Berry's .380 and 9mm

[ninosdemente]

Very helpful advice.

Hammerhead, thanks for the info.

Briandg, I know what you mean. I kind of told one person about my Bodyguard misfiring when that person was interested in getting one. Of course I told him which ammo manufacturer it was (Herters, cough, cough). Did the same thing as the other guy did at the store. Guilty.

Reason why I asked about Berry's is this would be my first time reloading .380 and 9mm. Really appreciate the help.

[BigJimP]

Nothing wrong with Berry's bullets -- they make a good product.

If you want to go to a true jacketed bullet, I suggest Montana Gold over Hornaday.

[kmw1954]

ninosdemente if you are just starting out reloading then starting with plated isn't a bad way to go. Now also if this is true then I might suggest a different powder. Not that there is anything wrong with 231 or hp-38 which are the same powder because there is not. I would suggest looking at either Accurate or Ramshot powder because if you go to their website you will find the largest listing of plated load data of all the powder makers. It just takes some of the guess work out of loading.

Save you Winchester powder because it is great stuff. From my personal experience Ramshot silhouette has worked very well in both the 9mm and the 380 using both Berry's and X-TREME plated bullets. I have also been using HP-38/Winchester 231and will keep using it in 9mm but my 380 doesn't like it.

Best o luck!

[briandg]

that just cracks me up, nino, I have a body guard and it stinks like sweaty gonads, and I have been known to pass that information on. It misfires on cci primers, misfeeds on hornady, and bounces off of my goggles every fifth shot. How can any pisto throw brass every direction, even straight forward!?

[pete2]

Berrys bullets are fine, I've used them in 9MM and .45 ACP. As a note, I've used plated bullets in 9 MM from several companies,Berrys, Extreme, Ranier, RMR, The Bullet Works, all work just fine. Some were .355 and some .356, all work fine. Fired in an LC9, Beretta 92FS and a Citadel 9 MM 1911 gun. I also fired a thousand rounds of cast 124 from Dardas, they shoot as well as the plated bullets but I can't tell if they shot any better. I'll run another 1000 someday. Anyway, the cast shot well in the Beretta and the Citadel, got some lead in the LC9.

[ninosdemente]

Did get a chance to purchase Berry's .380 this past weekend. They were on sale. I think I should have bought the 9mm as well.

kmw1954, the last couple of visits I have gone to Cabelas, I have not seen any Accurate. I will look at Ramshot. Maybe I might just have to go Bass Pro and see what they have. No powders at local gun store.

briandg, funny my bodyguard does the same as well when it ejects the brass. Every time I try and collect brass, you would think they would all land in the same area and easy for me to pick up. But nooo, they are scattered in different directions. Even to pick up brass is a hassle, lol. Damn you S&W and your sales!

[kmw1954]

ninosdemente, good for you I don't believe you'll be disappointed.

I have just loaded some AA#5 in the 380 but haven't shot it yet. As I've said I have used Ramshot Silhouette in the 380 and a 100gr bullet and it has worked very well. I also like it for shooting indoors as it is one of their advertising points and I have noticed a huge difference in the air quality using it while at indoor ranges.

After you load some up and get to shoot them report back with your impressions.

[AxlMyk]

I also use Accurate #5 in my .380-100 and 9mm-124 loads. 4.5g and 5.5g respectively. After 15k rounds of Berry's plated, I'm staying with them. No need to change.

[ninosdemente]

For the Ramshot is it the Silhouette or True Blue?

Then this is the one for the Accurate https://media.midwayusa.com/producti...763/763581.jpg right?

[kmw1954]

I'm using Ramshot Silhouette, should be able to find it at Cabela's, it's where I got mine.

Yes that is the Accurate #5. May want to look at Accurate #2 also and compare those to the Ramshot and Winchester 231. Then decide if you would like to try a faster or slower powder. Here are the websites for both powders.

http://www.accuratepowder.com/load-data/
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/

[ninosdemente]

Thanks for those links kmw1954.

[briandg]

Nino, that does not surprise me. It's easy to see where some of the problems lie.

It's really hard sometimes to keep focused when a casing has just bounced off of your nose or goggles. When I fired it a few weeks ago I shot fifty rounds of Sig, nickel plated. I wanted the stuff back so I could examine it. As I wandered around in the sand looking, I picked up everything in the way. I brought an enormous pouch full home, including over 100 .380 that weren't mine. I believe that I only found twenty of my Sig.

I am afraid that you are being led astray, I don't think that five is a good fit for that usage. I tried it and it was terrible. At thirty feet, the paper targets were sprayed with soot and unburned powder. The load didn't generate enough power to completely ignite the charge. Maybe it was only me.

[kmw1954]

In case you are curious Cabela's just put Berry's bullets on a big sale, up to 25% off.

[David R]

Fired off a hundred or so Berrys out of a Sig P238 and Kimber Micro. One box of 250 had a hollow base and one did not. I could not tell the difference.

I also had another box of 50 90 grain lead round nose.

Some were powered with max load of WW 231 and some with a max load of Unique.

both shot excellent. The unique loads were definitely faster. She said "these have more recoil" The girlfriend has the Kimber with Laser sight.

I have fired them in the past out of my LCP. The P238 is an upgrade.

I set OAL by doing the plunk test. Both the sig and Kimber barrels had similar chambers. LCP chamber was bigger.

