Nebwake Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I have a conundrum, I am looking to get a new carry gun to replace my commander length 1911. I am looking at an M&P shied in 9 or the new Glock 42 in .380. Locally I can get the shield for $399 and blue label glock for $350. That said, I am tooled to load 9mm and not .380, so after caliber conversion kit and dies and new bullets/casings ect, the glock is going to be more. So finances aside, I have heard .380 is a pain to load and finicky. does anyone have some .380 loading experience? I have shot the Shield and really liked it, but have heard great things about the glock as well. I am not a very large guy 5'6" 150# marathon runner so its rather hard to conceal a larger pistol. help a guy out, is the new 42 just so awesome and better than the shield? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toothguy Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I just bought a 42 for my wife after looking many different choices. After shooting the 42 I am thinking about getting one for myself. I am really impressed with the 42 because it fed any ammo with no problems, great sights and good trigger that makes it easy to shoot accurately. The gun is slim and light but not micro. The best thing about the gun is that my wife, who doesn't shoot, can shoot it very well. Since the 42 is for defense I plan to stick with factory ammo. The .380 Federal Hydro shocks seem to perform well giving very moderate expansion and 10 to 11'' of penetration or just round ball with 18'' of penetration (youtube ballistic gel-denim tests). Make your decision after shooting one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I personally find the 42 extremely accurate and easy to shoot compared to any gun I own of Amy size. If you already reload 9mm, and 223 you have most or all of the conversion parts for 380. You could also just shoot factory loads if you can find them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrVvrroomm Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I reload .380. Nothing magical about it. Loads just like all other pistol calibers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebwake Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 I personally find the 42 extremely accurate and easy to shoot compared to any gun I own of Amy size. If you already reload 9mm, and 223 you have most or all of the conversion parts for 380. You could also just shoot factory loads if you can find them I am tooled to load .223 and 9mm. Is the powder funnel the same? so would all I need are dies? and a tool head? (I like a tool head for each caliber) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CZinZA Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 It's not hard to load 380. But if the alignment is not good entering the dies, the cases are prone to buckling. Apart from that it's no different to any other calibre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I am tooled to load .223 and 9mm. Is the powder funnel the same? so would all I need are dies? and a tool head? (I like a tool head for each caliber) With a Dillon 650, every part from the 380 caliber conversion kit is in either the 9mm or 223 except the case feed adapter. I have fed 380 brass through the 9mm case feed adapter just fine, but i went ahead and spent the $15 on it anyway. Powder funnel is the same. All you need is dies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverBolt Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I reload .380 all the time. Unfortunately it's when I am loading 9mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebwake Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 Thats cool I might just have to get both Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safeactionjackson Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Snagged a G42 when it first came out, had a complete 9mm setup that wasn't being used on my 550b... and already had a .223 conversion kit. Think I bought a .380 resizing die.... and that was it. Haven't had a change to reload .380 yet, I'll work that right after install the .40 tool head I just purchased for my s1050. In the next month I hope to be producing both .380/.40 ~g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdinga Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I am at the cross roads on the Glock 42 as well. What frustrates me is the price of once fired .380 brass. You would think it was gold compared to the price of once fired 9mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Contact some urban indoor ranges, and you might find some deals on once fired 380 brass. The one by me is overpriced on 9mm brass, but a decent deal on 380 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Ps, everything is expensive compared to 9mm brass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njl Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I personally find the 42 extremely accurate and easy to shoot compared to any gun I own of Amy size. If you already reload 9mm, and 223 you have most or all of the conversion parts for 380. You could also just shoot factory loads if you can find them I am tooled to load .223 and 9mm. Is the powder funnel the same? so would all I need are dies? and a tool head? (I like a tool head for each caliber) Yep. Dies and a toolhead, and maybe a case gauge. Use the .223 cal conversion parts and 9mm funnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njl Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 The only thing that makes loading .380 any harder than 9mm is the tiny powder charges. Depending on the powder, you might have trouble getting the small bar to drop consistent charges. I ended up buying an extra-small bar, and it seems to have helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safeactionjackson Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I am at the cross roads on the Glock 42 as well. What frustrates me is the price of once fired .380 brass. You would think it was gold compared to the price of once fired 9mm. Having reloaded a fair amount of 9mm... I had always considered .380 a pain in my butt..... luckily I've always just set it aside, I was going to trade it all for .45 when I purchased the G42..... decided for that for less than $50 I could buy the stuff to reload it. I run it across it a lot more lately at the range, but it's pricey to buy.... not going to pay $24-$26 a box. A month ago I sized/deprimed/wet tumbled about 4000 pieces. ~g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJE Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 I am at the cross roads on the Glock 42 as well. What frustrates me is the price of once fired .380 brass. You would think it was gold compared to the price of once fired 9mm.I used to throw it away so it didn't get mixed in my 9mm. I hate to think of how many .380 cases I have tossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3guns Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 I just started loading .380. Nothing different from loading 9mm. The only thing I noticed is that I was not getting a consistent powder charge. It varied 2 grains at time using my 550. I loaded 3 different powder charges. I'm waiting to go to the range to chrono the loads and check the velocity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21 shooter Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 I reload .380 all the time. Unfortunately it's when I am loading 9mm. That is exactly my problem! Also I have found the new Glock to run fine on Blazer ammo, Ranger SXT, and a couple of other brands of self defense ammo. But with the scarcity of good ball ammo at a reasonable price, I may also take up loading .380 for practice ammo. I'll be watching this thread myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njl Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 I just started loading .380. Nothing different from loading 9mm. The only thing I noticed is that I was not getting a consistent powder charge. It varied 2 grains at time using my 550. I loaded 3 different powder charges. I'm waiting to go to the range to chrono the loads and check the velocity. You must mean 0.2gr. 2gr would be most of your charge for a .380 with any of the faster powders. Are you using a large flake powder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3guns Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 (edited) Yes .2 grain off. I'm using Titegroup. I'm beginning a load so I have some loaded with 2.2, 2.4, & 2.6 according to the reloading manuals. I'll chrono and see what reliably cycles my pistol and using the lowest load. Edited October 4, 2014 by PaidKiller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebwake Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 .2 is a pretty decent deviation, is that with the small powder bar or XS? Titegroup is such a low volume powder also, I wonder if hp-38, WSF, or some of the higher volume powders would help that out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clipper Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 I opted to load .380 on my Lee Classic turret. I find the RCBS Uniflo powder flask works well for me, and I can usually keep the charge within a tenth of a grain. I do visually check each case before seating and haven't had any over charged, yet. I have a Bodyguard by S&W, and I like the little gun, but I do have a few FTF, probably because of hard primers, they usually fire on the second attempt. Look at the Bodyguard, it is small, and has about a 12 pound trigger, but the laser helps. Cheaper too, around $300 maybe a bit less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebwake Posted October 7, 2014 Author Share Posted October 7, 2014 I decided to go with a SW Shield in 9mm, but am still going to buy the G42 to compare them to each other. I got a smoking deal on the Shield so worst case scenario, I can sell it for what I have in it, maybe even cover the transfer fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottyPotty Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 In just picked up the 380 bodyguard. I've been trying to decide if I'm going to load for it. It would be nice to load up 1000 or so to run through for reliability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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