Taurus TP738 TCP 380 ammo warning

[Jarhead6541]

Picked up the Taurus TCP 380 at Gander Mountain a few weeks ago and as usual there was no ammo available. Happened to stop by ****'s Sporting Goods one day and they had a shelf full of DRT [Dynamic Research Technologies] 380 auto 85 grain HP's [box says penetrating frangible] for about $20.00 for a box of 20 cartridges. Got home, loaded the mag [after cleaning weapon], installed mag into gun and gave it a good rack. 1st round jammed cock-eyed next to chamber and was a ball buster to remove. Each one after did exact same thing. You can pull the rack back more and force it into chamber, but something is definitely off with this round.
Got lucky a few days later and found some Remington UMC 380's FMJ at Walmart [$19.00 for 50 rounds] and convinced the salesman to let me try to rack one before I bought 3 boxes. He complied and they work just fine, every time. I compared the two different loads length and they seem identical.
Wondering if anyone knows of this particular problem or possibly a fix for this or for any rounds that may cause problems with the TP738. As far as I know no store allows returns on ammo and this could get expensive. I should mention, I did get the full service insurance from Ganders for $30.00 where they take care of return & delivery to send back to Taurus for repair. Just not sure about waiting for months to get my gun back just to hear it's not the guns fault.
If anyone has any ideas or info on this situation, please let me know as I' d be very grateful. For now I'm sending out a warning to either try this DRT ammo before buying or better yet, just pass on it. Good luck, hope I at least saved a few bucks for some of you anyway.

 

[golddigger14s]

Don't know why you would wait months for return. Call Taurus directly, and they will e-mail you a fed-ex label. I had my gun (24/7 PRO DS) back to my front door in a week. With Taurus you don't need to spend an extra $30 for additional warranty, the Taurus warranty is lifetime.

 

[ohiofreak2]

ive used blazer brass, pmc, remington, speer lawman and hornaday with no problems with my lil taurus

 

[barrygray0]

That would "PISS OFF THE POPE" if this were me i would call TAURUS , just for the record these people are very nice to deal with . Fire the weapon with the REMINGTON AMMO to make sure it works . Tell TAURUS the situation and THEY WILL TELL YOU IF ITS THE AMMO OR THE GUN at fault . It's my bet its the ammo and it has to do with the type of projectile [bullet] in the DRT bullets . I have found full metal jacket will always feed the best in all firearms . Than contact DRT about the situation and it is my bet they will send you a refund or issue you a credit when they get the ammo you will be sending back ! ! Besides who wants to or can afford to target practice with ammo costing A BUCK A SQUEEZE ! ! !

 

[Rocketgeezer]

Picked up the Taurus TCP 380 at Gander Mountain a few weeks ago and as usual there was no ammo available. Happened to stop by ****'s Sporting Goods one day and they had a shelf full of DRT [Dynamic Research Technologies] 380 auto 85 grain HP's [box says penetrating frangible] for about $20.00 for a box of 20 cartridges. Got home, loaded the mag [after cleaning weapon], installed mag into gun and gave it a good rack. 1st round jammed cock-eyed next to chamber and was a ball buster to remove. Each one after did exact same thing. You can pull the rack back more and force it into chamber, but something is definitely off with this round.
Got lucky a few days later and found some Remington UMC 380's FMJ at Walmart [$19.00 for 50 rounds] and convinced the salesman to let me try to rack one before I bought 3 boxes. He complied and they work just fine, every time. I compared the two different loads length and they seem identical.
Wondering if anyone knows of this particular problem or possibly a fix for this or for any rounds that may cause problems with the TP738. As far as I know no store allows returns on ammo and this could get expensive. I should mention, I did get the full service insurance from Ganders for $30.00 where they take care of return & delivery to send back to Taurus for repair. Just not sure about waiting for months to get my gun back just to hear it's not the guns fault.
If anyone has any ideas or info on this situation, please let me know as I' d be very grateful. For now I'm sending out a warning to either try this DRT ammo before buying or better yet, just pass on it. Good luck, hope I at least saved a few bucks for some of you anyway.

