I recently purchased a pistol that chambers .380 so of course I'm loading for that now.
What do you guys use for your .380 loads ?
So far I've been experimenting with a wide ranging selection of projectiles and powder charges.
I've been liking Power Pistol as it runs clean.
Have had charges as low as 3.6gr up to 4.3 gr. All of the charges cycled the gun.
Various bullets , a real grab bag.
Today I was shooting , 100gr plated bullet ,.973 OAL and , 4.3 gr Power Pistol.
That was the most successful load.
Tried the same formula with a 95gr coated bullet and the gun did not like that at all. Wasn't grouping well at all.
Shot some factory PPU FMJ and the gun was somewhat erratic .
My load with the Berry's 100 gr was the accuracy winner but felt a bit hotter than the PPU rounds.
The gun is a blow back with a 3 inch barrel , so its pretty crisp with the 4.3 gr charge . I plan on running up a few with a 4gr charge.
I'm having fun with it and am on paper at 25 yards, so, so far , so good.
What do you folks like ?

HP38/Win 231 or similar.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I started out with Power Pistol then moved to Universal. Always the same bullet - Berry's 100-g plated. 3.4-g Universal is a max load with the 100-g plated - per the Hornady manual - and I've zero issues or indications of pressure with that load.

"The gun is a blow back with a 3 inch barrel"

Yup, that describes about 95% of all .380 pistols ever made!

Just use any faster powder, "Power Pistol" is about as slow as you should go for .380. Just use manual data, there is no reason to try to hot-rod any blow-back gun. If you have a chronograph then buy a few different factory loads and just try to duplicate velocity by experiment.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

I bought an LCP II last year. I still don't have dies for it, but that will happen soon.

I bought a bunch of MAXXTECH ammo on sale and found it didn't burn that clean - I got powder 'spots' on my hand & wrist when firing it at the range (but I keep my brass!). So I'm very interested in 'not so hot' .380 loads since it is such a small lightweight pistol.

I currently have 231, Bullseye, Unique, and 2400 in my inventory, so at least a few of those will be put to use for it.

Xtreme bullets 100gn cfe-pistol 3.8gn no complaints

Sent from my LGL164VL using Tapatalk

2.9 to 3.0 gr of titegroup for 100gr plated ... I like the meter-ability of TG. Very consistent.

I've been reloading (and experimenting) for over 50 years. IMHO, there is no need for any powders other than Bullseye or Unique. The former for .380.

Like the man said you don't want to hotrod a blowback pistol. Personally I use almost exclusively Bullseye with occasional forays into 231. It is a fairly easy cartridge to load and a very pleasant one to shoot. I use mostly Berry's plated and sometimes SNS coated bullets. At the velocity you will be dealing with they will give excellent results at a reasonable cost.

I haven't tried Unique yet.
Been using the BE for 9mm and .38 , was happy to find that the PP was a cleaner burn for the 9. Sticking to BE for the revolvers because its hard to beat perfection.

My recipe is from a manual, its baked up from the Alliant data site. Thats a light load , they state that the max load is 4.8 PP . I found that 4.3 was a more than snappy enough. I'm going to 4. tomorrow.
Don't have a chrono ! Mo'Money !
Guess thats next...

I like .380 !
There will be more in my future.
I have lots of BE and some , PP and SP.
Alliant

I was trying to be non brand specific. Intentionally.
Its an IMEZ Makarov from the 90's an export model with the adjustable sights.
Its interesting.
There will be others. I like the E. Euro service type pistols. Very simple.

Alliant data always states max load, I've been cutting them back 10%. That still seems hot but I am getting good results , I may try a group of 3.8 gr and 4. gr. If I'm on paper at 25 yards it works for me !
The .380 is fun, Im new to that round .Enjoying the ride.

3.1gr titegroup with a Hornady 90gr XTP. cartridge overall length 0.965"

100-grain X-Treme plated. 2.7 grains of Accurate #2. The real challenge, for me, was finding something that was bulky-enough to dispense such a small weight of.

I use 100 or 95 grain xtreme plated bullets, and have used Red Dot, W231, and BE86 all with good success.

There are some issues with metering and cleanliness with unique. I admit that. During the recent "shortage" all I could get was bullseye, so I "converted" all my pistol rounds over.

Short story long, after a year of having various "issues" (nothing big or safety related - just not 100% happy with the results) I converted my 45 Colt, 41 mag and other large calibers back to unique.

They call it "unique" for a reason.

