Reloading for .380ACP

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giggitygiggity

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Does anyone reload for the .380ACP? I would mainly be reloading for either an LCP or S&W Bodyguard. I would load FMJ bullets for practice. For carry ammo, I will go with factory ammo defense loads.

Anyways, if anyone reloads .380, where do you get your supplies? I usually use Titegroup for my pistol loads. I am most concerned about brass and bullets as most places I look, .380 bullets are about the same price as .45 bullets! Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.
 
Wideners had speer 95 gr tmj .355 bullets on sale one month ago for $79 per K. I bought 2 k of them. Starline sells great 380 brass at reasonable prices still.

3.0 gr of titegroup. LOtsa cheap shooting!

don't know where you see .355 dia bullets meant for the 380 at the cost of 45 auto bullets, you just need to shop around!
 
I use Lead round nose for target pratice with my Bersa 380 it is a lot cheeper than FMJ
box of 500, 95 Grain RN lead for $27. at Missouri Bullet Company
Keep your eye out in the buy/sell section here for once fired brass 380 shows up some times.
 
I buy bullets from Midway. The current ones I'm making my way through are Meister Bullets, 92 gr. lead round nose. I just bought a package of flat nosed Winchester jacketed bullets from Midway. They are nicer (cleaner) than lead, but more expensive. I'm thinking the flat point will cut nicer holes through paper.

As for the powder load, I use Hodgdon HP38 from a 0.3cc Lee Dipper. That load comes out just right. (I've been keeping it simple, since I've been using only the Lee Hand Press lately, which doesn't accommodate the Auto Disk Pro that I've got.

Lead bullets are lubed, and the lube burns up and makes a lot of smoke.

I'm going to try to compromise next time I buy .380 bullets and find plated. They should be cleaner than lead, and cheaper than jacketed. The problem is finding them in stock anywhere.

One of these days, Winchester & Remington are going to catch on and start producing them for their cheaper bullets.
 
Don't overlook lead for plinking. MBC sells a 95 gr RN that shoots quite well through my Body Guard and LCP. When you consider the hassle of casting your own, they're tough to beat.
 
I load 95gr LRN from a variety of casters at 800 fps for plinking practice, and Hornady 100gr FMJ-Encapsuled at 925 fps for factory duplication. I've never tried the Montana Gold bullets for the .380 Auto, but I imagine they'd be just fine.

The best powder I've found for both applications is Accurate #2. It meters like water, burns extremely clean, produces very consistent velocities, and is quite economical.

Starline brass seems to be the best I've tried (and I've tried quite a few...).

I find that most of my recent powder and primer purchases have been from Powder Valley. As is usually the situation, buy in bulk to save money and spread out the haz mat / shipping fees (or do a group purchase with some reloading buddies). YMMV.
 
I use Berry plated 100gr and AA5 for my 380 reloads work great in my TCP.

General bullet buying I use Powder valley when possible..
 
I use Berry's 100g plated RN bullets backed with 3.2g of HP-38 at .980 OAL.
You can shoot hundreds of these at a time
 
I use Berry's 100 grain plated that I bought directly from Berry's website and accurate #2 that I buy locally. This makes for an easy and clean shooting round.
 
I get once fired brass from a local range and they got decent prices on bullets, I however use LRN 100 grain bullets. Check out this ranges website you can order online.

http://shop.topgunss.com/

my recipe is as follows- yields approx. 730 FPS through chrony

bullet- Shooters choice 100 grain LRNFP (about 30.00 for 500 bullets)
primer- small pistol (usually magtech or federal)
powder- clays universal/ 3.1 grains
case- any headstamp with no crimp

Without the cost of brass its roughly 5-6 dollars per box of 50
 
MATT .45-70 said:
I get once fired brass from a local range and they got decent prices on bullets, I however use LRN 100 grain bullets. Check out this ranges website you can order online.

http://shop.topgunss.com/

my recipe is as follows- yields approx. 730 FPS through chrony

bullet- Shooters choice 100 grain LRNFP (about 30.00 for 500 bullets)
primer- small pistol (usually magtech or federal)
powder- clays universal/ 3.1 grains
case- any headstamp with no crimp

Without the cost of brass its roughly 5-6 dollars per box of 50
Click to expand...
Top gun has some good prices.
 
yes j mcleod they do have some good prices, there guns are competetive for the most part too, however I think there ammo is kinda high though but cheapest place i have found ammo locally is dunns,

example-
federal 22LR 525 round box is 13 and some change I laugh so hard everytime I get a sale ad from cabelas and the same box of ammo is on sale for 18, 19, or 20 dollars lol

also 9mm at dunns is 8.97 a box Blazer Brass brand, 115 gr FMJ bullets in brass cases. I love it when guys see sales for 9mm and its 13 or 14 a box for winchesters and think its a great deal lol, or even better the steel cased rounds for 10 to 11 a box. I try and tell everybody the great prices at some of my local gun shops but half the time they dont belive it.

I would reload 9mm but a beretta 92 can sure shoot it a lot faster than im willing to load it!!
 
MATT .45-70 said:
yes j mcleod they do have some good prices, there guns are competetive for the most part too, however I think there ammo is kinda high though but cheapest place i have found ammo locally is dunns,

example-
federal 22LR 525 round box is 13 and some change I laugh so hard everytime I get a sale ad from cabelas and the same box of ammo is on sale for 18, 19, or 20 dollars lol

also 9mm at dunns is 8.97 a box Blazer Brass brand, 115 gr FMJ bullets in brass cases. I love it when guys see sales for 9mm and its 13 or 14 a box for winchesters and think its a great deal lol, or even better the steel cased rounds for 10 to 11 a box. I try and tell everybody the great prices at some of my local gun shops but half the time they dont belive it.

I would reload 9mm but a beretta 92 can sure shoot it a lot faster than im willing to load it!!
Click to expand...
Might have to upgrade the press then. I'm loading as fast as I shoot with a turret. I still consider good price for 9mm to be 8-9 a box in bulk.
 
I buy cast lead bullets. They are cheap, and they shoot as good as jacketed. My problem is losing the brass. Or if I shoot indoors, it bounces off the ceiling and hits me on top of the head.
 
been thinking about a new press, Im still using the lee classic single stage but I love it, I have been using it for years. However I do make things as effecient as possible.

I resize and reprime all of my brass in one pull of my handle
I then flare all cases in one more pull
-I usually prep 1000-2000 cases at a time and store them in buckets
then I will load 100 - 200 cases at a time at my leisure (usually takes about 15 minutes per 50 rounds)

Is a progressive press much faster? probably easier but my operation is very simple as you can see.
 
matt - keep an eye out for another press to set up in tandem with your Lee.
then have a shooting buddy work the 2nd press after you set it up correctly. this can really speed things along.
I've seen quite a few primer seating issues with progressives - the cause I don't know, likely human factor but myself I prefer the hand primers even for my 'plinking' loads. and I use mastercast .380 rn over Red Dot - good combo but when I run out of RD I'm likely going to #2 as it's easier to meter/dip. doubt it can be any cleaner than RD though, or cheaper, RD is bulky too which is a good thing IMO.
 
hey marlin 45 thats a great idea to get another press, now I just need to find someone willing to wear out there arm along side me. lol any volunteers
 
Get yourself a Dillon Square Deal machine and you'll have more time for shooting.
Click to expand...

Roger that!

The only thing I don't like about mine is how careful I have to be when I'm using it.

:scrutiny: If I don't keep a close eye on it I will mess around and load up every empty piece of brass I have. :rolleyes:

Seedtick

:)
 
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