Berry's .380 and 9mm

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

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kmw1954, yes did see the sale for Berrys at Cabelas. Thanks. I did get a box, planning on making another trip.
 
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.
 
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-content/uploads/2010/12/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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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