I was out in the backyard today doing a little target practice when my 380+ did something it had not before... it did not fire. I've run several hundred rounds through it since I got it, Winchester, Remington, Hornady, Blazer, and, if memory serves, some Tula. Today it fired 2 or 3 rounds of Tula 91 grain (the green casings) and not fire again. I reloaded with Remington and still no fire. Any ideas? Could the Tula have caused something to break? Everything looks okay, but I'm no gunsmith.
Sometimes the Tula rounds have "hard" primers... did the rounds have firing pins strikes showing on the primer...?
If ya can. visually inspect the firing pin. Since it is a rebounding type, you will have to push it our the front of the slide manually. Once you remove the slide, make sure the decocker is in the "fire" position. Then push the firing pin forward from the back with a pencil, pen, etc. The firing pin should stick out the hole in the slide enough to see the rounded end. It should also retract when it is released. If it is broken, it will either not be long enough to stick out when you push it out the front or will not be rounded. May show signs of being squared off or jagged around the edges. If the pin Other posisibilities could be debris entering the firing pin hole and binding it or the decocker/safety failing to release the pin completely when it is in the "fire" position. If these conditions are present, the pin will feel like it is binding when you try to push it out the front hole. Can't advise you on how to pull the pin out of the gun cause I have never removed one of those......yet.
I checked the rounds that did not fire and see no evidence of pin strike on the primers, so I guess that answers the question of why they didn't fire. After work today I'll check the pin and see if I can figure out why it isn't striking the rounds. If it is broken, thank God for that wonderful Bersa warranty.
The de-cocker/safety holds the safety block and firing pin (with spring) in. Removing it will allow both to come out. A little tricky getting them back in though. As stated, the pin is probably rebounding, meaning it is shorter then the firing pin hole. Remove the slide and push the pin forward (from the rear) using something small enough to go into the hole a little ways then see if it is sticking out the front. Simply pushing it flush with the rear will not work.
UPDATE: I took the slide off and checked that the firing pin comes out far enough to impact the bullet primer. It does. I put it back together and worked the slide a few times, chambering and ejecting several rounds. After that, 4 rounds fired flawlessly. Now, when you chamber a round and the hammer locks back, the hammer will not travel forward unless I push the magazine up tightly into the grip. Then, the hammer will drop but not fire. Looks like I'll be sending it in for some work soon.
I think you may be right Pancho. If it were mine I would remove the mag safety and try it. With that being said, why was this post moved to ammo and reloading. I don't think the tulammo had anything to do with it other then moving that vertical post a tad.
Not sure about the move. When I first read the title of the post, I thought someone was asking if ula was safe to fire in a BT .380. I was going to respond to that as o.k. cause I used it mine often. Then I actually read the details in the post and saw that there was a problem with the gun which was more of a reapair or damage thing. But it first looked like an ammo related thread. Oh well, hope that got his porblem solved. I would proably try the same thing with the mag safety too and see if I could get it to work. I just never had a problem with any of the Bersa .380s I had. Most all of my guns have been used. I will even buy broken ones at gunshows for a challenge. So if any of the good ones break, I have to fix them cause I'm to cheap to pay for it. Never have sent anyting in for a repair that I can remember.
Yes, at first I thought that maybe the Tula ammo I was shooting had caused my problem since I see so much negative commenting on it, so the moderator moved the thread. After a few suggestions I've managed to isolate the problem to, what is looking like, a mechanical problem. I've never broken my 380+ down far enough to remove the mag safety so I'm not sure how to do that.
Actually its not that hard. Maybe this link will show you how. Oops, wrong one. Try this one from another forum. http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php
I took off the grip and found that the small pin behind the flat bar was not flush like it is apparently supposed to be. I tapped it back flush and the weapon fired 15 rounds perfectly. Thanks folks for all the help.
