I'm sure you know not to 'limp wrist' when shooting. Brace your wrist and let the recoil carry your arm up. The .45 should be made to work much better without much trouble..
I'm not going to say that about the .380. I've heard that the later models are more reliable than the old, but I keep hearing stories like this.
I've had days where nothing worked and I couldn't hit a thing and a few days where everything worked and I couldn't miss. Most trips are in between.