380 Primers

[hdwhit]

I have a thread up on the autoloaders forum asking people why I shouldn't buy a Ruger LCP which my LGS has on sale right now.

Of course, if I succumb and buy the pistol, I will, as a matter of pride, want to load for it. My other small pistol is an RG-25 (25 ACP) and the only primers that will work reliably in it are the Remington 1&1/2 size small pistol primers.

Can I expect to have a similar problem with the 380 ACP cartridge? Or can I count on the LCP to be able to fire regular CCI or Winchester small pistol primers?

 

[Dudedog]

I have a Kahr P380, (one of 2 small 380s of CAs approved list)works fine with everything I have tried. (WIN, CCI, and mostly S+B)
Shoots Rem, Federal and Fiocchi factory ammo fine so I would imagine REM, Federal and Fiocchi primers would be ok as well.

 

[Reloadron]

Any small pistol primer, correctly seated, should work in any pistol designed for it. You should not need to use a specific or less sensitive primer to satisfy any correctly functioning pistol. How does the RG 25 handle factory flavors of ammunition? Anyway, you should not anticipate any problems.

Ron

 

[hdwhit]

Reloadron wrote:
How does the RG 25 handle factory flavors of ammunition?

When it started getting hard to find .25 ACP components, I broke down and bought three boxes of Remington factory ammunition. It shoots those flawlessly. But then, being Remington ammunition it probably has Remington primers in it, so I don't draw any conclusions about how it would do with others.

 

[cfullgraf]

I load a fair amount of 380 ACP for a number of guns. I use what ever small pistol primers that I have in stock at the time but they are mostly Winchester or CCI. A few boxes Federal may have slipped in the mix here and there over the years. They all go bang.

After a stint with a 1000 Tulammo large pistol primers, I stay away from non-domestic primers and for what ever reason, Remington pistol primers aren't routinely found where I shop.

 

[FROGO207]

My mouse gun is a Jennings and the different brands of primers have never given me a problem with my 25 ACP. Having a Walther, a Davis, and a Hi Point in 380 they all work with any SPP as well. My usual 380 problems are often bent feed lips in the MAG's from dropping them when reloading for speed.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Everyone I know who loads for the .380 Auto uses any SPP they can buy. I have used both CCI and Win primers for a Sig P238 and Kel-Tec P-3AT without a problem.

 

[hdwhit]

Thanks, everyone.

After my experience with my RG, I was afraid that moving into the realm of smaller guns (the LCP is so much smaller than the 9mms) I might run into that same problem with light strikes.

 

[Cannibul]

.380 brass is a pestilence that infects 9mm brass. Better get that metal shell sorter plate.

 

[mstreddy]

I own 2 of the Ruger LCPs, the first model and the LCP II. Both of them have functioned well with a variety of small pistol primers. As have all my other 380s. I've loaded 100 gr plated from Berrys and Xtreme over Win231 or Promo at mild levels and it made the LCP pleasant to shoot at the range.
If you look for the loading for the Glock 42 threads there are some good recipes in those posts.

 

[1KPerDay]

Can I expect to have a similar problem with the 380 ACP cartridge? Or can I count on the LCP to be able to fire regular CCI or Winchester small pistol primers?

I've never had a light strike with my LCP gen 1. S&B primers, wolf primers, fiocchi, winchester, CCI, federal, all go bang.

 

[JimKirk]

HD... I shoot S&B SP, Remington 5.5, Winchester SP and CCI primers in my Ruger LCP ... Without any problem what do ever ...

Matter fact I just shoot 40 rounds of my reloads ...Zip 3.4 grs. TJC 90 grain HP bullet & S&B SP. Shot pretty good ...if I could have seen the target better for the gnats ...would have been really great...

 

[hdwhit]

JimKirk wrote:
Shot pretty good ...if I could have seen the target better for the gnats...

Where's the DDT when you need it?

Thank you. My prior experience had me a little nervous that the problem might be more widespread. I didn't want to get into a cartridge that was going to lock me into one brand of primers.

 

[hdwhit]

Cannibul wrote:
.380 brass is a pestilence that infects 9mm brass.

I had sort of gathered that. I've got five 380 cases on my bookshelf right now that were sorted out of shipments of brass I have received over the years. A few more and I would have started feeling that I couldn't leave that cute brass just sitting there to tarnish so I would need to process it. And if I process it, well, then I've got to reload it. And if I reload it, I've got to have a gun to test the reloads out in. And you know how it goes.

I figured this time I ought to get ahead of the curve.

 

[JimKirk]

HD ...When you decide to reload ... be sure to give Ramshot ZIP a try ... it meters really well and gives fairly good velocity with the T.C. Convera 90 grain JHP I've been loading lately ...

AA#5 works well also but is a tad slow for 90 grain ... would be well suited for 95/100 grain loads ... meters really well also ...

Titegroup ... to me has been the "best" as far as speed and produces loads more accurate than I can shoot ... clean also ... does not meter quite as easy as the other two I have used ... price per pound is also less than the others ...

Oh yea ... shooting in 100 degree heat with a heat index well over that ... 70% humadidity and 85% Georgia gnats ... does not make a great day to shoot ... but it beats sitting on the couch watching junk any day !!!

 

[hdwhit]

In North Texas we get gnats, flies and mosquitos, but they're not really all that bad.

When I lived in the East Arkansas rice belt, they would get mosquitos that had to register with the FAA. ;-)