My “go-to powders” are usually Bulls Eye, Red Dot, Unique and Green Dot for what I load – both pistol and 8mm, 30-30, etc. for reduced cast loads for plinking. During the Obama shortage when the shelves were pretty much bare of powder, I was at the LGS that I often deal with and they had some Accurate A2 that had just come in. One of the guys that I have dealt with for a long time said that he had had to switch to Accurate A2 from his preferred and recommended it for pistol, so I picked up two containers of it. Shortly after, I stumbled on to a 8 pound jug of Red Dot and it took care of my needs so the A2 got put away.
I pulled out the two contains of A2 the other day, read what the label said and then went to Accurate’s site to take a look at loading data. In a nutshell, their site shows it is good for 32 to 45 Colt. I have two .380 semi-autos that I want to load up a quantity of rounds for and figured that maybe the Accurate A2 might be a good one to use – but I have never tried it nor have I even broken the seal on the container to take a look at it.
My two semis include a S & W .380 EZ Shield and a Beretta 84.
I have a number of molds – Lyman 354-242, NOE 358-100 FN as well as several others – but I have almost 500 95 grain round nose PC’d boolits that I bought a while ago fron a vendor here that I want to use. I loaded up that boolit in 380 with BE for a friend of mine to use in his small Sig and they worked well.
I looked at the loading data on Accurate’s site for the A2 – but didn’t see any “lead” (i.e. cast) loads - unless I somehow missed it. I have a copy of Ranch Dog’s chart and it shows a 100 grain TL358-100-RF and the maximum load for Accurate A2 at 3.8 grains – which gives a case density of 67% giving a velocity of 872 FPS – in a Taurus 7388 TCP with a 2.84” barrel. In comparison – he lists Red Dot as a maximum load of 3.0 grains – case density of 81% for 895 FPS.
On the Accurate site – they show their Accurate A2 on the same line as compared to Red Dot as far as “burn rate”. However, I am assuming that the same loading data for Red Dot cannot be used with Accurate A2 as there would be a definite difference in density, grain weight charges and physical make-up of the two different powders to achieve close results – as shown by Ranch Dog’s chart. So have no fear, I have reloaded for enough years to not even "go there" and I am looking for Accurate A2 specific loading data.
I would like to come up with a load that would work in both the EZ Shield and the Beretta 84 – but the recoil spring on the EZ is much weaker than that on the Beretta – thus there may be cycling issues. (I once had a Ruger SR9 that shot well with a 120 grain cast over 3.5 grains of Bulls Eye – but when I bought my 9mm Shield, the load would not cycle in it – by increasing the load from 3.5 to 3.7, the Shield cycle perfectly and both shot the same load very well.) And I freely admit that I am a “revolver shooter” and have way more of those than I do semi-automatics – which I shoot infrequently. So for those semi-auto folks - is it a feasible goal or will I be looking at two different loads - one for the 380 EZ and one for the Beretta?
So . . . can anyone “educate me” on Accurate A2 and possibly provide the minimum and maximum load for a 95ish grain cast bullet in .380 ACP (and COAL if possible for a guide)? None of my manuals – 3rd edition of the Lyman Cast Bullet or other manuals that I have, show anything for 380 loads with Accurate A2.
Is there anything to watch out for with A2?
How well does A2 meter out of a powder measure such as an Ideal 55 or a Lee Perfect? I have some cartridges I reload, such as 38 Colt Short, that depending on the powder, my measures don’t drop a small charge very well. In those instances, I often make dippers and I can get consistent grain weight loads – checking with scale – so I can easily go that route if necessary if Accurate A2 is difficult to meter out of a powder measure.
Can anyone provide a good source for loading data or links for loads with A2 and cast? My 4th edition of the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook is in Arizona and I am in Michigan so I don’t know if there are any in that edition or not.
What I’m going to be loading up for the .380s I have is strictly for general plinking – ringing a gong, killing cans, etc. – not serious shooting.
Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
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