Range Report. Kahr S9 and Remington RM380.

[Ralph III]

Hello All,
I was able to shoot a little and just wanted to share the results. Anyhow, I recently purchased a ccw gun for my wife (Remington RM380) and I was able to shoot it as well as my Kahr S9 yesterday.

1) I only shot 7 rds with my Kahr S9 (prior to leaving) but managed a 7in grouping from 90ft (first pic). This gun never ceases to impress me especially since adding some TruGlo nights sights. I feel like I have the perfect setup with my S9 at this point for conceal carry. I really like this gun.

2) I looked at a lot of small .380 acp pistols for my wife before coming across and deciding on the Remington RM380. It just had the best balance of size and weight in comparison to all the other micro type pistols. My wife has some tendon issues in her arm so she is recoil sensitive. This gun has very manageable recoil and this was a major consideration. It also has an easy to rack slide and double strike capability which is a huge plus, IMO.

The only draw back is with the tiny fixed sights. I believe I may be able to add a front night sight made for a shotgun bead though. Even though my wife has no issues with the sight this will make a huge difference which she will appreciate once it's done.

This is the third time I have shot it, btw. The first time I ran 20 rounds through it and experienced two FTF due to light primer strikes. The second time I ran 50 rounds and experienced 1 FTF. All rounds fired with the second strike. Yesterday, I ran 40rds and experienced no malfunctions what-so-ever. So I think it is breaking in good after some polishing and 110 rds through it. I'm shooting high and to the right and my groupings yesterday (second pic) were... 10ft = 1 1/4in, 20ft = 2 3/4in, 30ft = 5.0in, 45ft = 8.0in. It's only meant to be an up-close pistol but I like testing a gun from a distance. It's not to bad.

FYI, she wanted the gun in a two tone color which I couldn't find. So I painted the slide and trigger gunstock metalic gray and then clear-coated it. It turned out really nice.

Happy Easter,
Ralph

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Thanks for the report!

I really like the Rorbaugh, er, I mean..... Remington RM380 and have seriously though about adding one to my carry rotation. Hope the "new" Remington continues to produce them.

 

[Pat Riot]

I owned an RM380. Mine was very reliable. I put hundreds of rounds through it and never had a failure of any kind.
I would recommend you clean out the firing pin channel if the FTFs aren’t from a loose grip.

Mine was most accurate with Remington Ultimate Defense ammunition and very accurate with Hornady Critical Defense and Federal HST ammo.

 

[bannockburn]

Ralph III

Nice shooting with the RM380! Like-wise with your S9 at 30 yards!

 

[jar]

I have two of the RM380s but can't quite explain why.



It is without a doubt the most pleasant and controllable of my .380s.

 

[BC17A]

Light strikes with the RM380 are something you don't usually hear about, unless someone installed the Mcarbo hammer spring. The Galloway spring kit is a much better choice and won't be too light for reliability. A new RM380 hasn't been for sale for a few years so OP did you buy that one used?

 

[Ralph III]

I have two of the RM380s but can't quite explain why.

View attachment 1073087

It is without a doubt the most pleasant and controllable of my .380s.

Dang-it Jar!!! The blue/silver/black RM380 is the one my wife really wanted but I couldn't find one being discontinued. How many rounds do you have through it and would you consider selling it? Seriously, I'm going to get one for my daughter at some point as well.

Pat Riot. I took the pistol completely apart when I first got it and gave it a thorough cleaning. This would include the firing pin channel. I may have left to much oil in the channel though when I first cleaned it and that might have contributed to the FTF's. The last time I simply cleaned the firing pin channel and then wiped the firing pin with a cloth that had a light amount of oil on it. There has been some immediate and obvious wear taking place as well. So, I think that attributed to there being no malfunctions with the firearm on the last outing.

Thanks for the other replies!

God Bless,
Ralph

 

[Ralph III]

Light strikes with the RM380 are something you don't usually hear about, unless someone installed the Mcarbo hammer spring. The Galloway spring kit is a much better choice and won't be too light for reliability. A new RM380 hasn't been for sale for a few years so OP did you buy that one used?

Hey BC. No, I actually managed to find one that was brand new and never fired. Yes, I am thinking about adding the Galloway kit to lessen the pull slightly. It's a little stiff at nearly 9lbs.

Ralph

 

[jar]

Dang-it Jar!!! The blue/silver/black RM380 is the one my wife really wanted but I couldn't find one being discontinued. How many rounds do you have through it and would you consider selling it? Seriously, I'm going to get one for my daughter at some point as well.

Pat Riot. I took the pistol completely apart when I first got it and gave it a thorough cleaning. This would include the firing pin channel. I may have left to much oil in the channel though when I first cleaned it and that might have contributed to the FTF's. The last time I simply cleaned the firing pin channel and then wiped the firing pin with a cloth that had a light amount of oil on it. There has been some immediate and obvious wear taking place as well. So, I think that attributed to there being no malfunctions with the firearm on the last outing.

Thanks for the other replies!

God Bless,
Ralph

Not many rounds through it since I tend to carry 32acp rather than my .380s. It's gotten to the range a few times but that's about it. I did just recently try to give it to my Brother-in-law but he chose my S&W Airweight Centennial instead.

 

[BC17A]

Hey BC. No, I actually managed to find one that was brand new and never fired. Yes, I am thinking about adding the Galloway kit to lessen the pull slightly. It's a little stiff at nearly 9lbs.

Ralph

That's a rare find for a great little pistol, congrats. I kick myself for not buying another one before Remington went belly up. As for the trigger, it'll lighten up about 1-1/2 to 2 pounds after several hundred rounds through it. I made a new hammer spring seat for mine when it was new that relaxed the spring just enough to drop it from the high 8lb range to the mid 7s. After a lot of range time it's settled in to just over 6 pounds and is still 100% reliable. Even with that light of a pull I have never had any light strikes. Yours probably just needs a good firing pin and channel cleaning since it may be gummed up from sitting so long since new. Below is a link to my thread on reducing the trigger pull with just a simple spring seat mod. I made a new seat but the original can be sanded down to accomplish the same. My original pictures are gone but I added some new ones and updated the thread at the bottom of the page.

http://www.remingtonowners.com/topic3075.html

 

[Ralph III]

Thanks BC17A! That's a very interesting modification.

God Bless,
Ralph

 

[chicharrones]

Another RM380 fan here. I sure hope a reputable gun maker starts producing them again.

 

[Ralph III]

Another RM380 fan here. I sure hope a reputable gun maker starts producing them again.

Yes, I contacted RemArms to see if they were going to start up production on them again but they provided no definitive answer. There are several things that I really like about the firearm and one of them is the simple design. It's real easy to completely break it down. The only thing that I don't like about the design though, is with the trigger bar. There are several things about the bar that could have been designed better, IMO.

Ralph