.380 acp questions

[Mbedwell1971]

I am casting some 80gr HP from a NOE mould. I have been very pleased with the results. I load them behind 3.5gr of HP38. I tested one in a 10" thick wet pack. It penetrated about 4" and expanded nicely.

[Mbedwell1971]

Sorry for the duplicate post. Here is a photo of the expanded bullet.

[Mbedwell1971]

Sorry for the duplicate post. Here is a photo of the expanded bullet.

[sirgknight]

I am casting some 80gr HP from a NOE mould. I have been very pleased with the results. I load them behind 3.5gr of HP38. I tested one in a 10" thick wet pack. It penetrated about 4" and expanded nicely.

very nice. where do you find your load data?

[fcvan]

Glen, I don't think I've ever loaded a jacketed boolit in my .380 pistols. You know me, I cast everything I can Anyway, I've used the Lee 356-102 1R and the 358-105 SWC, both boolits sized to .358 over 3 grains of Bullseye. These have been fired through a Browning BDA, a Walther PPK, and FEG PA 63 (Walther PP clone) a Walther PK 380, a Ruger LCP, and a Taurus TCP 380. Performance has been consistent and I've not experienced any pressure issues. A few years ago I tried switching to Unique and my groups opened up considerably. After switching back to Bullseye everything tightened back up again. For the past 6 months, I've been powder coating everything with HF flat black including for the .380 ACP. I'm still sizing to .358 and am liking the reduced smoke.

[sirgknight]

Glen, I don't think I've ever loaded a jacketed boolit in my .380 pistols. You know me, I cast everything I can Anyway, I've used the Lee 356-102 1R and the 358-105 SWC, both boolits sized to .358 over 3 grains of Bullseye. These have been fired through a Browning BDA, a Walther PPK, and FEG PA 63 (Walther PP clone) a Walther PK 380, a Ruger LCP, and a Taurus TCP 380. Performance has been consistent and I've not experienced any pressure issues. A few years ago I tried switching to Unique and my groups opened up considerably. After switching back to Bullseye everything tightened back up again. For the past 6 months, I've been powder coating everything with HF flat black including for the .380 ACP. I'm still sizing to .358 and am liking the reduced smoke.

I placed an order with Dardas Cast Bullets for their 98 grain RN with a bevel base. The LCP won't get the action of my other calibers, so I probably will not cast for it. 500 bullets should give me enough rounds to find a good plinking load. The only other bullet I plan to load is a Speer 88 grain HP (.355) for carry purposes.

[fcvan]

Well, if you ever feel like another lead for boolits swap, you're on. That last lead I got from you was great. Take care and Merry Christmas!

[sirgknight]

thanks fcvan....likewise with the boolits. I loaded two more boxes of the 40 cal this week. Merry Christmas to you too!!!

[Mbedwell1971]

very nice. where do you find your load data?

I could not find the exact bullet in any of my manuals. The closest I could find was in the Modern Reloading Second Edition with a 90gr jacketed bullet. It referenced a starting load of 3.2 gr of HP 38. I started with 3gr and had a few that didn't cycle well. I moved it up to 3.2gn and was getting around 860fps. Gun cycled perfectly with limited recoil. I moved it up to 3.5gn and approached 900fps. I decided not to push it any further.

[sirgknight]

I could not find the exact bullet in any of my manuals. The closest I could find was in the Modern Reloading Second Edition with a 90gr jacketed bullet. It referenced a starting load of 3.2 gr of HP 38. I started with 3gr and had a few that didn't cycle well. I moved it up to 3.2gn and was getting around 860fps. Gun cycled perfectly with limited recoil. I moved it up to 3.5gn and approached 900fps. I decided not to push it any further.

Thanks....I have found a good bit of data on the 90 grain, and even the 88 gr from a Speer manual from the 1980's. The 80 grain is lightest bullet I've seen loaded for the .380. That's very nice looking work.

[Mbedwell1971]

Thanks. I am going to try powder coating next week. I have been reading some of the threads about that and it sounds interesting. I am not getting much leading with these, but I do some with my 9mm I have slugged my barrel on both my 9mm and my 380. Both bullets I am currently casting are oversized for their respective barrels, but I am still getting some leading with my 9mm. I am hoping that the PC will help with that.