Reloading the 380

[jj2am44]

Having just bought a 380 for carry, I got to wondering how many of you reload for the 380? I wasn't going to invest in the dies and caliber conversion for my Dillon 650, since I was going with the factory defense rounds. How many of you use it as a target round? Or-just what do you use it for? I know there are better defensive rounds, I just wanted something light.

 

[Nevada Ed]

If it is a high quality full load pistol you are good to go.
A cheapo low $$ will shoot ammo but the poor workmanship and chamber, barrel spec's may limit on how well full loads will feed and eject.

Plus ball ammo will usually feed ok but the JHP ammo needs to be tested by the BOX...... not just 20 rounds.

If it does well wit 4-6 boxes of factory ammo..........
reloading can be an option.

 

[Rule3]

I used to collect 380's. Yes I load for them, I have all sizes shapes and brands. It's fun to shoot at the range. The Sig and Beretta, CZ are tack drivers.
I carry a pocket 380 and a 9mm

Finding the brass after it goes into another County is another story

 

[max]

I don't shoot 380 enough to justify it.

 

[jj2am44]

I don't shoot 380 enough to justify it.

My thoughts exactly. Although the gun fits my hand and shoots well, is accurate as hell, I don't see this as being a target gun, although it is fun to shoot.

 

[ameridaddy]

For background, gun = Sig P238, 2.75" barrel,
factory ammo, never one failure of any kind
reloads from latest Lyman book failed to cycle the gun at starting load and did not function until about the middle of the load range.

Factory Ammo chrono data:
PMC 380 95gr FMJ = 867 fps, SD 16 - pleasant to shoot
Buffalo Bore 380 +P 100gr lead RNFP = 1079 fps, SD 8 - very snappy, but not at all uncomfortable, probably need a stronger buffer spring, as all brass damaged at case mouth from ejection.
Win Ranger 380 95 gr JHP = 881 fps (no SD data), - pleasant to shoot

Handload: PMC 380 brass, 95 gr RN plated, settled on Accurate # 5 after experimenting
Accurate #5, Lyman starting load @3.3 gr would not cycle gun, worked up in .2 gr increments,
most accurate load, least SD:
95 gr RN plated, 4.9 gr AA#5 WARNING MAX LOAD, 0.960" COAL
chrono data: 837 fps, SD = 6 WARNING MAX LOAD per data book. Pleasant to shoot, grouped well, no pressure signs on cases.

The newest Lyman book has lower starting loads, lower max loads, lower velocities than my forty year old books. IIRC, I had to get up around 4.0 gr just to get the gun to cycle, and their current max load's velocity still did not equal either PMC or Winchester factory loads.

 

[jwalts27]

My thoughts exactly. Although the gun fits my hand and shoots well, is accurate as hell, I don't see this as being a target gun, although it is fun to shoot.

My Pk380 eats anything I put threw it including thousands of my reloads. 95g plated and some Hp38. Fun range gun

 

[Snowninja]

My Pk380 eats anything I put threw it including thousands of my reloads. 95g plated and some Hp38. Fun range gun

Seconds on the PK380. I reload for all the calibers I shoot just because I enjoy it. But I do like cooking up light loads in the .380 and.38 for teaching. Both the wife and kid like shooting the bigger size guns, without all the recoil. Worth it to me... (The 4 full coffee cans of brass may have something to do with it to...)

 

[Alk8944]

Like Snowninja I load for everything I shoot/own. (See my post in the "How many calibers have you shot?" thread.) No one (else) reloads .380 so it is easy to pick up quite a bit of brass! I only have one, a Belgian Browning "Pocket", but considering the nearly non-existant sights it does shoot quite well although certainly not a target pistol!

As a matter of fact I have many guns that have never seen a factory cartridge, not even to shoot up for brass! There are several for which factory ammunition is virtually (or actually) non-existant.

Like Max, I don't shoot 380 enough to justify it, but I do anyway! I have been a reloader since virtually day one, it's just what I do!

 

[scooter123]

My 380 is a Sig P290 and it's taken a while to determine how to make it reliable. The darned thing was producing every possible type of ejection failure that can be described, even ejecting the empty case straight up and trying to re-chamber that empty case. BTW, the P290 features a flat faced extractor that won't jump the extraction ledge on the case of a 380, the slide stalls out of battery.

