grant22 Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 What is a rookie loader supposed to do when the bullet I have isn't found in the manual? Example: I have lead MO Bullet .380 acp @ 95 gr. The closest lead projectile my Lyman shows is a 90 gr. Sure, my Lyman shows a 95 gr FMJ, but I thought lead compared to FMJ is apples to oranges. The Lyman shows a starting weight of 2.4 gr of Bullseye for the 90 gr bullet. Is it safe for me to charge my 95 gr starting at 2.0? 2.2? It seems heavier 'like' bullets usually have a lower weight powder charge, from the comparing I've done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARKAVELI Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 What is a rookie loader supposed to do when the bullet I have isn't found in the manual? Example: I have lead MO Bullet .380 acp @ 95 gr. The closest lead projectile my Lyman shows is a 90 gr. Sure, my Lyman shows a 95 gr FMJ, but I thought lead compared to FMJ is apples to oranges. The Lyman shows a starting weight of 2.4 gr of Bullseye for the 90 gr bullet. Is it safe for me to charge my 95 gr starting at 2.0? 2.2? It seems heavier 'like' bullets usually have a lower weight powder charge, from the comparing I've done. I read your last post also, still having problems? what supplies are you working with & press? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grant22 Posted August 30, 2011 Author Share Posted August 30, 2011 What is a rookie loader supposed to do when the bullet I have isn't found in the manual? Example: I have lead MO Bullet .380 acp @ 95 gr. The closest lead projectile my Lyman shows is a 90 gr. Sure, my Lyman shows a 95 gr FMJ, but I thought lead compared to FMJ is apples to oranges. The Lyman shows a starting weight of 2.4 gr of Bullseye for the 90 gr bullet. Is it safe for me to charge my 95 gr starting at 2.0? 2.2? It seems heavier 'like' bullets usually have a lower weight powder charge, from the comparing I've done. I read your last post also, still having problems? what supplies are you working with & press? I have a Dillon 550B, currently doing .38 spl but in the next week plan on doing some .380 acp. I have Missouri Bullet Co. lead 95 gr RN for the 380, but Lyman doesn't list a 95 gr, they list a 90 gr. Also, I plan on using Bullseye. I'm trying not to overthink all this, but I don't think reloading is something a new guy should be 'winging' if you know what I mean. I guess what I'm asking is, what do you gentlemen do when you have a bullet that is appropriate for a load/caliber, but it's not listed in your resource(s)? I'm guessing in this case, since Lyman states starting load for 90 gr with Bullseye is 2.4, I should probably start a 95 gr at 2.0 gr.......that's my best guess but want to confirm with you all. THX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g56 Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 (edited) Go with the next heavier bullet, in that caliber it will probably be 100 gr, never use data for a lighter bullet. Reloading 380 can be a problem, those cases are just so small, its easy to mess them up. Edited August 30, 2011 by g56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARKAVELI Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) I barrowed this from a different forum, names hsve been erased WARNING USE CAUTION WHEN USING OTHER PEOPLES LOADS! Quote"I reload .380 by the thousands... in fact that's what's set up on my Dillon right now. I don't shoot cast bullets in this caliber... I most always go 95grn FMJ. My load is 3.2 of Bullseye, and it chronies 900ish out of my PPK/S. It's easy to reload... the only annoying thing is that 9mm brass sometimes gets mixed in and is tough to spot. No biggie. My load is 3.2 of Bullseye, and it chronies 900ish out of my PPK/S. How cleanly does the Bullseye burn? Does it meter well? I'm about to load about 1000 rounds of .380 for my PPK/S (as soon as the shell plate I ordered shows up). I've never used Bullseye, but my local shop has plenty of it and they're all out of W231. Thanks so much, folks, for all your great replies. Anyone care to share your favorite dies, or any other tips for loading for this caliber? Thanks again, How cleanly does the Bullseye burn? Does it meter well? It seems to burn pretty clean for me... cleaner than Unique (which I dearly love). Meters well, too. It's been a standard for many many years. You surely won't go wrong with it. "and .....unquote. IMO lead bullets are a bit of a pain in the 6 to load and what 380 bullets cost its not that much of a difference from buying 380's in a coper fmj bullets.. 95gr lead bullet 2.2gr bullseye 3.0gr. max c.o.l .965 to .970 taper crimp @ .371-.372 check fore signs of presure a cronograph (so you will know the velocity &power factor) will be your best friend along with a few more reloading manuals to cross reference your loads... Good luck welcome to the forums and keep us posted Edited August 31, 2011 by MARKAVELI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limited 10 Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 I have e-mailed powder mfgs. my questions about loads not listed. They have always replied within a couple days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick45Colt Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I checked both the Sierra 5th Edition and the Hornady 8th Edition manuals for your bullet. Neither book shows a 95 grain bullet for either 380 auto (9mm Kurz) or 9mm Lugar. I also checked Alliant's guide on the internet and they do not show a 95 grain load for the 380. I did however find a 95 grain load at Hodgdon's guide on the web. It is a for a 95 grain fmj and not a 95 grain lead bullet. I hope you did not buy a whole bunch of those bullets. Either see if you can return them and buy one that is in your Lyman manual. In either case try to buy one that is in your manual and go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 We run into this a lot with shotgun recipes. If you contact teh powder manufacture, they will give you exactly what you are looking for if it exists. Sometimes they will say it is a bad combo. Alliant can be conatcted through their web site : Alliant Contact Form Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grant22 Posted September 3, 2011 Author Share Posted September 3, 2011 I checked both the Sierra 5th Edition and the Hornady 8th Edition manuals for your bullet. Neither book shows a 95 grain bullet for either 380 auto (9mm Kurz) or 9mm Lugar. I also checked Alliant's guide on the internet and they do not show a 95 grain load for the 380. I did however find a 95 grain load at Hodgdon's guide on the web. It is a for a 95 grain fmj and not a 95 grain lead bullet. I hope you did not buy a whole bunch of those bullets. Either see if you can return them and buy one that is in your Lyman manual. In either case try to buy one that is in your manual and go from there. Thank you for looking in your manuals. I bought 1000 of these bullets. I'm just going to have to start low and work up the load. I've heard of a couple rules of thumbs, for example, load with 10% less powder than the same weight FMJ. Once I research that more, I'll probably do something like that. I love Missouri Bullets but it seems they have a lot of bullet weights that aren't in the manuals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMS42 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 My old Lyman manual from the 50's shows 2.7 gr. of Bullseye for a 95 gr. cast lead bullet. Vel. is listed as 895. There are no suggested starting loads listed for the .380 ACP. It also show 4.5 gr. of Unique as a Max load for the 95 gr. bullet. My load for the .380 is 4.2 gr. of Unique with a 95 grain bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob DuBois Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Check Handloads.com there's several listed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grant22 Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 Check Handloads.com there's several listed. Thank you everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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