380 ez ammo

[mrchuck]

I shoot the Kel-Tec 380. It is tiny, light, and shoots perfectly.
Has some recoil to it because it is so small.
Will it stop an attacker? You bet!

 

[Univibe]

For defense ammo in my LCP, Federal American Eagle FMJ.

The .380 is marginal for penetration. If any bullet of any design does not penetrate to the vitals, it won't get the job done. FMJ is the most penetrative in the relatively weak .380 round. On the other hand, .380 is marginal for expansion. So go for penetration and hope for the best.

 

[photoman]

Lawman for FMJ and Gold Dot for JHP. Both are available in 50 round boxes at very reasonable prices (encourages more practice).

 

[oldiegoldie]

Federal Hydra-Shok for carry.

PMC or Federal American Eagle for range.

 

[mnaglie1]

380 EZ is my favorite 380; shoots it all well in mine; holds more, easy loading, ez racking, perfect grip not quite as aggressive as all my M&P 2.0's ….no issues with any brands of ammo so far.

 

[trikerdon]

Recently I believe, Shooting the Bull has changed his number one 380 choice results from Precision One to Lehigh Defense Xtreme Penetrator Ammunition. Either way, their both excellent choices.

I carry Precision one 90 Grain HP/XTP. It was the winner for .380 with Shooting the Bull. It isn't cheap though. So I don't use a lot of it on the range.

 

[Hamster65]

One knock against the .380 round by those who don't care for it is that it doesn't penetrate sufficiently to reach vitals.


I think MY recommendation is clear.
Good luck with your new gun. May you never need it!

I'd have to disagree with that assessment. There is plenty of video evidence that standard FMJ's will actually over penetrate in most cases and there are plenty of choices available for JHP's that will do the job nicely without over penetrating. The only knock I can think of is, smaller wound channels may not cause as much damage as desired. Here are 2 examples.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkscBbMGp5k[/ame]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F5rPTHcrmg[/ame]

 

[acrboston]

For defense ammo in my LCP, Federal American Eagle FMJ.

The .380 is marginal for penetration. If any bullet of any design does not penetrate to the vitals, it won't get the job done. FMJ is the most penetrative in the relatively weak .380 round. On the other hand, .380 is marginal for expansion. So go for penetration and hope for the best.

This is not true - please check out modern 380 ammo such as the XT Xtreme Penetrator for defense ammo. The ballistic gel tests are very impressive achieving deep penetration and severe wound (significantly wider than JHP's. The underwood version of the Xtreme is even stronger. You may be surprised to learn that a bullet does not have to expand to create a 1.5" (or more) width wound 13-18" deep. The underwood punches through 21"of ballistic gel.

 

[WRA]

Just got a new 380 ez what the best ammo to use? What's the best ammo any of you guys used? Thanks

BRAND:UNDERWOOD AMMO

SKU:638

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Caliber: 380 ACP
Bullet Weight: 65 Grains
Bullet Style: Lehigh Defense Xtreme Defense
Case Type: Ducta-Bright 7a Nickel Brass
BALLISTICS INFORMATION
Muzzle Velocity: 1300 fps
Muzzle Energy: 244 ft lbs
Penetration: 14 inches/li>

 

[acrboston]

Target and Defense Ammo

Here are my recommendations for Target and Defense (listed in order of preference):

TARGET AMMO Full Metal Jacket (FMJ)

1. Blazer Brass Rounds 380 ACP 95 grain, 945 fps, 188 ft-lbs, PF 89.78

2. Winchester White Box 380 ACP 95 grain, 955 fps, 190 ft-lbs, PF 90.72

DEFENSE AMMO

1. Lehigh XP Xtreme Penetrator 380 ACP 90 grain, 950 fps, PF 85.5

2. Fiocchi Extrema 380 ACP Hornady XTP 90 grain, 1000 fps, 200 ft-lbs, PF 90

3. Hornady XTP 380 ACP 90 grain, 1000 fps, 200 ft-lbs, PF 90.0

4. Hornady Customs HP/XTP 380 ACP 90 grain, 1000 fps, 200 ft-lbs, PF 90 

5. Federal (LE) Hydra-Shok 380 ACP 90 grain JHP, 1000 fps, 200 ft-lbs, PF 90.0

The Lehigh XP Xtreme Penetrator strongly outperforms XTP loads (ballistic gel testing). I have no affiliation to any of the listed manufactures.

 

[Iceman675]

+P

I am considering a MP 380.
Couldn't find the info on the web site, but are there ok with +P ammo for occasional use ?

I know the drill, it would shorten gun life.

thanks

 

[ec fan]

I am considering a MP 380.
Couldn't find the info on the web site, but are there ok with +P ammo for occasional use ?

I know the drill, it would shorten gun life.

thanks

The manual that came with my M&P Bodyguard 380 said to not use +P in it. (+P is okay in their 9mm guns, though.) The manuals are available online on S&W's website if you want to check to see if that's changed, but mine's not very old.

Ammo Quest and Mas Ayoob both recommend the XTP bullet in .380 which has a balance of good penetration with some expansion, according to them. Hornady has it in their Custom and American Gunner, and Fiocchi has it in their XTP Extrema. I think Lehigh might also load it but I don't know if theirs is +P or not. The Federal HydraShoks did well in the Ammo Quest tests, too.

Apparently some of the brands that perform great in 9mm and larger calibers expand TOO much in .380 and don't penetrate nearly far enough. The XTPs and the HydraShoks did much better in the little short barrel guns like the Bodyguard and LCP. In a longer barrel such as the EZ the results might be different.

I don't know from personal experience and am just going by what they found. Apparently .380 is a difficult round to get both penetration AND expansion, but the above met the 12" standard in gel. (More info than you asked, but I've been looking at a lot of tests because this is my first .380 and thought I'd share.)

 

[Iceman675]

I was looking at the Shield in 380.
The manual for it says no to +P also.

Thanks for the reply