Reloading 380 Ya or Na

waltermoe

I have reloaded over 45 years, almost all pistol calibers, but never reloaded for 380 before. The ammo is fairly cheap enough, just wondering if anyone has reloaded it before, and is it really worth it?

charliemeyer007

Depends on what you want. Having loaded for hundreds of firearms in over 50 years I have almost always got better groups with my ammo vs. factory stuff. The one exception was the 700 Varmint Special in 223. I tried nearly every bullet, powder, primer I could find with like 5 different die sets in 3 different presses and the factory Remington ammo always grouped a little better. I gave the rifle to a buddy that didn't mind buying factory ammo for it.

I have been through 2 or 3 great ammo shortages and never worried about the supply of ammo. I have had several wildcats that there is no factory ammo and shoot some discontinued ones that factory ammo is hard to find and very expensive when you do find any.

Seems to me a set of dies and a bullet mold is cheap insurance and if you have them putting them to work is good cents.

Mobuck

Having the capability to reload the 380 might be advantageous BUT actually shooting a 380 that much isn't my cup of tea.
Most of the little poppers I've seen didn't really appear to be "high round count" sort of pistols. More like shoot a couple of boxes to see if it really worked and then a few rounds now and then to blow the spider webs out before re-holstering.

Hawk Carse

Brass is cheap to free, sorting it out of the 9mm P is the trick.
I usually load up a supply during the winter when shooting is slow. If you are going to carry a .380, you should practice with it because it is dinky and harder to handle.

B17-P51

I reload for 380 and I like doing it. Several females in the family have, in no particular order - Sig 238's, Walther PPK/s, and Ruger LCP [:(] That said, the factory ammo is more expensive than 9mm and reloading lets them practice more than they would normally.

Even if you have to buy the brass initially (500 from Powder Valley or Starline) it lasts forever. Sub sonic loaded with Heavy for caliber bullets and standby 95 grain FMJ make for easy shooting for all. Powder is really a non factor as a pound of TITEGROUP lasts a long time.
Many people carry 380's but few of them shoot regularly. My dies have proven a good investment.

P.S.380 takes the same shellholder as a .223, not the same as a 9mm [:0]

gunnut505

I wound up with a beater Mustang as part of a trade, and it wasn't that difficult to hold that teeny bullet on the case while seating, but I draw the line at .32ACP! .25 is outta the question.
My paws are on the husky side, and that's another reason I use a 550b for the little cases.
It's fun to shoot lead rounds at wet phonebooks (remember those?) and see the impact craters, then switch to high speed *'r'dun ammo & practice at "action pistol" type focus level.
I used 90gr jhp with 4.5gr Accurate#5 & adjusted for the SAAMI velocity/pressures depending on what make/age pistol it was for.
I picked up a nice Star Super, so I gotta load some to fully enjoy it.[:)]

papernicker

For just not trimming, same as 9mm, i like it. Everything else, not so much...or little.

waltermoe

Thank you for the input and information. I have two 380 now, a Colt mustang plus II and a Star SM. I guess I look at the 380 as an odd duck, it isn't a target round, nor a hunting round. It is fun to shoot, but only good for very short range. If I do decide to reload for 380, I think I would like to use a heavy a bullet as possible. I also agree, I don't think I would want to reload anything smaller.