There's a few 380 die sets for sale on fleabay if you're willing to pay the price.
There's a few 380 die sets for sale on fleabay if you're willing to pay the price.
I had a the Browning model 1971 .380 (model 1910 with target sights, longer barrel). I loaded the Lee 105 SWC sized to .357 in my pistol. I do have .380 dies. The little Browning was surprisingly accurate and great fun. I found the .380 wasn't any more difficult than the .22 Hornet for handling bullets and cases. I actually killed a prairie dog at 180 yards with it. Walked the bullets up Elmer Keith style. You could see the bullet base in critters forehead.
3 die carbide set, 2 in stock https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012365980?pid=534524
As fond as I am of RedDot, Unique & Herco, FLAKE POWDERS ARE NOT YOUR FRIEND with tiny cases. Consider propellants like W231 or AA#5. IMR-700X seems to work well, if memory serves, though I don't recall if it is flake or something else.
For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. Ecclesiastes 1:18
He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool become servant to the wise of heart. Proverbs 11:29
...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40
Carpe SCOTCH!
380's can be picky to load for. And if you have the other dies why not take a stab at reloading with them before spending the cash right now on dies. I found my dies on eBay back in the Spring. Good deal on a lightly used 4 die carbide taper crimp set for under 60 bucks. I'm using RCBS's 115 grain 9mm mold for the 380 along with my 9mm. And for sure make sure they go "PLUNK" before you make a slew of them AND be sure they will feed out of your magazine. Be sure to fill the mag. Your overall length may go PLUNK and still be too long to stuff into the mag. Be sure to load at least 3 or 4 into the mag.
Here's my 10/71 Browning. Back-at-cha MostlyLeverGuns.
And my RCBS 115 grain cast loads.
Have a set of Texan 380 dies. First time I used them had about 305 empties. Deprimed them on a Texan C-frame press. Primed them using my RCBS bench primer. Used a Lee dipper that threw a 2.77 gr load, 27.7 grains of Unique for 10 throws. As I put powder in the case I set a Sierra blem bullet on the case and then seated with the press. After seating the first bullet, I stepped outside and fired it into the ground. The case extracted so I went in and loaded 2 more, went out and fired them. The first round extracted, the second chambered, fired and extracted with no issues. I then loaded enough rounds to fill the magazine and they all fed, fired, and extracted/ejected with no issues. I still have nearly 300 rounds that I expect to work in my Llama 380 with no issues.
P.S. Sell him the Critical Defense loads, for $15 a round.
Last edited by ulav8r; 12-01-2020 at 11:14 PM. Reason: Added P.S.
Spell check doesn't work in Chrome, so if something is spelled wrong, it's just a typo that I missed.
Bought 1000 cases for just a little over 5 cents each, shipped. Nice and polished. Course, once I bought them, I found about 500 more I knew I had, but couldn't find in the shop(you see my shop, you would understand why!!)
Once I get my 650 set up to load 380 it goes fairly well, except for some of the cases drop from the casefeeder upside down. Thats the only thing that slows me down. I load a 105gr truncated cone boolit sized to .357, now that I ran out of 95gr fmj I had bought years ago.
I load on a Dillon SDB. I bought a Ruger LCP right after they were introduced. Didn't have the funds for a new set of dies, so figured out how to set and use the 9mm setup. Loaded just fine, just had to go slow. Mentioned it on here and got several responses as to my sanity and "You'll shoot your eye out!" Later on, got the dies at a LGS for a good price. If you think things out, go slow and careful, you can figure out how to do things.
One of my father's favorite statements: "If I say a chicken dips snuff, look under his wing for the snuffbox" How I was raised, who I am.
In reading the last two posts one from gbrown and one from onelight I can't help but chuckle at some of the "adjustments" we make to keep things moving along. Thanks for the verifications.
regards,
Don't sell him the ammo!
Instead, get him to buy a Lee hand press off Ebay, along with Lee powder dippers and whatever loading dies will fit his hand press. Last, a hand priming tool and then teach him to reload using a simple recipe that bulks the powder enuf to avoid double charges. The cases are a PITA due to size. If all are the same length and crimped lightly, it's a surprisingly accurate little round. Lyman 358345 (110 grains) and Lee 105 gr SWC work well - accurate and feed smoothly in my 3 guns. Work good on grouse (where legal) and rabbits, woodchucks (got to be good at slithering along to get in range) and such.
All the best -Dave
A strongly held opinion is not always the same as an accurate opinion
Go to Titan reloading and sign up for e mail notification for when they will be back in stock.
Get BIL or friend to find and purchase 380 ACP dies for you (don't then care what was paid) in order for them to get SOME (not infinite) reloads as compensation.
I have hands that will palm a basketball and find the 380 ACP quite satisfying to progressively load (take care in any manual boolit seating or you may "ouch" a finger). I regularly feed a pair of Walther PPK (1 blue; 1 stainless).
If it was easy, anybody could do it.
The .380 just isn't an interesting enough thing to shoot for me to get worked up loading for it. I suppose if it was a chambering of a gun you like, it would be, I just never could get into tiny little pistols that are difficult to shoot.
I am set up to load for .380, and I will keep the stuff, especially now.
I got a set up for .38 S&W because a good friend who's folks let me deer hunt their place was looking for ammo for a nice S&W snub his elderly father used to keep around for the occasional coon or skunk around the farm. I couldn't believe what specialty ammo cost and just told him not to buy any, I'd take care of it. I found brass and a set of dies for les than a 50 round box of ammo would have cost and loaded him 100 rounds which will last him the rest of his life at the rate he shoots it. I still have the dies and probably some brass, might never own a revolver in it, but it's the kind of thing I like, so glad I have the set up.
I have a feeling if you have 9mm dies and a bullet mold for 9mm on the light side you can make workable ammo. A couple of months ago, someone asked on a facebook reloading page (obvious newb, but at least he could think, most can't) asked if he could load .45 ACP ammo on .45 Colt dies. Well, all the "experts" shriekd and screamed and told him he'd blow up hi gun and himself if he tried, yada, yada, yada. I hate that stuff, worst thing that could have happenned is his ammo wouldn't have chambered so nothing would happen except some time pulling bullets, but it made me mad enough that I tried, and you know what? It worked, at least with my dies in my gun. Only thing I changed was the shell holder. Dies were Lee carbide, had to crank the seating dies all the way to touch the shell holder to get the crimp shoulder to take enough bell out of the case mouth to let the rounds drop in my Wilson case gauge, but drop in they did and functioned in an AMT Hardballer. I only did five, and maybe those Lee dies over size brass, I don't know, but all those shrieking "experts" told me I'd blow myself up if I kept doing it. Not sure how any step of the process except charging cases could blow you up, but many seem to be convinced it will.
Try the 9mm dies, there's no voo doo magic with this game. My first batch of .351 WSL I loaded with a .38 Super sizer and a .357 magnum seater and they functioned fine. Obviously, correct dies are better, and I now have a set, but an innovative thinker (which I generally am not) can make do with things more often than not.
My first 380 ACP Walther PPK fell into my lap. The 2nd was a "can't walk away from that price" sale to me from a co-worker relocating to Kalifornia.
The 380 ACP is an interesting, increasingly popular, easily concealable, controllable, and accurate firearm - IF YOU LIKE TO SHOOT IT.
I could quote your post, interchangeably with any number of popular calibers I don't favor, but that would just be bashing calibers I don't own or shoot.
If it was easy, anybody could do it.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |