New to this group - Hello!

Seemed like THE place to come to for information regarding this particular question...

Looking to understand causes (and potential fixes) for what I would describe as a 'disengaged' trigger - what I would surmise from having examined the exploded parts diagram is the Trigger Bar seems to be slipping off whatever point it engages on the Hammer - you begin to pull the trigger and you feel that natural resistance you should feel but as you continue to apply pressure to 'pull the trigger' there is a feeling of something jumping out of contact and suddenly the trigger is basically 'swinging in the breeze'

Oddly if you pinch that upper corner where that engagement point between the trigger bar and hammer interact, the trigger works as it is supposed to (??) - I would assume that Trigger Bar Spring is supposed to hold that Trigger Bar in place and the grip must be designed to add to making certain that all stays secure - so, since pinching that upper corner makes it functional, one would deduce it must be a loose grip panel screw but they are all tight and cannot be tightened further so no joy there...

Any info or insights on this would be greatly appreciated!

Oh yes - one other aspect to this - the trigger failure after only 75 rounds with a brand new gun was proceeded by the occurrence of light primer strikes - and that is trying (4) different types of ammo that all worked perfectly up to that point - light primer strikes then wonky trigger - is this a common with the RM380?

Thanks

Is it under warranty? Have you ever opened it up prior to this starting? I would watch the Galloway video to see if everything is going together correctly and working as it’s designed.

To answer your questions - Yes it is under warranty, No I did not open it up prior to taking it to the range. I did field strip and clean it, but that was the extent of it, but there was no 'looking under the hood' so to speak

I did not open it up after these problems manifested either - did not want to void the warranty as some manufacturers can be picky about such things.

I an curious if this is a common problem or an isolated incident - in the 40 plus years in purchasing various firearms I have never owned a Remington firearm until I purchased this RM380 and it fails right out of the box in a rather dramatic way - problems with FTF or FTE issues could be cleared but a catastrophic failure of the trigger could get you killed and that is not very confidence inspiring as to the build quality which is rather odd given the large number of positive reviews I have seen prior to purchasing that handgun.

Sent it back to Remington and that was almost a month ago (and they still have it) and I have to say their Customer Service has to be the very worst I have ever experienced - there is absolutely no information to be had from them which is not confidence inspiring with regard to their repair capabilities - they seem to exhibit a general lack of integrity overall.

Seems the only reliable place to get information is from the actual Users - all Remington does is supply scripted responses to every anticipated question and the questions they failed to anticipate usually gets you hung up on - not good.

Remington filed for bankruptcy in early 2018, but they exited bankruptcy a couple of months later, wiping $750 million of debt off their balance sheet. am pretty sure their bean counters are running the company and they probably don't have an unlimited line of credit. until they become profitable again their customer support will be constrained [hands tied].

if you know someone who has a RM380, see if they will let you take the grips off to compare the innards with your RM380. it is an extremely simple design. i have read that the grip screws cannot be too tight or loose. the Galloway video will be helpful also.

Pistolero wrote:Remington filed for bankruptcy in early 2018, but they exited bankruptcy a couple of months later, wiping $750 million of debt off their balance sheet. am pretty sure their bean counters are running the company and they probably don't have an unlimited line of credit. until they become profitable again their customer support will be constrained [hands tied].

if you know someone who has a RM380, see if they will let you take the grips off to compare the innards with your RM380. it is an extremely simple design. i have read that the grip screws cannot be too tight or loose. the Galloway video will be helpful also.

First off - thanks for the input

In hindsight I probably should have popped off that right side grip panel and looked at the internals - looking at the exploded parts diagram, the design appears very similar to some others I have seen where the grip panel and trigger bar spring are integral in holding everything in place... But, I thought IF the problem was due to an inferior part, why waste money buying parts when being under warranty would (should) get it fixed for free - plus, knowing absolutely nothing of Remington at the time, I decided to err on the side of caution as some companies look upon such things as voiding the warranty...

So I sent it back to Remington under warranty - In hindsight I should have looked at the internals myself

Up until the point where I purchased this RM380 just a little over a month ago, all I knew of Remington was it is a company that has been around for 200 years, and they are known mostly for their shotguns and other long guns. I was familiar with the Rohrbaugh and saw the reviews for the RM380, the price was right (less than $200) and so I thought it was worth buying

So far I cannot in all honesty say it was money well spent - it has been educational though and I know far more about Remington as a company now and it is understandable why they went bankrupt, and in all seriousness the creative refinancing they were able to obtain to get out of bankruptcy I believe is just delaying their inevitable demise...

