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View Full Version : LEE 105 gr swc in a 380?



A pause for the COZ
05-25-2012, 07:54 PM
Any body out there doing this? What are you sizing the bullet at? I am interested in using Bullseye powder, but I do have unique available.
I have a 6 cavity of this mold for plinkers for the 38 special.
If it can pull double duty.........:)

A pause for the COZ
05-26-2012, 12:11 AM
Ok I have been doing some searching. I did find this.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=96819

I did try 10 of them in my Taurus 380 auto. sized at .358 because thats what i had on hand. Ahead of 2.6 gr bullseye.

These shot well. But I thought was a little hot and I got leading.
I will have to go dig through my sizing dies. I may have a .356 sizer in with a box of stuff I got a while ago.
If not I guess a .357 LEE sizer may be in the offing.
Then I will cut the charge down to 2.2 gr and see what I get.
All 10 fed like a dream. So I am hopeful.

9.3X62AL
05-26-2012, 12:49 AM
Slug the throat and grooves of that 380 barrel--LOTS of them run quite wide. My last 380 ACP (SIG-Sauer P-230) ran .360" throat and .359" grooves.

Since getting a 9mm Makarov about 20 years ago that DOTES on cast boolits, my 380 shooting pretty much came to an end. Generally, my experience has been with the 32 ACP, 380 ACP, and 9Mak blowbacks that once you get a handle on their barrel dimensions they can be very lead-friendly. The few recoil-operated small-bores (7.65 MAS and the Colt Government 380) REALLY bring out the best in their cartridges, and enable safer hot-rodding of the loads.

Poygan
05-26-2012, 09:02 AM
I have used a Lyman .358345 sized to .355 in an LCP. Haven't shot a lot of them but generally feed reliably. IIRC it tends to shoot a bit high but it isn't exactly a target piece anyway.

Packy
05-26-2012, 10:10 AM
I use the lee 105 in my cz-83 with titegroup sized 357. It shoots good.

fcvan
06-01-2012, 10:18 PM
I originally bought that mold for 9mm but loved it in the 380. Most of the time I use the Lee 102RN mold but the 105 prints good holes on targets. I size at .358 just like I do with the 9mm and haven't had any problems in my assortment of .380 pistols. Frank

fatelk
06-02-2012, 12:57 AM
I really like that bullet, but it didn't work at all in my .380 Taurus TCP. The throat is too tight and if I tried to seat it deep enough to not jam into the rifling, it would bulge the case.

I slugged my barrel in the Taurus, and it was .358".

Gunnut 45/454
06-02-2012, 07:03 PM
Yep!
3.4 gr W231 for about 938 fps out of the wifes Bersa Thunder. Sized .356" in Lee sizer. Shoots very well.

Charlie Horse
06-27-2023, 10:26 AM
Old thread, new comment.

I'm using this boolit in my Glock 42 with good results. Mine get sized to .3565 and then loaded in front of .3 CC's of bullseye. Works very well. But my Glock 26 hates this slug, and it likes everything. Go figure.

Thin Man
06-28-2023, 03:31 AM
I have been using this boolit in .380 pistols for quite a while. I compared sizing at .356 and .358 and found no significant difference in group size or pressure signs. I seat the boolit so that only a thumb-nail thickness of the top driving band is outside of the case mouth. Reliability of feeding has been perfect with powder charges recommended for the 100 grain boolit range. An old phrase that used to circulate answers your concerns - "Try it, you'll like it."