what is the best Hardball 380 ammo for a mousegun?

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coltgun

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Anybody know the best most effective hardball ammo to carry in a Kel Tec P3at 380 for self defense?
 
I usually carry the Winchester White box ammo because I like the flat tip bullet.
 
When I carry my Kel-Tec .380 I have in there Federal Hydra-Shok JHP. No trouble feeding, and a lot better than hard ball.
 
Last edited:
If you have not done so take a look at mouseguns.com. Sadly that site will be closing soon due to the owners health issues.
 
coltgun said:
Anybody know the best most effective hardball ammo to carry in a Kel Tec P3at 380 for self defense?
Click to expand...

I am not a ballistics expert but I looked this question up in "AMMO AND BALLISTICS-FOURTH EDITION" You can get this book at Barnes and Nobel and probably via Amazon. Looking at the .380 ammo it appears that FIOCCHI 90 GRN fmj MAY be the most potent .380 "hardball" available. You asked about 'HARDBALL FOR 'MOUSE GUNS." According to the book here is what Fiocchi gives you. 920 muzzle velocity 169 foot lbs of energyx,Taylor KO index of 4.7 @ 25 yards.. there is data out to 200 yds but that is frankly ridiculous for a .380

The absolute best the book gives is for UltraMax 115 RNL Muzzel Velocity of 900 207 ft lbs energy and Taylor KO index of 5.3 From what I can tell all the .380 regardless of bullett style is between 4.2 and 5.3 with the average of 4.5.......not bad...not good but look at the rapist who got dusted by a meager .22 shot placement....I find the Fiocchi works very well in my KelTec .380 and it has eaten everything I have fed it, yet the guy at the gun store said he has had customers complain of Corbon JHP......
 
I also go with the Winchester flat points in my P3AT. Used to carry Speer Gold Dots, but after reading about so many 380 JHP expansion failures, changed over to the WWB.

If your pistol is new, highly recommend you polish the feed ramp. Mine had machine marks running across the feed ramp, wouldn't even feed FMJ round nose ammo when hand cycling. Polished with sandpaper lubed with WD-40, wrapped around a pencil eraser, going progressively finer till it was mirror finish.

Feeds everything without issue. My P3 is my favorite carry pistol cause it's so easy to toss in my pocket in an El Paso Saddlery holster, just about disappears in there. Helps with my commitment to carry everywhere it's legal.
 
The August 2011 issue of Handloader has an article on RNFP cast bullets that reinforces my thoughts on the WWB 380 being a good choice. Yes, we are comparing cast with jacketed but factory 380 FMJ bullets are basically traveling at cast bullet velocity. I'd doubt if there is much real world performance difference between 380 FMJ bullets of any design and cast bullets of a similar design.
 
Winchester white, FMJ round nose. I prefer to NOT have a JHP and expanding with that small of a caliber. My LCP eats them all day, no Failure to anything, 26
 
Last time I carried a .380 (a nickel Colt 1908; it was a formal occasion) I loaded it with WinClean flat points. I suspect a flat nose is less likely to skid off bones at odd angles.

But then, I also had an AirLite .38 in my pocket in case I needed a gun.


Regards,

Pat
 
"best" is a "loaded" (pun intended) question. That thread mentioned earlier (calling Erich) is good, check it out if you haven't yet.

I get bored easily, and switch up what I carry in the KelTec, but this one DoubleTap Ammunition I feel is about as good as it gets.
 
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