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Fiocchi Range Dynamics .380 failures

2.6K views 9 replies 10 participants last post by  Inked3439  
#1 ·
Once my P365 380 recoil spring assembly was fixed or replaced by Sig, it has performed flawlessly. I have used about 6 different brands of 95g range ammo and a few rounds of hollow points. I recently purchased 1,000 rounds of the Range Dynamics based on my 9mm experience with Fiocchi as well as the great deal I got. I know, I should have bought one box of 50 for a trial.
The first round of the Fiocchi loaded fine. The next jammed against the ramp. This occurred every time that I cleared the jam and pushed the next round backward in the magazine so there was no gap at the primer end. First one fired, second one jammed. Fortunately, I found a work-around. I alternated cartridges in the magazine; Fiocchi, Norma, Fiocchi, Norma, etc. This will allow me to use the last batch of Range Dynamics that I will ever own. The failure occurred with all 3 of my mags.
I compared the two cartridges to see if there was any noticeable differences. The bullets have a different nose curvature and the Fiocchi bullet is either shorter or pressed deeper into the brass. I measured a number of cartridges with a micrometer and found the overall length of the Fiocchi is 0.8mm shorter. Does anyone have insight on this?
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#2 · (Edited)
I have a suggestion that may seem unnecessary to fix the issue with the Fiocchi ammo.

On all my semi-auto handguns, I use a Dremel with a felt wheel loaded with Flitz polishing compound to polish the barrel feed ramp when I clean the handguns. Including outside of the barrel that touches the inside of the slide.

I never have a feeding issue including 9 mm and 380 reloads on my P365s, LCP Max, LCP II in .22, S&W Compact 22 (especially important for buffing on the .22’s) and Springfield XDs .45.

I usually have no more than three to clean at a time and buffing the feed ramps for all three takes less than 2 mins. The feed ramps get polished first then cleaned up with Hoppe’s No.9.

About twice a year depending on how many rounds are used in each handgun I will strip the guns down to parts and pieces to polish all metal that touches metal. The video below explains how to do it in detail


If nothing else comes out of polishing the barrel feed ramps, you will eliminate one variable and smooth out your ammo feed into the barrel.
 
#5 ·
And Glock 42's will NOT run Privi Partisan. They just flat out refuse. They had no issues with Fiocchi though. And my friend's P365 will not run Norma .380, but her P238 and mine love it.

Find the .380 ammo YOUR gun loves and use that one. If you have more than one .380, find the favorite for each one. You might get super lucky and find one brand that they all love.

Good luck. 👵
 
#9 ·
The P365 in .380acp appears to be the same design as it's 9mm counterpart - i.e. a locked breech recoil operated pistol.

Many .380acp pistols (for example the Walther PPK) are direct blowback design. This is possible because of the lower power of this cartridge. You can't do direct blowback once you reach 9mm Luger cartridge power levels.

It also means that in the P365, there is quite a bit of mechanism mass and friction to overcome with the lower power of the .380acp cartridge recoil. The mechanism absorbs much of this recoil energy, making it a very soft shooting firearm, but it also means that there isn't that much energy there in the first place to operate the locked breech mechanism.

This means that you have to do your job in providing a solid platform for the firearm to recoil against. It has to be consistent meaning that your grip and stance has to be correct for every shot and that the firearm cycling is more sensitive to it.

Different cartridge manufacturers may load to different energy levels. That could make the design more ammunition sensitive as well, accounting for these experiences. As with anything mechanical, your experience may vary.