Bought the newest load manual from Nosler, Nosler 9, wanted to see what they have in the way of 380ACP loads. To my surprise, they only list one load, and it's for a 115gr JHP. I was intrigued, as I've long wondered about the reason that 380ACP generally runs from 88gr to 100gr, a mere 12 gr spread, while 9mm, it's larger cousin runs from 88gr to 147gr, and lately I'm seeing factory loads well above 147gr, though I haven't bought or shot any.
It also helped that I don't find a lot of current load data for Hi-Skor 700-X, a powder I "discovered" during Covid lockdown, and picked up 8lbs. Yet this is one of the listed powders for this heavy pill in 380ACP.
I made up a small ladder ... 1.9gr, 2.0gr, and 2.1gr, and intended to keep meticulous notes when firing these rounds, especially for condition of the primers, cases, and perceived recoil in my smallest pistols. Alas, I inadvertently grabbed those rounds for a range outing with my son...who wouldn't take notes on his shooting experience if he could get paid for it.
So...he shot all 30 rounds, starting high and ending low. He didn't even know that they were 115gr bullets, but he did observe a few things (anecdotally as I asked him about it the next day). They all cycled fine, recoil was decent, not harsh...in a Ruger LCPII. Ejection pattern was similar to common 380 ACP factory rounds. And...he noticed that I had made identifying marks on the 1.9gr and 2.0gr case heads. The one observation that he was concerned about (but not enough to proactively tell me), at 7 yards, he couldn't see where any of them hit the targets. We're indoors, shooting at large 23x35" targets, and he couldn't see where the puka was made in the papah.
Of course I made more...which I hope to get out to shoot myself, soon.
It also helped that I don't find a lot of current load data for Hi-Skor 700-X, a powder I "discovered" during Covid lockdown, and picked up 8lbs. Yet this is one of the listed powders for this heavy pill in 380ACP.
I made up a small ladder ... 1.9gr, 2.0gr, and 2.1gr, and intended to keep meticulous notes when firing these rounds, especially for condition of the primers, cases, and perceived recoil in my smallest pistols. Alas, I inadvertently grabbed those rounds for a range outing with my son...who wouldn't take notes on his shooting experience if he could get paid for it.
So...he shot all 30 rounds, starting high and ending low. He didn't even know that they were 115gr bullets, but he did observe a few things (anecdotally as I asked him about it the next day). They all cycled fine, recoil was decent, not harsh...in a Ruger LCPII. Ejection pattern was similar to common 380 ACP factory rounds. And...he noticed that I had made identifying marks on the 1.9gr and 2.0gr case heads. The one observation that he was concerned about (but not enough to proactively tell me), at 7 yards, he couldn't see where any of them hit the targets. We're indoors, shooting at large 23x35" targets, and he couldn't see where the puka was made in the papah.
Of course I made more...which I hope to get out to shoot myself, soon.