Anyone reload 380?

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by saxondale351

My dies came intoday. Lee dies. I usually have really good luck with them. I noticed that after setting the sizer die the decap pin kept rising up till it would not pop the primer. I kept tightening it down with dual adjustable wrenches. After about 4 to 5 cases it was too high again. I called the vendor and was told it was not their problem its the Manufacture. So much for them. I called Lee and was told to just tighten it down a bit more. I was putting a lot of pressure on it already. More than any other set of lee dies or RCBS dies. Not too happy with my new set of dies. LOL I managed to get through about 100 rds and loaded up some 95 gr lrn with 4.5g of Powerpistol. Not sure how to fix the decap problem. I may have to dispute the charge to get some attention. I will not be loading a lot of 380 but I don't want to play with the decap pin every time I do.

Not sure if this will work or not, but try degreasing the pin and collet, then put some good oil on the threads of the collet only, snug it down, see if that cures the problem. If that's not enough maybe try putting a bit of blue Loctite on the pin. You should leave it alone overnight if you do the Loctite, read the label - I'm not certain it takes a full 12 hours to reach max strength but it won't hurt.

Depending on what commercial cast bullet you get, they may or may not be big enough to really fit your bore, although as a general rule Colt bores run tight so you may not have an issue. Another point is the bullet shape - I got a box of 380 bullets that looked almost like hemispheres, with very little bearing surface. Hard to get them to shoot accurately.

I don't know if anyone makes one, but IMHO a miniature H&G 68 type bullet would be great for the .380. Might have to adjust the length of the nose to get good feeding and good stabilization, have not tried it.

I have found Lee backs their products well, you can check with them if my ideas don't "fix" your decap rod problems.

FWIW I think the design of the decap rod on Lee dies is intended to let it slide rather than break if something interferes with normal decapping.

[saxondale351]

I think I got it fixed somewhat. I had to really put a lot of torque on it. More than I felt comfortable of ever had to before. It seems to be holding. I got my first 100 rounds of 308 loaded. I used Power pistol and it did not meter well for me. Many have posted that this meters well, I did not have a load for the 95 gr lrn but had one for the 90 gr FMJ. I set my load to the low end of that load which was 5 grains, so being a heavier bullet I ran a bit less 4.5. 5gr was for the entry point of the 90gr FMJ. after about 20 rounds I tested the weight again and it was 5 gr. My hornady powder measure will not seem to keep a constant load at lower weights. power pistol is a fine flake powder and should meter well. Not sure why it creeps like that.

[M3 Mitch]

So, did you shoot any of these reloads yet?

If so, how did they do?

Which Hornady measure are you using? You might want to break down and get a pistol-specific measure, if you are using a measure that's good for rifle size charges to do just 5 grains you have to turn the plunger in so far that you are making a flat little pancake of the charge as you fill the measuring chamber, that makes it harder to get a consistent amount of powder in the chamber.

I'm having a hard time expressing this in words, a picture would be better but not sure how to do that. You can't actually see this process going on unless you have a solid glass measure.

[Ralph_Kirk]

Originally Posted by Ticket To Paradise

4.5 grains Power Pistol is on the middle/ upper end according to my charts for a 90 grain FMJ. I'd be mindful of that 5.0 if I were you.

Also for .380 ACP the two best choices are Winchester 231 and Alliant Power Pistol. Both meter very well and perform exceptionally well in .380 ACP and 9mm. Don't know where you are getting your troubles from?!

I second using WW 231 for small case ammunition. The ease of accurate and consistent metering can't be overstated for a small case when every grain counts.