Anyone reload .380 for a Browning 1903/m1907?

reddog81 · April 30, 2017, 04:30 PM

I recently won an auction for a Swedish Husqvarna m/1907. Its kind of a larger version of the Colt 1903 Hammerless. It appears to have been converted to .380 ACP from the original 9mm Browning Long.

I reload many rounds including 9mm and 38 ACP, but have never touched a .380. This gun is large and built for a higher power cartridge. From what I've read .380 can be accurate but reliability can be an issue since the magazines are designed for a longer OAL. All my 9mm bullets are 124 grain or heavier so I bought some 95 plated and 115 grain FMJ's to test. I have a bunch of range pick up brass but will buy a couple boxes of factory ammo to test also.

Anyways to get to the point - does anyone have any load suggestions for this gun? The original chambering of 9mm Browning was 1.10 OAL with a 110 grain bullet doing 1000 FPS. This is quite quite a bit hotter than regular .380 and I'm not going to try and replicate this, but I'm guessing some hot .380 loads might work well.

On a related note does anyone know how they sleeved the chamber to change it from a longer semi rimmed round to a shorter rimless round?

April 30, 2017, 04:30 PM	#1
reddog81 Senior Member Join Date: October 16, 2014 Location: Iowa Posts: 1,659	Anyone reload .380 for a Browning 1903/m1907? I recently won an auction for a Swedish Husqvarna m/1907. Its kind of a larger version of the Colt 1903 Hammerless. It appears to have been converted to .380 ACP from the original 9mm Browning Long. I reload many rounds including 9mm and 38 ACP, but have never touched a .380. This gun is large and built for a higher power cartridge. From what I've read .380 can be accurate but reliability can be an issue since the magazines are designed for a longer OAL. All my 9mm bullets are 124 grain or heavier so I bought some 95 plated and 115 grain FMJ's to test. I have a bunch of range pick up brass but will buy a couple boxes of factory ammo to test also. Anyways to get to the point - does anyone have any load suggestions for this gun? The original chambering of 9mm Browning was 1.10 OAL with a 110 grain bullet doing 1000 FPS. This is quite quite a bit hotter than regular .380 and I'm not going to try and replicate this, but I'm guessing some hot .380 loads might work well. On a related note does anyone know how they sleeved the chamber to change it from a longer semi rimmed round to a shorter rimless round? Last edited by reddog81; April 30, 2017 at 05:22 PM.