Glock .380 and cast Boolits??

[stanley2]

Hi all, I want to start reloading for my Glock mod 25 .380acp, and was looking for a boolit mould for it, would the Lee 356-102-1R be a good option?
I have read all I can about cast boolists and Glocks here in the forum, and I can say that with some common sense you can use CB in them.

What will you recommend for this gun? Hard or soft alloy? Sized?

Thanks a lot for your help.

[9.3X62AL]

You would be the first person I've heard of with a shooting example of the Glock 25. I saw ONE--ONCE--shown by a factory rep as an "agency only" purchase item. We didn't have a chance to shoot the example.

[stanley2]

Down here that’s the largest caliber allowed to civilians, it is the same as the 19 but blowback.

[scrapcan]

Where is down here? Just curious as to where other members are from.

[stanley2]

I am in Mexico City, Mexico.

Here she is:



With the Avantage Arms .22lr conversion

[USARO4]

I load the Lee 102 gr for Kel-Tec and a Bersa 380s. It feeds good in both pistols and is as accurate as can be expected in a 380.

[Old Ironsights]

Heck, with that AA slide you might as well use Aquila 60gr SSSs vs .380

Actually, the SSSs run great in my G27.

[9.3X62AL]

Stanley2--

Many thanks for sharing the photos. As far as I know, the G-25 remains an agency-only item in the USA due to the BATFE "import points" criteria from GCA '68--or some other administrative Federal brain belch.

I had the oppurtunity in 1999 to train some officers from a sister city agency in Mexico--San Juan De Los Lagos. One of their number (LT) knew enough English and I knew enough Spanish to enable conversation--so I got the rangemaster detail for their firearms training. I don't know how this came about, but at the time only 2 of the 20+ range guys/gals county-wide spoke ANY Spanish. That's known as a "lock" at my old job.

Some interesting info changed hands during that 2-week gig, and I had a great time. The officers were paid the equivalent of $180/month, but by virtue of the LT's law degree and 8 years' experience he made $210. Gasoline at that time was 85 cents per liter. Conditions like that speak volumes about both Mexican LEO graft and illegal immigration.

The officers' sidearms were issued at the start of shift each day, and were issued by seniority/rank--the Chief got "the Glock" (9mm), the LT had a S&W M-19 or M-586 in 357 Magnum, and the rest of the troops got 38 Specials that varied between serviceable and abysmal in condition. The station armory had 6 or 7 M-2 Carbines, and the Chief (retired Army officer) was negotiating with the Army to get some G-3 rifles (HK-91's with gearshifts and overdrive) to replace the aging Carbines. My impression was that the negotiation process was moving with the speed of a glacier.

Civilian firearms ownership wasn't widespread, and the LT told me that the largest handgun caliber allowed in his city was the 32 ACP. ANY military caliber was prohibited, rifle or handgun--shotguns were largely unrestricted--and the "trienta-trienta" (30-30 WCF) was about the only rifle caliber anyone owned that he was aware of. This confirmed almost verbatim some comments by the late Frank Barnes in his "Cartridges of the World" concerning the 30-30. His opinion was that plain old hardscrabble poverty kept most people from owning firearms, more than any government interference or regulatory run-around. To his knowledge, he and the chief were the only members of his agency that owned personal sidearms other than the issued arms used at work.

[KirbyAUS]

Stanley,
I used the Lee bullet for my Walther PP .380. Works great.
You won't need hard cast if you use Lee Alox lube with the .380.

Just found the mould in the shed the other day !

Kirby.

[9.3X62AL]

Oh, the topic. Yes. Pardon my meanderings and maunderings.

I don't currently reload the 380 ACP, but did for about 20 years. It was a pretty good cast boolit caliber, but subject to the same dimensional poetry the 9 x 19 Luger is fond of--grooves and throats can run a little wider than the nominal .355" in the "book". Castings shot as well or better than jacketed bullets in my pistols (barring one example), and I used Alliant Bullseye and WW-231 for most of the loads. I didn't cast for the 380, but found some locally-made 90 grain round-nose designs at .356" that fit my last 380 ACP (SIG-Sauer P-230). Not long after I exhausted that stock of boolits, I sold the 380 to another deputy. Other pistols that tried those boolits (1,000 of them.......) included a Walther PPK/S that did fairly well with its .356" bore, and a Beretta 84F that leaded like crazy and wasn't accurate with j-words either. It did feed reliably.

