380 XTP Ammo Problems

[Christopher L.]

When Ammo quest tested the various XTPs....they used a gun with a 2.75 inch barrel....either an LCP or BG380. So the average for the Hornady Customs was 851 = 145 foot pounds energy. Vs. The HPRs at 789 = 124 foot lbs. That 17% more kick....

 

[Christopher L.]

Will probably go to the range today......may just be conical bullets won't reliably feed up the BG RAMP. Would be nice if I get no failures...if some more of you guys that are interested in the XTPs would put some of the CUSTOMS thru also so we could get a bigger sample size.

 

[deadin]

Normally one looks for ammo that will function correctly in their gun.
This thread seems to be about finding a gun that will function correctly with their ammo......

(This could get expensive..).

 

[Christopher L.]

OK...today I put 50 HPR XTPs thru the BG.....4 cycling failures.
I also put 43 of the Hornady Customs XTPs thru ...ZERO failures.

Appears the extra 17% more foot lbs of kick solves the problem.

Perfect bullet for the perfect pocket gun??????????

I kept 7 of the Customs to keep in the gun.

Would sure be nice if more BG owners that are interested in the XTP bullet would try the Customs & report back.

 

[Christopher L.]

Again, my thread....can't hijack. Read story on other forum.....officer shot bad guy 5 times with a 357.....almost 2500 foot lbs total force. Bad guy hit officer only once (side of vest).....with. 22lr. Bad guy lived....officer died on scene. Shot placement / penetration.

 

[Christopher L.]

Newsflash

Since I think we've found "THE" bullet for the BG....it's good to discover that Hornady's "new" American Gunner 380 XTP bullet is apparently the exact same as the stuff in the box called Custom. Their website lists both of them at 1000 feet per second from a 4 inch barrel. What's good about this is right now anyway you can find the American Gunner box (same number of rounds) cheaper.

 

[alwslate]

Again, my thread....can't hijack. Read story on other forum.....officer shot bad guy 5 times with a 357.....almost 2500 foot lbs total force. Bad guy hit officer only once (side of vest).....with. 22lr. Bad guy lived....officer died on scene. Shot placement / penetration.

Then why not just stick with FMJ? I recently bought a Taurus
TCP 738 .380 auto. 175 rds of various brands of FMJ so far
has produced 1 FTFeed and 3 FTExtract with a brand of ammo
that has a very thin case rim. I have full confidence that it
will work with good FMJ ammo if needed.

 

[Christopher L.]

I'm no expert, but I'm guessing every type of semi automatic based on design/spring tension, etc. has some minimum # of ft pounds of force required to ensure 100% confidence in cycling properly. 4 failures in 175 attempts .....I don't want to bet my life on a 2.3% chance it won't go boom when I need it to.

I'm trying to find a bullet that In my gun both meets the FBI standard of 12 to 18 inches of penetration & expansion (bare gel & denim covered). Plus, will cycle flawlessly 100% of the time.

On the Midwayusa ammo site found 20 reviews by people with BGs, LCPs, etc. That said the Customs worked flawlessly in their guns. Zero reviews noting any failures to cycle.

The American Gunner stuff is newer.....zero failures on the few reviews noted.

 

[alwslate]

I've had zero failures with ammo that has a good well defined case
rim with a good flat surface on the front face of the rim. But I'm going
to stick to that type of ammo and keep shooting it for a while and see
how long it takes to get the first malfunction.

 

[lanceman193]

I have fired 150 rounds of Freedom Munitions 90gr XTP, mostly from my Glock 42 but a few in my Beretta, and 0 malfunctions from the ammo, but I think the Freedom Munitions 100gr flat point .380 will be my carry ammo. So far 0 malfunctions in either 380 or in 3 different 9mm handguns. I like FM 124gr XTP at 1100FPS as my carry ammo. I have about 1000 rounds of it thru Kahr, Glock, and CZ with no problems at about 36 cents a round. Usually around holidays they do free shipping.

 

[Christopher L.]

Anyone out there fired say 50-100 of the 380 HPR XTPs thru their BG or LCP ( or any similar small 380) ? Did you have any cycle failures?

 

[Florida J Frame]

Anyone out there fired say 50-100 of the 380 HPR XTPs thru their BG or LCP ( or any similar small 380) ? Did you have any cycle failures?

After reading this thread, I grabbed a box of HPR and my LCP and headed for the range. I loaded up 3 mags and had at least one failure to extract from 2 of them and a stovepipe from the third. Fired a 4th and 5th with no issues. If it was limp wristing it would have more than likely shown up on the later mags as the LCP is no fun to shoot. No issues with WWB flat points or Hornady Critical defense in the past. This is a different result from my last time shooting the HPR round and I'll be using it up at the range and going back to the Critical Defense as a carry load until I find something better. May order a couple boxes of Precision One to test.

