380 acp carbine

[748]

I reloaded all the 380 brass I had laying around saved up for several years. largely due to having a reloading slave.
My wife likes to shoot it and I would pick up all the 380 at the range I could find.
It would appear most people that shot 380 just leave their brass.
But we only have the one 380 and pile of ammo. A sig that holds 7 rounds and takes a euro style heel clip magazine. So it doesn't chew through a lot of ammo.
I was thinking about getting the highpoint rifle. The only high point I ever technically owned was a high point 45 that I got form my dad's estate, I never shot it and I let my sister have it. But I kept all the ammo.
I figured I might pick up a used 380 carbine and set the bar low.
$200 or less should be doable.
I hope to be able to hit a bunny sized target out to 30 yards.
Be some what reliable, at least as reliable as a 10/22.

The only broke carbine stories I can find seem to all have one thing in common, the guns appear to have never been cleaned since they left the factory.

And dont say get a 9mm carbine. I will probably get one eventually. I would get the bretta carbine that takes 92 mags.

Anyone have one, or will admit to having one or know anything about them?

 

[LiveLife]

I hope to be able to hit a bunny sized target out to 30 yards.

And dont say get a 9mm carbine

Hi-Point makes carbine in 380Auto for $240 - https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...matic-380-acp-165-barrel-101-rounds?a=1947138

If I were you, I would save up the 380Auto brass and sell to fund a 9mm carbine.

I use smaller and lighter 95-100 gr 380Auto bullets in 9mm cases for my 9mm carbines to increase muzzle velocities to reduce bullet drop/vertical stringing at 50 yard plinking. I have 2 loads that can produce 1.5"-2" 10 shot groups at 50 yards - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...blended-promo-for-more-accurate-loads.841097/

Personally, since 9mm ammunition is more plentiful and most of time cheaper than 380Auto and cost of reloading 380Auto is about the same as 9mm, I would lean towards 9mm carbine (Many people don't realize COST OF FIREARM IS CHEAP compared to COST OF AMMUNITION). I have several 9mm carbines and pushing 95-100 gr bullets to 1500-1600 fps out the muzzle is like shooting lasers at most soda can plinking distances.

And if you have a .223/5.56 AR, you can readily convert to 9mm by using EndoMag kits/PMags and 9mm upper (almost the cost of 380Auto Hi-Point) on your .223/5.56 receiver along with heavier buffer. Note while Hi-Point has 10 round magazine capacity, using EndoMag kit will allow 30 round magazine capacity.

But it's your money - Do as you please.

 

[saiga308]

on those hipoints you can put a scope on it to improve its long range heres a 9mm at 200 yards

start video time 3:30

 

[LiveLife]

At 200 yards, bullet drop variance/spread could be like 10-16 inches depending on the consistency of muzzle velocities.

At 100 yards, I got around 3" group that indicates pretty tight muzzle velocities. These were my sample chrono numbers: 1442-1428-1478-1431-1462 fps

 

[748]

I do plan on getting a 9mm carbine. But going to get one that takes bretta 92 mags.
Also almost always buy bullets appropriate for 380 to load both 380 and 9x19.
I don't remember the last time I ordered 115gr or heavier 9mm bullets.
After I get a 9mm carbine I may try some 147gr bullets and try to load up some subsonics for long gun use.

Sounds like a high point 380 long gun will bust bunny sized targets well beyond 30 yards.
10 round easy to detach mags is a big improvement over 7 round heel clip mags. It looks like 15 round after market mags are available but makes reliably questionable your results will vary between gun to gun and mag to mag.

 

[someguy2800]

I had a 9mm high point for awhile. They are functional guns and mine was reliable. It was easily bunny accurate at 50 yards. Mine would shoot about a 2-3" group at 50 yards. The trigger and sights are very crude, the safety is awkward, and the the stock is really plasticy and flimsy. The iron sights hold zero pretty good on them since the front sight is mounted to the barrel, but optics mounting is not the greatest. The scope mount is actually attached to a sheet metal cover that goes on top of the action which then bolts through the plastic stock, so when you mount a scope on that it will loose zero every time you take the cover off to clean it and mine would also loose zero easily just from bumping and handling it.

So anyway they are very cheap guns with a few issues but they are reasonably accurate and reliable and I had a lot of fun shooting mine. I decided I like the pistol caliber carbine concept enough that I sold it and invested some more money into building a 9mm AR15, which was a massive improvement.

 

[748]

Thank you, that's good to know.
I was not planning on using a scope.
Maybe that's why some of them never got cleaned and were messing up.