Hi Jeff, you have a nice little gun, my wife and I each carry one as bugs, and ours run flawless with ANY ammo as long as your mindful when you pull the trigger, the gun is prone to limping, so it needs a good grip, at this time each of ours probably have well over 1000 rds through each of them in fact mine may be 1500 or more, however they were not that way from new the first 100 rds or so they were fussy, and then after 250-300 rds of FMJ it they would feed any type hollow point I wanted, I honestly have not tried any DRT, mainly because I could not justify the cost of that ammo for a 380 bug gun, being that I carry a 45 most of the time I don't worry much about any fancy hollow point ammo

 

[Rocketgeezer]

I forgot to be honest I do have my G-19 loaded with DRT ammo it seems to work ok, but I think a Glock would fire if loaded with wood bullits, LOL

 

[wypaladin]

DST Ammo

Howdy, Jeff.....I understand your frustration with the DST ammo for your .380. I have tried shooting this ammo (in .40 caliber) before and had the same results as you. The ammo is of very poor quality and their quality control appears non-existent. A close examination of my DST ammo revealed problems with the sizing and crimping of the cartridge. The best way to safe guard your current and future ammo investment would be to purchase a Lee "factory" resizing die and run ALL your DST ammo, and any other ammo you purchase that gives you cycling problems, through the resizing die to size it to factory specs. Afterwards, the ammo SHOULD cycle reliably through your gun. Hope this helps.

Picked up the Taurus TCP 380 at Gander Mountain a few weeks ago and as usual there was no ammo available. Happened to stop by ****'s Sporting Goods one day and they had a shelf full of DRT [Dynamic Research Technologies] 380 auto 85 grain HP's [box says penetrating frangible] for about $20.00 for a box of 20 cartridges. Got home, loaded the mag [after cleaning weapon], installed mag into gun and gave it a good rack. 1st round jammed cock-eyed next to chamber and was a ball buster to remove. Each one after did exact same thing. You can pull the rack back more and force it into chamber, but something is definitely off with this round.
Got lucky a few days later and found some Remington UMC 380's FMJ at Walmart [$19.00 for 50 rounds] and convinced the salesman to let me try to rack one before I bought 3 boxes. He complied and they work just fine, every time. I compared the two different loads length and they seem identical.
Wondering if anyone knows of this particular problem or possibly a fix for this or for any rounds that may cause problems with the TP738. As far as I know no store allows returns on ammo and this could get expensive. I should mention, I did get the full service insurance from Ganders for $30.00 where they take care of return & delivery to send back to Taurus for repair. Just not sure about waiting for months to get my gun back just to hear it's not the guns fault.
If anyone has any ideas or info on this situation, please let me know as I' d be very grateful. For now I'm sending out a warning to either try this DRT ammo before buying or better yet, just pass on it. Good luck, hope I at least saved a few bucks for some of you anyway.

 

[bofh]

I got my Taurus TCP 380 at Gander Mountain a few months back for $200. I didn't get the $30 insurance for a $200 gun. The only ammo that I have problems with is Hornady Critical Defense. The round jams upon manual ejection. It ejects fine when firing. I went to Gold Dots instead (for now). You may want to look at Taurus TCP-738 .380 random jamming fix.. (pics) - Page 2 for some tuning, including polishing the feed ramp. I also discovered that some of the ejection issues are caused by the loaded chamber indicator (part of the extractor assembly). It has a very sharp edge where it meets the rim of the brass.

In any case. Fire a few hundred FMJ rounds through this gun to break it in. Also, fire a box or two of your selected self defense rounds through it to see that it reliably works.

Stay away from that DRT .380 Auto ammo. It simply doesn't work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx8pn5CadXI

 

[Rocketgeezer]

I forgot to say in my prev post, concerning Taurus cust service, we had some issues with our 709s and dealing with Taurus made want to sell everything I had that said Taurus, in fact if I cannot fix a problem myself the gun gets traded

 

[the dark]

I got my Taurus TCP 380 at Gander Mountain a few months back for $200. I didn't get the $30 insurance for a $200 gun. The only ammo that I have problems with is Hornady Critical Defense. The round jams upon manual ejection. It ejects fine when firing. I went to Gold Dots instead (for now). You may want to look at Taurus TCP-738 .380 random jamming fix.. (pics) - Page 2 for some tuning, including polishing the feed ramp. I also discovered that some of the ejection issues are caused by the loaded chamber indicator (part of the extractor assembly). It has a very sharp edge where it meets the rim of the brass.

In any case. Fire a few hundred FMJ rounds through this gun to break it in. Also, fire a box or two of your selected self defense rounds through it to see that it reliably works.

