380 Loads ?

[Speedway]

Does anyone out there have a favorite 380 load they want to share?

 

[rockhopper46038]

I've tried several different 90 and 95 grain plated RN recipes with Power Pistol and 231, but I haven't found anything I like so much that I want to hang my hat on it. Tagged for interest.

 

[bigretic]

I'm using berrys plated 95 or 100 with unique at about 3.0.
We started at 2.6 but it would not cycle in some of the guns. 3.0 and it works in all of them. the only one that would run the low end charges was my p238.
I've also loaded a bunch of montan gold hollow point at that charge with a little shorter oal and the run awesome too.

 

[T/C Guy]

If you cast your own check Ranchdog's .380 mold and his load recipes.(www.ranchdogoutdoors.com) All of the loads I've tried from his list with his bullet with the powders I have available have worked well.

 

[xM3RC1L3SS1x]

Nope

 

[Maximinus Thrax]

I'm still experimenting with mine. Works really well with AA#5, and 700x is really snappy. My wife didn't like the 700x. I won't give specs but that's all the powders I've been able to experiment with thus far.

 

[trophyhunter]

I got tired of paying the high prices for .380 carry loads to practice with and worked them up with Accurate No. 5 and Power Pistol being the two best performers after extensive work ups and chronograph time using an old Interarms PPK (3.3" barrel). Hornady's 90 grain XTP hollow point showed the least total spread and deviations seated to exactly 0.950 with AA#5 averaging 1013 FPS with 5.2 grains of powder.

The Power Pistol load using the 90 grain XTP seated @ 0.950 behind 5.4 grains pushed it an average of 1028 FPS.

Those are absolutely max loads both in terms of powder charge and minimum COL's, the Power Pistol load has a pretty sharp muzzle flash compared to the #AA 5 load which has almost none at all.

Proper seating plug profile in your die is really important putting these together if you're so inclined. Loads of this nature are not for the inexperienced or those making use of bargain priced tooling and powder measures that don't own a chronograph. ~Just don't do it if that sounds like you. Dropping the COL's from inconsistent seating depth's or any bridging of powder charges will have you in trouble and overpressure immediately if they don't stay within spec. (Dillon's reversible contour .380 seating die insert is perfect for the XTP profile btw) My barrel chamber produces fired cases with 11.57 grains of water capacity using Winchester brass for making these, if your's are less keep in mind that's going to affect pressure increases as well.

 

[Broom_jm]

I've used both Hornady and Sierra bullets over a "sufficient" amount of Power Pistol. Start at minimum and work your way up until the gun cycles properly. I don't feel a need to push any limits or chronograph the loads. They are used for practice and fun shooting...and will hopefully never be needed for anything more.

 

[Maximinus Thrax]

I got tired of paying the high prices for .380 carry loads to practice with and worked them up with Accurate No. 5 and Power Pistol being the two best performers after extensive work ups and chronograph time using an old Interarms PPK (3.3" barrel). Hornady's 90 grain XTP hollow point showed the least total spread and deviations seated to exactly 0.950 with AA#5 averaging 1013 FPS with 5.2 grains of powder.

The Power Pistol load using the 90 grain XTP seated @ 0.950 behind 5.4 grains pushed it an average of 1028 FPS.

Those are absolutely max loads both in terms of powder charge and minimum COL's, the Power Pistol load has a pretty sharp muzzle flash compared to the #AA 5 load which has almost none at all.

Proper seating plug profile in your die is really important putting these together if you're so inclined. Loads of this nature are not for the inexperienced or those making use of bargain priced tooling and powder measures that don't own a chronograph. ~Just don't do it if that sounds like you. Dropping the COL's from inconsistent seating depth's or any bridging of powder charges will have you in trouble and overpressure immediately if they don't stay within spec. (Dillon's reversible contour .380 seating die insert is perfect for the XTP profile btw) My barrel chamber produces fired cases with 11.57 grains of water capacity using Winchester brass for making these, if your's are less keep in mind that's going to affect pressure increases as well.

I'm glad to see that you had good results with the AA#5. I'm planning on messing with it some more because it seemed to work really well in my wife's Bersa. All I'm looking for is a load that will cycle properly and be accurate enough for good practice. I tend to avoid maxing out loads if for no other reason than the fact that powder is scarce and I'm trying to be economical about my usage.

 

[rockhopper46038]

I got tired of paying the high prices for .380 carry loads to practice with and worked them up with Accurate No. 5 and Power Pistol being the two best performers after extensive work ups and chronograph time using an old Interarms PPK (3.3" barrel). Hornady's 90 grain XTP hollow point showed the least total spread and deviations seated to exactly 0.950 with AA#5 averaging 1013 FPS with 5.2 grains of powder.

The Power Pistol load using the 90 grain XTP seated @ 0.950 behind 5.4 grains pushed it an average of 1028 FPS.

