380acp – The Reloadable High Powered 22lr?

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dvw86
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Re: 380acp – The Reloadable High Powered 22lr?

Post by dvw86 »

Moon Tree wrote:I've been telling my friends that the .357 was the "new .22" for the last couple of years. Heck, I can reload plinking load for about the cost of a .22 lr's these days.
mr surveyor wrote:My Son and I spent a couple of years thinking of "the replacement" for .22lr plinkers .... and when the .22's hit their all time high price and unavailability, we realized we already had the replacement in .38 spl with bulk cast bullets (and plenty of .38 spl brass)
There's a lot of truth in what you guys are saying. As I've mentioned before, the 38/.357 has long been my "family gathering" plinking round. Many manufacturers already offer a huge selection of 38/357 guns in all different configurations as well (small pistols, large pistols, rifles, etc...). They just don't work for the ultra small "pocket pistols", although the Ruger LCR comes close.

I guess that my point wasn't so much "which is better" (38 vs 380 vs 32 vs 25, etc...). I'm sure that there are advantages to all the different cartridges. It was more the thought of these little and often discounted acp rounds taking on a whole different role if gun manufactures start making quality carbines and larger pistols for them. I just think that the 380 is the most likely candidate being the more popular round of the bunch.

As far as price goes for 380 ammo, the largest cost per round for me is the primer at about $0.03 each. The lead was free. It just took some time and being friendly with the local tire store guys. The brass is free too. I can always keep a supply just by asking friends that don't reload to save theirs for me, and by looking/asking at the local range. Powder is $0.01 to $0.02 per round. So I'm paying $0.04 to $0.05 per 380 round. Last I looked, 22lr were about $0.17 each around here and they were MUCH higher than that a while back.

Reloading does take time and equipment. To me though, that is a hobby and I find it enjoyable. My dad, brothers and now my son all reload and it makes for some good times together. It's also a good indoors hobby in the winter.

Just my thoughts and ramblings.....
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Re: 380acp – The Reloadable High Powered 22lr?

Post by Moon Tree »

dvw, the HighPoint rifle is butt ugly IMO. Although, the pink camo did break up the ugly lines of the black one. But, I'm not a fan of the "evil black guns." That's not to say that I don't support one's right to own one if they choice. I'm just more of a hunting gun guy.

Now, wouldn't it be awesome if Ruger made a 10/380 or even a 10/25, but mold manufactures would need to step up to create molds for us reloaders for the .25's.

Then state small game hunting laws would have to change. Kentucky only lists rimfire rifles and .22 handgun as being legal for small game.
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Re: 380acp – The Reloadable High Powered 22lr?

Post by dvw86 »

So I went shopping today. I saw two Browning 1911-380s and a handfull of Hi-Point carbines. Wow, the Hi-Points are super butt ugly in person, and the Brownings are super nice. Tomorrow I will buy a Browning. I just need to decide on which one. I'm going to wait on the Hi-Point though. I just can't get over how ugly they are.
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Re: 380acp – The Reloadable High Powered 22lr?

Post by dvw86 »

I went out to get the Browning 1911-380 and came home with the Browning as well as a Kel Tek Sub-2000 Gen2.

The Browning is a great sized gun. My wife has long fingers and can use it comfortably. My 13 year old son can use it just as comfortably as well. It is easy to operate all the controls, lightweight and excellent quality. This will be great for my son to reload and learn with.

I wasn't planning on the Kel Tek Sub-2000 but it was just what I was looking for in a re-loadable 22 replacement. It's almost double the cost of the Hi-Point, but it is three times the quality. It's also not near as ugly. It's only 4.25 pounds vs the Hi-Points 7 pounds and fits kids hands great. The bolt is a bit hard to charge, but the 13 year old can do it. It's only 16.25 inches long collapsed and would make a great Jeep/truck gun. I'm actually quite impressed with it. This one is in 9mm and takes Glock mags. I would have preferred 380 since I'm already set up for that, but 9mm is close. I have some 100 grain molds that work with 380 and 9mm, so I will cast a bunch of those. My dad has brass for 9mm. I'll just have to get a set of Lee dies ($40). So I guess that I wasn't able to replace the good 'ole 22 with just one caliber, but I'm pretty happy with how everything turned out.
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Re: 380acp – The Reloadable High Powered 22lr?

Post by dvw86 »

Dad came over with his new Glock 43 (Single stack 9mm). Since I had my Ruger LCP (380) with me, we tried all four in the back yard. It went very well. All the guns fired factory ammo perfectly. The reloads of "store bought" slugs all fired perfectly as well. I had a few troubles with my hand cast in the 380s. They were not sized after casting. Some of them were a tad bit too fat to go into full battery in both the Ruger and the Browning. I'm thinking that I should by the Lee 356 sizer and try again. I did notice when loading them, that I had to flare the case quite a bit. That is not the problem of any of the guns though.

The Browning was a pleasure to shoot. Recoil was mild and follow up shots were quick. There was no odd twisting to the gun from the recoil (like with the Glock). It was "milk jug accurate" at 20 yards but a tag low. I'm curious to try it at longer range with a real target to see where the actual point of impact is. The milk jugs looked like swiss cheese by the time we were done.

I was surprised at what I could hit with the Ruger at 20 yards. It took a couple shots at first, but then I was hitting the milk jug every time. I need to practice more.

The Glock was very impressive. It was the first Glock I've shot with a good trigger pull, the best I've ever seen in a Glock in fact. The thin(er) frame fit my hand well, not as good as the Browning, but good for a Glock. Accuracy was not a problem, but it did have the odd twist on recoil that most (if not all) Glocks have.

The Kel Tek was the real surprise. It was a blast to shoot. Recoil was almost non-existent. It was also very quiet with the longer barrel. The AR style sights were awesome and about 3 inches low at 20 yards. Again, I'd like to try it at 50 yards or so to see where it hits. I am also eager to chronograph this to see what those 9mms are doing out of the long barrel. This little gun may prove to be more useful than I originally thought.
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Re: 380acp – The Reloadable High Powered 22lr?

Post by GasGuzzler »

Yay Ruger LOL
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Re: 380acp – The Reloadable High Powered 22lr?

Post by akuser47 »

Yea the gen 2 sub 2000 are very popular. nice guns
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Re: 380acp – The Reloadable High Powered 22lr?

Post by mr surveyor »

I had an early Sub 2000, 9mm, Beretta grip. That little gun outshot my buddy's Marlin Camp Carbine (I think that was what he had at the time) and out shot the Beretta CX4 Storm I bought later. The day I bought the S2K (used), I found an old rectangular zippered gun bag in the used bin at the gun shop that perfectly fit the S2K when folded. That was a handy set-up. I ended up trading the S2K for a KT P32 for my wife ... that she still claims as her first personal firearm. Then I later bought the CX4. After a couple of years I totally lost interest in all the short brass loaded carbines, especially when 9mm ammo prices were no longer under 4 bucks per box, traded the CX4 for a couple of Mossberg shotguns and some cash.


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Re: 380acp – The Reloadable High Powered 22lr?

Post by Ohio3Wheels »

I suspect that Glocks and the Springfields all torque on firing because they are basically top heavy. Coupled with light for caliber and you get noticeable torque. My wife's officer sized Kimber Crimson trace has a bit of torque when fired with full house loads, but I still find it easier to shoot than the tactical Tupperware. On the other hand I badly want to try a Ruger American in 45ACP once one of the local ranges gets one in their rental fleet.

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