M&P 380 EZ Stovepipe Cure?
- Thread starter yanici
- Start date
kbm6893
Member
I think it's pretty clear that there is an issue here that S&W isn't copping to. And since this gun is marketed to women and weaker people who have issues with racking a slide, and by and large, members of those groups don't shoot all that much (yes, I know there are exceptions), S&W isn't all that interested in putting the money into fixing it in a timely manner since they know most of the owners will probably never even discover it. Will they fix the issue? Eventually as they roll out newer models, but those who already have them aren't much of a priority, in my opinion.
Rastoff
US Veteran
Never discover it or never think it's a problem in the first place.
My dislike of the .380Auto round is no secret. The issues with this gun just highlight my concerns. Whether we choose to admit it or not, the vast majority of people who have issues with semi-auto guns, don't see it as an issue.
One malfunction during a shooting session isn't a problem for most people. They usually just see it as no big deal. What they don't realize is that 1 issue in 20 shots means a 5% error rate. If the purpose of the gun is just for fun at the range, this is no big deal. If its purpose is self-defense, this could get you killed.
The .380Auto is a low power, finicky round. For any gun to work well with this round, the gun needs to be tuned properly. A mass produced gun just won't have the fine finishing necessary to be really reliable with this round.
So far, it seems that S&W isn't going to produce a fix for this issue. They will just handle the small number of guns sent in for repair and maybe will change the design in some future update or new model. The majority of owners won't bother to send their guns in for repair. S&W knows and is counting on this.
JNewell
Member
Mass produced pistols have been reliably digesting .380 cartridges and spitting bullets out for over a century. Until recently, they were all blowback designs. Whether it's easier to tune than a short recoil action, I don't know - I wouldn't think so. I've put a small mountain of .380 through a Glock 42 with absolutely zero issues, and that's recoil operated. I don't think it's that hard to get a mass-produced .380 pistol to operate reliably. S&W, very surprisingly, doesn't seem to have managed that with the otherwise excellent .380 EZ.
I took the wife's 380EZ out again today, 100 rounds of American Eagle 90 grain. Every round fired with no issue, no stovepipe jams. I haven't shot this gun in about a month. Two of the three mags were sitting loaded in the safe, the other empty.
JNewell
Member
Just got back from the range with a brand new 380EZ, serial RCB9xxx.
150 rounds of very smokey Magtech ball.
No stovepipes or feeding failures.
I did have four instances where the round failed to cycle the slide. I'm going to chalk that up, for now, to either underpowered ammo or to new gun break-in. I have some WW WB that I'll try next time.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the pistol and think it will do what I bought it to do very nicely - a perfect tool for working on trigger control.
150 rounds of very smokey Magtech ball.
No stovepipes or feeding failures.
I did have four instances where the round failed to cycle the slide. I'm going to chalk that up, for now, to either underpowered ammo or to new gun break-in. I have some WW WB that I'll try next time.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the pistol and think it will do what I bought it to do very nicely - a perfect tool for working on trigger control.
JNewell
Member
Stopped at the range this afternoon and put another 150+ rounds of various types and brand through the pistol. Zero issues of any kind. That includes the last few magazines fired by a woman in the next lane who'd never fired a pistol before and was there to inaugurate her birthday present, a subcompact 9mm. (!) I don't think that's how I'd start a new shooter. I figured the 380EZ would give her a little bit of an on-ramp.
SJK2
Member
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Can anyone "decode" that serial number to a date of production.????
I can't, but will say mine is an NCA1xxx and it was purchased on 4 April 2018.
JNewell
Member
Interesting - my serial # RCB9xxx was purchased earlier this month (August 2019). Of course there's no telling how long it was sitting on a distributor's shelf. Mine is NTS. I don't know how sales volume for the NTS compares to the TS version.
Mine is NTS as well. I shot a TS version prior to the recall and experienced the safety engaging unexpectedly issue. Never been a big fan of safeties, especially in the case of the EZ since it also has its grip safety. Not sure which version of the EZ sells better.
Look on the label on the box. In the column on the right, the second row from the top contains a 6-digit number, which is the production date in the format MMDDYY.
My wife's EZ with a NDD#### serial number was produced 112118, or November 21, 2018.
My wife's EZ with a NDD#### serial number was produced 112118, or November 21, 2018.
trikerdon
US Veteran
Stretch the mag spring?
Reviews: Smith-Wesson-3008882-M-P-Shield-380-ACP-8-Rounds-Capacity-Extra-Magazine | eBay
Just saw this on Ebay in the reviews for the magazine:
These are Smith and Wesson magazines. Came in their original Smith and Wesson blister pack, and yes you have to remove the spring and stretch it to stop the EZ from standing the last round straight up, just like you have to do with the magazines that came with the EZ.
Reviews: Smith-Wesson-3008882-M-P-Shield-380-ACP-8-Rounds-Capacity-Extra-Magazine | eBay
Just saw this on Ebay in the reviews for the magazine:
These are Smith and Wesson magazines. Came in their original Smith and Wesson blister pack, and yes you have to remove the spring and stretch it to stop the EZ from standing the last round straight up, just like you have to do with the magazines that came with the EZ.
JNewell
Member
My experience with stretching springs is that you get a short term benefit but the spring is soon worse than it started. Perhaps Wolff will offer +5/+10% mag springs for the 380EZ? Unfortunately I wouldn't hold my breath.
SJK2
Member
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I contacted Wolff and they are aware of the problem. I feel the more people that call them and request stronger springs the sooner they would see a need to make them..........
Wolff Springs:
Phone Numbers - US Only
Orders & Technical Support: 800-545-0077
Fax: 610-359-9496
Main: 610-359-9600
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trikerdon
US Veteran
I was looking at magazines for the EZ on Ebay.
I came across this in the reviews:
These are Smith and Wesson magazines. Came in their original Smith and Wesson blister pack, and yes you have to remove the spring and stretch it to stop the EZ from standing the last round straight up, just like you have to do with the magazines that came with the EZ. (I never did this with my magazines and I don't have the problem)
Also, I wonder why in all the reviews and posts on the EZ I never see anyone else having this problem.
I came across this in the reviews:
These are Smith and Wesson magazines. Came in their original Smith and Wesson blister pack, and yes you have to remove the spring and stretch it to stop the EZ from standing the last round straight up, just like you have to do with the magazines that came with the EZ. (I never did this with my magazines and I don't have the problem)
Also, I wonder why in all the reviews and posts on the EZ I never see anyone else having this problem.
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trikerdon
US Veteran
I'm just wondering why I don't see this problem with any of the reviews on the Performance Center .380 EZ? Seems like if it was such a big problem it would have come up on them. Maybe I just haven't seen the right one yet?
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