FMJ Self Defense grade Ammo?

I have heard a 380 will not expand much if any . Ball ammo should be just fine for SD with a 380 or a 45 . no over penetration problems like a 9 .

About any brand you like should be good I would stay away from low end ammo for SD you want something you trust to have a Quality control dept Same load every time same bullets same Brass every time .. not the reloads at a bargain kind of ammo. I have some ammo from Underwood ... On line ammo guy . Loaded to maximum pressures and every round has been a winner

Buffalo Bore and Remington Express are the two .380acp fmj carry ammo I use.

Go to youtube and search "Shooting the Bull" He tested every 380 round out there. I believe there are good expanding rounds but I don't carry the caliber so I don't remember his results.

JHP>FMJ

+1 on Buffalo Bore rounds....

I don't own a .380acp at this time. I might get a new Glock 42 later just for 2nd gun/back up use but Im in no rush.
For a "FMJ" load, Id agree www.Buffalobore.com offers some decent .380acp rounds.

FWIW; G2's lead free RIP is now out in .380acp too; www.SGammo.com . It's a tad pricey; about $2.00/rd.

I second Underwood.

Great stuff and affordable. Lots of choices in bullets.

I carry Buffalo Bore in 380 ACP (std pressure 90gr JHP) and .357 Mag. (180gr hardcast). For my 32 ACP it's 1 BB round in the pipe. The rest are FMJ due to the semi-rimmed thing.

With that said, why do you want FMJ for your 380? Is it for reliability? I'm pretty sure that most of the BB rounds have truncated cones, however.

Is Underwood always sold out? I have been looking but haven't seen a change in a long time?

Onward Allusion said:

With that said, why do you want FMJ for your 380? Is it for reliability? I'm pretty sure that most of the BB rounds have truncated cones, however.

Click to expand...

Many brands of .380 JHP that do expand, do so at the expense of penetrate on, failing the FBI criteria. So, some people recommend FMJ in .380 to assure adequate penetration.

Ball ammo should be just fine for SD with a 380 or a 45 . no over penetration problems like a 9 .

Click to expand...

Really 380 ball has a penetration problem Always has. BB makes it worst their 100gr hardcast You can expect 20+ inches of straight-line penetration in flesh and bone with this load.

To me that over penetration .

When I had a .380, I used Buffalo Bore's 100 grain hardcast FN round. They do a pretty good job explaining the pros and cons of different .380 rounds on their web site.

I've had a Browning 380 DBA for many years and carry FMJ with it. That said, recently I bought some Hornady Self Defense ammo (HP) for my daughters and it performs very well in the Bersa Thunder.

I usually differ to European FMJ loads for my mouse guns. Particularly S&B, RWS or Fiocchi

I typically only carry FMJ in .380s that are picky feeding JHP or JHP-ish style rounds. Which has been most .380s I have owned. Buffalo Bore has some great reviews and great names supporting them, but no personal experience on my end.

In a 380 Buffalo bore cast just isn't going to do anything over FMJ loads costing far far less that will be much more controllable.

You can only use so much penetration on the human torso

Lehigh XP Xtreme Penetrator

Lehigh XP Xtreme Penetrator tests

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LczfeWK9lHw&list=PLgNSGOEQko_MjOCGyqlMTiM2njdQQRbdg&index=33

https://www.lehighdefense.com/index.php/shop/ammunition/xtreme-penetrator

Get the best Buffalo Bore load for .380. Its the best there is .

I carry the Sellier & Bellot FMJ load as it is decently hot European loaded ammo. Buffalo Bore Hard cast and FMJ are also good choices.

I do not carry ball ammo for self defense in my 380. A FMJ will go right through a bad guy leaving a narrow wound channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbSLqdiX_bA&index=30&list=PLgNSGOEQko_MjOCGyqlMTiM2njdQQRbdg

You want expansion inside the bad guy for hydrostatic shock and a large wound channel. Also a pass through takes some energy with it, while an expanding bullet imparts most in the target.

I carry Buffalo Bore 100gr.+P HCFN.

What is this "penetration problem" anyway? Can anyone cite a story where a citizen or even a police officer hit a person with a bullet that passed through another person? The cops, especially NY cops, are fantastic at gunning down the citizens standing around a suspect, but those are misses not pass-throughs.

I am pretty comfortable with XTPs. Its a 90 grain hollow point if it expands. Its a 90 grain FMJ if it doesn't.

I'm OK with that.