.380acp with Clays or WST?

[njl]

I've got 100gr Xtreme plated bullets, but no suitable powder. Searching the net, I've found some people saying they've used either WST or Clays for .380, but no signs of any published data.

Does anyone here load .380 with WST or Clays?

My searches suggest the following as max loads for the bullets I have:

WST 3gr

Clays 2.9gr

I'd like to try one of these, but would hate to blow up a pocket pistol in my hand

[LtDave]

I've loaded 95 grain Montana Gold JHP with 3.3 grains of WST. Excellent groups in a Sig P230. Shot POA/POI in a Glock 42, but was not the accuracy winner in that gun. Not bad, but others were better in the G42. No excess pressure signs.

Edited June 1, 2014 by LtDave

[njl]

I just got back from testing some loads. I tried 2.6gr Clays and 2.8, 2.9, and 3.0gr WST, all with Xtreme 100gr RNFP at 0.950".

2.6gr Clays 883.4fps, 883.7fps, then stopped because the brass worried me

2.8gr WST 788fps

2.9gr WST 808fps

3.0gr WST 809fps

I stopped the Clays testing after the first two shots because I was concerned by what I thought looked like a bulge mid way down the cases. I plan to more closely examine all the brass. I might be tempted to try Clays again, but perhaps a few tenths of a grain less of it.

All the loads "worked" in that they fed and cycled the gun (a relatively new Glock 42).

The WST loads left a little bit of incompletely burned powder in the cases...but not nearly as bad as the Universal Clays loads I tested first time out with the G42.

I just did some comparisons of the brass from the Clays load that I worried I'd bulged, some from the WST loads, and some of my collected (range pickup) brass that I haven't used yet. Most unsized range brass will pass through the calipers set to 0.377". A couple have similar bulges to my Clays load brass and are 0.381-0.382" at the bulge, which is usually somewhere around 0.260" off the case bottom. I don't know if those are factory once fired though, or someone else's reload that was pushing the envelope. I found a couple from the WST loads that had expanded similarly.

Based on these results though, and the fact that I have more Clays than WST, I think I will try again with Clays, reducing the charge a bit...perhaps 2.2gr and 2.4gr next time to see how those do. I'm afraid to push any further with WST, and the velocity was kind of low and with the powder left behind stuck to the inside of the case, I don't think reducing it below 2.8gr will work well.

Edited June 9, 2014 by njl