Can I use my 9mm mold to cast .380 boolits?

[thegreatwrzesinski]

I want to get into casting [again] and I have a question.

can I use a 9mm mold to cast boolits for both my .380 and my 9mm? will it create any pressure issues in my .380? more specifically I am looking at lee cavity mold TL356-124-2R at http://www.leeprecision.com/html/catalog/bullmol2.html the label says .380 acp and 9mm luger but every time I see a .380 the bullet is much smaller than the 9mm...why is that?

[Buckshot]

...............It's due to the OAL limitations of the .380 cartridge and it's ballistics that limit the boolit designs that it may utilize. I suppose if you had a bolt action chambered to the .380 then the restrictions would be off :-) Seriously, I suspect any boolit weight that'd feed from the magazine and that you could find load data for, for similar weight would work.

...............Buckshot

[excess650]

380s are blowback actions loaded to modest pressures compared to 9mm(delayed unlocking recoil operated, or in rare occasion, gas operated ala H&K P7), so generally limited to lighter bullets. That 124gr will work, but you'll have to start low on the powder charge and work to find a load that cycles reliably without hammering your frame.

[thegreatwrzesinski]

Thanks for all your responses!

what mold would you suggest to make a good .380 self defense bullet?

hollow point for more expansion or round nose for deeper penetration?
how heavy should the bullet be?
what would feed better? round nose or truncated cone? hollow point?

any that you would recommend?

Feeding would take priority over stopping power obviously, because two shots of so-so stopping power is better than one shot of decent stopping power...and yes I know .380 isnt that great of a self defense load bullet.

[mtgrs737]

I have and use the Lee 356-102-1R cast of WW alloy and sized in a 357" die. I use Lar's BAC lube and load it over 2.7grs. of Bullseye for a my Ruger LCP. This load is mild shooting and functions fine.

[Cowboy T]

You might also consider Lee's 358-105-SWC mould. It was originally meant for lighter .38/.357 loads, but it also works great in 9mm applications when sized to 0.356". Feeds great in my SR9. It's small enough that it should work just fine in the .380.

[yarro]

The bullet will have to be seated deeper in the case than the typical 90ish grain bullet to get OAL down to where it will feed. This will reduce case capacity and lower velocity even more than you would normally get from a increase in bullet weight. Bullet weight affects the cycling of blow back designs more so than delayed blow back designs so you will lose even more velocity there. I would go with the Lyman 356242 (90gr) or a Lee 356-102-1R (102gr). My P3AT does not like the 102gr bullet as it does not want to feed 100%, unless I seat them deeper than I would like. They do work fine in a friend's gun so it may work for you. I have some 90gr Lymans a friend cast before he past on and they function 100%. At least the 20 bucks for the 2 cavity Lee isn't too painful if you can't get it to work well.

You will find that some of the small pistols are very sensitive to bullet shape and OAL and certain examples of a model are worse than others. A good example is too people I know have Walther PPKs that are consecutive serial numbers. One feeds hollowpoints 100% for most brands. The other will not feed hollowpoints 100% no matter what brand.

-yarro