Back again with another question............

[slickrick]

Okay before I ask my question let me give a little background. I am newbie reloader, took Jim's class and successfully reloaded 9mm that seems to be shooting just fine so far. So I moved on to another caliber I need, .380. So the details are as follows:

Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook load data:
90 Grain LRN
Unique 3.1-3.7
velocity: 920

I made three groups of 5 with the following:

1st Group
95 Grain LRN
Unique 3.1
average velocity: 665

2nd Group
95 Grain LRN
Unique 3.3
average velocity: 744

3rd Group
95 Grain LRN
Unique 3.5
average velocity: 784

So here is my question: All three groups shot fine in my gun, which by the way was a little LCP, this will be the only gun I will be shooting .380 with (for now anyway) so what should I go with. Should I try a charge weight of 3.7 to get closer to Lyman's velocity speed or should I settle with the 3rd group's recipe which my inexperienced intuition tells me to do.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

.......rick

 

[EddieCoyle]

Which one shot closest to point of aim?

 

[slickrick]

Which one shot closest to point of aim?

Honestly they all shot pretty good but I would probably say the 3rd group. But that could just be because after the first 10 shots I may have had a better grip and aim on the last 5. And to tell you the truth I really didnt pay a lot of attention to that. I was focusing on velocity. They all were on target though.

....and it was a LCP not exactly an accurate target gun.

 

[dcmdon]

Do you see any signs of excessive pressure? Flattened primers? Bulged cases?

If all is good, the ndxt question is: Do you want powder puff loads so the gun doesn't get beat up.

Or do you want loads closer in recoil to your self defense ammo so your practice is more realistic?

Since they both work, its kindof a tradeoff between beating up the gun and realism.

Don

 

[slickrick]

Do you see any signs of excessive pressure? Flattened primers? Bulged cases?

If all is good, the ndxt question is: Do you want powder puff loads so the gun doesn't get beat up.

Or do you want loads closer in recoil to your self defense ammo so your practice is more realistic?



Since they both work, its kindof a tradeoff between beating up the gun and realism.

Don

Well.........there is my inexperience rearing it's ugly head, I didnt even think/remember to examine the cases as I shot each group. I saved them all, so I will pay special attention when I go through them but it wont tell me which group they came from.

 

[dcmdon]

how did the 3.5 gr loads feel in comparison to your SD ammo? As far as recoil?

If you don't know, thats fine. My inclination in a little gun like that might be to run the lightest load that will cycle it and make a point of shooting a couple of mags through it every time I went to the range.

Although with lead bullets, you may want to invest in a Lewis Lead Remover. Its a great tool. You will use it for years if you plan to reload and shoot lead bullets.

- - - Updated - - -

Just to sidetrack this conversation.

EDDIE - Do you see any reason you couldn't load 115 gr bullets intended for a 9mm gun into a .380. I realize the powder charge would need to be reduced substantially.

I too would like to start reloading for .380. A set of cheap Lee dies is $25 and I'd be good to go since I've got thousands of 9mm bullets already.

 

[Forester]

how did the 3.5 gr loads feel in comparison to your SD ammo? As far as recoil?

If you don't know, thats fine. My inclination in a little gun like that might be to run the lightest load that will cycle it and make a point of shooting a couple of mags through it every time I went to the range.

Although with lead bullets, you may want to invest in a Lewis Lead Remover. Its a great tool. You will use it for years if you plan to reload and shoot lead bullets.

- - - Updated - - -

Just to sidetrack this conversation.

I agree wholeheartedly with this thinking.

 

[gerrycaruso]

I'd use the lightest loads because I think more practice with light loads is better than less practice with heavy loads and if you're going to carry a gun, you should shoot it a lot. While small guns are easier to carry, I don't think that any of them hold up to sustained use with heavy loads.

 

[slickrick]

Thank you everyone for you advice and suggestions. I will take them all into consideration.

I appreciate everyone's input.

 

[EddieCoyle]

EDDIE - Do you see any reason you couldn't load 115 gr bullets intended for a 9mm gun into a .380. I realize the powder charge would need to be reduced substantially.

I too would like to start reloading for .380. A set of cheap Lee dies is $25 and I'd be good to go since I've got thousands of 9mm bullets already.

If you can find data for them, I see no reason why not.

If you can't find data and want to experiment, besides pressure there are some less obvious things you want to think about...

The 115gr bullets are a lot longer than the typical 90gr .380 bullet. It might be tricky finding an overall length that fits in the mag, doesn't jam the bullet into the rifling, and still leaves sufficient case volume to hold a powder charge large enough to provide consistent velocity.

 

[dcmdon]

Thanks. I was going to experiment with COAL, feeding, and mag fit on some dummies I'll make up before I get the actual dies.