[upstateSCreloader]

Does Anyone Reload 380 Or Has Reloaded 380 ??? Good, Bad, Feasible or Not,
ETC... THANKS :banghead::banghead:

[Remo-99]

Depends on how much you shoot it. If you put hundreds of rounds through it, then yeh sure it's worth it.
But if it's a gun you just plink with every now and then, the money it would cost setting up for the calibre might be better spent on buying a bunch of ammo at a good price.
Just my thoughts anyways.

[ants]

I enjoy reloading 380 auto. I often use 115 grain bullets, same as my 9mm pistols, so I can buy bulk.

I'd love to tell you more, but it's almost midnight and we've had 2 or 3 threads on this subject in the last 90 days. Maybe you can find our posts in one of those threads.

Best of luck, cowboy. Go have fun with it.

[NuJudge]

It only likes Round Nose bullets. Other than that, it's very forgiving. I prefer cast bullets because of cost.

CDD

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Since I carry a .380 on occasion as a CCW piece, I tend to practice with it quite a bit; therefore, I reload for it. I buy bulk 95 grain FMJ bullets, pick up my empties and any others I can find at the range (most folks don't reload .380) and load up large batches at a time with whatever primer and appropriate powder I have left over from shot shell reloading....then I'm usually set for a while.

might be better spent on buying a bunch of ammo at a good price.

When was the last time you saw a bunch of ANY ammo at a good price? Cost just keeps on going up from where I'm sitting..........

[RDA 226sig]

My wife has a Bersa 380 that she likes to shoot so I reload quite a bunch of the little rascals. They are hard to seperate from the 9mm if you pick up both calibers at the range. Otherwise, Winchester 95grn FP bullets with Accurate no.2 or tightgroup work well.

[Pilot]

I reload for .380 using a 95 grain lead, copper washed bullet over 2.9 grains of HP-38 for plinking. It feels like a .22 when shot but is able to cycle both my Beretta M85FS and Makarov in .380 fine. If I carry .380 for SD I load with Corbon factory stuff.

[moooose102]

i made up 200 rounds yesterday. very feasable. if you have questions, pm me and i will do my best to answer them. if you already reload, it is no big deal. if you do not, consider how much you shoot it first. it will take a long time to recouperate the investment money if you only shoot 5 or 10 boxes a year.

[swiftak]

I do because I like to reload for every gun that I own. Its also the only caliber that I also buy ammo for. Its a PPK.

[ambidextrous1]

I have a Makarov, a PPK and a HK-4, all in .380. I reload an ammo can of cartridges about once a year, using the 95 grain copper-washed RN bullet.

The cost of the dies is long forgotten.:)

[Mr. 16 gauge]

For those of you who are using lead/copper washed bullets, I have a question for you: Where/who are you getting your bullets from?
Thanks in advance..............

[jjohnson]

Yep. .380 loads fairly easily. The only complaint is that it's easy to get the 9mm Luger and .380 brass mixed together if you pick up range brass, so you need to be fully alert when you reload. (You should be alert anyway).:scrutiny:

I often carry a Mak in .380, so I shoot it often. I was surprised to find that the Mak is way more accurate than I'd thought - and is very handy - so I have fun with it at the range.

Berry's bullets are pretty good, and I buy mine from www.grafs.com. As another poster said, yes, you can use up to 115 grains if you like. I load 380 and 9mm back to back in my Dillon 550B, because I don't have to adjust much when I swap from one to the other.

I don't find reloading 380 any more difficult than most calibers.

[Peter M. Eick]

380's are one of the very few loads I have memorized. 4.0 grns of Unique 90 grn JHP from seirra, cci primers, .984 col. Easy to do and accurate.

Check your own loading book before trusting my memory. I use a seirra book myself.

[rondog]

No, reloading .380's isn't worth it. Please send all your empty brass to me and I'll see that it gets properly disposed of.

