Ed Bulldog
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- Mar 13, 2024
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- 14
QUESTION:
1) what type of ammo do you utilize with your EDC SW EZ 380-?
Thank you
1) what type of ammo do you utilize with your EDC SW EZ 380-?
Thank you
What type of Ammo for a EDC SW EZ 380
- Thread starter Ed Bulldog
- Start date
commygun
Member
FTX.
Though, to be honest, not because I know that it’s a great man-stopper but because it functions flawlessly in my other .380’s.
Though, to be honest, not because I know that it’s a great man-stopper but because it functions flawlessly in my other .380’s.
In the Lucky Gunner tests the .380 round that had the best and most consistent penetration was the 88 grain - Remington HTP. Average penetration was 16.9" The most shallow penetrating bullet penetrated 15.9" and the deepest penetrating bullet was 17.4"
All 5 bullets had the exact same level of expansion.
https://www.luckygunner.com/380-auto-88-gr-jhp-remington-htp-500-rounds#geltest
I guess the non-expanding hollow-point acts like a reverse parachute, creating drag and slowing down the bullet - I don't know, but very consistent and very good penetration from the Remington HTPs.
All 5 bullets had the exact same level of expansion.
https://www.luckygunner.com/380-auto-88-gr-jhp-remington-htp-500-rounds#geltest
I guess the non-expanding hollow-point acts like a reverse parachute, creating drag and slowing down the bullet - I don't know, but very consistent and very good penetration from the Remington HTPs.
Jonny2guns
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- Nov 28, 2020
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- 674
Very interesting...it's been so long since I've carried my 380 that I had to go get it out to see what I finally settled on. It was loaded with Win. fmj. It also had some Federal hst that I was switching over to in all my carrys. The one thing I know for sure I will never carry in 380 is critical defense with the rubber tips (9mm in pic for reference). The last time I used critical defense in anything was at the range maybe 10 years ago when I had a click instead of a bang, tap rack, click. Investigating further I found the next round in the mag tip down/primer up. The rubber nose literally drug on the front of the mag inverting the round.
BTW, that's a LCP Lonestar Coyote Protection. Cost me $50 more than the standard version, because they were all out of the standard version.
BTW, that's a LCP Lonestar Coyote Protection. Cost me $50 more than the standard version, because they were all out of the standard version.
Freedom 380 Auto 100 gr Round Nose Flat Point (RNFP) New (Free Shipping! Orders $249-$2000)
50 rounds of exceptional shooting with Freedom Munition's 100 gr RNFP 380 auto ammo. All the stopping power you would expect in a small, reliable and accurate package. Send Freedom down range at 960 fps with this quality RNFP round.
www.freedommunitions.com
These work well in all my 380's. They also sell reman 380's at a slightly cheaper price. I also load 380's but I find the load rather tedious to load and end up tearing the case mouth.
Snowdog
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- Dec 24, 2002
- Messages
- 4,606
Easy, Underwood's item #141 offering (a 90gr XTP+P). With this load, you get both penetration and expansion.
That's what my wife keeps in her S&W EZ.
In the link below, Tools&Target tests this exact load out of the S&W M&P EZ and he was impressed. He's not easily impressed.
Tools & Target's take on the EZ/Underwood combo
That's what my wife keeps in her S&W EZ.
In the link below, Tools&Target tests this exact load out of the S&W M&P EZ and he was impressed. He's not easily impressed.
Tools & Target's take on the EZ/Underwood combo
Shawn Dodson
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- Joined
- Dec 28, 2002
- Messages
- 3,195
Unfortunately, Lucky Gunner used Clear Ballistics Gelatin, which has been proved to NOT be the same as "FBI Spec" properly prepared and calibrated Type 250A ordnance gelatin.
Bullets behave differently in Clear Ballistics Gelatin than in human soft tissues and Type 250A gelatin.
In addition, each block of Clear Ballistics Gelatin is not consistent with other blocks. The penetration results are different from block to block.
So, beware of ammunition terminal performance tests using Clear Ballistics Gelatin because the results are most likely in error.
Bullets behave differently in Clear Ballistics Gelatin than in human soft tissues and Type 250A gelatin.
In addition, each block of Clear Ballistics Gelatin is not consistent with other blocks. The penetration results are different from block to block.
So, beware of ammunition terminal performance tests using Clear Ballistics Gelatin because the results are most likely in error.
357smallbore
Member
Federal HST
Note, I've no personal experience with the .380 round. I can't even remember ever firing the round through anyone else's handgun over the years as I don't own and never owned a handgun in the .380 caliber.
Here's a ~12 year old thread from another forum which discusses the .380 (and .38Special) caliber. Folks may be unaware of that other forum or don't know/forgotten the referenced thread. For the .380, the thread generally recommended FMJ. Things may or may not have changed over the 12 years for this caliber; I wouldn't know what ammo has come out or been changed by manufacturers over that 12 years in that caliber.
Anyway, the thread may still hold true and it generally supports FMJ ammo in .380 as a viable bullet type.
As I don't own or carry the caliber, I've no cares as to what ammo somebody else carries. This is just an FYI for folks. Carry on everybody
Here's a ~12 year old thread from another forum which discusses the .380 (and .38Special) caliber. Folks may be unaware of that other forum or don't know/forgotten the referenced thread. For the .380, the thread generally recommended FMJ. Things may or may not have changed over the 12 years for this caliber; I wouldn't know what ammo has come out or been changed by manufacturers over that 12 years in that caliber.
