LCP: FMJ or HP for Carry?

In your .380 LCP/P3AT/TCP ccw, do you carry FMJ or Hollow Points?

  • Full Metal Jacket

    Votes: 63 36.8%

  • Hollow Points

    Votes: 80 46.8%

  • Dump your LCP and carry your 642 instead, you moron

    Votes: 28 16.4%
  • Total voters
    171
  • Poll closed .
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I voted 642.

I've never had, or even shot, an LCP but I did have a P3AT. I sold it and bought a 642. That's the route I would go.

or FMJ in the LCP because you can run a bunch of your carry round through it to ensure reliability. If you go JHP, I am a huge fan of Gold Dots. But then the Corbon DPX is really popular for guns in this category
 
I know the Winchester flat points are poplular but they are loaded pretty mild. If you must go with the solid bullets I would find a LFP like the standard pressure Buffalo Bore round. I would think that would be better.
 
Order some Prvi Partizan JHP's.
They are cheap and never expand, so you get a Serbian version of Winchester White Box that costs much less.

It's all about shot placement with these little guns anyways (much more so than duty calibers).
 
Dump you LCP and carry your 642 instead you moron!

I wouldn't want to carry a .380, but if I did, I would carry hollow points. If they expand, they underpenetrate, but at least they make a big hole, and if they fail to expand, they will penetrate fine.

Since every shot will not expand as it is advertised, you get a mix of expanded hits, and a mix of penetrating hits. Or you could just carry your 642 and get expansion and penetration in the same package.

EDIT: I found this signature line to be extremely applicable in this question. Thanks to jon_in_wv.

The more you focus on marksmanship, the less you will worry about the bullet. You can buy the greatest sword from the greatest sword maker on Earth, but a master with a cheap sword will still kill you.
 
jon_in_wv said:
I know the Winchester flat points are poplular but they are loaded pretty mild. If you must go with the solid bullets I would find a LFP like the standard pressure Buffalo Bore round. I would think that would be better.
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Since the Winchester truncated cone rounds will penetrate more than 19" of gelatin, why do you think the the much, much more expensive
"LFP like the standard pressure Buffalo Bore round" would be better?
 
Dump you LCP and carry your 642 instead you moron!
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Sure dump a super small and concealable yet very shootable weapon for a weapon much less shootable, harder to conceal, reload, and the same size as weapons MUCH more capable.(G26, M&P 9C, Kahrs) No Thanks.

As a primary carry, if you could only have one gun, the snubbie is more versatile though. I would still get a small auto though.


Thanks for plugging my Sig line though.
 
For SD ammo:
My LCP totes FMJ
MY .40 and .45 have hydra shocks.

For me the lcp points correctly. Regardless of the lack of decent sights I get tight groups at 7 paces and that's a helluva lot more important than expansion.

IMHO of course :rolleyes:
 
jon_in_WV said:
Sure dump a super small and concealable yet very shootable weapon for a weapon much less shootable, harder to conceal, reload, and the same size as weapons MUCH more capable.(G26, M&P 9C, Kahrs) No Thanks.
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What you would be picking up would be much more reliable and durable, and with the right ammo more powerful. And, no, a 642 is NOT the same size as a Glock 26. Not. Even. Close.

I have a 642. I have a G26. I had a P3AT. I know very well how big each is and how each carries. If you claim a 642 is the same size as a G26 you either have not owned either/or of those guns or you are fibbing a little bit to try and make a point.
 
For small carry guns, I have both the LCP and a Smith 442. While I prefer the 442, there are times that the LCP is slightly easier to conceal. As far as the carry load of choice for me, I went with the XTP bullet, as it has a reputation for deeper penetration than many hollowpoints. Something that I have sound helps control-ability with the LCP is the Hogue Hybrid grip. It is usually about the same price as the Handall grip, but adds slightly to the bulk of the grip, making it easier to hold on to.
 
What you would be picking up would be much more reliable and durable, and with the right ammo more powerful. And, no, a 642 is NOT the same size as a Glock 26. Not. Even. Close.

I have a 642. I have a G26. I had a P3AT. I know very well how big each is and how each carries. If you claim a 642 is the same size as a G26 you either have not owned either/or of those guns or you are fibbing a little bit to try and make a point.
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The G26 and the snubbie are MUCH closer size and concealability than either is to the LCP, your insults aside.
 
Agree with jon here - the majority of times I looked to carry my 642, it was almost as easy to just grab my 26.. The closeness of the 642 to G26 is the reason I got the LCP in the first place...

With that said, I think its really the SHAPE, as opposed to the size, of the 642 that makes it easier to conceal - since the back by the covered hammer is more rounded unlike the right angle of the glock, it tends to print less under a shirt than the G26 and doesn't scream gun.

Back on topic... Thank you for all the advice - I picked up some Gold Dots for my LCP (have been happy with them in my 26) and am currently carrying those after shooting today and confirming reliable feeding - I think one of the most important points and specific to my decision are that this is for carry during the AZ summer where I do not have to worry about layers of clothing - most people are in tshirts or Hawaiian shorts - so I am not too concerned with clothing hindering expansion.

No my next point of action is to grab a Hogue handall jr or the hybrid or just do an innertube job myself... Then the P3AT clip is next :)

Thanks again.
 
