Reloading .380 ACP with Golden Sabers

palabman · March 4, 2010, 07:53 PM

Does anyone reload their .380 ACP with 102 Grain Golden Sabers? I was curious as to whether there was much of a case bulge

Stargazer · March 5, 2010, 03:35 AM

I am not crazy about the single driving band deal either. Looks to me like you would work your brass more with these bullets as they will cause you to have to crimp the case mouth tighter.

**Unclenick** · March 5, 2010, 03:38 AM

Two kinds of case bulge: bullet profile bulge before firing and pregnant case bulge near the head after firing. The former is common and depends more on how far down your sizing die squeezes the brass than on the bullet. The latter is load dependent. A maximum load will do it if your barrel is the unsupported chamber type. A medium or light load usually will not.

Tex S · March 5, 2010, 10:41 AM

I load them and the bulge is obvious.

Don't forget that the 380 has an internal case taper, so if you are seating the bullets too deeply, the bulge will worsen. I forget what length I seat the bullets to... if you want to know I will check when I get home. Maybe it is .960" or .970"???

palabman · March 5, 2010, 03:37 PM

The bulge I was concerned about was with bullet seating. I ordered 88 grain Remington JHP from Midway and was considering ordering the 102 grain golden sabers.

Does anyone know how the 88 grain JHP do compared to the golden sabers? Would the 88's suffice as a self defense load?

**Unclenick** · March 5, 2010, 04:17 PM

A .22 is adequate if your shot placement is perfect.

The .380 internal case taper is the same problem as occurs with .45 ACP and bullets over 230 grains. You can seat deeply enough to bulge the case enough that it doesn't fit the chamber. You want a bullet intended for the .380 so its crimp cannelure is in the right place to give you a usable seating depth.

The 102 grain Golden Saber is intended for the .380. It has no knurled cannelure, but does have a polished indentation ring to act as a crimp groove that meets the case mouth in Remington's own loaded ammunition. You can see that if you hover to enlarge the Midway photo, here and compare it to the Midway photo of the bullet in the first link.

If in doubt, shell out for one box of the loaded Remington ammo that uses that bullet and duplicate their COL when you load it yourself.

brickeyee · March 5, 2010, 04:33 PM

Almost every straight handgun case that you reload is going to get the 'coke bottle' effect.

Carbide dies make the outside of the case a uniform diameter, no matter wht taper the case initially had.

I have not seen a while lot of tapered steel reloading dies for things like .38 ACP, .45 ACP, etc.

They create straight cases sized to hold a new bullet.
The new bullet bulges the case since it is an interference fit.

Since the die does not reach the entire length of the case part of the case near the head remains larger.

Large at bullet, thin in middle, large at head.

As long as they fit your chamber they are fine.

palabman · March 5, 2010, 04:50 PM

Thanks for the info... I didn't notice the polished groove when I first looked at the bullet.

nikleshooter · March 11, 2010, 02:13 PM

.380 head spaces on the case mouth - If you crimp, you will likely get failures to fire. Stick with .355 bullets, sometimes .356 bulges the case past the .374 loaded case diameter limit and may cause a dangerous situation. Keep your COL on the longer side that will reliably feed in your pistol, this varies greatly with bullet style, should be about .970-.973 for a round nose and a WW flat nose at .944. Check your loading manual for your bullet.

March 4, 2010, 07:53 PM	#1
palabman Member Join Date: January 24, 2010 Location: SW PA Posts: 80	Reloading .380 ACP with Golden Sabers Does anyone reload their .380 ACP with 102 Grain Golden Sabers? I was curious as to whether there was much of a case bulge

March 5, 2010, 03:35 AM	#2
Stargazer Senior Member Join Date: August 6, 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Posts: 506	I am not crazy about the single driving band deal either. Looks to me like you would work your brass more with these bullets as they will cause you to have to crimp the case mouth tighter. __________________ 5.56mm, reach out and touch something. .458 SOCOM,reach out and knock something down. M70 Web Page

March 5, 2010, 03:38 AM	#3
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,060	Two kinds of case bulge: bullet profile bulge before firing and pregnant case bulge near the head after firing. The former is common and depends more on how far down your sizing die squeezes the brass than on the bullet. The latter is load dependent. A maximum load will do it if your barrel is the unsupported chamber type. A medium or light load usually will not. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

March 5, 2010, 04:17 PM	#6
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,060	A .22 is adequate if your shot placement is perfect. The .380 internal case taper is the same problem as occurs with .45 ACP and bullets over 230 grains. You can seat deeply enough to bulge the case enough that it doesn't fit the chamber. You want a bullet intended for the .380 so its crimp cannelure is in the right place to give you a usable seating depth. The 102 grain Golden Saber is intended for the .380. It has no knurled cannelure, but does have a polished indentation ring to act as a crimp groove that meets the case mouth in Remington's own loaded ammunition. You can see that if you hover to enlarge the Midway photo, here and compare it to the Midway photo of the bullet in the first link. If in doubt, shell out for one box of the loaded Remington ammo that uses that bullet and duplicate their COL when you load it yourself. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

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March 5, 2010, 10:41 AM	#4
Tex S Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, TEXAS Posts: 909	I load them and the bulge is obvious. Don't forget that the 380 has an internal case taper, so if you are seating the bullets too deeply, the bulge will worsen. I forget what length I seat the bullets to... if you want to know I will check when I get home. Maybe it is .960" or .970"???

March 5, 2010, 03:37 PM	#5
palabman Member Join Date: January 24, 2010 Location: SW PA Posts: 80	The bulge I was concerned about was with bullet seating. I ordered 88 grain Remington JHP from Midway and was considering ordering the 102 grain golden sabers. Does anyone know how the 88 grain JHP do compared to the golden sabers? Would the 88's suffice as a self defense load?

March 5, 2010, 04:33 PM	#7
brickeyee Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2004 Posts: 3,351	Almost every straight handgun case that you reload is going to get the 'coke bottle' effect. Carbide dies make the outside of the case a uniform diameter, no matter wht taper the case initially had. I have not seen a while lot of tapered steel reloading dies for things like .38 ACP, .45 ACP, etc. They create straight cases sized to hold a new bullet. The new bullet bulges the case since it is an interference fit. Since the die does not reach the entire length of the case part of the case near the head remains larger. Large at bullet, thin in middle, large at head. As long as they fit your chamber they are fine.

March 5, 2010, 04:50 PM	#8
palabman Member Join Date: January 24, 2010 Location: SW PA Posts: 80	Thanks for the info... I didn't notice the polished groove when I first looked at the bullet.

March 11, 2010, 02:13 PM	#9
nikleshooter Junior Member Join Date: March 9, 2010 Posts: 14	.380 head spaces on the case mouth - If you crimp, you will likely get failures to fire. Stick with .355 bullets, sometimes .356 bulges the case past the .374 loaded case diameter limit and may cause a dangerous situation. Keep your COL on the longer side that will reliably feed in your pistol, this varies greatly with bullet style, should be about .970-.973 for a round nose and a WW flat nose at .944. Check your loading manual for your bullet.