Reloading for M&P Shield 380 ez

[Mark Desrosiers]

Just thought I'd throw a little information out that might be helpful for anyone reloading .380 ammo for the S&W M&P Shield 380-EZ.

I took my wife's new 380 EZ to the range for an initial check-out to see how it handled various commercial ammo (what I had on hand, that is: Federal Premium 90g, Sig Sauer 100g, and Winchester 95g) along with my own LFP and FMJ hand loads, both 100g. My hand loads were using Hodgdon HP38 powder. The Lee Manual shows OAL spec of .980 for 100g FMJ.

Funny thing happened: All of the commercial ammo (about 50 rounds) went thru flawlessly. But, almost all of my handloads stove-piped on eject, stove-piped on load, or just did not load - jamming in the breech with great effort needed to pull the slide back to eject the unspent cartridge. I could only manage to load and fire 3-4 of the FMJ hand loads; none of the LFP.

Once I got back home I checked the physical specs of the commercial loads against my hand loads and found everything matched, except OAL. The three commercial loads ranged from .936 - .951 OAL; where my hand loaded FMJ's were .962 and my LFP's were just under .980.

So, I resized samples of my hand loads to all be .945 (about average of the commercial OAL), took them to the range, and they all went through flawlessly; both the LFPs and the FMJs. Yay!

So, the takeaway is: If you hand load for the S&W M&P Shield 380-EZ you want a conservative OAL of .945, or thereabouts.

 

[Mike44]

I am loading 95 gr. RMR FMJ at . 970 for the same pistol without any problems. Did you plunk test your longer handloads?

 

[Eugen]

"Did you plunk test your longer handloads?"
I do this with every different firearm. It is simple and so revealing as to what will fit and what won't.

 

[buba68]

Just thought I'd throw a little information out that might be helpful for anyone reloading .380 ammo for the S&W M&P Shield 380-EZ.

I took my wife's new 380 EZ to the range for an initial check-out to see how it handled various commercial ammo (what I had on hand, that is: Federal Premium 90g, Sig Sauer 100g, and Winchester 95g) along with my own LFP and FMJ hand loads, both 100g. My hand loads were using Hodgdon HP38 powder. The Lee Manual shows OAL spec of .980 for 100g FMJ.

Funny thing happened: All of the commercial ammo (about 50 rounds) went thru flawlessly. But, almost all of my handloads stove-piped on eject, stove-piped on load, or just did not load - jamming in the breech with great effort needed to pull the slide back to eject the unspent cartridge. I could only manage to load and fire 3-4 of the FMJ hand loads; none of the LFP.

Once I got back home I checked the physical specs of the commercial loads against my hand loads and found everything matched, except OAL. The three commercial loads ranged from .936 - .951 OAL; where my hand loaded FMJ's were .962 and my LFP's were just under .980.

So, I resized samples of my hand loads to all be .945 (about average of the commercial OAL), took them to the range, and they all went through flawlessly; both the LFPs and the FMJs. Yay!

So, the takeaway is: If you hand load for the S&W M&P Shield 380-EZ you want a conservative OAL of .945, or thereabouts.

Couple things, the AOL listed in the Lee Manual and most manuals are kinda generic the cartridge might work at the length they suggest but they don't always feed correctly.

Sounds like you did not do a Plunk Test if you don't know how to do it you can Google it and find a lot of info on how to do it. The Plunk Test is one of the best friends you have when you are loading a new cartridge and bullet. By doing the Plunk Test you will find the correct AOL for your barrel and bullet combo. Once you get the correct AOL for your barrel and bullet your feeding problems should go away.

I would check your powder charge if you are on the low or starting charge you might want to go up a tenth or two could be a wimpy charge contributing to some of your problems.

 

[Mark Desrosiers]

Hmmm. Plunk test. Nope, never heard of it. Thanks for the info; I'll be doing that from now on.

I'm going to be loading some 9mm ammo for my Ruger PC9 as soon as my dies arrive from Midway next week. One of it's feature is that it easily breaks down so I can get at the breech in a snap to "plunk test" as I'm developing my loads.

Thanks y'all for your feedback.

 

[Mark Desrosiers]

I am loading 95 gr. RMR FMJ at . 970 for the same pistol without any problems. Did you plunk test your longer handloads?

Actually, I already had a couple hundred hand loads made up for my Browning BDA 380 that I've been shooting for 20 years with no problem. I wasn't actually working up loads for the EZ. Just pulled them off the shelf and put them in my range bag for the field test. Will plunk-test from now on and save an extra trip to the range.

 

[murf]

a plunk test and function test should be done every time you change a bullet type. the tests should be done in every gun you are going to shoot that load. i usually make a dummy round up so i can reference back to it when changing guns, or setting up my seating die.

luck,

murf