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Hollow point ammo won't feed into gun

14K views 32 replies 32 participants last post by  OD* 
#1 ·
Just bought a Sig Sauer P238 and filled it up with some overpriced Aguila .380 hollow point ammo and the thing won't load a single cartridge. The flat end of these rounds are getting hung up on the barrel. I tried some Lellier & Bellot FMJ ammo and they load just fine. Is this a known issue with this gun?
 
#12 ·
Is the recoil spring worn out?
OP's first sentence: "Just bought a Sig Sauer P238..."

Short attention span, huh? :image035:
 
#5 ·
Not so long ago getting a semi auto that would feed hp ammo was hit or miss at best and most that would would only feed one brand. Ball was the sure thing. Now most modern semis will feed hp ammo. Especially high end ones but I wouldnt faint of suprize if I were to get one that would only feed ball ammo without some tweaking it.
 
#7 ·
When trouble shooting problems, it helps to be as detailed as possible and provide as much information as possible.

Have you shot the gun at all?

Have you shot the gun with other ammo?

Have you tried loading anything other than the aforementioned Aguila hollow points and Sellier and Bellot FMJ?

Have you tried to load any other hollow points?

Using the Sellier and Bellot is not a fair comparison because it is a Full Metal Jacket hard ball ammo and your problems seem to be with Hollow Points.

It may just be that your particular gun doesn't like the hollow points produced by Aguila. It is not uncommon for a gun to choke on certain brands or types of ammo.

I would try other brands of hollow points first. If they feed fine, then it would seem your gun doesn't like Aguila.

You can then simply avoid Aguila in the future, or you can have a gunsmith perform some reliability work on the gun to ensure that it feeds all types of ammo. One such piece of work is to have the chamber throated and the feed ramp polished. It is a reasonable job and usually clears up a lot of ammunition feeding issues.

It's hard to go much further with the limited amount of information you offered.
 
#16 ·
By answering Bark'n's query we would be able to give you proper advice, (good job on that Bark'n).
Since the gun is brand new possibly a break in is required? How many rounds, (FMJ's), have you run through the gun? It may just need to loosen up a bit by being fired. If it were mine I would rather run FMJ's in it anyway being it's a .380; I would prefer depth of penetration over expansion in that round.
 
#30 ·
Now I'm sure someone will correct me if they can show that school of thought to be 100% true, but I believe that's kind of leftover thinking from the past when semi-autos weren't nearly as reliable as quality ones are today (you buy a Jennings or something and it's less "will it feed reliably?" and more "will it blow up on me after 100 round?"). It also has some merit in that you can work out some of the tiny little rough spots and other production debris that are inevitable in mass-produced weapons. I used to do it, actually. But eventually I got to where I was just shooting 100 FMJs and maybe 50 of my chosen defense round and, if there were no issues whatsoever or only a user error malfunction like limp wristing, called it good.

Some companies suggest that you do it, like Kimber, but then you're dealing with the 1911 platform. Sometimes they can be a bit finicky and need a little extra workout. Not all of them, but I've had several that seemed to behave better after quite a few rounds out the barrel. For your Glock, XD, SIG and such, I don't see it as necessary and none of my guns have started misbehaving just because I didn't put a certain round count through them. That's a plus for revolver guys like you and me, if we get through a box of 20 without problems, we're good to go. A hell of a lot cheaper to function test for us :biggrin2:
 
#21 ·
I only have two 380s. A Colt government model and a LCP. I find a lot of ammo doesn't fit the mag very well. I can tell you what I do to correct the problem, but I highly recommend you not to do the same thing and am certain someone will chime in say I could be creating a high pressure situation. I will tend to agree with them. I just seat the bullet ever so slightly deeper in the case.
 
#23 ·
We have 2 P238's purchased in 2013 and 2015 respectively. We feed them mostly junk (range) ammo including a few thousand rounds of inexpensive range hollow points ( the $9.99 for 50 round stuff), have never had any feed, firing or ejection issues with either gun. Now it could be something with the newer production guns and if thats the case Sig will resolve it quickly if you need to return the gun for repair.

Document everything from the brand of ammo, which magazines you own that fail, which rounds fail, and who you spoke with on the phone. They do not seem to communicate well internally so you really need to give them the detail needed to reproduce the failure. Return the gun and magazines and include a note with the return authorization and the details.
 
#24 ·
The problem usually shows up when you have a combination of a steep feed ramp on the gun, and wide head on the HP ammo .... Use a smaller grain bullet, or a smaller - more pointed HP headed ammo, or go to Critical defense / crticial duty, etc. and you won't have the issue.

But, you might also check the mag and how the ammo is coming out of the mag , and if there other reasons it's not at the correct angle to go correctly up the feed ramp to the barrel. It not likely to have anything do with your actual barrel. If you have that kind of problem, send it back to the Manufacturer.
 
#25 ·
As noted by others, you did not indicate that it was new or new to you. If it's new, and considering that by no means am I an expert, but I had the same problem with my Bersa Thunder 380 years ago and can put the blame on nothing but myself as I had been warned warned not to use JHP, WWB until I had run 250 to 300 rounds through it to "break it in". Sure enough, after 5 boxes of a good quality FMJ, other than "operator Error", I've had no problems even with rapid fire of Speer Gold Dot, and now with Corbon DPX.
 
#29 ·
Nothing wrong with resurrecting a zombie thread when the resurrector has a question directly relating to the content!
 
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#28 ·
Yep, zombie thread.

I highly recommend you not to do the same thing and am certain someone will chime in say I could be creating a high pressure situation. I will tend to agree with them. I just seat the bullet ever so slightly deeper in the case.
If these are reloads, just back off on the powder charge a few tenths and you will be fine. If they are factory loads and you are pushing the bullets deeper in the case...not a good idea.
 
#31 ·
Yep, zombie thread.



If these are reloads, just back off on the powder charge a few tenths and you will be fine. If they are factory loads and you are pushing the bullets deeper in the case...not a good idea.
Yeah, I know it's not a great idea. They are factory loads. I have about 70 lbs of different brands of factory hollow point ammo a that a buddy gave me years ago. 380 is the only caliber I own that I do not reload for. As I said earlier a Colt and a Ruger. Some of the rounds hang up in the mag. When I seat the bullet I seat the bullet little deeper they work in the mags just fine. I do check for signs of pressure and have yet to see any. I am sure the amount I set the bullets back is safe in my guns. Might raise the pressure in someone else's gun. That's why I said don't try it.
Anytime someone has problems with 380 ammo I always recommend they load them in the mag then push them out. if some of the ammo hangs up in the mag I have them try different ammo. I would never tell someone to polish the feed ramp on a new gun or an aluminum frame gun.
 
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