Quick Question: being cheap, .380 with 9mm die

Mark_Mark said:
It’s not easy being a Alpha Male. got to look good, have conversations party skills, do the wink thing, fishing skills have to show your a hunter and gather…. and change diapers too.


I know I know!!! I got a real Lee Set on the way! lol


Don’t ask about the 3 new primer factory

BTW: Two major factors came one line as we speak
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Your prediction about new primer factories wasn’t nearly as accurate as my prediction that the sun would rise in the east every morning and set in the west every evening. :D
What make/model of .380 are you loading for? Blowback or locking breach? Single stack or double stack magazine? What I’ve found is, use the fastest possible powder with blowback and slower - around Unique or No.5 - with locked breaches, especially with Browning type actions. As for the magazine, double stack .380 can have problems if the rims are nicked up really bad or warped. It’s easy to have happen with range brass that gets stepped on.
 
cfullgraf said:
For certain applications, I love my SDB's. I have three, one for 45 ACP, one for 9x19 and one for 380 ACP. I change cartridges by changing presses on the bench.

I have a change kit for 38 Special but the 38 Special case is too tall to get a visual check on the powder charge. I've decided to use a more conventional progressive press for loading 38 Special now as I can get a check on the powder charge.

Along with my experience with then Dillon SDB presses, I've become to prefer progressive presses that use standard 7/8-14 dies. I have a Dillon BL550 for cartridges that I do not load a high volume for as well as a Hornady L-N-L and an RCBS Pro2000.
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Jes thinkin', lookin'; differences. 380 case dia. at mouth, .373". 9mm dia. at mouth .380".380 case dia. at extraction groove .374". 9mm .391". Rim dia. for 380 is .020" smaller. 380 case is .074" shorter. How much jerry rigging to use 9mm dies for 380 Auto? Do yourself a favor and fork out $41.00 for a Lee die set (my Lee 380 die set has reloaded a maybe 1K 380 rounds quite successfully, easily, and safely).

https://www.titanreloading.com/product/380-acp-lee-3-die-set-carbide-/
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
Your prediction about new primer factories wasn’t nearly as accurate as my prediction that the sun would rise in the east every morning and set in the west every evening. :D
What make/model of .380 are you loading for? Blowback or locking breach? Single stack or double stack magazine? What I’ve found is, use the fastest possible powder with blowback and slower - around Unique or No.5 - with locked breaches, especially with Browning type actions. As for the magazine, double stack .380 can have problems if the rims are nicked up really bad or warped. It’s easy to have happen with range brass that gets stepped on.
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right now: Ruger LCP & LCP Max

near future. PPK and Browning baby 1911
 
A good friend of mine keeps insisting that you can reload aluminum pistol cases, says it's worked for him in 9mm.

Doesn't mean that he's right, and I wonder why he feels the need when people aren't even bothering to pick up 9mm brass these days. Then I realized he's not reloading, he's experimenting. I told him not to fire any of that crap when I was next to him.
 
mdi said:
Jes thinkin', lookin'; differences. 380 case dia. at mouth, .373". 9mm dia. at mouth .380".380 case dia. at extraction groove .374". 9mm .391". Rim dia. for 380 is .020" smaller. 380 case is .074" shorter. How much jerry rigging to use 9mm dies for 380 Auto? Do yourself a favor and fork out $41.00 for a Lee die set (my Lee 380 die set has reloaded a maybe 1K 380 rounds quite successfully, easily, and safely).

https://www.titanreloading.com/product/380-acp-lee-3-die-set-carbide-/
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.380 dies - ITS ON IT WAY!!! man you guy will not give me a break! lol
 
Necessary_Nutrient said:
A good friend of mine keeps insisting that you can reload aluminum pistol cases, says it's worked for him in 9mm.

Doesn't mean that he's right, and I wonder why he feels the need when people aren't even bothering to pick up 9mm brass these days. Then I realized he's not reloading, he's experimenting. I told him not to fire any of that crap when I was next to him.
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Aluminum cases are good for one reload, sometimes two. Rarely more. They split.

Steel cases are good for several, until the steel gets so soft from working that it no longer grips the bullet.

Biggest problem with reloading either is that they are usually Berdan primed, at least these days.
 
I'm a confirmed tinkerer. I don't mind fixing or altering stuff, and fabricating tools or parts, just 'cause. But there's somethings I won't do; Micky Mouse something dealing with my handloads, guess at load data and misuse tools. I made it a practice to buy a die set for every new to me caliber (except 25 Auto). Many times I've added a Lee Loader to the regular die set, mainly because I like Lee Loaders, but I don't try using dies for calibers they are not designed for.

Not a suggestion nor criticism, just what goes on in my shop...
 
Mark_Mark said:
right now: Ruger LCP & LCP Max

near future. PPK and Browning baby 1911
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The Rugers are linkless Baby Browning actions. I seem to recall seeing some posts suggesting loads for them using Zip. I use TiteGroup for my wife’s Walther and Bullseye for my HSc which is what you want for the PPK when you get it. There’s other choices but those are two good ones, IME.
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
The Rugers are linkless Baby Browning actions. I seem to recall seeing some posts suggesting loads for them using Zip. I use TiteGroup for my wife’s Walther and Bullseye for my HSc which is what you want for the PPK when you get it. There’s other choices but those are two good ones, IME.
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I have TiteGroup! need to get the other powder
 
mdi said:
I'm a confirmed tinkerer. I don't mind fixing or altering stuff, and fabricating tools or parts, just 'cause. But there's somethings I won't do; Micky Mouse something dealing with my handloads, guess at load data and misuse tools. I made it a practice to buy a die set for every new to me caliber (except 25 Auto). Many times I've added a Lee Loader to the regular die set, mainly because I like Lee Loaders, but I don't try using dies for calibers they are not designed for.