It doesn't speak very highly of the gun when a great number of people only find it "shootable" after swapping out third party parts - any savings you might have garnered from finding a great deal are diminished by spending up to $150 on a "Turn-Key" kit that swaps out almost every major moving part.

We learn by doing and I don't think I will ever be 'doing' Remington again

well stated. don't give up on the gun.....i've seen very few complaints about their reliability.

MCarbo makes a trigger kit for about $15. the reviews are positive. i bought a spring kit from them for a Ruger LC9 and it functions perfectly. check it out. good luck

Pistolero wrote:well stated. don't give up on the gun.....i've seen very few complaints about their reliability.

MCarbo makes a trigger kit for about $15. the reviews are positive. i bought a spring kit from them for a Ruger LC9 and it functions perfectly. check it out. good luck

I guess we'll see when (if) they fix it - there is always the possibility that you could wait for 4 to 6 weeks (or longer) only to have them say the warranty has been voided and they will fix it but it will be for a fee - should that occur, I'd tell them send it back and then the 3rd party parts would be the avenue to explore.

MCarbo seems to have the same set of springs that Galloway does but slightly cheaper - I wonder if they are both acquiring them from the same source or there is some slight difference in quality between the two.? I have purchased springs from Galloway before for a Kahr - worked quite well.

I guess now it is just a matter of waiting to see how this plays out - in another couple days it will be 4 weeks that Remington has had it and still no joy.

Sorry to hear about problems with the RM380. I have had mine about 2 yrs now. Can't remember when I bought it for sure but have over 500 trouble free rounds shot thru it. This includes several brands of factory ammo plus a bunch of my hand loads and not one single failure of any kind. Contains all original factory parts.

9026543 wrote:Sorry to hear about problems with the RM380. I have had mine about 2 yrs now. Can't remember when I bought it for sure but have over 500 trouble free rounds shot thru it. This includes several brands of factory ammo plus a bunch of my hand loads and not one single failure of any kind. Contains all original factory parts.

Thanks

Actually got an email notice today saying; "Your repairs have ben completed." - the spelling error isn't confidence inspiring when you're getting back a repair... BUT, no info as of yet with regard to a return shipping date and tracking number.

I am really interested to see what they say as to what caused the problem and what it took to repair that problem.

I'll let you know when I find out - hopefully sometime this week

When I first tried out my new RM380 I had a hard time hitting anywhere near where I wanted with the stock trigger, springs, etc.

I picked up the Galloway-Precision trigger kit (which is costly), but it improved the trigger substantially, and that was my only issue with the gun. No reliability issues. (Had there been an M*Carbo kit for it when I was looking I would have gone that route, as I've had great experience with some of the Sub2000 kits.)

When I first installed the Galloway kit and I tried dry-firing it with the magazine in or out I had a problem with trigger reset about 1 out of 15 trigger pulls (DAO mode). I tightened up the frame screws and it helped. The Galloway video shows how to do the kit install, and when done, the tech show the slide being cycled (i.e., single action after having fired a round) by hand, not DAO. I tried contacting Galloway -- couldn''t find a phone number anywhere and used their tech-support email address. I've contacted them several time and have yet to get a response.

I figured, correctly as it turns out, that doing a DA first shot and SA thereafter there would be no problems.

At the range yesterday, I was getting pretty good groups at 30'; those 4"-5" groups were still bigger than I'd like with reasonable slow fire (not rapid fire) ; I recognize that the problem may be my trigger control and uinfamiliarity with the gun -- as I'm used to much lighter triggers. Did about 50 rounds, and tried out some Hornady Critical Defense ammo which worked well. I'll do more my next time out.

While the RM380 is not perfect, it's the best pocket gun I've tried or owned, and by far the most pleasant to shoot.

I've owned a Kel-Tec P3AT, a Ruger LCP, and several very small 9mm guns (Kahr CWP, K-T P11, K-T PF9). I'll shoot the RM380 far more frequently than any of those guns.