I'm only expecting 2 to 3 inches at 30 yards.
So that should be a reasonable expectation.
I would be exceptionally pleased if it shoots bunny sized/shaped groups at 40 or 50yd.

 

[someguy2800]

I would suspect the 380 version might not be quite as accurate as a 9mm just do the stumpy little bullets a 380 is typically loaded with, but It should still be well within 30 yard bunny sized groups

 

[LiveLife]

I would be exceptionally pleased if it shoots bunny sized/shaped groups at 40 or 50yd.

KEEP IN MIND that most pistol caliber carbines are blow back action and will benefit from higher pressure loads or kiss your muzzle velocity consistency goodbye.

If muzzle velocities are not consistent, you can see effects of bullet drop even at 50 yard and why I use very fast powder Promo (Red Dot burn rate) for my carbine loads so powder burn is more efficient/chamber pressure build more consistent before bolt/buffer start to move case back from the chamber and drop pressure. (This is why spent brass from PCC are dark soot covered and my loads with fast burning powder Promo is relatively clean in comparison)

If you are wanting to shoot 3" groups at 50 yards, I would still suggest 9mm carbine and using higher velocity 115 gr loads at 1300 fps than slower 380Auto loads of 100 gr at around 1000 fps for less bullet drop.

Of course, if you reload, you can push 100 gr bullets in 9mm to 1500 fps and extend your shooting range out to 75-100 yards for same 3" groups.

 

[748]

Yeah my 380 loads are full power.
The 90gr bullets recommend a max charge of I think 4.1 or 4.2gr of unique. Mine are loaded to 4 to 4.1.
The 85gr bullets max is 4.4 to 4.6gr of unique, usually load them to 4.4gr.

For the carbine I might try to cook up some carbine only 105gr lead plus pee rounds.

 

[bassjam]

I don't have a .380 carbine, but I do have the Hi Point in 9mm. It's fun, it'll do 3" at 50 yards with bulk ammo, and it's reliable. It also feels like it kicks quite a bit for a 9mm, personally I think it's the goofy butt pad with springs that Hi Point uses that makes the recoil impulse seem bad.

I'm planning on doing the bull pup conversion to mine at some point this year. From everything I've read and watched it seems to take the bad ergos and cheap feeling stock and "fixes" it all. Sure, it's more expensive than my Hi Point cost to begin with, but I WANTS one!

https://www.hightowerarmory.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1831

 

[BlueHeelerFl]

Interesting post. I have never heard of anyone having the 380 Hi Point Carbine, but I'd be interested in seeing how it runs.

Oh, and i have a Beretta CX4 Storm in 9MM and its a great and fun gun! I just bought 2 more 30 rd mags for it last week.

Edit: I have always had a thing for PCCs and find them all interesting

 

[748]

Interesting post. I have never heard of anyone having the 380 Hi Point Carbine, but I'd be interested in seeing how it runs.

Oh, and i have a Beretta CX4 Storm in 9MM and its a great and fun gun! I just bought 2 more 30 rd mags for it last week.

Edit: I have always had a thing for PCCs and find them all interesting

That's the 9mm carbine I would get. I hated the bretta 92 until I had to qualify with one and carry one in Afghanistan in 2016.
I never touched one and shot I think it was 47 out of 50. So I had to have one.

 

[748]

I don't have a .380 carbine, but I do have the Hi Point in 9mm. It's fun, it'll do 3" at 50 yards with bulk ammo, and it's reliable. It also feels like it kicks quite a bit for a 9mm, personally I think it's the goofy butt pad with springs that Hi Point uses that makes the recoil impulse seem bad.

I'm planning on doing the bull pup conversion to mine at some point this year. From everything I've read and watched it seems to take the bad ergos and cheap feeling stock and "fixes" it all. Sure, it's more expensive than my Hi Point cost to begin with, but I WANTS one!

https://www.hightowerarmory.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1831

I have seen a few bull pumps on gun broker, so they aren't sold like that new?
This is the first time I have heard of a bullpump fixing bad ergo, when usually the bullpump configuration is the cause.

 

[bassjam]

I have seen a few bull pumps on gun broker, so they aren't sold like that new?
This is the first time I have heard of a bullpump fixing bad ergo, when usually the bullpump configuration is the cause.

No, they come with a funky looking and poorly molded stock with a skeletonized butt. It's not horrible, especially for the price but it's not the most comfortable thing to shoot either. From everything I've read the High Tower bullpup kit is a vast improvement.

 

[someguy2800]

The ATI stock kit is great improvement as well. Really liked mine.

