Best 380 ammo

Cal44 said:
If what you are saying is you need a long barrel to make 380 effective, that kind of defeats the whole point of carrying a 380.

The only use I see for a 380 pistol is small size and weight for carry as a deep concealment, hide-out gun.

I think if I start carrying my P238, I'll use the various XTP loads based on the Ammo Quest results.
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I think what he's saying is that good .380 performance depends on matching the bullet to velocity, which is going to vary with barrel length. Therefore, a bullet that doesn't expand when shot from a Glock 42 might perform much better when shot from the longer barrel in a .380 EZ. Carrying a .380 for defense means being more careful than you might be with other cartridges because you're closer to the bottom limits of acceptable performance, but that doesn't mean that a well-chosen .380 isn't a good defensive choice.
 
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LAPD only has allowed one .380 round as I recall; you might want to do some research and find that one. Doc Roberts firmly advocates ball only in the .380 due to penetration/expansion dynamics. I have both the Fiocchi JHP load referred to above and Black Hills Honey Badger for the G42. It took a longish break-in with ball before the Fiocchi worked reliably, and somewhere over 600 rounds total of the ball and Fiocchi before the (light for caliber) Honey Badger would work reliably. It just did not have enough recoil impulse to cycle worth a hoot.

If you can't decide, use ball. There is an argument to be made for the Buffalo Bore hard SWC, but I would probably only use it in the chamber and then rely on ball or something else for reliable feeding. I picked the Honey Badger in part because I have liked and trusted Black Hills ammo for a long time, and in part to make the G42 easy enough to shoot for my wife, who is both small and has a bad back.

I don't object much to ammo cost when it comes to buying premium ammo as it is a priority to me, and I don't waste money on unproductive stuff like boats and golf.
 
Doug M. said:
If you can't decide, use ball. There is an argument to be made for the Buffalo Bore hard SWC, but I would probably only use it in the chamber and then rely on ball or something else for reliable feeding.
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Doug, the BB hard lead 100gr RNFP (Round Nose Flat Point) feeds very well, chrono'd in my 2.75" barrel at 1,073 - 1084 fps. That should penetrate 12" easily or break bone.
I tried it against other factory defense loads in wet telephone books, and it out penetrated my Gold Dot .38 from a S&W 638 and Win 185gr Silvertip from a Sig 4" 1911
BB .380 RNFP - 2"
Gold Dot .38 Spec 125gr JHP - 1.5"
Win .45 ACP 185gr Silvertip - 1.5"
 
Cal44 said:
If what you are saying is you need a long barrel to make 380 effective, that kind of defeats the whole point of carrying a 380.

The only use I see for a 380 pistol is small size and weight for carry as a deep concealment, hide-out gun.

I think if I start carrying my P238, I'll use the various XTP loads based on the Ammo Quest results.
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No, I'm saying that you need to take barrel length and resulting velocity into account when selecting a load for the .380 ACP.

I used the FTX and XTP examples as they both clearly work well, but with velocity constraints.

The FTX is great in a short barrel pistol at lower velocity as the polymer tip promotes expansion. However, at velocities over about 950 fps it'll start under penetrating as the extra velocity causes early expansion.

In contrast the XTP will under expand or fail to expand in a 4 layer denim test, until the velocity exceeds about 950 fps.

In other words one load works great in a short barrel .380 ACP and the other works great in a longer barrel .380 ACP.

To get the 90 gr XTP to work well in my 2.75" Kimber Micro, I had to work up a load that would produce 970 fps to ensure reliable expansion in heavy clothing and minimum 12" penetration. It still works fine in my 3.3" PPK/S and in my 3.75" Baby Rock as the extra velocity doesn't have a large effect on the moderately expanding XTP bullet.

That's not the case with all bullets. Winchester's Kinetic High Energy .380 ACP load expands very well at comparatively low .380 ACP velocities, but also under penetrate. Launch them in a longer barrel and you'll get a lot less penetration.

In short, my point is that you need to be very careful when reviewing gel test data in .380 ACP as it is very velocity dependent, and you'll see very significant differences in velocity with barrel length differences as small as 0.75"
 
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Jim1392 said:
I carry Speer Gold Dot 90 grain HP's in my Ruger Gen2 LCP. Not my EDC but something I drop in my pocket when I take my dog for a walk in my neighborhood. Otherwise it rests in a table by the front door so I can have it handy if someone rings my doorbell.
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Also, the Gold Dot is a bonded bullet, that gives more reliable penetration.
 
Hornady American Gunner has been nearly 100% reliable ( I say nearly because there is no such thing as 100% reliable over 800 rounds in a pocket pistol )in my BG. :)
 
Did a lot of research on this subject for my BG 380 and came up with #1 choice: Precision One 90gr with the XTP bullet.
swsig, post #3 has the site for that rounds ballistic test. It's a MUST see!
I have shot them without ANY issues and they are what I carry.
My #2 choice: Hornady 90gr with the XTP bullet. JMO
But it comes down too is what works best in YOUR gun!

Be SAFE and Shoot Often!
 