3.1 grains of Bullseye with a 100 grain Berrys plated works great in my Bodyguard and PPK. One upshot of loading 380s is that no one does it so you can pick up lots of brass at the range.

I don't shoot .380 a lot so I load only one bullet, Hornady 90 gr. XTP. Great bullet, good accuracy, and not much more cost to buy over plated or lead bullets. I've tested several powders and get more consistent velocity with AA#2 powder. I've also tried Shooters World Clean Shot which uses the same load data as AA#2. Powders in the Unique and Power Pistol burn rate always gave erratic velocity and as much as 200 fps differences. I recommend a faster burning powder. I've always used CCI 500 primers. Watch for Hornady 90 gr. XTP's on sale for a great .380 load.

My standard load for the .380 is 4.0 grains of Unique with Berry's plated 100 grain bullets. Almost exactly factory ballistics, high 800s MV. In a small .380 pistol, grouping performance is not something I even think about so long as I can keep all hits on the paper at 10 yards. Functional reliability is much more important, and my load is very reliable. I loaded 100 rounds of that today.

I've had several .380s (Colt, Walthers, and a Makarov) over many years, but currently own none. I generally use only cast bullets in handgun cartridges. There is really no advantage to jacketed bullet use as far as accuracy, velocity, performance, or reliable gun functioning if the proper cast bullet is used.

I had good results with the .380 cartridge using several bullets in the 90 -120- grain range. I tried a few powders that included Unique, Blue Dot, Herco, 231, and Bullseye. Overall, 231 loads were consistently the best. Bullseye showed promise and I probably did not do enough work with it.

A good quality .380 pistol and suitable handloads may surprise many shooters with the accuracy attainable, even at 25 yards.

I've not been reloading quite as long as you, but over 40 years nevertheless. Throw in some Red Dot and Green Dot for shotgun ammo (even though Unique can be used there as well) and I couldn't agree more!

I have been using WW231/HP-38 in 380 since 1979. I got a deal on a 1000 Speer 95gr soft hollow points, so that's the bullet I use! Works very well in PPk and LCP and other I don't remember.

Up here in the North, the cold weather forces heavier clothes in the winter. I always found 32 ACP to penetrate heave coats much better than 380. Just grab a winter coat from the trash or Goodwill (or from an Ex.) and see what a little real world penetration is like with your load!

Ivan

No one seems to fire .380 at my range ! I'm on my own on the brass ...

That sounds about right to me.
I keep on checking back to some PPU factory ammo and when my loads get to about 4gr of PP it seems equivalent to the factory load.
I'm sighting in at about 12 yards and then taking it out to 25 yards.
The pistol I'm firing will group at 12 yards but although I'm on paper at 25 there are no groups to be seen.
Chalk that up the the 3" barrel .
I'm looking for lighter loads and so far it seems I can go real low and still get good results from as low as 3.5gr, in fact at 12 yards my gun shoots more precisely with a low charge.
I'm going to roll back to 3.2 gr on 20 rounds see what that does.
Need to get a chronometer .

I don't plan to do any competitive shooting with a .380 pistol, and have never heard of anyone who did. If I ever do need to use a .380 for real, all I'd worry about would be its ability to put all its shots as quickly as possible into a 2' x 2' square at 15 yards or closer.

Diamond K brass will be your friend. I have no affiliation with them ... other than ordering brass. I have been getting once-fired RP brass from them fairly reasonably - seems like $29 + shipping for 500. I'm anal enough to want only one headstamp when I'm reloading ...

These guns intended use is self defense , for sure , but I like to be able to get into the black down range with whatever I shoot.
Thats the goal.

I think Titegroup does the trick for 380. I use it with 90 gr. Coated round nose bullets.

Bullseye, N320 and Unique with 115gr XTPs, Penn 100gr TTBB, Hornady 115gr JRN and next purchase will be 115gr and truncated.
BE/Unique for decades and N320 a few years ago.... VV is clean.
XTPs and those Penns are accurate.
Practice with a pair of 380s .... point and shoot to the same spot... or barn door.

Our 2 S&Walther PPKs and the Sig238 seem to be our favorites although the LCP 2nd gen and G42 are carried most. I prefer to carry my blued PPKs but it’s often in the shop waiting for new stocks.... kinda like a fashion model’s life.

I've been working with Power Pistol and Bullseye.
Loaded some 3.1 gr BE with th 100 gr Berrys plated.
Not very impressive .
Ran through a range of loads with PP from 3gr through 4gr and the 3.5gr was the winner so far.
Doing some loads with BE 86 and will see how that goes on Wednesday morning.
Lets not mention that I'm firing these rounds through an IMEZ IJ70 with the adjustable rear sight.

