Most of my limited firearms experience is with a 9mm. My wife is getting ready to get herself a .380 semi for self-defense purposes. Just curious what weight ammo people prefer for this caliber handgun.

If she is set on a .380, find what functions 100%; if it is an expanding round so much the better. Best option is to let her try a compact 9 mm, much more decisive round. Hope this is helpful.

__________________
Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Here we go again, there will be another debate on hollow point vs fmj in the 380 acp.

90gr is mostly standard but as Alan says it's what is most reliable in the gun.

I carry the 90 grain Federal Hydra Shock Load in My Ruger LCP

I like Winchester white box 95 grain FMJ flat nose.

Very small .380's can be troublesome w/some ammo. Try a variety of hollow point and FMJ ammo and use what works 100% of the time in the gun, regardless of the bullet design. Anything less than 100% reliability is unacceptable in a self defense firearm.

__________________
Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

Ammo for the 380 generally tend to be 90gr for hollow points and 95gr for FMJ. The consensus is that hollow points often fail to expand and don't penetrate deep enough (with exceptions). FMJ also doesn't expand but is said to give better penetration.

Recommended 380 loads include offerings from Buffalo Bore, Corbon and Federal.
Since heavier bullets tend to penetrate better, I have experimented with heavier bullets and find 115 XTP to be too slow and didn't expand but a 95gr Jacketed Soft Point from Magtech is interesting as well as a 100gr FMJ and 102gr JHP Golden Sabres.

I just play with the 380 now since I got a 9mm in the same size package.

LAPD recently approved the LCP for BUG and off-duty but ONLY with the Hornady Critical Defense. I carry it and have never had a problem. Go through a mag at every range session and it's been completely reliable.

I use 95-grain ball. In the couple dozen .380 killing cases I've worked on, it's never failed to adequately penetrate (and only overpenetrated - if going through a leg counts - once). I have worked on three shooting cases in which .380 JHPs failed to penetrate enough to obtain the desired results.

__________________
Now go make God proud...

With a 380 it's less important what ammo you use than to be able to get good hits on target. I use whatever .380 JHP I can find and I also use FMJs. Babyface Nelson was hit 7 times in the torso with 45acp fired from a Thompson sub-machine gun and 11 times with 00 buck shot (in the legs) He still managed to engage 2 FBI agents, kill them and get in the get-away car and drive away, where he died from blood loss. It just proves no handgun is a sure stopper.
Don't frett too much on ammo. Any good quality ammo with do. I do trust a .380 acp with my life. I carry a DB380 or a Sig P-238 as a BUG.

I prefer 95 gr ball ammo in my 380s. Reliable function and good
penetration are what count the most. Remington and Federal yield
the most velocity in my guns among the common domestic brands.

My Kel-Tec is loaded with Buffalo Bore 100 gr. hard cast. They feed and extract fine and group very well, but I doubt your wife would like to shoot them. They recoil like crazy. Way more recoil than run of the mill factory 380, and a lot more expensive too.

__________________
Big Fred

Game.

Set.

Match.

Thanks for everyone's feedback.

My wife is picking up her Walther PK380 this weekend - she chose this one b/c she's able to rack the slide and pull the trigger w/o any problems (as opposed to some other pistols we looked at where she couldn't rack it or the gun had too many lbs in the trigger [& the 9mms just have too much kick for her]).

If anyone has any other thoughts for SD ammo for this particular firearm, I'm all ears. Thanks again to all from me & the mrs..

What Pete said..i use the Winchester white box flat point, as long as it feeds reliably, it has good bullet design, adequate penetration (for the most part) and it wont break the bank, you can get alot of practice with it.

Here we go again! It's amazing this happens every time! The OP asked a specific question, he asked, "Just curious what weight ammo people prefer for this caliber handgun." WHAT WEIGHT... But Noooo, not in this forum. Everyone turns the thread into a discussion on JHP vs FMJ and .380 Auto vs 9mm and so on. I can't understand why everyone can't just answer the question instead of changing the thread into something the OP didn't ask about???

Go ahead, flame away, I don't care!

__________________
Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Archangel, I know you are well versed on many subjects and we agree that too often a thread wanders off course without addressing or ignoring the original question.
As you might agree, sometimes the answer is so obvious one may wonder why the question was asked in the first place. Other times the question raises other questions and needs qualifiers to answer it and this is where many threads start to wander.

To respond to your statement... ( No flame intended)

The question of 380 preferred weight can be easily deduced by most people by looking at the offerings available on your LGS shelf and thus no question would be needed. Most manufacturers offer only 90 & 95 grain (with a couple 88, 100) so it would seem most users would prefer one of those two weights. Take your pick. End of story.

However, Since I don't see many 90 FMJ nor 95 JHP offered, the design of the bullet must have something to do with the selection... I might then wonder which is better and why? Also the question of which is preferred opens up the question to include 'why'. Ah, now there is an opportunity for subjective discussion and while we're at it lets consider some of the odd ball specialty offerings. Maybe, with more information a conclusion can be formed. Thus the roll downhill to the FMJ vs JHP debate.

Like many, I have had to consider that question. Expansion vs penetration, light & fast or slow & heavy etc. (and we all are assuming on having good shot placement when it really counts). That is why I offered the suggestion of a 95JSP (same weight as common 95FMJ but potentially better expansion), a 100FMJ (more is better, right?) and the 102 GS (heavy & JHP- whats not to like?).

alas, we will never escape the commercials, our only salvation is the off switch.

good shooting
125