Think my modified 9mm mold will work for .380 auto?

[BHuij]

I have a Lee 124 grain RN TL mold I use for 9mm. Since my 9mm has kind of a fat groove diameter, I have expanded the cavities so that the bullets drop at around .3585"

I'm picking up a Ruger LCP to be my every day carry gun, and I want to put enough rounds down range to feel really confident if I ever have to use the gun in a dangerous situation. Practicing a lot with self defense ammo is expensive.

Think I could get away with making practice ammo using the 124gr mold? I realize 124 is heavy for .380 ACP, but for practice ammo I don't care about velocity or terminal performance, I just want it to be reasonably accurate out to 15 yards or so.

If this mold is a no go, can anyone recommend for me a good mold to make plinking ammo? I'd prefer a RN, RNFP, or TC type profile so it will feed well, rather than something like a SWC.

Also looking at using AA#2 since it's such a short barrel, if anyone has powder recommendations otherwise, I'm all ears. Thanks!

[sigep1764]

I just got done with load development for my LCP. Its a snappy pistol, after 100-150 rounds, I have a blister on my trigger finger. I use 2 grains of Red Dot at .925oal behind the Lee 358 105 SWC. It feeds reliably but I have to swab the chamber to clean it after 30 or 40 rounds. I think its the Lyman SuperMoly lube I use. I still have a stockpile of lubed and sized boolits to go through before I switch to Orange Magic. But it feeds reliably when its clean and is accurate. These LCP's are much more accurate with a better trigger than the 2 P3AT's I had before.

[trixter]

I have been working with the same boolit in my 3PAT with 2.4gr Tight Group. I am having to be real careful to get the sizing just right. They work well and the 3PAT will eject the empties back over my F150 4 door and then some. Pretty exciting I am going to ladder test down sizing my powder charge to where it will just eject/feed. I think that will make it more fun to shoot.

[farmerjim]

I use the Lee TL356-95-RF powder coated and sized .357 in my LCP.

[Outpost75]

I would be less worried about bullet diameter than increased seating depth from the longer 124-grain Lee bullet. The .380 ACP case is 0.68" long, depending upon the nose profile of the bullet, you could be increasing loading density and boosting pressure dangerously when the longer bullet is seated deeply to a cartridge 0.98" OAL which will fit into the LCP magazine.

A typical 95-grain FMJRN bullet in the .380 ACP is 0.51" long. So, at normal 0.98" cartridge OAL you will have about 0.21" seating depth. A typical 124-grain roundnose 9mm Parabellum bullet is about 0.60" long, so at the same 0.98" cartridge OAL in .380 you have about 0.30" seating depth.

In testing done by Speer and published in their load manuals, 9mm Parabellum loads which produced 28,000 psi were boosted to over proof pressure when bullet seating depth was increased by only 0.030"! Reproducing this condition in the .380 ACP you are walking on very thin ice indeed!

218665

Accurate 35-120H is designed especially for the .380 ACP, to provide the heaviest bullet having a large meplat, of a shape which feeds reliably in most pistols. Importantly, the bullet is 0.49" long and produces 0.21" seating depth at the crimp groove, which is very similar to bullets used in .380 ACP factory ammunition. It functions reliably in my Ruger LCP, SIG P230 and Beretta M1934 pistols. A charge of 2.0 grains of Bullseye, suggested as a minimum starting load, which should be adjusted as needed for reliable function in your pistol, not to exceed 2.5 grains as a "full charge" load. At a velocity of 750 fps with 2.3 grains of Bullseye from the Ruger LCP, which cycles the great majority of pistols, its recoil impulse approximates that of 95-grain hardball.

[BHuij]

Hmm, that's a good point. I think I will be better off getting a new mold.

That Accurate mold looks great, but for budget reasons I'm partial to Lee for the time being. I think I'll probably just pick up the TL356-95-RF.

[country gent]

I would first get the gun and test to see what your "carry ammo" is going to be. The buy the mould accordingly. This way you can load a duplication load (or very close to it) of the carry load. I carry the 102 grn Rem Golden sabers in my Sig and walther. I load a 105 grn rd nose to hit to same point of aim point of impact. This way sight picture hold and rip never change from practice to carry.

[BHuij]

Good advice. I'm leaning towards Hornady Critical Defense 90 grain rounds, so hopefully a 95 grain RF type bullet would have a very similar trajectory and POI. Truth be told, I just don't see myself in a self-defense situation even attempting a shot with this tiny handgun past about 15 yards maximum. If I can hit center mass effectively in roughly the same place with my carry ammo and my "duplicate load" practice ammo, that's good enough for me to practice with.

[DerekP Houston]

I run the 100gr NOE RN design, runs great in my bersa and LCP II. I've done hitek, pc, bll, and just plain alox, all shoot just fine with no leading. Sized mine to .356

[redhawk0]

I run the LEE 102gr RN through my 380. I have the S&W 380 BG. I've never had a feeding problem with the RN design. I wouldn't load anything heavier than this since it effects OAL or problems due to decreased internal capacity which in turn causes over-pressure issues. My pistol really likes the W231 and W572 powders. Its hard to go wrong with the 102gr-ers.

redhawk

[country gent]

My little Sig in 380 shoots very well at 25 yards but it has excellent sights that can be seen, unlike a lot of these little pistols. These pistols normally shoot well but are hard to shoot well due to short sight radius, heavy trigger pulls and short small grips. Don't discount it till you've tested it and worked with it a little

[jcren]

The Lee 95rf is a great 380 bullet. I have tried up to the lee 120tc in my tcp and the little guns get very sensitive to oal. Recoil was also surprisingly brutal at only 750 fps. That little 95 shoots nice in all 3 of our 380's and thumps a target with athority. Try some CFE pistol for impressive velocity (925 fps in a moderate all purpose load, chronoed in the tcp) with a surprisingly mellow recoil. Popped a LARGE armadillo with it and left a half dollar sized exit.

[BHuij]

Yeah, definitely leaning towards the 95 RF. Not only do I like the RF profile better than plain RN for what I'm doing with this gun, I also am trying to more or less duplicate the feel of shooting my actual chosen self defense ammo, which is a 90gr bullet, so this one seems to check all the boxes for me.

Do you get anything approaching a full burn with W231? I love W231/HP38 for my M&P 9 FS, but this LCP barrel is under 3", and I was planning on going with AA#2 or perhaps something from Ramshot if I don't get results I'm happy with using the AA#2. Not a big fan of Bullseye personally.

[Outpost75]

3 grains of either 231, WST, HP38, or AA#2, or 2.4 grs. of TiteGroup should all work in your LCP with the Lee 95RF.

[rockrat]

I have shot some of the Lee 125 rnfp thru the wifes Walther 380. Worked fine

[jcren]

231, autocomp and the afore mentioned cfe pistol are my best shooters.

[Boolseye]

231 will work fine. Great stuff.
that 95 RF is a nice .380 pill. good choice.

[dubber123]

If your LCP shoots as well as mine with the LEE 95 RF, you will be pleased with its accuracy. :)