380 bullet size?

[barnabus]

what size are u guys finding works with a 380.I have tried to use my 9mm bullets sized at 358 which works perfect in my 9mm but it causes the bullet to sit crooked in my 380 case even with a ample bell when i try it in that case. what size would you recommend based on the 380 case? im guessing about 356 max.Anyone with experience loading case 380 wanna chime in? Thanks

[Rcmaveric]

I use the Lee 356-105 RN. Works great. Is SL-68B as lube. Loaded over Tight Group right now but i plan on changing to Unique after this lot is shot off. Never had much luck with PC until i started using PB gas checks. PC works fine now.

I size the .380 and 9mm and .357 mag bulllets to .358.

[barnabus]

I use the Lee 356-105 RN. Works great. Is SL-68B as lube. Loaded over Tight Group right now but i plan on changing to Unique after this lot is shot off. Never had much luck with PC until i started using PB gas checks. PC works fine now.

I size the .380 and 9mm and .357 mag bulllets to .358.

thats what im sizing my to (.358) but they are crooked in the case even with a good bell.I dont get it???

[jmort]

It sounds like you may need an M Die or expander that is a little wider. You could try sizing to .357"
You gun may just love that.

[DIRT Farmer]

My Walther will not chamber anything bigger than 356. and yess an M die cut for short case

[KenH]

I size to either .357" or .358" all depending on what die I've got in that day. Either seems to work ok. and YES!!! an expander die is required.

[Bohica793]

how about slugging the barrel and find out what size it wants? Just a thought

[barnabus]

how about slugging the barrel and find out what size it wants? Just a thought

u just dont get the question i suppose. SMH

[Rcmaveric]

I use the powder through expander that came with my Lee dies. What seater die are using? Most of them have cupped seater stems for various nose profiles. But if yours has a flat point seater stem then i could see bullets getting cocked.

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[barnabus]

I use the powder through expander that came with my Lee dies. What seater die are using? Most of them have cupped seater stems for various nose profiles. But if yours has a flat point seater stem then i could see bullets getting cocked.

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im using the one that came with my rcbs dies set.its for a round nose which is what im casting

[jmort]

That is for a jacketed bullet

[Rcmaveric]

Hmmm, I am a kenetic kind of person so this is kind of difficult with out being there. Try to figure out when the bullet is getting cocked. I highly doubt bullet diameter is the problem. I have shaved bullets and they were still centered.

Lee dies self center the bullets with a floating seater stem. I dont know how RCBS dies work. Shoukd be same principle. That makes your seater stem suspect.

Are you crimping and seating in one step? Take your seater die. Screw the stem all the way in till it stops. Now put your dummy in the ram and put the ram full up. Screw your seater die in til it stops snug on your dummy. Remove the dummy and give the die an ever so slight clock wise turn and lock it down with hand tight pressure on the jam nut. Dont torque your dies and jam nuts. Just snug hand tight.

Now seat a bullet and see what happens.

If it works i will tell you how to crimp next.

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[jcren]

I size mine to .358 as well. I usually only see tipping if the bullet or brass is out of round. Loading with lee standard die set on a lee turrent, sometimes set up a rcbs bullet feeder and seat/crimp in one step. Loading mostly lee 95 rf and sierra hollowpoint jacketed, but have tried several others. Check your bullet roundness and if they are good, measure your expander plug for roundness. Have had 1 lee pte die that was not finish polished that gave me fits seating on a 45 colt. If everything is round, mold your seating stem to the bullet with hotglue.

[lotech]

I got rid if all my .380s , but used to cast for several, including a Colt, a Makarov, and a couple of PPK/Ss. Originally, I thought a .358" bullet would be ideal, just like most 9mms. As it turned out, .356" was the right diameter. No need to slug your barrel unless you really want to. That dimension is less important than what will fit and chamber without difficulty.

[pjames32]

I size my 95gr cast to .357. Shot them in several different pistols.

[Murphy]

Barnabus,

While I haven't shot a great deal of 380 or 9mm, the ones I have seem to like boolits sized to .357. In regards to your boolits seating crooked. You may want to try seating one half way, then turning it 180 degrees to finish it.

The 380 is the one cartridge I almost let beat me. I was about to give up due to the case belling issue. Augh!!! I had purchased 380 dies (RCBS, Lyman and C&H) and without fail, every time I tried to bell a case I would get a bulge that looked similar to a belt around the case. I was on the verge of giving up and remembered my Dillon 9mm dies. I figured what the heck, got nothing to loose. Bingo!

All being said and done, finding the right expander was the key for me. Now my 380 loads shoot fine through a Kahr CW380 and a Browning 1911-380 Black Label Pistol.

Good luck on your search,

Murphy

[georgerkahn]

I have three .380s, and for two I size my bullets to .355. The third, which is more of a "curiosity" with its humongous trigger pull (a Czechoslovakian CZ24 from ~ 1930), required .357' sizing. Re your employing 9mm Luger & Parabellum bullets, it has been noted that while both the .380 ACP and the 9 mm use the same .355-inch diameter bullet, different makes/models indeed have their preferences. (I learned this "in reverse" after I took a box of my cast bullets for the CZ24 to range, to shoot in a Colt) "Range buddies" I know size theirs to .356, but I neither like the looks or chambering of my loads when sized to that diameter. That .001" clearly shows! My dies are plain-Jane RCBS in this caliber, and, again, .355" seems to load with no difficulty for me in the modern .380s. I do not have anything chambered in 9mm; most bullets I've seen in 9mm are jacketed.
The mould I mostly use for my .380s is the LYMAN 356-632 -- a 100 gr. 2-cavity mould (RNFP), sized to .355 (.357 for CZ24), using their #402 top punch.
geo

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

.358
I use Lyman thru powder M-die to expand and charge the cases.
RCBS dies with RN nose punch. Works well with flat point bullets too.

[Ed_Shot]

I size my 380's to .358 for a Bersa, a Colt Mustang and a LCP. I mainly use the Lyman 356242 (90 gr). My only Lee dies are .380 ACP, I think someone gave me the set. The Mustang has the tightest chamber but will still take a COAL of .980".