Excellent advice.

Worthy of being repeated (which is why I quoted it rather than just hitting "Like").

You can do a search for reloading brass, but here are some results to get you started:
Range Brass
LEO Brass
oncefiredbrass.com
Handgun Brass | Bulk Handgun Brass For Sale Cheap
RMR Bullets
http://www.diamondkbrass.com/

I've dealt with each of them at one time or another, had no significant problems and any minor problems were promptly corrected. Of course you definition of what is a problem may differ from mine.

And if you want new brass, try Starline (https://www.starlinebrass.com/).

Starline brass... new and shiny.... worked up the loads just as with the other 380 brass.
Range pickups for practice.

I like Starline or PPU for new brass, both work great.
Use them for my 9mm and 38sp.

Just ordered some once fired from Diamondk and have used PPU and Starline for new brass for my 9mm and 38sp.

Just as an update . Picked up another .380 this one a CZ 83 milsurp .
After experimenting with Power Pistol I ordered a pound of BE86 and loaded a bunch of different loads using the 100gr plated Berrys. After experiencing increasing frustration with accuracy , both my pistols were tending to not shoot to POA. I reasoned that the load had to be a factor but that the charges were not . After ordering some 95gr FMJFP I'm on target .
My conclusion being that the polygonal rifling on the CZ really was not meant for lead projectiles. They must have sighted the gun in for FMJ, because with the jacketed rounds I'm in the scoring rings 100% on a 25 yard target and in the black about 70% of the time. So I think thats key. One of the shooters was saying that I needed to figure in abjuration and pressure variables using the lead and that it may be possible to get the right pressures with a lead projectile if I experimented with near squib loads. Say between 2.7 and 3 gr of BE or Unique or BE 86.
Any thoughts on this ?

Polygonal rifling in pistols..... Glocks as an example.... advised not to use lead bullets.
Read up on it and then ask specific questions about that controversial issue.

I run jacketed in our growing Glock collection.
Jacketed not plated!

Couple things.

One is that you're not shooting a lead bullet, you're shooting plated. Plated bullets aren't known for stellar accuracy.

Two is that bullet obturation is dependent on hardness. The softer the bullet, the lower the pressure. Harder bullets take more pressure.

I think that their rifle ammo is better than their revolver stuff but I call it Pee-eww Ammo. I think they are a great company though prices are good and I reuse their brass a LOT. And finding good Russian cases that are boxer primed is really a plus.

It's like buying once-shot brass that needs to be shot one time before you use it.

PS: I use coated bullets a lot. Especially the Hy tec. You can buy bags of 100 from Bayou Bullets to check them out.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I haven't had great luck with coated projectiles in my .380, they seem to give me the same result as plated, which is to say, bad accuracy . Chrome plated barrels and polygonal rifling seems to require FMJ.

I’d be curious if chrome lined barrels are a factor.

I have been using an Accurate Mold # 26-122t with 2.9 grains of HP-38. This bullet weighs 122 grains and is very accurate. it has a large meplat and the load chronographs 758fps from my LCP. Another load I use on occasion is the NOE Ranch Dog 100gr. FP with 3.5 grains of HP-38. This load will do 905 fps on average from the LCP but it is running at maximum. Both loads will penetrate at least 4 one gallon jugs filled with water and keep on going. The 122 grain bullet load is more accurate and what I carry in the LCP. BTW the 2.9 grains of HP-38 with the 100 grain bullet will give a tad over 800 fps out of the LCP and is a nice light load.

You can't go wrong with Bayo Bullets, owned and operated by Jerry Miculecs brother, Donnie

Well I didn't know that!

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

My Makarov barrel is chrome plated and it will shoot the plated 100 gr bullets pretty well. On paper on a NRA 25 yd slow fire target at 25 yds, which is about all I can ask.
The CZ is much more consistent but must have the FMJ to get the good results. With plated , its bad news.

I've been meaning to get out my Colt Pocketlite. I've got two molds: a 105 grain SWC and a RNFP that has the same weight and profile as factory FMJ. I need to get that sucker out and play with it!
I use Unique for almost all my handgun loads.

I use Accurate #5 because it meters well and I buy it in quantity. I cast a 95gr TC bullet. I had to adjust OAL to function in my 2 guns. I'm not really concerned with accuracy. I load this so I can keep up with practice with the gun that usually resides in my front pocket. Finding the empties with my 7+ decade eyes is the big problem.

I've just about given up finding my spent brass if I'm shooting .380 out of doors !