Those are absolutely max loads both in terms of powder charge and minimum COL's, the Power Pistol load has a pretty sharp muzzle flash compared to the #AA 5 load which has almost none at all.

Proper seating plug profile in your die is really important putting these together if you're so inclined. Loads of this nature are not for the inexperienced or those making use of bargain priced tooling and powder measures that don't own a chronograph. ~Just don't do it if that sounds like you. Dropping the COL's from inconsistent seating depth's or any bridging of powder charges will have you in trouble and overpressure immediately if they don't stay within spec. (Dillon's reversible contour .380 seating die insert is perfect for the XTP profile btw) My barrel chamber produces fired cases with 11.57 grains of water capacity using Winchester brass for making these, if your's are less keep in mind that's going to affect pressure increases as well.

Great, informative post. I have no desire to push the envelope with my .380 range/training loads and fortunately picked up enough factory carry loads before the crisis to keep me supplied indefinitely. But trophyhunter's post is a great reminder if how quickly these small pistol loads (in particular) can go south on you if you aren't meticulous with your process.

 

[trophyhunter]

Great, informative post. I have no desire to push the envelope with my .380 range/training loads and fortunately picked up enough factory carry loads before the crisis to keep me supplied indefinitely. But trophyhunter's post is a great reminder if how quickly these small pistol loads (in particular) can go south on you if you aren't meticulous with your process.

Yep, the 380 is a particularly dicey round to construct at carry load parameters due to the small case capacity and pressure ceiling @ 21,500 PSI. Ever wonder why those .380 carry loads cost so much more than the exact same offering and quantity in 9mm? -OCD level quality control, there's no room for + or - deviation at all to get the .380 safely into the 1K FPS range without pushing the load as close to 100% max pressure as you can get and every one of the rounds in a production run has to be perfectly within spec's or it's going to fall short of the mark or run overpressure.

 

[Speedway]

Wow, thanks for all the great info.
I am mainly interested in target ammo for my g-42. I will get to work and let you know how it goes.
Thanks!!

 

[Bfish]

Subbed

 

[Giddaltti]

I use 2.8 to 3.0gn of bulleye on a 95gn TMJ . Works great in my TCP380.

 

[EyeCarry]

I'm using berrys plated 95 or 100 with unique at about 3.0.

I mixed up 5 rounds of 100gr Extreme RNCP bullets and 3.0 gr of Unique. I got to shoot them today. A pleasure to the hand compared to WWB. I did note the barrel being a little sootier and a 2-3 flakes of powder were found while cleaning the gun. I think that I will make up some more of these with 5 of them at 3.2.

 

[Warsaw214]

I just returned from testing .380 and 9mm loads at the range today. I was using for the first time a Bayou 95gn coated bullets and AA#2. No smoke and very clean...

.380 Sig p238

OAL = .98
#2 3.3gn for 843 fps
#2 3.5gn for 885 fps

9mm Glock 35 with Storm lake barrel conversion - great for steel
OAL = 1.040
#2 4.4gn for 1194 fps

 

[Tobryan]

I just returned from testing .380 and 9mm loads at the range today. I was using for the first time a Bayou 95gn coated bullets and AA#2. No smoke and very clean...

.380 Sig p238

OAL = .98
#2 3.3gn for 843 fps
#2 3.5gn for 885 fps

9mm Glock 35 with Storm lake barrel conversion - great for steel
OAL = 1.040
#2 4.4gn for 1194 fps

We're those 95gr bullets in the 9mm? Are the bullets that much shorter than 115, that typically have a 1.10 - 1.12 min OAL? 1.04 OAL seems very short and potentially high pressure.

 

[Warsaw214]

We're those 95gr bullets in the 9mm? Are the bullets that much shorter than 115, that typically have a 1.10 - 1.12 min OAL? 1.04 OAL seems very short and potentially high pressure.

Great question... I had some of the same reservations. The min. max. range is 1.040 - 1.050 for my setup as I am changing and managing shell plate (float variation) when switching between calibers. I believe max OAL for a 95gn bullet in a 9mm case is about 1.050 before you're getting very close to hitting the lube groove (depending on the play in your reloading equipment) and maintaining a dependable uniform accuracy. Also, note the 9mm 115gn bullets (what I have) measures 0.546 and 95gn measure 0.456. That is... the 115gn will seat 0.090 deeper (0.546 - 0.456=0.090) into a 9mm case.

The 24 rounds that I tested had no signs of over pressure using cci small pistol primers with AA#2 and although their accurate, I am planning to move to a .38 105gn resized to 9mm .355 for steel target loading, but will use them for my .380 as well. I am mainly testing the Hi-Tek coating performance of the bullets... next, I'll be shooting a 1,000 rounds (ladder test/inspection) before deciding to move permanently to coated bullets.