[FDM1]

You are to be commended on the loading of smaller rounds. When I was reloading I had issues with the .380 which was a problem because my wife had a 380 and shot it a lot back in those days. Definitely not an ez load for the beginner I was back then. The small area to get a purchase for the best neck tension was a prob for me because of the varied case mouth thickness of the manufactures. Loaded them until they split. What is the going rate for washed and polished once fired .380 now?

 

[scubadad]

The lee seating die does both seat and crimp. The instructions say to back off the die for no crimp if using fcd.

Just back off on the seating die. Had the same problem with 357.

 

[Old Grumpy]

You are to be commended on the loading of smaller rounds. When I was reloading I had issues with the .380 which was a problem because my wife had a 380 and shot it a lot back in those days. Definitely not an ez load for the beginner I was back then. The small area to get a purchase for the best neck tension was a prob for me because of the varied case mouth thickness of the manufactures. Loaded them until they split. What is the going rate for washed and polished once fired .380 now?

I have to say, I haven't purchased any strictly .380 brass yet. I found quite a few in a box of range pickup 9mm I bought. those and what new ones I've shot have kept me in reloading brass. I'm tempted to look for about 250 new Starline cases.

Grumpy

 

[Capt. Methane]

This could be the one time, crimp and seat, are better done in one step.

Grumpy

I doubt it but anything is possible...I don't think the expander is the issue either. I'm leaning towards excessive case length variations as mentioned in another response. The longer cases will get farther into the seating die body and thus farther into the crimp portion of the seating die. If you back the die body away from the case holder and then adjust the seater to get back to the desired COAL that may solve the issue.

I shoot a lot of cast lead bullets but haven't reloaded them in .380, just Berry's and some FMJ's...I do have some HP's that I should load up but I'll save that for some day when my son comes over to load up 9mm and I have to switch over to small primers...er, I mean when he has to switch the press over to small primers!

😆

When setting up handgun dies it takes me a bit of experimenting as I try to set the seating die body so that the longest cases don't do any crimping, just removing most of the case mouth flare so that they go into the crimp die smoothly. On cases that are much shorter I can see that less of the flare is removed, vary rarely so little flare is removed that it is difficult to get that cartridge into the crimp die.

 

[Old Grumpy]

FYI, I did some research on case trimming on the .380acp. I use a Trim Pro 2 and have the correct shell plate for the .380acp case, except! The Trim Pro will not work on cases this short. It probably would not work on a 9mm. So, I did some searching and decided to go with a Lyman E-Zee Trim. I ordered the Universal kit (cutter, power adapter, and case lock) along with the .380acp pilot. The E-Zee Trimmer can be done by hand or, using the power attachment, done with a drill. No more .380s than I'll be trimming, I'll do it by hand.

Grumpy

 

[FDM1]

I have to say, I haven't purchased any strictly .380 brass yet. I found quite a few in a box of range pickup 9mm I bought. those and what new ones I've shot have kept me in reloading brass. I'm tempted to look for about 250 new Starline cases.

Grumpy

It does look like Starline is a good source.

 

[DubfromGa]

I wish I had some useful insight @Old Grumpy , but I've never attempted .380 and am just now getting into 9mm & .38 Super loading.

Hoping for a breakthrough for you as I'd like to see some happy range reports from you with your P232.

Those guns have excellent ergonomics.

I wish Sig would bring them back. I always like shooting Dad's.

 

[Old Grumpy]

I wish I had some useful insight @Old Grumpy , but I've never attempted .380 and am just now getting into 9mm & .38 Super loading.

Hoping for a breakthrough for you as I'd like to see some happy range reports from you with your P232.

Those guns have excellent ergonomics.

I wish Sig would bring them back. I always like shooting Dad's.

I'll have to do a bit of research to check out some of the facts about my P232. First, the friend who I purchased the SIG from said it was of "German Manufacturer". Stands to reason, but did SIG ever build (or assemble) P232s in the USA? There are many features that make the P232 a solid EDC choice. That is why I'd love to build some solid self-defense loads. The blowback design might limit just how hot I can build them.

Grumpy

 

[Grandpas50AE]

I'll have to do a bit of research to check out some of the facts about my P232. First, the friend who I purchased the SIG from said it was of "German Manufacturer". Stands to reason, but did SIG ever build (or assemble) P232s in the USA? There are many features that make the P232 a solid EDC choice. That is why I'd love to build some solid self-defense loads. The blowback design might limit just how hot I can build them.

Grumpy

My brother and I used to load .380 for his Llama and my AMT Backup in the 70's, and we settled on the Sierra 90 gr. hollow cavities. No secret tips on loading them. To be honest, today I would have to choose one of the modern powders, as we loaded them with AL-120 (4.0 gr.) in those days. He lost his Llama in his divorce decades ago, and I traded my Backup in the late 70's. I haven't had one (.380) since then. Mostly we used once fired factory cases or range pick-up brass, but we trimmed them on a Lee hand trimmer for "trim to" length (the tool was made to trim to that length and wasn't adjustable). Never had a problem loading them and they fed and functioned both guns admirably.

