Bersa T 380 and Cast Bullets

L

lasvegastransplant

New member
First off I'm new here and looking forward to learning and maybe helping someone some day myself. Hello..

I'm getting into reloading and just purchased a used(like new) Lee 3 hole turret. Since 380 is so expensive I was wondering if I could shoot lead not FMJ through the Bersa. I(Wife mostly) would like to shoot minimum of 100-200 rounds a month. That's like $66 for 2 x100 boxes here where I live. More than I'd like to spend. I want to save as much $ as possible. Anyone shoot cast bullets through your 380? What grain round or flat tip?

Anyone here cast them? I would buy them by the 1000 if they worked through the Bersa. I don't mind cleaning out all the junk. Would lead bullets present a problem with only 200 rounds? Many questions.

And could hs6 be used in a 380 load? Have some for used for 9mm and wondering if possible. Everything I read so far looks like a NO. Thanks for reading. :D
 
Welcome to the forum. I load and shoot my cast bullets in my 380's with good results. My friend with a Bersa has shot some and they worked fine for him. The bullet I use is 109 gr truncated cone design and will hit 800 to 1000 fps depending upon the load. I use 231 and Bluedot. Never tried HS6 but it should work with careful load development, just not the best. 231 (HP38) is the best for general use in my experience, but I've not tried all the posibilities. There are lots of CB's for the 380 available from commercial casters.
 
My Bersa Thunder .380 will eat cast all day long, very little (if any) leading. I load them over titegroup, so can't answer your question about powder. Before i cast, I used the 95 gr, .356 bullets from a local company. They do ship.

Moyer's Cast Bullets

Also, great folks, who are very nice to work with.
 
I've used cast bullets in my "Pre-Thunder" Bersa 380

They work fine, but they are dirtier.

Since they need lube, the lube burns up and creates a lot more smoke when shooting.

This means more fouling.

Sometimes, it takes me a while to clean all the lead out too.

So I just shop a little more to find a good price on plated bullets (not jacketed) instead of saving that last few cents on cast & lubed.
 
My Keltec .380 eats 95 grain round-nosed cast bullet like candy. I've also bought a big box of 100 grain plated bullets and a hundred 102 grain Golden Saber JHP's but haven't tried either yet.
 
Where can I find a 6 cavity 380 auto mold?

I need to find a 6 cavity mold 90-100 grain max. I can't find one anywhere 100gr or less with 6 and 356 diameter. I looked plenty of times with no luck. Any info guys? Thanks :D
 
The Lee one is the closest that I've seen. Thats the one I'm thinking of buying.

Tho I've seriously looked at the 100gr Ranch Dog mold. Flat nose, 6 cavity, but it has tumble lube grooves and I dont know if I can use normal lube and lube sizer.

My 125 Lyman cone nose bullets work good enough, but I'm going to try a lighter bullet and see if I can tighten the group a little.
 
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I have loaded and shot 95gr lead bullets in my Beretta and in my brother-in-laws Colt. No problem. The last ones I got from Dillon.

Try Berry's, the price for their plated bullets will almost be the same as what you said the lead ones are.
 
Finally going to reload 380 and have a question about POWDERS

I'm going to use 100gr RN lead I see that I can use accurate #'s 2 and 5. I called Bass Pro Shop here and they didn't have any.

My question is can I use unique? I have a pound of it. If so, how many grains is a good starting point and max? Have you ever loaded 380 with unique? Thanks.
 
Unique is what I use for full-power .380's; 4.2 grains with 95 grains cast bullets. It is a top performing powder according to QuickLoad. Drop that back to about 4.0 with 100 grain bullets.
 
Thank You

I'm reading this accurate handbook and it says that unique is comparative to #5. The data I see for accurate #5 is 4.1 to 4.5. Is that bad? I think I'm going to go with 4 grains of UNIQUE and see if it cycles. I want to keep reloading as cheap as possible. So if it will cycle, thats perfect.

When accurate says unique is camparative to #5 does that mean the load data is the same straight across? I will start at 4 and work up but do you think 4.5 is TOO much ??? :eek:

Thanks for your expertise. Take care
 
I'm reading this accurate handbook and it says that unique is comparative to #5. The data I see for accurate #5 is 4.1 to 4.5. Is that bad? I think I'm going to go with 4 grains of UNIQUE and see if it cycles. I want to keep reloading as cheap as possible. So if it will cycle, thats perfect.

When accurate says unique is camparative to #5 does that mean the load data is the same straight across? I will start at 4 and work up but do you think 4.5 is TOO much ???
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They are not the same; they just have similar uses and charge weights. I think 4.5 grains of Unique is way too much. That doesn't mean it will blow your gun up.

Try 3.5 and see if it cycles. Go up from there. Stop at 4.0, unless you find a load you really like before you get there.
 
I did A LOT of reading...

I have come to the conclusion that I should start at 3.5. I'm not looking for a hot round anyways. However I did read one thread that claimed to start at 2.7 to 3.5 max with unique...??? I'm going to try one or two at 2.7 and see what happens(it wont get stuck will it?).. :eek:

BOB I do agree that 3.5 is a good starting point.

I am also having issues with the LEE auto disc. I throws inconsistent. Do I have to load the powder by hand with unique since it's kind of a large(not ball) powder? WAY OFF WITH THE AUTO DISC in weight.

Plus I got a used RCBS 5-10 scale and I can't tell if it is calibrated. I have looked for calibration weights but they are all HUGE. I want to calibrate it with something tiny not 100grams or more. Where can I find small weights in grains(if they make them). I tried the PENNY thing and it was pretty darn close. Is a penny good enough to calibrate it so I can weigh 3.5 grains? I know I ask a lot of questions but I have to. I shoot with the family cannot make a mistake. :) Thanks for reading
 
I use a dime to check my scales. It weighs exactly 35 grains. (a nickel weighs 5 grams) I wrote "35" with a Sharpie on the dime and keep it on my reloading bench so I always use the same one.
 
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