My First .380 Reloads

Lyman #49 has the maximum load with 95 grain FMJ bullets as 2.8 grains. Hornady #9 has a higher maximum, so stepping back to 2.8 may make a noticeable difference - particularly as small as the case is.

Good luck.

Jimster, I don't know with Bullseye, but in Win231 and Promo (Red Dot), 2.8 to 2.9 at .955" OAL was a bit noticeable in the LCP. Not so much in the Glock 43 or the Sig 238.
Having those loads at 2.8 and 2.9 did make a huge difference compared to factory ammo. This made it to where I could now stand to shoot more than a mag full out of the tiny LCP.

You may feel a difference at 2.8....
Mine are fairly stout at 3.2

Walkalong said:

You're working in the wrong direction. Always start low and work up. How did you pick 2.9 for a starting charge?

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Well, Speer shows a start charge of 3.0 gr with a 95 gr FMJ, so according to them, he was in the ballpark. Speer shows a OAL of .970 and Lyman shows .900, from my experience with the small case capacity of .380 auto, OAL makes a big difference in powder charge rates. Jimster doesn't tell us his OAL.

Just a side note, I really like AA#2 for .380, meters great for .380 size charges where you don't have a lot of wiggle room.
Shoots well to.
AA#2 better than + or - .1 in my measure, call it + - .05

Depends on the gun and the load but I find I can feel say maybe 30fps in a full sized 9mm all steel 1911, so yes, you might be able to feel .1. (let us know)
Did you weigh every charge? Bullseye does not meter bad but you could easily have a + or -.1gr swing depending on the measure you are using to throw the charges, or the scoop you are using.
Something to be aware of in the small charges used for .380. % wise .1 gr difference is a lot more in a .380 weight charge than say in 9mm or a .45 charge.

My first step in working up a load for handguns is to find the minimum charge that was needed to reliably cycle the action. Sometimes the min charge listed isn't enough, other times I can go lower. Next I would purposely lightly grip the gun and fire it facing down so its working against gravity. This way I know what the absolute minimum charge needed. I use a powder measure on a progressive press so I factor in a little variance (+/- .2 grains) for the dropped charges.
Then I compare where I'm at it in the charge range listed from a manual or powder manufacture's data site. Then, if possible, I will continue to work up the load until I find the POA/POI relationship I'm looking for. Sometimes there isn't enough room for error from my actual minimum charge for a gun, to the max charge using the projected +/- .2 grain variance in powder charge to continue. I have found this to be the case with with low charge weight cases (ie: 380 and 25 acp) and faster powder.
For example gun A takes 5.0 grains of a given powder for 100% cycling. The listed max is 5.2 grains. I cannot set the measure up for 5.2 grains due to I run the risk of going over. At 5.0 grains I may have a 4.8 grain charge that wont cycle the action. At 5.1 grains I could end up with a 4.9 or 5.3 grain charge. Of course the numbers used in the above example has nothing to do with 380 acp as they were pulled from nowhere and are made up.
For what its worth, it wont take too much to seem like they're "HOT" with the LCP.

Personally, I like the slower burning powders for .380. The fast powders have such a small charge and a small window between min/max. I like Power Pistol for 380, towards the lower end of the charge range.

The Bullseye powder makes it feel hotter than it really is if you are comparing it to ammo with different powder. For 100 grain bullets, my manual has a max Bullseye load at 3.1 grains. 2.6 would not give me reliable cycling, but the results with 2.8 and 3.0 grains were both good.

Thanks for the follow up.... There's so many threads out there that just kinda peter out with no resolution one way or the other.

It's nice to find that load ya like

Jimster said:

Never thought I would fool with loading .380 but I’ve got an LCP2 and a Kimber Micro that I actually enjoy shooting. My first 25 rounds I used 2.9gr of Bullseye behind 95 gr Remington fmj. That felt a little too “hot” so last night I whipped up some using 2.8 gr. I wonder if that difference will be noticeable?

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In such a small capacity case you will see a difference in loads. (as you just posed)

A family member who is recoil sensitive does not complain about a 95gr FMJ bullet over 3.2gr W231/HP-38. I only load 100 or so every few months but that's the load I go to.