trikerdon
US Veteran
I have over 500 rds though mine and nary a hick up. Love this pistol....
M&P 380 EZ Issues
- Thread starter gwoker
- Start date
Maddmax
US Veteran
I have to agree. Over the years I've found it to be mostly true with new shooters that haven't had any proper "formal" training and have developed a few bad habits like proper grip, finger placement on the trigger, etc. Once corrected, there were very noticeable improvements.
As for "most" failure problems. I found many people never fully read the manual, failed to clean the storage lube and properly lube the weapon as stated in the manual before shooting it.
Last but not least. They'll pay $$$ for the weapon, BUT then buy the cheapest "junk" ammo they can find on the shelf. Not to mention giving the weapon any reasonable time for break-in. Then call it a piece of junk if it (the weapon) has ANY problems and isn't an instant tack driver right out of the box. ?!?!?
I'm not (or wasn't), a big 380 fan. But one of the women my wife works with bought an EZ-380 for CCW and showed it to my wife and let her shoot it. Next thing I know we're at the LGS and we now have two of them. My wife thought I needed one to complete my M&P collection (couldn't argue with the wife
). We've got over half a 1 gallon ice-cream bucket full of 380 brass and a new loader set up for 380's. She said she'd like load those little finger pinchers. We have had ZERO issues or problems with either Shield EZ-380's and both have been outstanding shooters.
Never thought I would own a 380. All I can say is thank you Smith & Wesson for another Great M&P.
Rastoff
US Veteran
On this forum it seems about equal with those that like them and those that have had issues, but still like them.
I'm a confirmed .380Auto skeptic. I have yet to see one go through even 35 rounds without a malfunction of some kind. I would love to get my hands on one, but alas, they are not available here.
Maddmax
US Veteran
Can't argue with that. It's the same with almost everything, whose is best or worse. Then there's people prone to Murphy's Law "what can go wrong will go wrong".
The 380 isn't my "go to" weapon of choice by any means, I got it because it did feel good in my hand, I could get one, it turned out to be a reliable little shooter (same for my wife's) and at short range both hit what I/she were aiming at. Mine is mainly for plinking. As for my wife, she enjoys shooting it, liked the weight, feel, ease of it's functions and the grip safety along with the ambidextrous safety. Grip safety, weight and EZ slide were the big selling points, it conceals very well for her, also well with-in her comfort level. I will admit she about drove me nuts shopping with her looking for the "just the right one" to carry. It helped that the indoor ranges around here do rent. So she could try out "about everything under the sun". EZ 380's are hot sellers around here and don't stay on the shelf very long, very popular with the Ladies for CCW.
msjdgman
Member
I certainly won't dispute that you've seen 380's malfunction. I have too. What I've witnessed has been either shooter error or cheap ammo problems. But on the other side of the coin, I have 5 differnt 380's including a Taurus PT 58S, and not one of my 380's has ever had a malfunction. While I haven't shot thousands upon thousands of rounds thru any of them, I easily have many hundred rounds thru each of them. The lowest number I have thru any of them right now is 400 thru my wifes Shield 380EZ that we got for her back in May. It has performed perfectly for both of us.
Flyingfool
Member
My brother has an original Ruger LCP. And nitna single malfunction. He biught an LCP2 and it is a jam-o-matic. Went back to Ruger and came back identical ****. Fails to extract/double feed. Does so with any and all mags that he has. Brither has het to send it back a second time. But no way he will ever trust that gun to carry. Of fixed he will lrobabky sell it as he has no confidence in it.
I have seen as many failures with 1911's than I have with 380's. As a reault It will take a LOT for me to ever even consider carrying either a 380, or a 1911.
I have seen as many failures with 1911's than I have with 380's. As a reault It will take a LOT for me to ever even consider carrying either a 380, or a 1911.
Rastoff
US Veteran
A lot of guys use these types of errors to explain away problems. They then continue to claim their guns are "malfunction free." I'm not saying that you are, just that many do.
When I say malfunction, I mean any malfunction. I want the gun that won't malfunction even when the ammo or the shooter is not perfect.
I've heard this too. In fact, there are a lot of people who mistrust the 1911 because they believe it will malfunction a lot. I was one of them.
Then I got one. I went to a class with it expecting to have a few malfunctions during the class; I didn't. I saw a lot of malfunctions, but none from my 1911 or others at the class. Then I started paying closer attention and my beliefs started to change. I noticed that I saw more malfunctions in other guns, but not so many in 1911s.
