.380 acp

[Trailduster79]

I have been having really good luck with bullseye

 

[herkyguy]

I use 2.9 grains of 700X with 100 grain Berry's bullets. Works fine, but 700X meters like crap... At the rate I shoot my .380s, it will be a while before I've burned through the 1 and only pound of 700X I'll ever buy.

 

[David4516]

Tied for favorite .380 Powder:

Bullseye , 700-X

Close Second:

Red Dot

Distant 3rd:

BE-86

 

[David4516]

herkyguy is right about 700-X being tricky to meter, I've had issues with that too...

I still list it as a favorite though because I think you get better "bang per grain" compared with other powders

Using 100gr plated bullets I get the same performance/velocity from 3.0gr of 700-X as I do from 3.2gr of Bullseye...

These are max loads by the way so be careful. I'd prefer to use a lighter load but my wife's Glock 42 needs a full power round to cycle the slide reliably.

 

[lauderdale]

W/231 & B Eye.

 

[wlkjr]

I've used Bullseye and 231 with great results. My favorite load for all my 380's are with 231...

W231 is also my favorite with a 105 grain Bayou bullet. Bullseye and Titegroup are the other two I've used with good success. I'm loading for a Glock 42 so most of my loads are near max.

 

[njl]

I've been using Bullseye for 380. The smallest charge i can throw on my Lee Autodisk is 2.8 gr, which is pretty close to the max charge recommended in my Hornady manual. I just bought some Universal to try in 380 because the smallest Autodisk is not that close to the max for Universal.

I predict disappointment. I like Universal for 9mm, but .380 runs at too low a pressure for Universal to get complete combustion. At least, that was my experience.

 

[SC Shooter]

I have loaded about 750 rounds of .380 ACP with Titegroup. No problems at all. I have used Titegroup for .380's, 9mm, .45 ACP &.45 Coltwith good success on all.

 

[digid]

I have loaded over 1500 380's for my wife and I, using xtreme plated 100g with titegroup. They have shot very well in all of our 380's. I was concerned about the small amount of powder in the cases, and even more about the small spread from min to max using TiteGroup. I also tried it with some 95G lead Coated bullets and it smoked to bad. I have switched to HP-38 for the Coated Lead bullets so I could use up the 500 I had on hand. I will probably stay with the HP-38 with the xtremes , just for the fact that a small error in powder throw is not as drastic a change in power, and I feel it will be a little safer that way.

I have a Dillon 550B but use lee dies with the lee perfect powder measure which uses the plastic disks. This works well with both powders, but the disks are not small enough to get the correct charge with the TiteGroup. To make the disk smaller and adjustable I drilled a hole in it with a #21 drill bit and ran a 10-32 tap in the hole to thread it. Then placed a 10-32 set screw in. I can then turn the set screw in a bit in the hole to take up a little more room and fine tune my powder throw. I found this necessary on the TiteGroup using the Lee powder measure, and I have found it to be very consistent.

digid

 

[Zendude]

I predict disappointment. I like Universal for 9mm, but .380 runs at too low a pressure for Universal to get complete combustion. At least, that was my experience.

That's a bummer. If it doesn't work for my 380, it probably won't do well in my 38 special or 32 H&R mag either.

 

[joneb]

I've used Bullseye and 231 with great results. My favorite load for all my 380's are with 231

This has been my experience for the 9x18 Makarov, as well as the 380 acp.
But again I wish I had some #2

 

[Dudedog]

Universal worked well for me in 9MAK Used 3.7gr and 4gr with a 95gr lubed lead RN. Don't know about .380, but it worked well in the MAK. MAK is running a bit higher pressure however.

 

[JWH321]

I use Titegroup in .380s that I load for my M&P Bodyguard .380. It has been perfect. It feels better than the factory load stuff. I can't hit the broadside of a barn most of the time, so all I can say for accuracy is that it sure didn't make me any worse. And you can do about 1500 rounds with a single pound. GREAT stuff.

 

[NINEX19]

I tried WSF for 380 acp with 100gr Xtreme fnfp it did ok but I there was little to no data to be found.

I have been contemplating trying WSF for .380 also. I am curious to know more details of your trials. I realize you might not want to share charge weight, but were you able to get velocities? Thanks

 

[marchboom]

While breaking in a Kahr CW380 I use 231 under a Rainier 100 gr FMJ bullet. Using Lee dies. Smallest group so far is 1 7/8" at 7 yds. No sharp recoil. I weigh each charge as the difference between min and max is about .7 gr. Not much to work with. Haven't tried other powders yet. Just want to get past this break-in period.

 

[GyMac]

I've been loading .380 for a couple of yrs using Win 231/HP-38. No problems. My only concern is that top loads listed in the reloading manuals for 95 grain lead bullets seem pretty tame. I never try to hotrod any cartridges, but like to achieve factory-like velocities.

 

[JFrameTwitch]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I was wondering about Titegroup as that is what I like for my .45ACP loads. A little goes a long ways... Decreasing price per round.

I also use the lee autodisk. I had to use a screw to adjust the size of one of the holes as well. Digid give good direction for that.

 

[Toprudder]

I have not tried Titegroup in 380. I'm not really inclined to, since it is such a low load-density powder with a very small charge range in the 380.

The powders I have tried, that worked very well for me, are Power Pistol, BE86, and CFE Pistol. Loading Xtreme 100gn plated bullets, a charge of 3.6gn for all of those powders give me very close to the same velocity ~ 740fps out of my Bersa Thunder 380, which is a reduced recoil load that is very comfortable to shoot. Power Pistol is pretty much my goto powder for my 380 loads.

Autocomp worked well close to max charge, but was not pleasant to shoot.

 

[Zendude]

I predict disappointment. I like Universal for 9mm, but .380 runs at too low a pressure for Universal to get complete combustion. At least, that was my experience.

You were correct. Universal did not work well at all, even with max powder load. Did not generate enough recoil to cycle. I guess I will use it to load 38 special.

 

[lauderdale]

See if you can get ahold of some w/231.

 

[Shootshellz]

I reload the 380 ACP but find it a pain to do so due to the small case. I have used WW 231 and Bullseye with good results. Accuracy in this round, IMHO, has a lot to do with the sight setup on your pistol. Some of the iron sights on certain models are pretty lame.

 

[LiveLife]

I have used WW 231 and Bullseye with good results. Accuracy in this round, IMHO, has a lot to do with the sight setup on your pistol. Some of the iron sights on certain models are pretty lame.

My TCP 738 has pretty lame sights but I found accuracy of pocket 380 pistols are heavily dependent on the trigger.

Here are target pics of different W231/HP-38 loads at 7 yards

 

[lauderdale]

I load mine hotter then that @.945 and it is all about both trigger and sights I agree big time. My brother can shoot more poa then me pulling left. W/my pico and g42. My bersa im more spot on.

 

[.452]

Interesting. It must not play well with the small case capacity. That really surprises me though.

Yes, interesting-
Clays isn't listed for .380ACP but it is for .32 ACP and most of the larger caliber cases

 

[Zendude]

My 380 loads have worked well with Bullseye, but for whatever reason wanted to try Universal and was a fail. I've loaded some 38 special with it since then and now i like it better than Bullseye for 38 range loads.