"+P"/High Pressure Loads .380 Ammunition

Hasaf said :"I will say that, knowing that there's no such thing as 380+P, I was surprised that they endorsed its use at all.
Underwood .380 ammunition comes in HP and Monolithic Defense and Penetrator, as well as FMJ rated +P in various bullet weights.

DTL said:

Hasaf said :"I will say that, knowing that there's no such thing as 380+P, I was surprised that they endorsed its use at all.
Underwood .380 ammunition comes in HP and Monolithic Defense and Penetrator, as well as FMJ rated +P in various bullet weights.

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When I said "no such thing" I was speaking of SAAMI designated +P ammunition. Yes, of course, I am aware of companies that load hot 380 ammunition.

For that matter, while I don't, I would be fairly comfortable using 380 +P in, pretty much, any modern recoil-operated, as differentiated from the older blow-back pistols, 380 pistols. I suspect that many 380 loads are kept on the light side in order to be safely fired from older, and blow-back, firearms. However, that doesn't change the fact that there is no official +P designation for 380 (or at least there wasn't the last time I checked).

I don't think there is any official SAAMI designation. Companies that sell 380 plus p are just selling very hotly loaded 380s. We then rely on their specs for exactly how hotly loaded.

My only experience in this case is with bb, starline cases I believe. They tend to be accurate with listed velocity in my experience.

Beretta Pico can handle +P, but it's a handful. I've fed mine lots of +P and she's still going strong. Oh, and Beretta says GTG.

From the Pico manual
"NOTICE: The Beretta Pico is designed to safely use the ammunition
marked as +P. The extended use of +P ammunition may decrease the
component part service life expectancy."

Problem is that there is no recognized SAAMI or CIP industry +P standard for the .380 ACP cartridge. Much load data you find on the Internet has not been pressure tested. At best you might find a knowledgeable handloader has calculated an estimate using a software product such as QuikLoad, but these are estimates and NOT results from measured test samples. Blowback operated pistols fed high pressure ammunition beyond their design limits are going to suffer shorter service life, broken parts, cracked frames and worse. In well-designed, locked breech pistols you may be able to modestly exceed the performance of factory loads, but doing so is not recommended practice and you are on your own nickel.

defjon said:

Eh, especially for the locked breech guns I can see the validity in the buffalo bore hardcast round.

A light pocket 380 hiking or camping could be loaded up with that and still be viable for sub grizzly threats. Hardcast probably 36+ inches through muscle and bone. Gets the job done, more likely to have that on you in the boonies Vs the big heavy hi cap /or magnum.

I think I remember reading on bersa chat test the thunder is plus p rated for limited use.

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I doubt that a hot loaded 7.62x25 from a submachine would do that. That load must be the excaliber of all .380 ammo.
Below is what they call their standard pressure .380 load penetrating gel plus packages of ribs that is not bad

I never use unregulated ammunition, but to each their own.

barnetmill said:

I doubt that a hot loaded 7.62x25 from a submachine would do that. That load must be the excaliber of all .380 ammo.
Below is what they call their standard pressure .380 load penetrating gel plus packages of ribs that is not bad

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That's my video. I put in the notes that the first shot actually bounced out between the rear blue jean/meat pack and the gel. You can see it if you watch for it. But, all three rounds impacted the rear pack, as you can see from the momentum from the video. The first round definitely damaged the rib in the back. It really doesn't detract from what the round did.

Prior to getting my hands on the gel block, I did two other prior tests, the first with water jugs and second with water jugs and meat packs.

In the water jug test, the round got went through 7 water jugs and got captured in the 8th. The round appears to have dropped low enough to skid along or bounce off the table and deflect back up.


In the mixed media test, the round went through a front meat pack but missed the bone. It exited the third jug and hit the meat pack on the rear. Because I already had shot that meat pack, I thought that the bullet had done no damage. But, after further inspection, I could see that it caused damage to the rear meat pack and bone.


I see no need to use a +P version of this ammo. The standard pressure version chronographs at 958 fps out of my gun with an extreme spread of 31 fps over 8 shots. I do keep this round in the gun when I am at the cabin. I occasionally slip it in my pocket when I go outside and don't feel like putting on a bigger gun. (On pavement I use 90 gr. (versus BB 100 gr.) standard pressure Lehigh Xtreme Penetrators at the same velocity, but that is another story.)

Hi Point - everything they make is +P rated. They'll even rebuild it for you if/when you wear it out.