[12Bravo20]

No, reloading .380's isn't worth it. Please send all your empty brass to me and I'll see that it gets properly disposed of.

You can send some my way too.:neener:

I reload .380 all the time using Berry's 95Gr bullets and 3.1Gr of Hodgdon Universal powder. That combo seems to shoot good in my Kel-Tec, Llama IIIA, And Bersa .380.

[cerberus65]

I took my first .380 reloads to the range at lunch today. Fun! I definitely need to keep working up, though. I shot a couple of factory rounds for comparison and I'm not getting as much punch yet.

I'm using Unique and 95 gr. Magtech bullets. Still working on it, though.

[barnetmill]

The .380 is an easy case to reload, but I do offer a word of caution with the .380. The case capacity is very small and when using bullets heavier than 95 grains, care should be taken not to compress the powder charge. This will result in high pressures that are hard on small guns. Most 380's are only locked by the weight of slide and spring pressure. Even when there is a lock up as in the Keltec and its ruger copy, there is no real reason to construct overcharged loads for these small guns.

When I was a lot younger I use to load 125 grain luger bullets with the lightest charge that would function a Mauser Hsc pistol that I used to own. A full powder charge for a 95 grain slug would have been dangerous with that overweight bullet. The load would not work in a savage .380 that a friend had due to its overlength being too long to fit in the savage magazine.
I found out accidently that that load would also function in a friends 9mm parabellum caliber Astra 600 pistol ejecting a very bulged out case.

[russ45]

My 2 cent's worth. I noticed that someone else uses 115 grain bullets. These are good and accurate, just don't load them too heavy as the little pistols are recoil-operated and heavy loads might damage them. I have used HP-38, Universal, and Bullseye with good results, I think Bullseye is my fav. The Winchester, H-P, and CBC cases are good. The CCI, Federal and some others are too thick near the base and you won't be able to seat the 115 grain bullet deep enough for max OAL, especially for hollow points.

[barnetmill]

"The CCI, Federal and some others are too thick near the base and you won't be able to seat the 115 grain bullet deep enough for max OAL, especially for hollow points."

I use to pick up once fired cases and as long as they would chamber in my barrel I would use them without full length resizing. Knockout the old primer, reprime, load powder, and then seat & crimp a 125 grain lead bullet. The greater thickness of the case near the base would would prevent the bullet from going backwards. Saved one step in the reloading process.

[moooose102]

I took my first .380 reloads to the range at lunch today. Fun! I definitely need to keep working up, though. I shot a couple of factory rounds for comparison and I'm not getting as much punch yet.


if you are just paper punching, you dont need a lot of punch! and you can save money. less powder = more loads per pound. as long as the gun cycles fine, and you keep them seperate from your personal defense loads!

[ArchAngelCD]

Does Anyone Reload 380 Or Has Reloaded 380 ??? Good, Bad, Feasible or Not,
ETC... THANKS
It depends on how much money you have... At current component prices I can reload a box of 50 using a 95gr lead bullet for $4.83. Can you buy a box for that price? Can you buy a box for 3X that price? I think not so like I said, it depends on how much money you have... Last time I looked the local shop was charging over $18 a box for Remington UMC or Winchester White Box .380 Auto ammo. You can probably save 75% by reloading. (or should I say shoot 200 rounds instead of 50 for the same price because we never save money reloading, we just get to shoot a lot more for the same price!!)

[RidgwayCO]

I load 95gr lead RN bullets at about 800 fps for light target practice, and 100gr Hornady FMJ-Enc bullets at about 925 fps to duplicate standard factory fodder. Speer's 90gr GDHPs and Hornady's 90gr HP/XTPs are easily loaded to equal their factory counterparts. I've also played around a bit with the Remington 102gr GSHPs, but not enough to make a firm recommendation yet.

The best powders I've found for my setup (Lee Classic Cast Turret with the Pro Auto Disk) are AA #2, VV N310, VV N320, and VV N330.