My favorite gun is a commander size 1911. It went 8,103 rounds before it malfunctioned. The extractor broke, but it continued to work. Even though the gun continued to function, I still consider it a malfunction. It was the only one in 8,548 rounds. I'm going to call that one good-to-go.
Between all the 1911s, I have 14,191 rounds without a malfunction. That's a pretty good record, but not the top. I have a friend with over 30K through his 1911 without a malfunction. I know him personally and know that we have the same feeling about malfunctions so, he would tell me if he had one. He replaced his extractor prior to failure; at least twice.
So, my skepticism about 1911s has been overcome by events. I now have great faith in the 1911 gun.
I had a friend that brought his .380Auto, a Llama, to a class. He told me that his had never failed to work and was looking forward to showing me how great his gun was. About 10 rounds into the shooting, the extractor went flying off into the dirt. The next round stove-piped. I'm was honestly bummed to see that happen, but it's just another statistic in my growing list of .380s that didn't work.
My thinking can be changed. It was with the 1911. Alas, I still have yet to see a single .380Auto, of any brand or model, work reliably. Heck, I haven't even seen one go 35 rounds.
For me to consider a gun reliable for carry, it must go 500 rounds without cleaning and without a single malfunction. I would be happy to see a .380Auto make it 50 rounds without a malfunction.
Today I went to a local gun store to look at a .380Auto, specifically a Sig P-238. Really nice little gun with a decent trigger. Unfortunately they're a little pricey for me to just get one to test on my own. I will have to just wait to see if I see one at the range or in my class.
msjdgman
Member
The .380 shooter errors that I have personally observed were poor grip and limp wristing. It's kind of hard to blame that on the gun in my mind. Many semi auto's can fail if not handled properly with a firm grip. The primary ammo failures I've seen are poor quality reloads. Heck, even my daughter in law brought some cheap reloads she bought from someone to her CPL class. Luckily I was only 10 minutes away when she called in a panic due to repeated failures, and I was able to run her a couple of boxes of factory ammo so that she could finish, which she did without further failure.
Rastoff
US Veteran
Again, I want the gun that won't do that. Some are more prone to this than others. The sub compact Glocks seem to be more prone to poor grip issues.
Diagnosing a "limp wrist" or poor grip event is very difficult. It could be the shooter and it could be the gun. And I agree, I wouldn't fault the gun if it's definitely the shooter that caused the problem. This is often the case in accuracy problems.
However, I also believe that many blame the grip or ammo when it may indeed be the gun.
Regardless, I'd love to see a .380Auto go more than 35 rounds without a malfunction.
pakettle
Member
I have 1200 rounds through mine,no problems period!
Rastoff
US Veteran
Excellent! I wish you many more trouble free rounds.
Well Armed
Member
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Then you don t want a semiautomatic pistol... I suggest a revolver. It's physics.... You need to have a proper grip on the gun. I've seen YouTube videos where even Glock 19s and larger pistols can be limp wristing. like you said, that's the shooter's fault, and not a problem with the firearm...
More likely than not, 9 times out of 10, malfunctions are because of the shooter, ammo, or magazine...
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Rastoff
US Veteran
That doesn't stop me from wanting it. Yes, semi-auto guns have some weak points. That's life. However, some are more prone to grip issues than others. The 1911, for example, is not prone to a limp wrist issue. It has happened, but it's very rare with that gun.
It's been my experience that the Glocks are prone to limp wrist issues. Especially the sub compact models.
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I have had my 380EZ for a few months now, and I think it's one of the best M&P guns that S&W has ever come out with. Mine has tack-driving accuracy, and all three magazines work flawlessly. I've got somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 rounds through it, and so far so good.
My Glock 42 is also a tack driver, but the 380EZ is giving it a run for its money.
Mike
My Glock 42 is also a tack driver, but the 380EZ is giving it a run for its money.
Mike
Maddmax
US Veteran
I have to agree.
I don't own one yet but, I rented one at the local range a few weeks ago. It was very dirty as it had already been rented several times that day before I got there but other than shooting a bit low for my taste, it performed flawlessly with the Fiocchi ammo they had on hand for it.
The POI was very consistent and once I got my POA right, I was able to shred the bullseye.......made me want one even more.
The POI was very consistent and once I got my POA right, I was able to shred the bullseye.......made me want one even more.
dtjacob
Member
Bought one in August......got about 500 rounds thru it, no problems of any kind. Would like a fully adjustable rear sight but that's not a real problem.
Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk
Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk
RGVshooter
Member
Why would you want to do that? It's really a simple design to begin with. if you really want to detain clean the innards then I would suggest Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber.