 

[smythethomas4]

I seem to do all right with loading .32acp, 9mm, and .45acp. Heck, I've even be able to load .25acp without issues. However, I seem to be having problems getting my .380acp technique down. Had some brass ready to load and attempted to load up some yesterday. Mixed headstamps, sized, expanded (belled), primed, and all shined up. The bell was pretty obvious, I did this in case I wanted to use cast bullets. Charged the cases and seated a 95gr Remington FMJ. Using the Rock Chucker, I could feed the upstroke was smooth and even. I seat and crimp in two steps (I have three Rock Chuckers mounted side by side) so the round then went into the crimp die. The crimp was applied, and the round dropped freely into and out of the LE Wilson case gauge. I thought, "Great, this is going to be easy". Next round was not smooth and there was noticeably more resistance at the top of the stroke. Upon lowering the ram, I could see the case was wrinkled. Drat, no joy. That round was set aside to pull down later. Third round went smoother but would not drop all the way into the case gauge. Upon close inspection it had a small "wave" near the base of the seated bullet. I broke the pistol I intended to shoot these rounds through down and did a plunk test. The "wavy" round dropped freely in and out of the chamber. However, it should not be wavy. I ran several more rounds through with about 50% fitting the case gauge and 100% passing the plunk test. A few finished rounds had slight waves but still chambered freely. I have read that some heavier bullets, such as the 115gr FMJ, can cause the case to bulge due to the cases' internal taper. However, these 95gr pills are far from the heavy end. I first thought I had the seating die adjusted wrong, and the bullet was being crimped before fully seated (which is how it does with the die set according to manufacturer's directions. So, I loosened the die and raised it up in the press. I then set the seater plug as low as I could. Using a previously made round with the desired OAL, I then turned the die down until it made contact with the nose of the finished bullet. That kept the case from reaching the crimp area of the die. This helped but did not totally cure the problem. So, does anyone have any tips, secrets, or suggestions? The cases were sized with an RCBS carbide die, expanded with the RCBS expander die, and the final crimp done with a Lee die. A mystified Grumpy

I load plenty of 380 for my wife's Ruger and have encountered that "bulge" in the case. This is from pistols equipped with an unsupported chamber-type barrel and will cause you grief if not corrected. There are two different methods of correction, possibly more that I use. For my personal use of 380, 9mm, and 45 ACP calibers I place my shell plate holder in my mill and remove .0325" from the top, thus allowing the die to travel further down on the case, in most cases eliminating enough of the bulge. The only time I have encountered any complication with the reduced thickness plates is if a case were to be stuck in the die and trying to use excessive force on the downward stroke, will tear the top section from the shell holder. This would be very rare and mostly the fault of the user. Shell plates are cheap, under $5 from Lee, so keep an extra on hand, possibly 2, so you can have all 3 presses set up at the same time for loading that specific caliber. The other method is the old or new design Lee "Bulge Buster" which is inexpensive and works well. You may want to back off a bit on the "bell", using only enough so the bullet sits comfortably in the case by itself, unless using a coated bullet to avoid chipping or peeling. Extra belling results in shorter case life and the 380s are not as easy to pick up at your range as 9s. I use mostly X-Treme copper-plated or Acme-plated bullets, with IMR 700X powder for my target rounds with great consistency. I used to prefer Berry's but during the pandemic their quality slipped, so stick to the X-Tremes for high-quality products. I would add another brand of case checker to my collection, for I find the Wilson is not perfect, but highly functional for exact inspection sizes. This should get you all fixed up on your 380s. If not email me and I will offer other suggestions.

 

[smythethomas4]

Well, let's see here...

That's a combo seating and crimp die? Right?
and then running through a Factory Crimp Die?

Double crimping?

If you already have a FCD, try NOT crimping with the seating die -
(run the crimp adjustment sky high)
and just crimp with the FCD.

I have a feeling the double crimp is the problem here.
If I'm following you correctly?


And for case lube - all I ever use for pistol rounds is One-Shot.
NO build-up at all.
Good stuff.

Agreed. I find that it is near impossible to go wrong with the Lee "Factory Crimp" dies. The double crimp makes one fight against the other. For pistol and rifle lube, after using almost everything during my commercial loading days, find my mix of 99% Isopropyl Alcohol with 35%-40% Lanolin works flawlessly! The secret of this lube is after spraying, let it sit for 5-10 minutes while you do something else and let it dry. Pistol calibers slide through carbide dies like butter, even though carbide requires no lube. Occasional cleaning of the die should be done anyway, so brake-kleen works for that. I also find that removing the de-capping pin assy. then chucking the die body in your lathe of drill press and using of Red Scotch-Brite pad to polish the inside seldom is great. For some reason, Dillon carbide dies seem to collect brass particles and result in scratched cases, as compared to other brands. Scotch-Brite takes care of this without removing any material.