[KegCommando]

I am embarrassed to admit it, but looks like I'm the only one here that is having a horrible time loading .380.

I can't get the bullets to go in straight, and the case bulges on one side so they won't go into my max dimension gauge.

With my 9mm loading, when I bell the case, i can seat the bullet and it won't move. I can seat the bullet by hand with just enough tension so that I can practically hold the case horizontal and the bullet will stay.

I can't do this with the .380. I'm at the point where I'm at max bell before the case by itself won't fit in the gauge, and the bullet will move unless I bionic man slow mo move the press handle.
I make about 10 duds for every good round.

About every other week I sit down and try to give it another go and figure out what the heck I'm screwing up on. I'm about to give up forever.

Unlike the posters above though, even though I've been loading 9mm for years, I classify myself as a very inexperienced loader. I found one setup that worked, and never deviated. 380 is my first adventure into something else. Anyways, thought I'd give an experience to contrast everybody elses peachy keen ones.

[1858rem]

are you sizing your cases? make sure there is no junk in your die to size your cases too small or abnormally shaped

[supham]

Sounds to me like you need more bell. Bell it larger to get the bullet to seat correctly then make sure you remove the bell with the crimp.

[Iron Sight]

Closely check the size of the bullets you are using?

Full Metal Jackets seem to insert better for me than the copper plated versions.

[russ45]

When I first started reloading 380 auto, I was not able to crimp it enough after expanding and seating, even using the Lee factory crimp die. Bullets were loose and not accurately seated. Finally solved the problem by running the seating die down so the case crimps in the seating die, then finish up with the Lee factory crimp die for a good tight crimp. Sort of a 2-stage crimp.

[Clark]

I have a Kel-Tec P3AT in my pocket that has such poor case support that handloads cannot be any hotter than factory.

Still, at 11 ounces loaded, I can't feel it in my pocket, even if I jump up and down.

I would like to carry a 45acp loaded to 45 Super levels, but my life style threat is so low it does not justify the discomfort of carrying a brick in my pocket.


What does it all mean?
I would like to load a 380 with a big charge of Power Pistol and 158 gr XTP, but my little wimpy Kel-Tec is better off with a wimpy charge of Power Pistol and 90 gr Gold Dot, producing a pitiful 1100 fps.

[KegCommando]

Thanks for the suggestions.

In answer to a few of the questions:

Yes, I am sizing the cases. I also checked a case after I was having so many issues with calipers and the post sizing was correct.

I was wondering about the bullets. They are sized .356 instead of .355 (from memory) like my 9mm bullets. It was my understanding that cast used a slightly larger, but these are jacketed. I did try to use a couple of these in my 9mm cases, and did have a little more trouble with them compared to my normal 115gr rounds, but I can do them with a little extra bell than I normal do.

As to not enough bell, yes I was thinking that too, but I'm at max flare before the case will no longer fit in my max gauge. I have not tried putting more bell and then have the crimp take it out, but I'll give that a shot this weekend.

[mrwilson]

Have the same trouble, the Lee Factory Crimp Die fixes them up.

[VonFatman]

.380 is the easiest and most trouble-free caliber I reload. I have used three different bullets...all loads have been fantastic. I load these on my 650.

I reload this caliber since I carry a P3-AT and practice with my reloads. I also have a Llama, CZ-83 and a PPKS that get plenty of range time.

95gr. Rainier RN
3 gr. Win-231
Win Primer
Mixed Brass
OAL: .974
FPS: 836 (CZ-83)
FPS: 700 (Kel-Tech)

95gr. Laser Cast LRN
3 gr. Win-231
Win Primer
Mixed Brass
OAL: .957
FPS:

95gr Winchester FMJ
3gr. Win-231
WSP
Mixed Brass
OAL: .922
(tested in CZ-83 and Llama-full function load)

Bob

[KegCommando]

Well, I put a little more bell as suggested, and that put the bullet in the case pretty firmly like I do with my 9mm's.

