Protected One
Member
I don't get the impression he's looking to buy another gun...just wants ammo recommendations for the LCP.
2 Questions RE .380 Ammuntion
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ChattanoogaPhil
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Yes, and I have a 642. They are great. But the OP was talking about slight weight differences making a big difference to his wife. The 642 is 50% heavier than the LCP she has now so it never occured to me to suggest it.
sac-gunslinger
Member
Check Buffalo Bore Ammo, the company offers a couple of specialty 380 loads designed to overcome the shortcomings of the 380. The site also details the "why" of the design so you can make an informed choice.
Maccabeus
Member
Another opinion. You can decide what it's worth.
Many debate FMJ vs JHP in .380. I'll let others argue for each view. Both seem to have some merit.
I like heavier bullets, personally, and normally prefer a 4513TSW IWB, but when downsizing all the way down to a BG380, I use Golden Sabers. The GS.380 round was reported by some reviewers as having "inconsistent expansion" (don't recall the reviewer/s at the moment).
That's perfect for me: 102gr bullet, some expansion, some penetration, and it works fine in my pistol.
YMMV.
Many debate FMJ vs JHP in .380. I'll let others argue for each view. Both seem to have some merit.
I like heavier bullets, personally, and normally prefer a 4513TSW IWB, but when downsizing all the way down to a BG380, I use Golden Sabers. The GS.380 round was reported by some reviewers as having "inconsistent expansion" (don't recall the reviewer/s at the moment).
That's perfect for me: 102gr bullet, some expansion, some penetration, and it works fine in my pistol.
YMMV.
shouldazagged
Absent Comrade
Yes, and I have a 642. They are great. But the OP was talking about slight weight differences making a big difference to his wife. The 642 is 50% heavier than the LCP she has now so it never occured to me to suggest it.
I guess that was my instinctive mistrust of the Taurus featherweight talking. Fifty per cent heavier than the LCP is still pretty damn light for shooting .38 Special.
Kilibreaux
Member
With small, less powerful calibers one generally biases on the side of pentration over expansion. Unfortunately, FMJ RN isn't the best answer because the rounded nose tends to deflect away from hard structures whereas a sharp-edged bullet would tend to "snag" and be turned in to hard structures. IMO the ideal bullet profile for a compact carry pistol would be a hollow cavity solid copper that would tend to lacerate tissue and cut "into" bone rather than deflect away. In my 20 years dealing with gunshot wounds I've seen up close how bullets with a round nose profile eagerly slide this way or that to sort of "slither through" a person. Internally - once past the exterior muscle, any elastic tissue tends to simply move aside when a rounded nose bullet is passing through.
What you want is a truncated cone profile, hollowpoint to achieve the sharpish nose edge and rely on the fact that when fired from a short, pocket auto barrel the bullet is unlikely to expand but will instead behave like a "solid."
One day if I ever get caught up with all my other projects I'd love to turn out some ultra-light, solid copper, "modified" truncated cone style bullets for the .380 and see how they do....
In the meantime you're probably better off with the most powerfucl commercially loaded truncated cone you can find.
Underwood makes a rounded flat point lead load for the .380 that might give a would-be attacker pause for thought but only if your pistol can reliably chamber it.
David R
Member
I could be as wrong as the next guy. I carry hollow points. If the hollow point fills with clothing or what ever, it becomes a fmj. If it does not, then better.
We all have our own decisions. Yes the 380 is a 9mm short or not quite a 38. I used to carry a semi auto 22.
The hollow points feed and function fine in my LCP. I also carry a snubby 38 when I can. It all depends.
I like reading all the opinions.
David
We all have our own decisions. Yes the 380 is a 9mm short or not quite a 38. I used to carry a semi auto 22.
The hollow points feed and function fine in my LCP. I also carry a snubby 38 when I can. It all depends.
I like reading all the opinions.
David
My LCP will run anything but Tulammo, so far. It's appears to be a really cheap pistol, but it works remarkably well.
I care more about reliability than anything else. Second is to keep shooting on target as fast as I can. I don't even try to hit the bullseye or see how much gelatin it will penetrate.
You can read articles about one shot stops with 22lr to 45acp. You can read about multiple rounds from any gun and the bad guy kept commin. My plan is simple. If the bad guys keep commin, I'll keep shooting.
I care more about reliability than anything else. Second is to keep shooting on target as fast as I can. I don't even try to hit the bullseye or see how much gelatin it will penetrate.
You can read articles about one shot stops with 22lr to 45acp. You can read about multiple rounds from any gun and the bad guy kept commin. My plan is simple. If the bad guys keep commin, I'll keep shooting.
cmort666
Member
I would NEVER use FMJ in a handgun for self-defense in ANY situation in which I'm EVER likely to find myself.
I'm far more worried about over-penetration than under-penetration.
I'm far more worried about over-penetration than under-penetration.
Protected One
Member
I agree! I would be much more worried about an FMJ round going straight through and producing collateral damage. If I put multiple HP rounds on target (even with as little as 5" of penetration) I don't think the threat would fare too well in "hand-to-hand" combat, with that disadvantage.
I wonder how he would do against a 60 year old woman who can barely walk up a flight of stairs.
Big Cholla
Member
IMHO, after years of LEO work, IMHO, it is not what you hit the BG with, its where you hit the BG. So, tell your wife (after finding a good ammo that is 100% reliable thru her gun), "shoot two to center mass, and IF that doesn't get the desired result, then start on the head." .......... Big Cholla
Protected One
Member
Possibly, pretty good...
Protected One
Member
Doubt it would get that far though. You know better than most that the sight of a gun causes most threats to flee, and getting shot (or shot AT) causes MOST of the rest to flee. It's only a few "hard cases" that persist under those conditions.
I ask again, why load the gun at all?
Protected One
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