 

[RH45]

I’ve been reloading for only about 50 years and have learned a lot.
I DO have to trim rifle brass, because it stretches a little, every time it’s fired, but handgun cartridges get SHORTER every time they are fired. It still doesn’t make sense to me.
I measure OAL on every piece of brass I load. For pistol (not revolver) cartridges, neck tension holds the bullets not crimp. Pistol cartridges only NEED to have the bell removed, but a slight crimp makes them slide up a feed ramp smoother. I bought Lee final crimp dies, when they first came out. Now, the only thing I use them for is pushing brass through to remove bulges. Just use a taper, crimp die.
I believe someone asked about the O.D. of the bullets you’re using.
It really sounds like either the bullets are too large in diameter, or you’re trying to seat them too deep🤔

 

[Driz]

I use those Lee 105 gn. At least that’s what they are after powder coating. I always pass them through a sizer after coating and they work just fine with the lCP and two other 9mm’s ive got. I dont flare mine greatly either. Just enough to allow the bullet to think it’s going to go in and that’s enough.
If casting your own you 😿usually😪 don’t need to size them BUT if the pots temp gets too high you my toss out a few fat fellas that really can pucker your case and n the way down. In my experience you normally can’t see them so I just shove all through my Lee sizer and call them good.

 

[Old Grumpy]

Today I ran another 50-rounds. All dies had been completely disassembled, cleaned, wiped down with an oily patch, reassembled, and set to the appropriate settings. Charges were weighed and placed in the cases. Bullets seated to the desired OAL. The seater/crimp die had been set to seat the bullet BEFORE reaching the crimp area of the die. The rounds were then run through a Lee FCD and checked in a LE Wilson case gauge. All rounds passed the check, no cases were wrinkled or crushed. I will probably run the next lot I work up through the Bulge Buster since many of them are range pick-ups. Today's results show I just ran the last bunch without due diligence. Basically, I used the same equipment today, but took my sweet time setting it up. Never pays to take things for granted or hurry.

Grumpy

 

[Old Grumpy]

For those who asked me about case length. I found I had the shell plate for my RCBS Trim Pro that is for the .380acp, sadly, the Trim Pro will not adjust short enough to trim the tiny .380acp, probably wouldn't go short enough to trim a 9mm or possibly even a .45acp. So, I ordered the Lyman E-Zee Trim with the .380acp pilot. It arrived today. To use the E-Zee Trim, you must have an unprimed sized case. I only had two that fit this requirement. I assembled the unit and inserted each case. Lo and behold, both cases were under the trim to length. Not a surprising find. Next time I work up some .380acp cases, I will Bulge Bust them, run them through the E-Zee Trim, before priming them, just to level the playing field.

Grumpy

 

[RH45]

For those who asked me about case length. I found I had the shell plate for my RCBS Trim Pro that is for the .380acp, sadly, the Trim Pro will not adjust short enough to trim the tiny .380acp, probably wouldn't go short enough to trim a 9mm or possibly even a .45acp. So, I ordered the Lyman E-Zee Trim with the .380acp pilot. It arrived today. To use the E-Zee Trim, you must have an unprimed sized case. I only had two that fit this requirement. I assembled the unit and inserted each case. Lo and behold, both cases were under the trim to length. Not a surprising find. Next time I work up some .380acp cases, I will Bulge Bust them, run them through the E-Zee Trim, before priming them, just to level the playing field.

Grumpy

You must have missed it in my post.
Handgun brass gets SHORTER as you fire it, unlike rifle brass.
Also, most handgun calibers headspace on the case mouth, so if they are too short, unless you have a pretty tight extractor, to hold the round tight to the breechface, it may not fire.
I measure every piece of brass, and if I think they are starting to get too short, I put them in the recycle bucket

 

[Old Grumpy]

You must have missed it in my post.
Handgun brass gets SHORTER as you fire it, unlike rifle brass.
Also, most handgun calibers headspace on the case mouth, so if they are too short, unless you have a pretty tight extractor, to hold the round tight to the breechface, it may not fire.
I measure every piece of brass, and if I think they are starting to get too short, I put them in the recycle bucket

That has been my experience. With cases continually getting shorter, it would be hard to trim them all the same. Several members offered unequal case length as the reason for wrinkling cases when crimping. I’m willing to wager I find few that need trimming, if any.
Grumpy

 

[Beano]

The biggest problem I have in loading .380 for my LCP…. Is finding the little brass to pick up!
I had the same problem with .32 brass from the Walther PP.
I tried the Lee 38-105 SWC in my .380 but they were too fat as cast and PC’d, so I switched to 90 gr XTP and no problems there.
I use standard RCBS dies.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RH45]

The biggest problem I have in loading .380 for my LCP…. Is finding the little brass to pick up!
I had the same problem with .32 brass from the Walther PP.
I tried the Lee 38-105 SWC in my .380 but they were too fat as cast and PC’d, so I switched to 90 gr XTP and no problems there.
I use standard RCBS dies.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, those tiny guns seem to throw brass everywhere, unlike my larger guns that will put them in a pile

 

[Alland]

I have been reloading 380 for over 40 years and the biggest problem I have seen is bullets tipping a little during seating. The little bullets are so short that I found that a seating punch that near perfectly fits the bullet nose is the only way to fix the problem. I have modified seating punches many ways including turning with a lathe, molding hot glue into the seating punch, or using epoxy and Brownells Accu-Glass in the seating punch. All the methods have worked to keep the bullet straight during seating.