Seated the bullet, and just as before, the round won't enter my max cartridge gauge.

Got the Lee Factory Crimp die as suggested, and bingo, problem solved. Extra step, but that's a small price to pay.

I hit the range today, and all went well. Thanks everyone!

[VonFatman]

Good job Mr. KegCommando! If at first you don't succeed....

Bob

[Marlin 45 carbine]

I load cast slugs for my .380acp BDA fairly lightly to practice with useing Bullseye and some 'warmer' jacketed HP's to have 'in case' useing Power Pistol.
same as my 9X18 Makarov (has a little more 'punch' than the .380) which I carry now, my BDA is my 'cook-out' or 'dress-up' gun.

[benzuncle]

If you already own a press and reload, the cost to add 380 reloading equipment is minimal enough to make it very cost effective. I started reloading 45acp and added the dies and turret to load my 380's. The biggest pain is finding the 380's after you've fired them. The casings have a bad habit of disappearing. I have 4 mags loaded and ready to go and when the time is just right (no one in the vicinity shooting 9mm) I open up with the 380 and then scrounge and grovel for as many as I can find. I load 95gr. lead rounds for $4.82 per box of 50 and 102gr Remington Golden Sabers for $9.82 per box of 50.

[KegCommando]

The biggest pain is finding the 380's after you've fired them. The casings have a bad habit of disappearing. I have 4 mags loaded and ready to go and when the time is just right (no one in the vicinity shooting 9mm) I open up with the 380 and then scrounge and grovel for as many as I can find.

OMG isn't that the truth!

I love it when you are on your hands and knees, and something comes over to help thinking you lost a contact. "Nope, I'm just looking for my .380 brass." :)

[Woodshark]

To load .380 acp successfully, start with a Lee undersized carbide sizer, make sure that your expanding ball is smaller than your bullet, and get a taper crimp die. The taper crimp presses the case mouth into the bullet at a slight angle and insures proper feeding while still being able to headspace on the case mouth.

[TooTaxed]

Just a note of caution...there is a lot of barrel groove variation in various 380 pistols, and the .380 cases are tapered inside. Bullets up to 0.355 (same as 9-mm Luger) can be safely loaded, but long .355 bullets can buckle the case due to the inside taper.

Also, there are a few Makarovs around in .380, but most are 9-mm Makarov, which uses a 0.363 diameter bullet, even larger in diameter than the 0.358 bullets used in .38-Spl/.357 Mag. Be sure what you have! A .380 bullet will play Hell with accuracy!

[TooTaxed]

The .380 cases are noticably shorter than the 9-mm cases, so they aren't too hard to sort quickly.

Actually, at the range I just quickly pick up both the 9-mm and .380 cases and sort 'em later, as I reload both!;)

[Erik T]

Well, I put a little more bell as suggested, and that put the bullet in the case pretty firmly like I do with my 9mm's.

Seated the bullet, and just as before, the round won't enter my max cartridge gauge.

Got the Lee Factory Crimp die as suggested, and bingo, problem solved. Extra step, but that's a small price to pay.

I hit the range today, and all went well. Thanks everyone!


I've reloaded .380 for years. I was having the same problem with a 1000 or so .356 jacketed bullets I order a long time ago.

The problem is being caused by:

1) Bullet seater not matching bullet ogive (shape). RCBS die was way off. I've had similar problems with other RCBS dies and will stop using them

2) Slightly oversized bullet.

I fixed my problem by going to a new Lee .380 die set and ensuring that there is sufficient bell on the case before seating.

A nice aspect of the Lee die set is that they'll customize the seater to match the bullet for a low price.

Additionally, the Lee factory crimp die should never be used to fix "bad" reloads. All that's doing is smashing and distorting bullets. I do like the FCD for other purposes.

Good luck,
Erik