If you own a 380 pistol you may want to try a box of.......

Precision One 90gr if you can find it. It, along with Hornady
XTP Custom came out on top in a recent gel/4G test with.....

are you ready for this..................?

Four denim Gel test penetration at 13.5" with full expansion
and no bullet failures or over penetration from not opening up.

The 102gr Remington ...Bombed.

I don't know of anyone who walks around with 4 layers of 14oz denim across their chest.

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SWCA #3437

Well said...

If any of you are happy with just a plain Gel test..........
good for you.


Knowing what your ammo will do under certain conditions is a good thing.........

Most BG's will not stop and disrobe , so you can shoot them
without a shirt on.

The 4 layer test is the best single predictor of actual performance in shootings. It simulates other types of clothing, obviously, since as noted no one is likely to be dressed in 4 layers of denim.

My recollection is that the Hornady load is the only .380 approved by LAPD; I know they only allowed 380s recently and only because of the one load that works. Mike Grasso?

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NHI, 10-8.

Agreed. I also would not worry about over penetration in a 380 bullet that didn't expand. Personally, I wouldn't trust any HP in that caliber to penetrate enough.

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The test that I saw had around fourteen boxes of ammo tested
from the type that shatter, fmj and jhp bullets.
Most passed the plain gel test, except for a few that only penetrated 8" and some that went past 18".
He had his spec's set at 12 to 18"

The quality "Gold Dot" had a hard time passing... one of the ten bullets failed to pass both the gel and 4G test... surprised me!

One thing of interest was that three of the five or six boxes that were in the finals all had the Hornady FTX bullet loaded in them.
Even though some of the copper pedals broke off they still did their job and did very well in all the test. The make up of this bullet works in this small caliber at the fps delivered by the ammo company's.

This guy was really hard on the ammo..........he might give one bullet a 1/2" break but he wanted perfect results most of the time.
I would have given the Gold Dot a passing grade, myself.
later.

I watched all these tests. They were all tested in bare gel and with 4 layers of 16oz denim. He used a 3 inch barell for testing.
Five shots in each medium, 12 to 15 different brands in both 9mm and 380.
Was very interesting. Changed my carry load in my light weight Sig P232 back-up. I'm not easy to convience.
Go to you tube and search ' ammo quest ' if you would like to watch.
He gives a summary of all rounds used in his last vid.
Hope this helps someone!
Stay safe,
Jim
Gentlemen.......It was the XTP....NOT....the FTX bullet that passed, and was on 3 or 4 of the winning loads. The ftx was in the first group eliminated. They did worse than FMJ's. Hope that helps.

They approved ONLY Hornady Critical Defense, and for use in ONLY the S&W Bodyguard...as a BUG. Special order of bodyguards w/o the safety were made for LAPD.
I've heard that some are now allowed to carry the LCP.

And make sure you test the ammo in your particular gun. HPR won't cycle my G42, but worked fine in my LCP.
The G42 worked fine with the Precision One.

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Watch & Pray

Would one of you gents please provide a link to these "tests"? I'm interested in seeing them, especially since this is a "game changer" for the humble .380 ACP if the FTX does, in fact, consistently perform as described.

I'm open minded to "new" ammo and I like to try 'em out. If they feed reliable and if the gun is still manageable, then heck yes.

Ammo has come a long way, especially the .380ACP.

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Jorge

Ammo Quest .380 Final Wrapup: finding the BEST ammo for a .380ACP pistol - YouTube

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Watch & Pray

Finally got around to watching the video. That was just the summary, but I was able to track down the individual tests through ShootingTheBull's YouTube account.

I have to say, I'm a bit surprised it was the XTP and not the FTX that made to to the "winner's circle." Nice to know that people who choose a .380 for their personal defense now have a more viable choice of ammo than standard ball. (Hornady Custom 90 gr.)

Or if you want to read.

Final Results of the .380 ACP Ammo Quest | Shooting The Bull

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Psalm 23:4

Thank you, but I already watched the videos.

Somewhere in the archives is a post I had showing bullets from a 380 that actually were retrieved from downed big game animals. When I shoot a head of big game, I will often prop up the animal and use them a bullet test medium.

I agree that the 4 gel ( layers of denim ) test is off the wall but
it is the "Worst Case" test that takes in any and all types of clothing that can be worn.

A lot less hassle than getting a layer of t-shirt, cotton sweater, jacket and maybe a rain coat ? You think ?

Just glad that there are SD loads that will work and do the job for the little 380. Todays modern bullets have come a long way from the old lead round nose............ How sweet it is.

The fellow in the video basically showed what I have believed all along, with one exception. I have not shot the Precision One ammo. I need to look further into their stuff. The other two top performers seem to be a lot easier to find. One other note. The XTP loadings have been a little more accurate than the Hydra-Shok in my experience, although accuracy is not what we are talking about here. These little guns are not target guns anyway and most have acceptable accuracy at the ranges one would expect to use them at. Very interesting.

The buffalo bore 380 "+p" 90 gr with speer gold dots chronographed out of my keltec p3at advertised velocities.

95 degrees
high - 1132
low: 1071

average 1105 fps - 244 ft lbs of energy

This is what I use.