Stay away from that DRT .380 Auto ammo. It simply doesn't work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx8pn5CadXI

Lots of folks have reported similar with certain ammunition in the TCP. I have fired Hornady Critical Defense and XTPs as ell a numerous makes of ball with no issues. Seems like the angle of the feed ramp and design of certain hollow points. I did do a good polishing of the feed ramp before ever firing it and still polish it every other firing.

 

[Jarhead6541]

Thanks bofh for the interesting and informative reply. I only got the insurance because the salesman said it will cover all expenses [shipping/handling/etc.] for the life of the weapon. Figured with mixed opinions on Taurus quality issues, it could pay off. As far as DRT-never again.

 

[beachbum17]

I work at gander and the Taurus is a good deal for $200. I'm personally not a fan of the company not would I ever buy one, but it is an economical option.

The pro plan we are pushed to sell. Used guns and certain guns it make since but kind of a rip off. You go get a free cleaning though so use it when it's dirty

 

[bofh]

Lots of folks have reported similar with certain ammunition in the TCP. I have fired Hornady Critical Defense and XTPs as ell a numerous makes of ball with no issues. Seems like the angle of the feed ramp and design of certain hollow points. I did do a good polishing of the feed ramp before ever firing it and still polish it every other firing.

You continue to polish your feed ramp? I completely sanded off the horizontal machine marks my TCP's feed ramp had and polished it with the Dremel tool. The feed ramp of my TCP is as smooth as glass. I just clean the barrel completely after shooting. For polishing, I followed these instructions:

 

[Jarhead6541]

DRT Ammo

Hi Jeff, you have a nice little gun, my wife and I each carry one as bugs, and ours run flawless with ANY ammo as long as your mindful when you pull the trigger, the gun is prone to limping, so it needs a good grip, at this time each of ours probably have well over 1000 rds through each of them in fact mine may be 1500 or more, however they were not that way from new the first 100 rds or so they were fussy, and then after 250-300 rds of FMJ it they would feed any type hollow point I wanted, I honestly have not tried any DRT, mainly because I could not justify the cost of that ammo for a 380 bug gun, being that I carry a 45 most of the time I don't worry much about any fancy hollow point ammo

Thanks Rocketgeezer for the info. I see quite a few responders to my post are in Tn. and seem to have no problem finding ammo. I only bought the DRT 'cause there is squat for most bullets in W Pa. Walmarts Rems were the last three boxes of 380 of any kind I've seen since purchasing the gun, and I'm not paying shipping costs on top of the already overpriced ammo online. I'll talk to Taurus for their suggestion first then put a few hundred rds thru it asap. I do like the feel of it. After looking at other pics of the feed ramp, mine looks quite a bit thicker. Stay safe

 

[Jarhead6541]

No shipping charge?! Gander salesman said $43.00 delivery/handling charge each time & warranty covers that. Well, at least I get a free clean. Thanks Golddigger, I'll be having a chat with that employee about the warranty.

 

[Jarhead6541]

I will call Taurus, DRT as well, but will wait to fire it just in case they offer a new one--or maybe even an upgrade if I give them a little stink fit! You're most likely right about the DRT's. My feed ramp looks a little thicker than the ones I'm seeing elsewhere. The buck a bullet DRT is still the only thing available around here [NW] Pa. Thanks BG, everything helps

 

[Jarhead6541]

Bet you don't want to try the DRT'S at a buck a piece. Don't know where you're from, but there is almost no ammo [popular sizes] in NW Pa. If I can find the ones you mentioned, I'll jump on 'em. Thanks freak, these answers really help.

 

[Jarhead6541]

I'm afraid the old lady would stomp me if I bought the resizing die. I'll try getting DRT to refund my money. First comes a talk with Taurus, and if they can't get it to work, I'll see if they'll work in my son-in-laws LCR. After that, DRT does not exist to me. BTW, my feed ramp does look thicker and somewhat different than others I'm seeing. Maybe I can guilt Taurus to an upgrade or discount. Much appreciation, DST.

 

[Jarhead6541]

Gander salesman said it would cost $43.00 to ship/handle to Taurus and back. So that was BS? If so, we're gonna have a little talk. Oh well, if nothing else, [discount, gift card, etc.], there is that free cleaning. Appreciate your response, beachbum.
BTW--as a Gander employee, would you know if polishing the ramp or tweaking the mag clip would void the Taurus or GM warranties?
BTH, again. Ever heard of Taurus discounting or upgrading their product if I chew on their ear a bit?