I don't recall seeing any ads for aftermarket barrels (with conventional rifling) for the G-25. Since the top end of the G-25 can be removed to allow the attachment of the AA 22 LR unit, I assume that the G-25's barrel is not fixed in the receiver like many other blowback-operated pistols.

The polygonal bore gets a lot of bad press concerning the use of cast boolits. Several posters here have reported use of the CZ-82 pistol in 9mm Makarov with cast boolits, a caliber very similar to the 380 ACP in a pistol with polygonal bore contours. Perhaps they will chime in shortly with their experiences and observations.

My own experience in reloading the Glock pistols is not extensive, but I'll share what I've come up with--anecdotal as it might be. My Glock is the Model 21 in 45 ACP. This caliber shares a similar operating pressure environment to the 380 ACP, and the 45 ACP has always been regarded as a lead-friendly caliber. My experience with the 380 ACP showed it to be every bit as lead-friendly as the 45 ACP, as long as dimensional integrity between grooves and boolit were in order.

When I started my "venture in lead" with the G-21, I slugged the bore and found its "wide area" to be .453", and its "narrow area" to be .449". I began by using boolits sized .454" in 3 different designs, and all shot VERY well with no leading whatsoever--alloy wasn't especially hard, 92/6/2--and lube was Javelina Alox/beeswax. The generous chamber in my pistol allowed flawless feeding with these wide-bodied reloads and more than the minimum .002" of case expansion at the mouth to allow safe boolit release. My next venture used the same boolit designs and same powder charges, but sized to .452"--and the results were the same--good accuracy and zero leading. So, I can't say whether the polygonal bore's maximum dimension is the proper sizing diameter--or an "average" of the wide and narrow dimensions. In my pistol, both worked as well as the other.

My thoughts on your G-25 are that it has better sights and more substantial grip than most 380's, and offers the potential to extract as much accuracy from the cartridge as can be had.

[stanley2]

Thanks all for the great info.

Al here is a pic of the g25 disassembled, it is like any other Glock.


And a pic of the barrel.


And the slide


I have at hand alloy with 1% tin, 3% Ant, 96% lead I’ll try with it and post the results.

As soon as I get my hands on some Lino will make some 50% / 50% with lead to make some 2-6-92

[stanley2]

Heck, with that AA slide you might as well use Aquila 60gr SSSs vs .380

Actually, the SSSs run great in my G27.

The SSS are hard to come by, even thou they are manufactured some 40 miles from where I live!!! Go figure.

Do you think the will be able to cycle the slide?

[Old Ironsights]

The SSS cycle the slide of my G27/Advantage Arms just fine. Better than any other brand of subsonic. It's my preferred load in the Glock.

[9.3X62AL]

Stanley2--

Most welcome, sir.

Looking at that recoil lug on the barrel, I am inclined to think the piece is recoil-operated. Colt's "Government Model" 380 variants from the 1980's were recoil operated, complete with toggle link and pin just like a 1911A1. Except for their MISERABLE ejector (DON'T let it flip forward), they were decent little pistols.

[stanley2]

Hi again, I got my mould from lee, and all ready have close to 700 cast boolits, but again need help with recipes for reloading with Bullseye, in the 3 books I have there are non for 102gr lead with bullseye.

Thanks

[trickyasafox]

seeing as how this thread is back - and unfortunately of no help to stanley - why can't we get g25s here now that they make frames in smyrna ga?

[BigSlick]

That's a good question.

Another good question is why we can't find a .380 conversion barrel for a G19 or G23

A G27 with a .380 conversion would be a nice little range/carry combo.
________
Zx14 Vs Hayabusa

[stanley2]

Trust me this post has been of great help!!

[Adam10mm]

Don't think there is the demand for it. The .380 Glocks are the same size as the 9mm Glocks, so there isn't any apparent bonus of a .380 Glock. Would be neat, but that is about it. When you compare the [demand] market for the .380 guns, they are far less than even 10mm or 357 SIG. Not profitable from Glock's POV.