Anything Special About Reloading 380 ACP?

[TennJeep1618]

Is there anything I need to know about reloading 380 ACP that I don't already know from loading for other handgun cartridges? I've been loading 45 ACP, 38 SPL and 357 MAG for 8 months or so, but I didn't know if there is anything I need to be aware of loading the tiny little 380. I'll probably use my Chargemaster instead of the Lee Auto Disk because I'm dealing with such a small amount of powder. It shouldn't take me much more time and should be more precise. I see from Hodgdon's online load data that there is only a couple 1/10ths of a grain difference between min and max load when using Win 231.

I'm glad I was finally able to find some bullets in stock somewhere. Cabelas had Berry's 100gr RNFB last Friday and they should be here tomorrow.

 

[Famine]

I am no expert but Berry projectiles are plated and not jacketed, they come as preferred and standard - the difference is the thickness of the plate. The recommendation for the standard is to load to keep the muzzle velocity below 1250 fps to avoid vaporizing the copper and fowling your barrel. I have both versions of Berry bullets - the preferred is labeled as such and the standard has the warning on the box about maximum muzzle velocity.

 

[TennJeep1618]

I am no expert but Berry projectiles are plated and not jacketed, they come as preferred and standard - the difference is the thickness of the plate. The recommendation for the standard is to load to keep the muzzle velocity below 1250 fps to avoid vaporizing the copper and fowling your barrel. I have both versions of Berry bullets - the preferred is labeled as such and the standard has the warning on the box about maximum muzzle velocity.

I know the Berry's bullets are plated and I have the preferred ordered. Also, 380 will probably be somewhere around 850-950fps. Under 1000 at the very least.


BTW, this will just be a low to medium power plinking load. I will be shooting them out of Ruger LCP's, for now. I will probably load them just hot enough to cycle the slide reliably.

 

[Daezee]

I reload .380 for my SIG 238 and found my SIG likes WW231 powder. I use the Berry's bullets most of the time. Oh, and even at those velocities, the Hornady and Sierra jacketed bullets expanded in water jugs. I never found any of the Berry's bullets when shooting into water jugs...they just kept on going, so I doubt they expanded. Here's my load notes:


CCI SP, 3.4GR WW231, 100GR RN BERRY’S PLATED, .984” OAL
SAME WITH HORNADY 90GR JHC, .975” OAL; SIERRA 90GR JHP OAL .925; ALL RELOADS ARE IN THE 840-860FPS RANGE

 

[TennJeep1618]

I reload .380 for my SIG 238 and found my SIG likes WW231 powder. I use the Berry's bullets most of the time. Oh, and even at those velocities, the Hornady and Sierra jacketed bullets expanded in water jugs. I never found any of the Berry's bullets when shooting into water jugs...they just kept on going, so I doubt they expanded. Here's my load notes:


CCI SP, 3.4GR WW231, 100GR RN BERRY’S PLATED, .984” OAL
SAME WITH HORNADY 90GR JHC, .975” OAL; SIERRA 90GR JHP OAL .925; ALL RELOADS ARE IN THE 840-860FPS RANGE

Thanks for the info. I haven't checked any of my manuals at home, but the Hodgdon website shows:

100 GR. HDY FMJ Winchester 231 .355" .980" 2.9 819 13,800 CUP 3.1 843 15,400 CUP

How is the recoil on those with 3.4gr Win 231? Those LCP's aren't really fun to shoot full power loads when plinking. I get bad trigger slap.

 

[Daezee]

The SIG 238 that I carry is the all stainless steel version, so it certainly weighs more than the LCP. Recoil is mild to me. I've seen no high pressure signs or case or gun damage. My records show I've fired 321 rounds through the SIG. I worked up my loads using published loading data, going for the best accuracy.

 

[TennJeep1618]

The SIG 238 that I carry is the all stainless steel version, so it certainly weighs more than the LCP. Recoil is mild to me. I've seen no high pressure signs or case or gun damage. My records show I've fired 321 rounds through the SIG. I worked up my loads using published loading data, going for the best accuracy.

Cool. Thanks for the reply. I will certainly work up a load properly, I was just curious about that.

 

[TennJeep1618]

Got the bullets yesterday. Went ahead and bought 750 of them to last me a little while.

I wanted to jump in a knock out some trial loads, but it took me a lot longer than I wanted. The brass was already cleaned and sized/deprimed, but I had to prime all the cases and set up all the dies. Thankfully I used my Chargemaster, so I didn't have to fool with the trial and error method of setting up the Lee Auto Disk.

This is the result. 100 rounds, 5 different loads.

380 ACP
Berry's 100gr FBRN
Win 231 from 2.9gr-3.3gr in .1gr increments.
.982" COAL

I'm going to be testing them out on Saturday morning. I'll report back the results.