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Old January 1, 2014, 10:24 AM   #1
Travelin' Man
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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
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Old January 1, 2014, 11:51 AM   #2
Clark
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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.
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Old January 1, 2014, 11:51 AM   #3
Don P
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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.
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