There were no malfunctions of any kind with the berrys. Winchester factory flat nose would trip the slide stop on my P238 and would not feed in the Kimber. They ran fine in my LCP.

The reloads made the factory stuff look anemic.

I don't know why you would not use the smooth metering WW 231. Its great stuff.

David

[kmw1954]

David about all I load is Berry's accept for the 380 which are 100gr XTREME.

The HP-38 and the Winchester 231 are the same powder and I like the HP-38 in my 9mm just because it does meter very well and consistently. It also is a faster powder and uses an economical charge. I'm loading 124gr bullets at about 4.0gr of powder and the 115gr bullets with about 4.5gr..

Also loading these with Ramshot Silhouette which I'm starting to like just as much especially when shooting indoors. This is a slower powder and uses a bit more powder but the velocities are also higher. Also finding that this stuff measures out even more consistently than the HP-38. I's been almost spot on.

Just recently picked up some Accurate #5 and have some loaded but as yet haven't fired any.

Oh yeah BTW my 380 doesn't like anything I've loaded using the HP-38 powder for some unknown reason.

[ninosdemente]

briandg, what would you recommend or what has worked for you.

~

kmw1954, yes did see the sale for Berrys at Cabelas. Thanks. I did get a box, planning on making another trip.

[kmw1954]

If it wasn't for the Holidays and the fact I'm going into the hospital on Monday for surgery I'd be placing a $300.00 order today.

[briandg]

nino, with the abject splatting failure of #5 I went straight to a fast powder as is usually recommended. I used Accurate #2 #2 is bulky, and that allows for more consistent measuring. it also allows you to more easily see any mischarges. a double with #2 is usually so large that it won't even fit the cartridge and will spill out.

I started out with #5 because of the failure to cycle rounds that I was getting, I wanted a slower, heavier charge that would add extra push without increasing pressure. It would have worked much better if the charge had burned properly and I had an extra inch of barrel, and if I had maxed the charges.

There really isn't any reason to use a slower powder like accurate 5 or hs6, any of the medium rate powders, there is nothing to gain in a short barreled micro pistol, your velocity or energy won't be increased significantly. It is really recommended by the majority of people, in my readings, that faster powders such as bullseye, #2, 231 win or hodgdon hp38or the various quick to moderately quick burning powders be used.

#2 was my choice because I already had it, it works well. Anything that you have that is in this range is quite a reasonable thing to try. Here is a chart from accurate powder company that lists a few brands in a chart that you can look at.

http://www.accuratepowder.com/wp-con...burn_rates.pdf

Seriously, I'm not trying to shill for accurate, but it works well in everything I load to create moderate power target type loads in small things like 9 mm and .38 special, and it can be used in bigger cartridges as well.

If you have none of the recommended ones look at this chart and buy something between the #2 spot and bullseye, I guess that I would recommend 231/hp38 as the best choice.

[kmw1954]

Briandg,
I can agree with what you are stating even though I haven't tried the #5 yet. I will most likely be able to use it as I will be firing it from a 4" barrel 380 instead if say a 2.5"barrel. That should give it more time to burn off. The HP-38 would burn completely clean in this gun it just wouldn't group well.

I picked up the #5 basically to use in the 9mm but since I had it I had to try it in the 380 as well. Then the next on my list to try was going to be the #2 as the Titegroup powder worries me as it is not very forgiving to pressures.

[briandg]

In a four inch barrel, loaded to near maximum, behind the 100 grain bullet, since these three conditions will help the powder to burn as efficiently as it possibly can, I don't think that it will perform poorly for you. It may or may not give best performance compared to a quicker powder, that is probably going to depend on each individual gun and load.

#5 works very well in .38, I think it worked well in my 9mm. Hs6, a close cousin of 5, created butt kicking 9 mm loads.

It's just hard to say. A heavier bullet creating more backpressure, a larger charge in a larger case, that may be what it takes to make that powder work, making the 9 a suitable application for it. Can the .380 work? Well, sure, it's going to fire and work well, as well as some other powders, but maybe not up to your personal standards. Good luck.

If I didn't mention it before, as I fired testing rounds from my lcp, I kept finding smeared black spots on my targets, all the way out to 25-30 feet. I thought that it was the lead bullets peeling off, but later, I looked them over carefully with my magnified reading glasses, and actually found grains of unburned powder punched into the paper. That was a real surprise. I wish that I had kept the targets.

I'm very interested in your results. When I tried this, I was really hoping that it would work, as it would hopefully give a stronger push on the slide, improving functioning. It sounded like a good idea, and since I already had the powder I gave it a shot. I've always been partial to accurate products.

[kmw1954]

nenosdemente don't mean to hijack your thread so to both you and briandg I will post up some results and impressions of how the #5 worked for me in both the 9mm and the 4" 380acp that I have. Right now I have 2 loads for each to test though I'm not sure when I will be able to get to them as come Monday I'll be off my feet for a while. Will probably start a new thread so watch for it if interested.

[jamaica]

I bought a 380 as a concealed carry gun. You can put it in a pocket. I shot it a bit to see that it worked. It was no fun to shoot. I don't suspect I will be shooting it much. Maybe once a year, then a cleaning just to make sure it still works. I did buy reloading dies, but see no use to reload for it if I am not shooting it. Its purpose is to have a concealed firearm for self protection if needed. If it ever was needed I reckon the threat would be very close at hand, or it would not be much of a threat, so just point and pull the trigger.

About Berry's bullets, I have used them with good success.