Lyman 49 gives a broader range of 2.1 - 2.9 gr for 95 gr FMJ. They also note the 2.9 gr max load is the most accurate so you'd be skipping what they consider the best load by not trying it. I take any of those 'potentially most accurate' with a grain of salt, but they came to that conclusion somehow.
Hornady 8th which is typically one of my more conservative resources says 2.5 -3.3gr for a 100 gr FMJ - oddly it gives different data for W231 & HP38 with a 3.5gr max for W231 vs 3.3gr HP38. But again, a broader range.
Don't use Hodgdon online data as your only source for data. It's a good reference & very convenient, but it's smart to compare a few different ones when getting into a new caliber. The only loads I come across for what I load with that tight a spread are subsonic loads. When you see something like that & it seems odd, better to ask or check other references than just split the middle & guess.
Even the Lee data that came with my .380 dies has a better range of 2.9-3.2 to work with.
I'll share a mistake I made ASSUMING when it came to reloading. I was loading .223 using 55gr FMJ bullets. Worked up the load & wasn't at max load. Not even a few tenths away from it. Lots & lots of rounds & everything was going just fine. I decided to switch up & try a VMax bullet for better accuracy. SO I already had a good load and I figure "I'm going from one 55gr bullet to another - no need to start all over". All I was changing was a Hornady 55gr FMJBT for a Hornady 55gr VMax - everything else is the same so why not just start there? What I didn't realize is that although both are 55gr .224 diameter bullets made by the same company, the bearing surface on the VMax bullet is longer and the reference (had I bothered to check) called for an additional .050 COAL. I had severely overpressure rounds - blowing out primers, flowing primers, leaving deep ejector & extractor marks on the base. Could have been worse & luckily it just turned into a learning experience. Had I done it the right way & started off a lot lower (1) I wouldn't have almost blown up my gun (maybe an exaggeration, but I bet I was close to a proof round) & (2) I'd have found the most accurate load a lot sooner.
Another example but this time something that worked out well. My starting load for .45 was 5.0gr W231. The first batch had excellent performance. So I stopped working up .45 at my starting load. No need to try other charges or seating depths or crimps or anything. It just worked & worked wonderfully. It's a mild load, but very accurate in any of my .45's & I have a lot of them. When I switched from Hornady HAP bullets to 230gr plated, I didn't do anything different other than seating depth since I was at starting load. And those 'just worked' the same way. I didn't do any further experimenting because they were very consistent & accurate. Had I just chosen 'middle of the road' to start I would have missed a great load or maybe ended up with something that worked well in some guns but not others. You might find the published starting load pleasantly surprising. If so, great - esp if it is just a target load. The paper, Coke can, bowling pin, steel plate, whatever could care less if the bullet that struck it could have been moving 100fps faster.
