Taurus .380 TCP Blew Up In My Hand

[ZA_Survivalist]

Ive had three seperate occasions where reloads have caused issues.

Let me know about the warranty, Ill buy your TCP from you if they replace it

Ive been a long time taurus fan.

 

[Bajablast]

I have a first generation TCP, and the only issue I have had is that part of the flat end of the guide rod broke off. Rather than send it back to Taurus, I purchased a solid stainless steel aftermarket guide rod. Note: I have never shot reloaded or remanufactured ammo with it. Other than the issue listed above, it has run flawlessly and I trust this as my carry gun.

Glad to hear the ammo company stepped up and did the right thing.
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The world is full of kings and queens, who blind your eyes and steal your dreams. It's Heaven and Hell.....

 

[bigezfosheez]

Great news! Now take the money, ad some extra and go buy a Glock G42 or G43.

He set me up with his ffl friend's booth right then and I traded up to a Glockenspiel 43 in 9mm for a little extra.

 

[Medic!]

Good job.
You are the MAN!

 

[WAYNO]

From the outside looking in, I think many folks have their head in the sand, concerning reloads. If ya think kabooms or squibs are not possible with factory loads, think again. As fast as new ammunition is manufactured, boxed, and shipped, if and when a loading error occurs in the factory, AND IT DOES HAPPEN, there's little chance it would ever be caught before a consumer discovers the mis-loaded ammo. The same thing can happen with high-volume commercial reloading. So in my mind, the best and most trustworthy ammo is the ammo I assemble myself on a single-stage press. There are so many checks and double checks when I'm reloading.

I don't expect to convince anybody, but I hope folks will stop and think...Although fortunately rare, a blown up gun can happen anytime.

WAYNO.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I have no doubt errors happen in commercial ammo.
Buying and or using someone else's re-loads seems a bit riskier however.
Andy

 

[bbbass]

I have only EVER had a problem with reloaded ammo. Guess I am fortunate. Altho there was that one time when I was in my early 20s and had bought a older 300 Weatherby that I didn't get checked out by a gunsmith before I shot it (had to use a hammer to get the bolt open on a cracked factory case, big hole in the bolt face... what's that sayin?). This guy I bought it from also sold my ex-wife two used horses. Well, you can guess how this all turned out.

 

[Kruel J]

I'm glad they stepped up and took care of you, that's the sign of a reputable company. I EDC pocket carry a G42 so I think you'll like you're new choice!

 

[Member 34319]

Great news! Now take the money, ad some extra and go buy a Glock G42 or G43.

Or the LCP.

 

[Slobray]

I've never had a problem with factory load, reloads on the other hand......

March 1 1991, I PCS'd to Ft. Carson. Replacement let us off for the weekend, so on Saturday a few of us went at a gun show in the "Springs", where I ended up buying a S&W Model 39 and a bag of reloads. We found out that Ft. Carson had a civilian range open on the weekends. So Sunday morning came and off we went to the range to play with our new toys, me with my pistol, some guy with a revover (don't remember what it was) and another guy with a TEC-9 he bought from a pawnshop the day before leaving Ft. Sill. First couple of mags went flawlessly, then the second round of the third mag didn't fire, I ejected it, click, ejected another round, click, what the hell? Looking at it, I noticed that the slide wouldn't close all the way. Unless you really looked, you couldn't tell that it wasn't closed. I dropped the mag, cleared the gun and started my inspection. There it was, bullet stuck in the chamber. I was lucky that it wasn't 1/8th of an inch farther down the tube. From that day on I've never trusted reloads.


Ray

 

[bigezfosheez]

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with it. I'm still a little weary of having a polymer grip pistol, but at least there's a little more size to it to allow bigger and more sturdy internal parts.

I can already tell it's going to work good for my needs, so long as it doesn't blow up in my hand and blows up whatever I point it at within 5-25ft.

Every new EDC I buy ends up smaller and smaller from the last(except now). All I've learned in these few years of carrying is that big guns bruise your sides and all my pants pockets are large enough to comfortably and securely hold a small single stack without hurting me or interfering with my daily life.

 

[bigezfosheez]

I don't think I'll be buying reloads for my semi-autos anymore(especially .40 and .380), but I don't see much problems still using them in my revolvers, lever guns, and bolt-action carbines.

 

[bbbass]

What difference does it make?

 

[Medic!]

What difference does it make?

Truth!

If your gona be a slow learner.
Then it should be with something that won't maim you for life.

I suggest you completely avoid Women.

 

[CountryGent]

Glad this ended well for you.
However the out come , I would not buy any more of their products.
Andy

^ Agreed. It is good to hear Tualatin Valley made it right. I still wouldn't touch their ammo with a ten foot pole though.

 

[bigezfosheez]

Truth!

If your gona be a slow learner.
Then it should be with something that won't maim you for life.

I suggest you completely avoid Women.

Haha, I've learned life is way more fun without women. No nagging, having to shave or shower daily, tons of spare money for guns, tractors, atvs, trucks and stuff, I have an industrial 4 keg kegerator in my home office, so that keeps me pretty happy too.

 

[Quartermaster]

View attachment 317671

The resemblance is uncanny...

 

[drstrangelove]

I had a Taurus model 85 in stainless I bought new in the early 90s. The first dozen rounds were pretty spotty on accuracy, then the cylinder started to bind up and the gun was spitting lead really bad into my left arm and hand. Took it home, cleaned it up, and found a cracked forcing cone. This went off to Taurus and the gun was replaced on warranty. Accuracy was still crap so the gun got sold off. "I'll never own another Taurus" I said, until I ended up with a Rossi Ranchhand. This gun isn't without its problems, namely it won't shoot to point of aim... 1ft high... but it cycles smooth and is reliable. Took off the back sight and painted the safety lever blaze orange as well the front sight. Now just stack the orange into an 8 and it works well.

Yes bad ammo is a bad deal. Have had 3 squibs in my life, all on SW 38Sw 4" revolvers. One went unrecognized and bulged the barrel on the next shot. Lucky it didn't rupture. Expensive fix. The others were recognized quickly. Too light a powder charge/plated bullets with two, and water fouled powder on the other. Crap happens.

 

[U8395279]

Great news! Now take the money, ad some extra and go buy a Glock G42 or G43.

Even a Ruger LCP would be a major upgrade in quality, in my opinion. And it would hardly cost much more money.

Although the newest pistol in this category, the Beretta Pico, looks pretty awesome to me. If I wanted a small hideout pistol in 380, it would be my choice.

It is far better made than the Taurus TCP. It is even all stainless steel. And it is actually significantly smaller than the TCP too. Take a look at these comparison photos:








It has way better sights than the TCP too:




The Pico also has a wonderfully ergonomic slide stop lever too:




It is a very modern and modular design, that is easy to takedown and clean:

 

[Mark W.]

Knock wood I have been reloading since I was 11 year old. Dad and his shooting buddies taught me. In that time (now 48 years) I can not recall a single Squib or over charged round. I am as I said very anal about weighing each powder charge for everything I load (currently 7 handgun calibers and 7 rifle calibers as well as a few more I do for family) The only factory ammo I regularly buy is 12ga and 20ga and when I can find it .22 rimfire. If I buy a firearm in a new caliber I will usually buy a couple boxes of good brass cased ammo to get started. Then either buy up once fired used brass or buy a bag or two of factory new.

I've taught a few people to reload (mostly family) and the one thing I stress is attention to detail. Its just not a hobby to mess around with.