What's a good .380 load for the M11?

[skoda]

I'm near the bottom of my Wolf .380 and it doesn't look like ammo from Russia will be available for a long time so I bought some brass and dies to load my own.

Do you have any suggestions on bullets and powder charges that will run well in an M11? I'm not looking for anything fancy, just something that runs well without a lot of drama. I often do run it with a suppressor so a 'low noise' load would be interesting as well.

 

[ktk120]

I have several random loads I have worked up just using up old powders that I have acquired. I usually load most of my mg loads at near max published loads. so .1 grain under. I have used ZIP and CFE Pistol so far.

 

[strobro32]

I cast and powder coat my own Lee ranch dog bullets. They don't feed well with all my 380 uppers.

3.1-.2 of W231.

I really like the Hoosier 380 RN Hi Tek coated too when I buy the bullets. They work well on all the uppers.

Bullets - .380 Caliber - Hoosier Bullets and Training

hoosierbullets.com

 

[skoda]

Thanks. So KTK120 you run hot loads and Strobro32 you use light loads. Any reasons for your choices?

I'm mostly just looking for function of the gun and bullet splashes in the sand. Not ballooning my cases would be really nice.

 

[ktk120]

With the MAC you can get away with lighter loads because the stroke is so short. With uzi for example it just runs more reliably with hotter ammo. If you have time you can start low and work up to what is reliable in your gun. If you want to just load what you know works across the board the higher end of the range is more for sure. Its also a mac so regardless of the load the rate of fire leads to cases bulging more than with other guns. If its only running in the MAC it doesn't matter it sizes good enough or you can do the Lee FCD to put them back at your last stage.

also keep in mind the bottom and top of most pistol powders is .5-.6 gr range so not much is really changing

 

[Gaffshot]

Start low and work up, all within the recommended and published load. Too much investment to risk starting at a hot load which may or may not be what you are actually producing. What if your scale is off by .3 grain? What if your seating depth is different than published load? What if your chamber is not perfect? What if your dies migrate after you set them. Too many variables to start at or near max for me.

 

[strobro32]

I found that running hotter loads on the M11A1 started to effect the safety and trip reliability. I also really want my receiver to last.

 

[ktk120]

I was having the trip issue with all load ranges so I ended up taking it out. Just found slightly higher reliability off the magazine in the middle to upper range of loads but as others said start low. My mac10 45 loads are on the low end and work great

 

[Slowmo]

If Hodgdon's data is correct, the 95gr data for Acme coated cast bullets is considerably faster (maybe 100-150fps) than their 95gr FMJ data. That should mean that with that Acme bullet (or equivalent) you could achieve the same external ballistics to a "max" 95gr FMJ load with a mid-level load. That approach could provide a small safety cushion and possibly less wear on brass due to the lower pressure.

 

[ktk120]

compared to min and max loads with other calibers the 380 ranges are so small top to bottom I really dont think you see much difference in brass wear but like strob I did see hotter loads pop the trip up sometimes very frequently

***I have only used 100gr bullets as well so no experience with lighter