Cobra FS380-hard to cock

hillbillyford · April 26, 2010, 07:54 PM

I recently bought a Cobra FS380 for my wife to use. When we took it out to fire the first time, it was all we could do to pull the slide back to load it, the spring is extremely stiff. I read in another thread on this site about someone else having the same complaint, but the person cut off part of the recoil buffer spring. Anyone have any other suggestions other than cutting off part of the spring? Would shooting a few boxes of ammo help loosen things up?

w_houle · April 26, 2010, 08:23 PM

The only problem is when you clip the recoil spring is that when the spring breaks in you will start experiencing ejection problems. My Ca-380 is rather stout and requires me to cock the firing pin back then insert the magazine to load it.
You could try contacting Cobra Arms and see what they have to say
http://www.cobrapistols.net/contactus.asp

cluznar · April 23, 2012, 06:23 PM

I own a Cobra FS .380 and shot 50 flawless rounds thru it. It is a very stiff gun right out of the box here is what you have to do. Flip the Safety on and off about 100 times, also eject the mag about 75 times, and most important rack the slide back about 200 times. Then before you shoot it clean and oil it well. Seems like a bit of work but that's what I did and mine shoots very well, no problems.

You might also want to polish the feed ramp, even if it'e with 440 wet or dry paper. I also bought some paint pens and painted the back sights white and the front sight orange.

When you buy an inexpensive off-brand gun you need to do these things, or else pay for a better gun. By the way, I carry a Bersa Thunder .380 concealed and if you get tired of the Cobra pick up a Bersa, it is a dependable weapon and you won't have to do anything but clean and oil it.

heyjoe · April 24, 2012, 06:33 PM

try just putting one round into the magazine then inserting the magazine and racking the slide. then drop the magazine, fully load it, and insert it. take it to the range. keep count so you always leave one in the chamber when you reload and it should break in easier that way.

April 26, 2010, 07:54 PM	#1
hillbillyford Junior Member Join Date: March 28, 2010 Posts: 1	Cobra FS380-hard to cock I recently bought a Cobra FS380 for my wife to use. When we took it out to fire the first time, it was all we could do to pull the slide back to load it, the spring is extremely stiff. I read in another thread on this site about someone else having the same complaint, but the person cut off part of the recoil buffer spring. Anyone have any other suggestions other than cutting off part of the spring? Would shooting a few boxes of ammo help loosen things up?

April 26, 2010, 08:23 PM	#2
w_houle Senior Member Join Date: March 29, 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 1,391	The only problem is when you clip the recoil spring is that when the spring breaks in you will start experiencing ejection problems. My Ca-380 is rather stout and requires me to cock the firing pin back then insert the magazine to load it. You could try contacting Cobra Arms and see what they have to say http://www.cobrapistols.net/contactus.asp __________________ How could you have a slogan like "freedom is slavery" when the concept of freedom has been abolished?

April 23, 2012, 06:23 PM	#3
cluznar Member Join Date: March 7, 2012 Posts: 47	Cobra FS .380 I own a Cobra FS .380 and shot 50 flawless rounds thru it. It is a very stiff gun right out of the box here is what you have to do. Flip the Safety on and off about 100 times, also eject the mag about 75 times, and most important rack the slide back about 200 times. Then before you shoot it clean and oil it well. Seems like a bit of work but that's what I did and mine shoots very well, no problems. You might also want to polish the feed ramp, even if it'e with 440 wet or dry paper. I also bought some paint pens and painted the back sights white and the front sight orange. When you buy an inexpensive off-brand gun you need to do these things, or else pay for a better gun. By the way, I carry a Bersa Thunder .380 concealed and if you get tired of the Cobra pick up a Bersa, it is a dependable weapon and you won't have to do anything but clean and oil it.

April 24, 2012, 06:33 PM	#4
heyjoe Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2007 Posts: 438	try just putting one round into the magazine then inserting the magazine and racking the slide. then drop the magazine, fully load it, and insert it. take it to the range. keep count so you always leave one in the chamber when you reload and it should break in easier that way.