 

[Skylerbone]

I don’t mean this as flippant; perhaps I’ve misinterpreted what you wrote? If you don’t care for the .380 pistol you have then you’d be money ahead to jump right in to 9mm and selling what you have to fund it. What @bds wrote about ammo cost absolutely holds true for any real shooter and 9mm is far cheaper to shoot. Granted, reloading can give .380 a slight edge, but performance will suffer by comparison. Ditching it and your components gets you where (I think) you want to be.

I own a .380, at times I wish I didn’t but the pistol in my case is what I wanted so cost be damned.

 

[Casefull]

It always amazes me how hard some try to make somethings work that do not make sense. Stop and think how much better a 22 Long rifle is compared to what the Op is attempting. Each to his own, good luck.

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

It always amazes me how hard some try to make somethings work that do not make sense. Stop and think how much better a 22 Long rifle is compared to what the Op is attempting. Each to his own, good luck.

.22lr being rimfire, with a heeled bullet design and a large, protruding rounded rim makes it a pretty terrible design for a cartridge, all things considered. The only thing that. 22lr has going for it is that it's already in production on a massive scale worldwide.

 

[danez71]

My wife likes to shoot it and I would pick up all the 380 at the range I could find.

I think a lot of people missed this part.

It makes a whole lot of sense if your wife likes it.

 

[748]

I think a lot of people missed this part.

It makes a whole lot of sense if your wife likes it.

I prefer 45acp and 9x19 plus I like reloading.
Both a 1911 and a full size double stacked 9mm is too big for her hands.
It's almost like the bretta 92fs was made for me by me.

 

[748]

I don’t mean this as flippant; perhaps I’ve misinterpreted what you wrote? If you don’t care for the .380 pistol you have then you’d be money ahead to jump right in to 9mm and selling what you have to fund it. What @bds wrote about ammo cost absolutely holds true for any real shooter and 9mm is far cheaper to shoot. Granted, reloading can give .380 a slight edge, but performance will suffer by comparison. Ditching it and your components gets you where (I think) you want to be.

I own a .380, at times I wish I didn’t but the pistol in my case is what I wanted so cost be damned.

For one the wife likes 380. It's a sig and it's never malfunctioned with factory ammo.
Only failure to eject or feed is when I would try to lite load, play with the OAL or load heavier than normal 380 bullets.
And I already have the bretta 92fs.

Plus why would I get rid of lighter 9mm bullets used in 380? They load great in 9x19.
Unique is a good 9x19 propellant and it's a great propellant in other stuff not related to 380 or 9x19. For the last 15 years I'm pretty sure the only propellant I have loaded 45acp with is unique.
Obviously 380, 9x19, 38spl, 357 use the same primer.
Getting rid of reloading components just because they are 380 related is dumb.
Plus almost all the 380 brass I had is now live ammo any left over 380 bullets are going to be loaded in 9x19.

 

[748]

After bidding up a few hipoint carbines on gun broker I got one.

I have to say the first thing I noticed without even taking it out of the box is its heavy. So at least it will make a good club.

The biggest screw up is they put the bolt catch on the wrong side.

It does have last round hold open.

It is scope ready. Any 22lr optic would be sufficient. The sights I think could be described as HK style.

It appears they took a hipoint pistol, put a 16 inch barrel on it and built a rifle around it.

The trigger doesn't suck. I have seen guns that cost a lot more have a worse trigger so that was a surprise.

Muzzel blast I would say is definitely louder than a 22lr but not as loud as 22wmr.

It would be an excellent gun to screw a can on to.

 

[doubleh]

A 380 carbine for a bunny popper is, to me,a rather expensive and if you are reloading, time consuming project. The 22 LR, although and old and antiquated round as pointed out, does an excellent job on bunnies and other like sized game with less noise and much more cheaply plus it saves work too.

Now that I've said what makes economic and labor sense I'll admit that I stray off into projects that get more expensive and labor intensive than other options. In fact I do with some regularity. My latest such project is a Rossi 92 in 357/38 special which I will certainly pop a bunny with if I run across one. It's going to cost a bit more to reload than the 380 but it is easier to do simply because of the size of the ammo. Shooting is my main form of recreation and I feel one should have fun with it. Get the carbine and have fun. By the way, there are three 380 pistols that live here. My wife and I like to shoot them just because we can.

 

[zaitcev]

There was a couple of videos on FW with .32 ACP carbines from Europe. If only they were in .380.


But leaving aside the MAC-11, the Hi-Point is the only option.