Careful observation and testing various bullet types finally led to a solution. For this pistol the loads MUST be top of the chart Hot and perhaps even leaning towards +P. Feed it anything milder and you'll have at least one failure every 12 rounds fired. Needless to say I reload for the 380, because a LOT of the commercial loads you see in shops are actually rather mild.

 

[littleriver1]

I reload for 380 for practice ammo because of the price at the store. This gun is not an EDC gun for me but more of a backup, but there are times when I do carry it by itself. I believe in practicing with every gun I own. That doesn't mean I'm all that good with any of them. If you are good with a 380 past 12 feet then you are a better man than me. I practice even if I'm not that good. Loadem up shootem up, then go buy your wife flowers!

 

[k22fan]

You don't necessarily have to buy a die set to reload a few .380s. Your .223 shell holder is the correct one and your .223 FL sizer works as well as a non-carbide .380 sizer. My RCBS 9mm expander plug worked fine. All that's left is crimping. I crimped with one of my .222/.223 family rifle dies but I forget which one.

When I had a .380 I did not have a die set. Now I have no .380 but have two die sets that were in batches of used stuff I bought. One of these days I'll find a .380 I like at the right price.

 

[glenwolde]

I load for it. I started during the ammo shortage to feed the carry guns for practice. Then I got a larger double-stack and discovered it to be a very accurate and fun-to-shoot range gun.

I load a 95grn RNL with W231. With .22 prices so high it was actually cheaper to load and shoot the .380.

It used to be .380 brass was kind of expensive and hard to find but that has changed.

 

[jwalts27]

I reload it for the pure cost savings.
in my neck of the woods .380 is outrageous. I grab the empty cardboard boxes from my local range and reuse them for reloads. Some of the price tags on the box

 

[W.E.G.]

If you buy your .380 online, the price can be very reasonable.

For what a .380 is good for, your time chasing brass, and load-testing, might be better spent improving your physical fitness, so you can be better prepared for a close confrontation. I already spend enough time loading other calibers.

 

[Rule3]

If you buy your .380 online, the price can be very reasonable.

For what a .380 is good for, your time chasing brass, and load-testing, might be better spent improving your physical fitness, so you can be better prepared for a close confrontation. I already spend enough time loading other calibers.

Stand at 10 feet and hold my target for me or ask some of the military or police over in Europe about the 380.

Several brands of 380 ammo have passed the FBI protocol tests out of a small pocket gun.

Have your phone handy to maybe call the EMT's or yourself.

 

[H Richard]

I load my practice ammo, using powder coated 90 gr RN from Donnie Miculek, and 2.7 gr 231. Right out of the Lyman manual. It functions everything just like factory rounds at a fraction of the cost.

 

[Rule3]

I load my practice ammo, using powder coated 90 gr RN from Donnie Miculek, and 2.7 gr 231. Right out of the Lyman manual. It functions everything just like factory rounds at a fraction of the cost.

I just loaded 100 , 100 gr FMJ RB with 3.1gr HP 38

The Ruger LCP has been the most popular handgun sold for the last couple years. The newer version has a much better trigger

SW finally got on the bandwagon and made the Body Guard 380 which I like a little better.

 

[Wee Hooker]

I bought my BG380 in the middle of a long 380 ammo drought some years back. I had no choice but to reload for it if I wanted to shoot it so I immediately bought 500 pcs of once fired brass, a set of dies and 500 95gr cast heads. Years latter I'm glad I did as I still produce low cost and low recoil rounds for range use. ( My investment has paid for itself twice over as well.) While not a substitute for practicing with carry ammo, my reloads make extended practice sessions with an 11 oz gun more enjoyable. They are also great for introducing new shooters that want a 380 but have no experience with sometimes harsher than expected felt recoil.

FWIW, I use unique powder in my loads.

 

[glenwolde]

I really didn't do any load development. The first load I tried (3.1 gr of W231 with a 95gr LRN) worked so well I didn't bother trying anything else. It easily out shot the WWB and American Eagle ball ammo I had been using.