I got a CA .380 as Trainer for CA .32 H&R

[Oninotaki]

That Norma 380 ammo is horrible, I got a box because it was cheap, on sale for $12.99 as opposed to $25+ for every other kind of 380 ammo. Now I know why it was on sale, it's literally the dirtiest ammo I've seen, 380 or otherwise. I started having failures to eject and couldn't figure out why, when I cleaned the gun there was so much soot and unburnt powder it was unreal.
I've never seen anything like it and I'm surprised all I had was 2 or 3 failures from it. I'll never buy that ammo again, you can rest assured it was most likely the ammo giving you trouble.
On a side note I really wish they would've made the 380 pitbull smaller like the Taurus 380. A 380 pocket revolver would be awesome. Unfortunately the Taurus ones are almost impossible to find.

Thanks for this info. I did grab a second box of the Norma .380 before your reply and I plan on shooting it this weeknd to see if it is any better. There is another .380 acp available for only $1 more so I will probably pick up a box of that and see if it performs any better if I get anymore fails to fire out of the Norma this weekend.

It is nice to hear that you also had failures with this brand and caliber. Charter Arms has such a reputation that I was really hoping it was the ammo.

Oh and I I hear pocket .380 revolvers. IMHO if you are going to chamber a revolver in such a short fat caliber, you should take advantage of that and make the revolver as short as possible. Tiny .380 revolvers sound like they would make great ankle and pocket backup revolvers.

 

[shanep0017]

Thanks for this info. I did grab a second box of the Norma .380 before your reply and I plan on shooting it this weeknd to see if it is any better. There is another .380 acp available for only $1 more so I will probably pick up a box of that and see if it performs any better if I get anymore fails to fire out of the Norma this weekend.

It is nice to hear that you also had failures with this brand and caliber. Charter Arms has such a reputation that I was really hoping it was the ammo.

Oh and I I hear pocket .380 revolvers. IMHO if you are going to chamber a revolver in such a short fat caliber, you should take advantage of that and make the revolver as short as possible. Tiny .380 revolvers sound like they would make great ankle and pocket backup revolvers.

I didn't have any light strikes, just failures to eject from all the soot and unburnt powder, although the soot could've got in the area around your firing pin. I have nothing against Norma, in fact I thought they made great ammo. They were known for making some hot 38 special way back.
I've honestly never seen anything like it, check the cases after you shoot it you should see what I'm talking about. I was shooting mine out of an auto but I think you'll see some similarities. There's still a burn mark on the outside of my chamber that I can't get off.

 

[Zendude]

If there is any cartridge that forces me to take up reloading, it's going to be due to .32 H&R magnum.

Now we have two revolvers that can chamber the cartridge. Feels like I'm going all in.

32 H&R and a Charter Undercoverette were the culprits that got me started with reloading.

 

[Oninotaki]

32 H&R and a Charter Undercoverette were the culprits that got me started with reloading.

Yeah for me it's gonna be .410 and .32 h&r magnum. Both are basically unobtanium right now, and they are my staples for around the property, camping/back packing and going into town.

 

[Oninotaki]

I didn't have any light strikes, just failures to eject from all the soot and unburnt powder, although the soot could've got in the area around your firing pin. I have nothing against Norma, in fact I thought they made great ammo. They were known for making some hot 38 special way back.
I've honestly never seen anything like it, check the cases after you shoot it you should see what I'm talking about. I was shooting mine out of an auto but I think you'll see some similarities. There's still a burn mark on the outside of my chamber that I can't get off.

I shot another box and got some more light strikes. The spring on the .380 acp Charter is their blue one, the springs in their professional series is the green one. When I reach out to them to ask if I can buy a stainless steel grip frame I will also inquire about getting a green spring as well. I think that will resolve the light strikes. That said the norma .380 is SUPER dirty.

 

[shanep0017]

I shot another box and got some more light strikes. The spring on the .380 acp Charter is their blue one, the springs in their professional series is the green one. When I reach out to them to ask if I can buy a stainless steel grip frame I will also inquire about getting a green spring as well. I think that will resolve the light strikes. That said the norma .380 is SUPER dirty.

Yeah it's ridiculously dirty for some reason, I couldn't believe it. I've had light handloads with lead bullets that were cleaner. You could try these guys if Charter won't help you, they only have springs for the Bulldog but it might be the same one if not they might have something that will work. If not email them they might be willing to do something custom. https://www.gunsprings.com/CHARTER+ARMS/BULLDOG+.44/cID3/mID72/dID93