.380 bullets for 9mm ?

[So IN Dude]

I have been loading 9mm with 115 gr plated bullets. I am about to run out of the 115 gr, and have just purchased a .380 firearm. I am thinking about getting .380 bullets in 100 gr so I could load for both 9mm and .380.
Has anyone loaded a .380 bullet in a 9mm? I would thing the bullet profile might be a little different in 9mm and .380, but I could be wrong.

Any help would be appriciated. Thanks.

 

[Disposable Heart]

Yes, there is also some load data for the lighter weight bullets. Beware though, the OAL is different (much shorter) and may have feeding issues in finicky guns. The nose profile is stubbier, so may have issues there.

I have horsed around with heavy doses of Vihtavouri 3n37 and 90gr flat points. Chronoed them at about 1500 FPS from a 4" G19 barrel, little flashy, minimal recoil!!! Lighter recoil than WWB 115gr FMJ. Lots of fun!

 

[rimfire_crazed]

I've seen 90 grainers loaded into .357 sig cases shooting chrono'd loads of 1650fps. The data is out there - it's all about getting the oal right to feed properly in your particular gun.

 

[So IN Dude]

Awesome! This sounds like it might be fun. I was thinking that a good starting point would be to figure out the seating depth on the cartridges and adjust from there if feeding issues arise.

 

[Joe Williams]

I've done it before, with no problems.

 

[XtremeVel]

Vihtavouri 3n37 and 90gr flat points. Chronoed them at about 1500 FPS from a 4" G19 barrel, little flashy, minimal recoil!!! Lighter recoil than WWB 115gr FMJ. Lots of fun!

I've seen 90 grainers loaded into .357 sig cases shooting chrono'd loads of 1650fps. The data is out there - it's all about getting the oal right to feed properly in your particular gun.

I've done it before, with no problems.

Is this with plated bullets or jacketed ? Or, does it matter ? I ask because most of the times I search for plated data, they refer to loading as if lead....

 

[Joe Williams]

Is this with plated bullets or jacketed ? Or, does it matter ? I ask because most of the times I search for plated data, they refer to loading as if lead....

I do use cast bullet data for plated bullets.

 

[XtremeVel]

I do use cast bullet data for plated bullets.

Thanks Joe ! I also, use lead data for the plated.

I was just asking because if there was a plated bullet out there that could be ran to the velocities as the examples above, I wanted to find out who made it. I asked because I currently use Hornady 124 gr fmj-fp when loading the .357 sig full power. I also use Berry's plated 122 gr fp for downloaded 9mm's that is identical in shape and would match up great with the short bottleneck of the .357. There would be a huge cost savings if the Berrys would hold up. Only thing I see different between the (2) are the Berry's tend to mic about .001 larger than the jacketed.

 

[jimbo-indy]

Note of Caution:
Plated bullets can loose their plating at high velocities. I once tried loading some Rainier plated bullets in hot 357 Maximum loads. BIG MISTAKE! I would up with copper plating in the forcing cone and barrel and even some of the copper coming out of the cylinder gap. Turned out to be a total pain to clean up. I understand you are talking about using a semi-auto but the problem still exists. There is a reason why manufacturers of plated bullets recommend lower velocities. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Litlratt]

I use 100 grain S&S cast bullets in 9mm for Steel Challenge.
Sized at .356, 7.7 of #7 cycles an STI Steelmaster. No leading at that velocity, powder is filthy though.

 

[Disposable Heart]

I was using jacketed. Plated experiments in my stupider times caused LOTS of issues, keyholing, hours as opposed to a few minutes of barrel cleaning, etc...

 

[downzero]

I use 100 grain S&S cast bullets in 9mm for Steel Challenge.
Sized at .356, 7.7 of #7 cycles an STI Steelmaster. No leading at that velocity, powder is filthy though.

Does your comp fill with lead?

 

[Litlratt]

Does your comp fill with lead?

Not enough that I've needed to clean it.
Somewhere between 8k and 10k through it.

 

[So IN Dude]

I will be staying below plated bullet velocities, I just was not sure if I was wasting my time trying to load a .380 profile bullet into a 9mm, Great info here. If I do work up into higher velocities I will be sure to use jacketed bullets. Thanks all.

 

[Aszerigan]

Yep, they work. Just make sure you use the correct load data. What are you shooting them through?