sticking in the rearward position seem to have resolved itself for now.  I would love to get that grip off, but, for the life of me, I cannot break those screws loose.  I've cranked so hard on the allen head driver that I'm afraid it'll snap if I push it further.

Rohrbaugh responded to my e-mail query and said the .380 should digest any standard .380 ammo, but they went on to say that this is a custom gun and will like some ammo better than others.

The message also recommended "Winchester Silvertips 115 Gr. STHP and Speer Gold Dot 115 Gr. HP for carry and Federal American Eagle 115 Gr. FMJ for plinking 124 Gr. may
also be used for defense and plinking."

Obviously, those are 9mm loads, so they confused the two calibers there.  So far the gun likes the 90 gr FHS, so I'll stick with that for now.  I'll run 50-100 more rounds of the FHS through the pistol next time out, but at about a buck a pop, it's pretty pricey stuff to be "plinking" with. It'd be nice to use the cheaper FMJ ammo for range practice.

[kjtrains]

Big_John.  Thanks for the update and glad the Gun Butter worked on the trigger.  If you want to get the right side grip off, try heating the grip screws with a soldering iron to soften the loctite; tracker brought this up not too long ago and reminded us that SSlater had posted that tip.

[Big_John_1961]

Thanks kjtrains.  I was wondering if there was loctite on those screws!    I'll give that a try.