[asgard_prince]

I just bought a Kel-tek .380 the other week, and ran 100+ rounds through it this past weekend. I didn't have any problems with it except for the muzzel jump. Does anyone know if dryfire exercises would help on a pistol this small?
I did them with my .357 and brought my grouping to 2.5'' @ 30 feet, but thats a much heaveyer gun too. Any help would be appreceated.

 

[alan c.]

Call me dumb but what does dryfire have to do with muzzle flip.
Do you have a habit of flinching?

 

[asgard_prince]

It gets you in the practice of holding your weapon steady. We did it a lot in the Army with our M-16's. We would put a dime on the front sight post and let the hammer fall on a dry chamber. I tried it with my .357 and improved my shot group and lessened the muzzel jump, but the hammer fall is a lot heavier with the magnum then the .380 and I don't know if dryfireing would have the desired effect. Is there any other way I could tame the muzzel jump?

 

[dave375hh]

The directions that came with my P3AT said not to dryfire it. So I just shoot it a lot. I didn't find the muzzle flip bad at all for a gun that only weighs 7.2 oz. It's a joy to carry and conceal.

 

[Big Dog]

I was able to shoot a buddy's Kel-Tec .380 awhile back, and overall it proved a good little pistol. Trigger pull was heavier than I prefer, but entirely adequate for a defensive "belly buster". It functioned flawlessly.
My problem with little pistols like this is that my big hands can't get a good solid grip. They can indeed "tip up" on me if I'm not careful. It's not really a recoil issue in this case.

 

[asgard_prince]

I don't have much experence with pocket guns over .22 so I can't really compare it to anything. I just thought that it seemed like a bit much for a gun thats only as big as my hands. The recoil is not a problem, I just noticed a good amount of jump thats all. I would like to find a way to compensate for it thats all.

 

[SilverRun]

First, the Kel-tec .380 is a great little gun. I love mine.

As far as dry firing it, I wouldn't. It is different from your .357 - dry firing would not be that great for it. Also, the thing really doesn't have sights! Don’t set your accuracy expectations too high. It wasn’t designed to be a tack driver! Maybe I am a bad shot, but all I shoot with mine is around 4â€￾ groups at 10 yards. Which is good enough for my intended purpose.

As for the muzzle jump, you might want to try some lighter loads for practice. I use Winchester "Winclean" 95GR BEB (cheap at Wal-mart). It is kind of a hybrid FMJ thing -not bad at all to shoot. The hydra-shok's I carry have much more punch.

 

[asgard_prince]

Thanks, I've ben using UMC 90 grain FMJs in it for practice. I'll see if the local gun shops have anything lighter.

 

[allan1898]

When you are looking for ammo, see if you can find some snap caps, too. I use them all the time for dry firing. The Pachmayer 9mm work fine in my Browning BDA 380. The 38/357 also fit well for 38 S&W.