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Who decided that 12" was the magic number??? The human body is 12" front to back for cryin' out loud. I carry 95gr FMJ in my .380 M&P. It functions flawlessly and I ain't worrying about penetration- I use 115 FMJ in my 9 and 230Gr in the .45. Full disclosure. I'm cheap and see no need to buy the xp one thousand flying ashtray hollow pointss loaded to +p+ velocities or any of that other nonsense. .357's are meant to fore 158 gr hard cast or JSP's ditto with .44's except use 240 grains. I got a box of Black Talons in .357 that I bought years ago and am to cheap to shoot them. I figure that a 158 gr hard cast will do just as good of a job on any living critter that is on the receiving end. I'm well past the stage of buying every new thing that comes out and I really take little stock in the "studies" done by the internet commandos. I use 180 gr Remington Core Locts in my 30-06 never saw a reason to change-deer don't know any difference. Use the cheapest #3 steel I can buy for duck hunting-use the money saved for whisky for the apre hunt bull session. Don't wear camo-got a hunting cap so old it stil has the made in USA sticker.
All this stuff is made for one thing-to get the public to BUY STUFF. ANd after these past several months, buying stuff really just isn't as important as I once thought it was.
Sorry for the rant-back to the question-best .380 ammo is 95 gr FMJ
 
Hand guns just drill holes. Flat nosed Sig FMJ for me in .380.
 
CAJ: The FBI ammo test standards are designed to take into account the fact that LE may have to take shots from imperfect angles and settings. One of the considerations is having to penetrate an intermediate barrier before entering the main part of the chest cavity, such as shooting through an arm. For most of us not in the LE setting, a little less penetration might not be as big a deal.
 
sigp220.45 said:
I’m in the FMJ for .380 camp. It always feeds and is cheap enough I can actually practice with my carry ammo.

I worked a deal once where a guy with an aggravated burglary (home invasion) warrant shot through the door at the cops that were trying to arrest him. They legged it to the car and called for SWAT. I showed up as the hostage negotiator (most “hostage situations” are actually barricaded subjects) but could never make contact over the phone or with the bullhorn.

The boys finally went in and found him dead. I was there anyway so I helped with the scene. The guy had a hole under his chin and another in the top of his head. There was a cheap .380 (an FIE something) near him. He probably shot himself before SWAT even got there and the cops didn’t hear the shot due to the efficiency of his head-silencer.

There was a dent in a ceiling beam where that FMJ smacked it. I found the bullet sitting on a window sill, rightside up, like somebody had put it there. Other than rifling marks it was pristine. Bullets wind up in strange places sometimes.

If there is a point to this ramble, it is that heads are tough and a .380 FMJ will penetrate.

I don’t expect anything from my .380 other than for it to function properly and penetrate like the dickens - a hole going in and a hole coming out.
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:):)Excellent pair of guns Beretta 92FS 9 mm and Beretta 84-85??? .380ACP this last one with FMJ bullets!!! For me the .380ACP with FMJ ammo is very similar to .38 Special with Standard loads, but the pistol ,the Beretta 84-85 has more "pills" in the magazine, it is a very, very accurate handgun to shoot and a pleasure too!!!...:):)
 
Overlooked Factors

A criminal or intruder will suffer the disabling shock upon realization of being shot. It won't matter if it's a .380 or anything in-between that and the .45 ACP. I agree with Cajun Lawyer in that 12 inches of penetration is likely to cause a through-and-through wound.

Law enforcement needs higher penetration as they are more likely to engage barricaded gunmen on domestic calls or in automobiles incident to vehicle stops. I think this stems from the infamous FBI Miami shootout when Mike Platt, the bad guy with the mini-14 and doing all the shooting, took a 9mmm Silvertip round sideways, through his arm and into his chest but stopping just short of his heart. Had it reached the heart, two FBI agents killed in the fight might be alive today. The 9mm round was fired from a distance of 47 yards. Hollowpoints have improved considerably since then and the extended distance surely took some of the steam off the bullet.

I would not hesitate to use a .380 for self defense.
 
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People often misinterpret gel test results and the FBI's parameters. 12" in gel is not meant to equal 12" in people. Gels are homogeneous, people are not. The 12-18" optimum penetration range was established by the FBI and the ballistics experts they consulted because bullets that penetrate within that window in gel were deemed likely to penetrate deeply enough in humans to hit vital organs, vessels, and nerves, while mitigating the risk of overpenetration.

While civilians are not likely to have the same need for barrier penetration as LE, it shouldn't be completely discounted, either. When you're confronted with a life-or-death attack, your lizard brain will most likely focus on the direct threat, i.e. the gun pointed at you. That's where your rounds are likely to go. That means even with an attacker facing you, your bullets may need to penetrate through the attacker's arms before hitting center-mass, and must still penetrate adequately.

To me, the role of the pocket .380 is to have a gun for times when you can't have a gun (but it's still legal to carry). If one is able to carry a larger gun, than that would be preferable. But it's not always feasible.

I will admit that .380 is probably the one caliber I'm on the fence with, in terms of JHP vs FMJ, but I would still prefer JHP so long as it was reliable and had adequate penetration. Based on what I've read and researched, my first choice would be the 90gr XTP, presuming it functioned reliably in my gun.

In fact, I bought a few boxes of the Hornady American Gunner 90gr XTP to run through my .380.

Once I get one. :o
 
My wife carries Hornady 90 grain XTP in her .380 EZ and it’s been accurate and reliable.
 
Ahhh you need to be able to place a shot at 15 Yds or less and become aware of your environment....Like ive posted before I toe Tagged several folks in the ER that expired from .22 and 25 Auto.
 
Fiocchi XTP spring thru early fall, hardball when thick coats are the norm.
Big fan of Fiocchi ammo, reliable, seems to run hotter, and two rounds in center mass of either should discourage rude behavior.
 
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