reloading for the lcp

9

98 220 swift

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I have owned my lcp for over 6 years now. I have not shot it much but carry it the most. It has occurred to me that I cant hit a barn with it. So I figure I need to shoot it more. I cant stand the prices for .380 ammo so I bought some dies for it. I have been reloading for many other calibers for years. I loaded up some 100 berrys to try with 3.6gr of Power pistol. They shot well enough but was very dirty. Is there a better load? maybe some thing with a faster powder would work better? I have a fairly good supply of pistol powder. Other LCP reloaders what works best for you?
 
Most of the powder manufacturers have data listed on their web sites. I use Win 231/HP-38 in my .380 reloading, but I use 95 grain RNL bullets.
 
I have a fairly good supply of pistol powder. Other LCP reloaders what works best for you?
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Bullseye is my do-everything powder for handgun. Including .380.

Re loading for the LCP: I've done it. I have noticed that I get a high precentage of split cases, shooting handloads out of my LCP. I don't know why -- possibly a very generous chamber.

My LCP also ejects brass all over the place. Brass recovery, even in a gravel paved pistol bay, is not real good.
 
My LCP also ejects brass all over the place. Brass recovery, even in a gravel paved pistol bay, is not real good.
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Mine does the same thing. None go very far but they go every which way. I have not had problems with the split cases though. I was thinking bulleye may work well. I have some also. I used Power Pistol because It gave the highest velocity in the Hornady manual with a max load. But then again the pistol they used had a longer barrel.
 
I'm seriously considering going to a higher power recoil spring just to help the brass launching situation. I think mine are landing somewhere close to the Alabama state line.
 
I use HP-38 at the Hodgdon data max charge weight under Xtreme 100gr, copper plated flat points with a COL of 0.945 with good results. I get around 800fps with this load. The HP-38 burns clean.
 
I don't load 380, but I do load 9mm for my LC-9. It also has the short compact barrel, so a slow pistol powder like power pistol would burn dirty and be erratic with pressure, hence the spraying of empties.

My LC-9 is one darned accurate pistol. I was shooting with my son last summer over at Ft. Mc Coy army base @ the public range. There's some plate racks and a dueling tree. One of the plate racks is 6" plates, the other is 4" plates. I went through all six plates twice with only 1 miss 12 plates 13 shots with the LC-9. Those were at 15 yards. I was using Berry's plated 115 RN, 5.5 W-231. I then switched to the 4" plates, missed 2 out of 12.

I struggled to do that good with my CZ 75B, using the same load.

I would certainly go with HP-38 or the same powder in W-231, IF you could find any! Bullseye, red-dot, 700-X and nitro-100 would also be good choices.
 
"My LCP also ejects brass all over the place. Brass recovery, even in a gravel paved pistol bay, is not real good."

Same here, I call it FTFB, Failure To Find Brass. They go everywhere, like over 10 steps away.
 
CAUTION: The following post includes loading data beyond or not covered by currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.
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WW 380 brass fired in LCP with bulge at 0.270 predicted with needle and 0.275" measured with bulge.
My LCP has a tiny amount of improved case support over my Kel-tec P3AT, but in some tests they guppie belly case bulge at the same 0.1 gr increment in a work up. They are tied for worst case support in 380s.
If I put a case in the barrell and scribe a line along the feed ramp, and then measure the distance from line to case head under magnification, this gives one number, 0.270". But when headspace and case length variation are added, the bulged cases have a measurement of closer to 0.290".
They are also tied for the thinnest chamber walls in semi auto pistols along with the Kahr P380, at 0.060". Kel-tec's old is advertising that they heat treat the P32 barrels to RC48:
The P-32 has five main component groups: barrel, slide, firing mechanism, grip, and magazine. The barrel is made of SAE 4140 ordnance steel, heat treated to 48 HRC.
At RC48 we expect 230 ksi tensile strength. So this is nearly twice as strong as a CZ52 0.062" chamber wall at RC25 good for 120 ksi tensile strength.
In almost all semi auto carry loads, I would work up to case bulge, and make sure there is a more than adequate safety margin in the loads I use. But with the LCP and P3AT with Power Pistol, 90 gr Gold Dot, and Lee factory crimp at 0.97" OAL, I get a case bulge, and then back off almost no safety margin from the first tiny bulge. This gets me 1100 fps from the P3AT and LCP.
The 380 is SAAMI registered at 21,500 psi, with proof loads between 27,950 psi and 32,175 psi.
If there were a +P registered it would be ~23,650 psi.
That +P is what Quickload thinks I am doing at 1100 fps.
That is also the velocity [1100 fps] Buffalo Bore +P 90 gr JHP claims for the P3AT and LCP barrel lengths.
Some have suggested Buffalo Bore has access to some better powder.
I would suggest that the P3AT and LCP are not being proof tested with normal 380 brass cases with a 0.175" thick web. I think they are doing it with specially machined thick wall brass cases [like Starling 45acp +P brass] or with specially machined steel cases.
 
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