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And yes I've owned snubbies and autos similar in size to the G26 (P11, M&P 9C). The snubby is more in the class of the subcompact nines than the LCP/P3AT/Bodyguard. So I stand by my statement that it is NOT in the same class as the small 380s. You may disagree but a liar I am not. I will admit I should have said "closer in size and concealability" but I stand by the statements none the less.
 

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Trailwolf, the snubbie is a lot easier to pocket carry than a G26 type auto but I always found it heavy and bulky compared to the LCP. The snubby is kind of "in between" the two. It doesn't pocket carry or conceal as good as the LCP and its much less capable than a G26/M&P but it I could only have ONE the snubby would be a good choice. I don't think it fit the same BUG or deep concealment role of the small 380s. ( and YES that is from my personal experience too)
 
I voted FMJ, but I use 102gr Golden Saber when I can find them as I'm a big believer in the heaviest bullet for the caliber. I doubt it'll expand much if all out of the little LCP.
 
jon_in_wv said:
Trailwolf, the snubbie is a lot easier to pocket carry than a G26 type auto but I always found it heavy and bulky compared to the LCP. The snubby is kind of "in between" the two. It doesn't pocket carry or conceal as good as the LCP and its much less capable than a G26/M&P but it I could only have ONE the snubby would be a good choice. I don't think it fit the same BUG or deep concealment role of the small 380s. ( and YES that is from my personal experience too)
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I own a G26 and 642 :)

I am in total agreement with you.

After just owning the LCP for a few days, I cannot believe how easy to carry it is. So much so that I might ditch my extra mag and just carry the LCP in addition to my 26, 17 or 30.
 
If your carrying this in the summer, we don't need to worry too much about clothing clogging the Fed HydraShocks, Chances are, the bad guy's wearing shorts and a tee shirt in the summer just like you. You're not shooting thru denim and leather and bulky coats (hopefully).
I say shoot what you're comforatable with. In a .380, you're gonna have to choose between expansion and less penetration, or no expansion and alot of penetration. I'm even more under-gunned than you as I pocket carry a P32 and mines loaded with MagTech Guardian hollow points.
 
TrailWolf said:
Agree with jon here - the majority of times I looked to carry my 642, it was almost as easy to just grab my 26.. The closeness of the 642 to G26 is the reason I got the LCP in the first place...
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Were you carrying that G26 in a pocket?? Either way, what holster(s)? The 642 carries much easier than a G26. The Glock is like a brick compared to a 642.

*There are exceptions, but the above is the general rule.

PS: That first picture you showed has a larger aftermarket grip on the 642. The gun gets bigger when you put bigger grips on. ;) It also isn't a 642. Probably the same size...but what is it?
 
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Warp said:
Were you carrying that G26 in a pocket?? Either way, what holster(s)? The 642 carries much easier than a G26. The Glock is like a brick compared to a 642.

*There are exceptions, but the above is the general rule.

PS: That first picture you showed has a larger aftermarket grip on the 642. The gun gets bigger when you put bigger grips on. ;) It also isn't a 642. Probably the same size...but what is it?
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Yes, I can get away with my 26 in my pocket with some of my pants and a lot of my shorts. But the weight gets to you after a few hours.

I dont carry my 26 this way much - maybe 5% of the time - nor do I really like to. But sometimes its what works.
 
I carry my LCP even more than I do my Kahr PM9 simply because it's just so much easier to conceal and conceal comfortably.
The Kahr pocket carries pretty easily though as long as your not wearing regular fit jeans then it prints noticeably.
But the LCP wearing the same jeans does not.
I tried liking the snubs and even carried a Smith model 37 Airweight for a while.
But dont kid yourself,they are much longer in length and mine had a constant issue of peaking up and out of my work pants(pistol butt) and one day I got outed while standing inline at a small store....Not good!!
Plus that guns recoil was a major pain and I never could shoot it worth a damn.
I shoot my LCP just fine,in fact far better than I ever could the snub 38.
 
I shoot my LCP just fine,in fact far better than I ever could the snub 38.
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That was a huge factor for me too. Regardless of what ammo you choose, shooting the weapon and hitting what you aim at is most important. I shot the LCP much better than a snubbie and I shoot my BG 380 even better than that.
 
I also own a G26, and a pocket gun it certainly is not. As far as size, its almost identical in profile (length & width) as my officers 1911, and just a slightly bit wider. I can get the barrel in my front pocket, enough to cover the trigger, but anything past that, and I start getting a little unbalanced.
By comparison, the 442 fits entirely in the pocket of most of my jeans, though leaving the butt slightly out makes for easier draw. The LCP on the other hand, fits the coin pocket of my jeans in similar fashion that the Glock fits the main pocket. In a Bianchi leather pocket holster, the LCP is still half the size of the 26, and as wide as the J frame without a holster. The J frame can be made to work in almost any stiuation, where the LCP fits in most situations.
 
Use Speer Gold Dot or Hornady Critical Defence in the LCP, both have been shown to work well in tests, and they work a whole lot better than FMJ.

I would always take a reliably expanding JHP over FMJ in 380. We are afforded the luxury of using bullets that expand and cause excessive bleeding and tissue damage but get paranoid over a couple of inches of penetration and choose to use practice ammo instead. It makes no sense.
 
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