 

[Christopher L.]

About a week ago I sent an email to HPR telling them that I suspect their 380 XTPs are loaded too weak to reliably cycle some of these small 380 semi-automatics. No response.

 

[Dump1567]

About a week ago I sent an email to HPR telling them that I suspect their 380 XTPs are loaded too weak to reliably cycle some of these small 380 semi-automatics. No response.

Probably this.

HPR had issues in my early manufactured Glock 42 (dual recoil spring), but worked fine in my LCP. Went to Precision One (same XTP bullet), and had no issues with cycling in either gun.

Obviously, you should always test your SD ammo in the gun you're carrying it in.

 

[Christopher L.]

Went to range again today.....so far out of 100 of Hornady's own 851 fps 90 grain XTP loads ( 50 "Customs" & 50 "American Gunner").....ZERO failures to cycle.

I'm done testing ......next one I ever fire will be going into somebody. Hopefully that never happens!

Hopefully this thread will help others interested in the different brands of XTPs decide on which one to use as their SD ammo.

 

[Captain O]

Since I think we've found "THE" bullet for the BG....it's good to discover that Hornady's "new" American Gunner 380 XTP bullet is apparently the exact same as the stuff in the box called Custom. Their website lists both of them at 1000 feet per second from a 4 inch barrel. What's good about this is right now anyway you can find the American Gunner box (same number of rounds) cheaper.

This is why I don't trust a .380 to impart sufficient velocity to make HP bullets expand. Why would you want to effectively put " speed brakes" on a subsonic bullet. (Not a good Idea).

In "blowback" autoloaders, (9 X 18 and smaller) stick with FMJ or hard cast lead bullets. Accuracy and penetration are what's desired, rather than pinning your hopes on "it may/or may not expand" and "it may/may not feed properly".

Bull!

Autoloaders MUST function as a Bic pen... first time, EVERY TIME!

Rant off.

 

[Protected One]

At Cabellas yesterday I played with both a Sig P238 & a Glock 42. Both feel great....but based on size, weight, etc. ...I'll stick with the the BG if I can find any round that goes bang 100% of the time. You would laugh if you could see my BG. I have put tennis grip wrap on the grip....small pieces glued to sides of the slide. & even tiny piece on the safety. This makes it much softer to shoot, rack, and release the safety. I feel very confident putting my hand in my pocket & releasing the safety. Just that tiny little bit of extra thickness & surface texture really makes a difference.

Get yourself a box of Hornady Critical Defense. 11 3/4" penetration in ballistic gel ...and that's at 10'. Self defense use is MUCH more likely to be closer, meaning even deeper penetration. Of course, its consistent expansion is a matter of record. (See tnoutdoors9 video)

Can't say I'm a fan of messing with the slide though.

 

[Christopher L.]

Ammoquest tested both the Critical Defense and the Customs under the same controlled conditions.

CD = Ave. Only 8.5 inches in bare gel & the WTI (wound trauma index) was only 2.11.

The Customs in bare gel averaged 12.5 with a WTI of 25.81.

No contest.



In denim gel...Custom WTI 23.8 vs 18.84 for the critical defense. One of the critical defense did not open & slightly over penetrated.

These tests were done with a 2.75 inch barrel gun.

All the brands of XTPs tested were in the "Winner Circle".......the issue of this thread is to find one that "ALWAYS" has enough foot lbs of energy to cycle the BodyGuard 380. Amoung the XTPs AmmoQuest tested the CUSTOM was the fastest .....so it opens up a bit sooner....thus penetrates a little less....but still meets the FBI standard of 12-18 inches plus always expands. By being the fastest..(most powerful) it appears to always have enough kick to cycle my BodyGuard 380. 100 out of 100 shots.

Critical Defense averaged 857 fps vs 851 fps ....both are 90 grain.

 

[Christopher L.]

Well after 150 of the Customs/American Gunner (XTPs) + 50 PMC Bronze FMJs ...that's 200 shots in a row with NO cycle failures.....I declare that the BG380 cycle problems only occur with ammo that is touted as"Low Recoil"...I.e., low muzzle energy rounds. VERY happy with the gun now....

 

[Christopher L.]

Response From HPR

1/20/2016. Received an email from HPR......they say they're going to send me a free box of their REFORMULATED HPR XTP (JHP) 380 To test. I assume this means they have added more powder. Maybe I wasn't the only one reporting cycling problems with their slow ammo.