.380 124 grn cast lead bullet loads with Unique?

[JDSTG58]

Hi All
I'm looking to load .380 bullets with 124grn cast lead and unique. Anyone have load data to start me off? The bullets will be from a Lee Mold if that matters. thanks

[WiskyT]

There is something close to that in my Lyman cast bullet handbook. I'll look it up later for you. If I forget, bump the thread. I loaded a handful to shoot through my buddies P3AT at the starting charge and they worked. I didn't clock them or shoot for accuracy. They didn't show any signs of problems for whatever that is worth.

[norton]

The only lee cast bullet I see- 380- in the Lyman cast bullet manual weighs 102 grains.
Lyman cast 356242 mold weighs 120 grains.
It shows Uniqe starting at 2.2 grains.

[JDSTG58]

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[PCJim]

I don't cast so I know nothing about your mold. It might just be the maker stretching the advertising.

I don't think anything heavier than a 100gr bullet in the 380 is going to give good, reliable results.

[WiskyT]

I can confirm Norton's 2.2 start charge. They list a max of 2.8 so with that broad of a range, you should be more than safe with the 2.2. Lyman shows a RN bullet similar to the Lee, but not the same of course. That's why you start low and work up as always. Personally, I would try a few at 2.0. My personal goal would be to make a load that shoots straight, cycles the gun reliably, and doesn't batter the gun. If a light load runs the gun, I would go with that. It's not like you'd need a round for Kodiak bear defense, so the 2.8 seems a little unnecessary. Although, a 12x grain bullet at 7xxfps wouldn't be a bad penetrator for self defense.

[JDSTG58]

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[sourdough44]

You may find a workable load, though it seems on the heavy side for a 380. I top out at 100 grns with the 380, even they are a little slow.

[WiskyT]

Great. I tend to load light, like you said I just want it to cycle and be fairly accurate. I want to make cheap practice ammo that wont beat the hell out of anything.

Yup. That's what I wanted for my wife's P32. I found data for 32 ACP from C.E. Ed Harris for cast bullet 32ACP loads and got the Lee 93 grain RN mold. I use a little less Bullseye than he recommended and it cycles the P32 perfectly and hits the target at 15 yards no problem. It doesn't pummel the gun from what I can tell, the recoil is a tiny bit lighter than factory 32ACP ammo, and I have ball ammo for about $2.00 a box or so.