|
Forum Rules | Firearms Safety | Firearms Photos | Links | Library | Lost Password | Email Changes |
Register | FAQ | Calendar | Today's Posts | Search |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
January 1, 2014, 10:24 AM | #1 |
Member
Join Date: March 3, 2009
Location: Fox Lake, Illinois
Posts: 47
|
Loads for .380 Auto using Hodgdon HS-6?
Hey all! I'm starting to load .380 Auto for the first time and just can't seen to find even one pound cans of the recommended powders used in this cartridge. I do however have approximately 6 pounds (out of an 8 pound jug) of Hodgdon HS-6 that I've been using for loading 9mm Parabellum (9 x 19) but cannot find any load data using this powder for .380 Auto. I'm figuring that it's probably because HS-6 has a slower burn rate than say HP-38 or Unique and the .380 Auto is usually used in short barreled pistols.
Any advice regarding this situation would be greatly appreciated! Richard
__________________
NRA Life Member - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ |
January 1, 2014, 11:51 AM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 4, 1999
Location: WA, the ever blue state
Posts: 4,678
|
I have been testing 380 pistols and found them to have a wide range of handload levels.
The Kel-tec is the wimpiest. The case support is at .290" The slide and barrel mass times force times distance = 0.5 foot pounds. The chamber wall is 0.027" thick. 1) Wimpy A) 90 gr Gold Dot 1100 fps from Kel-Tec P3AT. This is the equivalent of Buffalo Bore +P 380 ammo claimed performance. B)The Ruger LCP is so marginally superior to the P3AT, that I feed them the same ammo. 2) Bryco 380 0.225" case support 3) The Kahr P380 0.175" case support is perfect with .175" case web 4) Beretta 1934 0.170" case support is perfect with .175" case web 5) Browning 1903 case support is perfect with .175" case web All my testing and carry loads with with Bullseye and Power Pistol, but could just as easily have been done with HS-6. With HS-6 and 90 gr I think a starting load would be 5 gr, with 115 gr 4 gr HS-6. Looking at Sierra 1995, they say for 380 95 gr start 3.5 gr HS-6, max 4.8 gr. What do you know? A book was right about something!
__________________
The word 'forum" does not mean "not criticizing books." "Ad hominem fallacy" is not the same as point by point criticism of books. If you bought the book, and believe it all, it may FEEL like an ad hominem attack, but you might strive to accept other points of view may exist. Are we a nation of competing ideas, or a nation of forced conformity of thought? |
January 1, 2014, 11:51 AM | #3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 17, 2005
Location: Swamp dweller
Posts: 6,187
|
You may have to use different powders. What I use with good results are,
100 grain plated bullet and 3 grains of Titegroup. My chrono is as follows, factory rounds averaged 892 fps. My reloads with the recipe averaged 891 fps. The gun used is a Sig P232 and shooting 8 rounds of each ammo.
__________________
NRA Life Member, NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, NRA Certified Pistol Instructor,, USPSA & Steel Challange NROI Range Officer, ICORE Range Officer, ,MAG 40 Graduate As you are, I once was, As I am, You will be. |
|
|