Not a suggestion nor criticism, just what goes on in my shop...
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Did I mention that a set of Lee .380 ACP dies are ON THE WAY! lol! worst than primer predictions :) :(
 
Mark_Mark said:
My Local has a .32 ACP Lee die set for old school price of $31!!!

.38 S&W $30!
all the old cowboy strange xx-40’s
all the German & Japanese WW2 stuff
all around $30!

might as well buy them all and never have to Bubba Rig a case
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I would. In fact, I have. But then, I tend to speculate on firearms and gear.
You don’t have to be too picky on powders or primers with .380ACP. The faster powders in a locking breach will work fine, at least as well as in a blowback action, you just won’t get quite the velocity as you would with a slower powder. Where you want to experiment is with the slower powders - Unique, No.5, or anything slower than Red Dot, really - because with a too slow powder in a blowback action, you can get unburnt powder out of the breach as it opens. That can be a little uncomfortable if it there’s a breeze incoming.
Be safe and check the previous .380 threads for tips.
 
NMexJim said:
One time, a long time ago, I really, really bent a stem in my .380 sizing die. Don't ask! I pulled the die and got my 9mm set out, so I could change out the de-prime stem - same, same stem both sets. Somewhere in the shuffle, I screwed the pooch and ended up with the 9mm sizing die in place. Well, all of a sudden, it was really easy to size .380, and all went well up until I came to the bullet seating station. When I picked up a finished round, the bullet just easily pushed right on down into the case. That's because the .380 is smaller in diameter than a 9mm and the case wasn't being re-sized at all. o_O

Marking on some dies is not the best, or at least not easily seen by these eyes. I figured it all out after a while and plenty of butt scratching and got on with the process. I do keep several extra stems in my parts now. :):):)

Hope this helps answer your question.
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This is how I sort my 9MM and 380. I size my 9MM and any 380 brass that I size with that die will have no resistance until I contact the primer. I just throw it into the 380 pile to be actually sized when I do those at a different time.
 
Mark_Mark, I know a lot of guys don't bother reading past the first few posts in a thread, and don't realize a solution has already been found. It's happened to me on more than one occasion.
 
captain awesome said:
Mark_Mark, I know a lot of guys don't bother reading past the first few posts in a thread, and don't realize a solution has already been found. It's happened to me on more than one occasion.
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happen to me all the time! I pretty much comment sometimes on just the thread title
 
I will say one thing that I find scary. So I have my brass prep automated. I do 5,000 at a time. When I do 9mm, first it gets rollsized, then it goes onto a 750 with an autodrive to get swaged and sized. Then it get's loaded on a Revolution. I just discovered that if you rollsize a 380, then size it in a 9mm die....it will run through the mark 7 and not once will it trip any of the alarms. Now, when I'm working up and testing a load, I don't (should say didn't, lol) typically case gauge the entire batch I take out to shoot for testing, which is typically 2 or 3 hundred. Why do I know that a 380 can make it through the entire process without tripping an alarm? Because while testing a new batch of 9mm, the first batch of 9mm I ran through my rollsizer in fact...when loading mags...damn if there wasn't a 380 in there. Wasn't much meat on the bullet to hold onto, as it was loaded to the same OAL as the 9mm. Just for fun, I dropped it in my Glock and it chambered just fine. Quick glance at some load data, no way could it be over pressure even in that small case because the bullet was barely seated in it, so just to see if it would...I ran it. It lit just fine but didn't move the slide though. But since then, test ammo gets case gauged too, because it's easy to catch that kind of thing in an ammo checker. Luckily that was a lesson learned the easy way and not the hard way.
 
EricBu said:
Hey @Mark_Mark maybe you should try a 32 ACP die? I hear it will work if you pull the lever REALLY hard! :rofl::rofl::rofl:
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I've heard you can just hit it with your purse instead of putting a lot of force into the lever.

For what it's worth, .380 was one of the first sets of dies I bought since my wife shoots an LCP2. I typically load up 100 grain FMJs with HP-38/W231 and get fairly accurate results.
 
JSneezy said:
I've heard you can just hit it with your purse instead of putting a lot of force into the lever.

For what it's worth, .380 was one of the first sets of dies I bought since my wife shoots an LCP2. I typically load up 100 grain FMJs with HP-38/W231 and get fairly accurate results.
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.380 is the new 9mm
 
reddog81 said:
The guy who posts new guns every other week is going complain about spending $40 on the correct dies?
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I see similar philosophy in many other recreational venues. Guy buys a semi-custom $35,000 motorcycle, buys a $10 Walmart rainsuit and then cries when it melts on his pipes. Folks think they can put up $8 a foot crown moulding with a $80 "Tool-Shop" mitre saw. Comes down to using the proper tools for the job. It's called making an investment in your future.
 
buck460XVR said:
I see similar philosophy in many other recreational venues. Guy buys a semi-custom $35,000 motorcycle, buys a $10 Walmart rainsuit and then cries when it melts on his pipes. Folks think they can put up $8 a foot crown moulding with a $80 "Tool-Shop" mitre saw. Comes down to using the proper tools for the job. It's called making an investment in your future.
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I’m sorry for being a cheapo! especially when can afford it. <<<< everyone happy now
 
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