BUG's: .380 ACP vs. .38 Sp
10/23/12 If you are an LE officer, carry a BUG!!! Many small, easily concealed semi-automatic pistols which are recommended for law enforcement backup or concealed carry use fire .380 ACP or smaller bullets. While these small caliber handgun bullets can produce fatal wounds,they are less...
pistol-forum.com
Anyway, the thread may still hold true and it generally supports FMJ ammo in .380 as a viable bullet type.
As I don't own or carry the caliber, I've no cares as to what ammo somebody else carries. This is just an FYI for folks. Carry on everybody
I loaded my wife’s .380 EZ with Buffalo Bore 100 grain standard pressure hard cast flat point ammo. Gel testing of .380 ammo generally ignores barriers, and I wanted something that I know will punch through hard stuff including bones. BTW, FMJ round nose ammo with a soft lead core is not as good as hard cast or mono-metal solid ammo. I’ve proven that to my own satisfaction using shorter barreled .380s that I fired against various barriers, although I have not tried those same tests with the longer barreled EZ.
.308 Norma
Member
My wife's running Remington "Ultimate Defense" 102 GR. BJHPs in hers. No failures of any kind yet, and it shoots to point of aim.
There are the adherents of the "through-and-through" philosophy of bullet performance and they even advocate FMJ in 9mm, .40 S&W, and 45 ACP. But if you're not one of those people - it really doesn't make sense to use FMJ in 380.
When the top-performing 380 JHP bullets work, they're penetrating between 12 and 14 inches. When they don't work - they're not expanding so they're acting pretty much like a JHP, so at the very least they're just as good as FMJ but in many situations will perform better than JHPs. And as has been shown, the very top performing bullets, loadings of the Hornady XTP average around 13.5" of penetration through 4 layers of denim.
Unless you believe that a complete pass-through is the most effective scenario for stopping an assailant, it doesn't make sense any longer to use FMJ in 380 AUTO.
When the top-performing 380 JHP bullets work, they're penetrating between 12 and 14 inches. When they don't work - they're not expanding so they're acting pretty much like a JHP, so at the very least they're just as good as FMJ but in many situations will perform better than JHPs. And as has been shown, the very top performing bullets, loadings of the Hornady XTP average around 13.5" of penetration through 4 layers of denim.
Unless you believe that a complete pass-through is the most effective scenario for stopping an assailant, it doesn't make sense any longer to use FMJ in 380 AUTO.
Based upon YouTube gel tests.. for what that’s worth.. I use 90gr Sig V-Crown Elite Performance JHP. Shot a few hundred rounds out of two guns without a failure. Your results may vary. In the end, the 380 is a marginal defensive round.
My girlfriend carries a shield EZ .380 and it is currently loaded with Fiochi Extrema which has an XTP bullet in nickel plated fiochi brass cases. There was a time when I could find it in 50 round boxes for much cheaper than actual hornady ammo and it was accurate and fed well in the few .380's I have. I don't know what I'll switch to when my (now hers haha) stash is gone.
I agree that “shooting through” is not desirable as a primary goal. I disagree with your statement that a JHP is .380 is more effective than ball ammo generally and is no worse than FMJ when it doesn’t expand. It could be under the perfect conditions, but it doesn’t come close to effective in less than ideal conditions. My goal with the sub-optimal .380 caliber is to get the best potential result under the broadest possible range of conditions.
The FBI runs a six test series to evaluate duty-type ammo. Barrier blindness with consistent performance across the spectrum is the goal. Almost everyone only tests .380 against the easiest two, bare gel and cloth covered gel. This is because they know their ammo will do miserably against all 6 tests. The marketing people focus on pretty mushrooms under perfect conditions. The FBI assigns more weight to penetration than expansion across the entire spectrum (all 6) in its protocols. Ideal penetration across the entire spectrum of tests is 14 to 15.99 inches.
I cannot replicate all the FBI tests, so I shoot common barriers like wood, sheet metal and water jugs. I have done it with police duty round hollow points and with a large variety of .380 ammo including popular hollow points, jacketed round nose, hard cast and XD/XP mono-metal rounds. The hollow points and JRN .380 rounds are dismal failures against barriers that 9mm and .40 S&W rounds sail through. However, I have gotten great results with .380 Buffalo Bore hard cast and with Underwood 68 grain XD rounds, both in standard pressure rounds. It appeared obvious to me that they stand a substantially higher chance of shooting through obstacles such as arm bones, sternum, internal organs and reaching the spine. (The Buffalo Bore will penetrate more than the Underwood if I don’t put the barriers in front of the jugs.)
Also note that a 124 grain 9mm JRN in the 1100 fps MV range is a lot more likely to pass through than a 90-100 grain .380 round in the 950 fps MV range. The .380 runs out of steam much quicker and any unlikely pass-throughs should be at a much lower outgoing velocity than with the 9mm.
Everyone should go out and try their preferred ammo against a variety of media and not just rely on people on social media shooting gel blocks and cloth covered gel blocks. I document my "tests" but mostly for myself.
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