.380 Hollow Point to Carry

[highcap]

I would really appreciate hearing from .380 owners about what might be the best hollow point round for my P232. My Sig likes Winchester FMJ at the range but I'm ready to get comfortable with a HP load suitable for carry purposes.

Thanks in advance

 

[orchidhunter]

If it likes the Win Hardball at the range that is what to use for carry. Remember "They all fall to Hardball". orchidhunter

 

[schnarrgj]

For my and my wife's Bersa Thunder 380, we use CorBon DPX for our carry ammo. First, you need to buy it and use it to make sure that your p232 likes it and will function with it without fail.

For practice, we use my reloads or whatever is cheap and reliable.

 

[deacon8]

I recently this new ammo featured in Guns & Ammo tv. I do not have a .380, but this ammo is actually making me consider getting one. Here is the link, I think you'll find it interesting.

http://www.hornady.com/story.php?s=786

 

[Ben86]

Hornady Critical Defense ammo looks promising for .380s. It has made me rethink whether or not I want one.

 

[dpeticca]

Hey Hicap.. I'm new to THR, and having recently purchased a P232, I went through the same research myself.

First, people will argue whether or not you should consider a hp as they tend to penetrate only about 8 to 10 inches at best in ballistic gelatin. FMJ achieves the proper amount of penetration for a self defense round, but personally, I feel an expanded hollow point with proper shot placement is the key. I don't feel good about my circumstances as far as fmj goes, I live in a area with a lot of people, and over penetration is real concern.

Now to your question. I think there are a few hollow points to look at. First, it seems the most regarded hp round in .380 is the 102 Grain Remington Golden Saber. From my own tests, this penetrates fairly well, and leaves a nasty whole as it hits media, expands nicely. I also tested Speer Gold Dot HP's, in the 90 Grain weight, and they were very consistent. Not as devastating a round as the Golden Saber from what I could tell (anecdotally). Winchester Silver Tip HP's are well regarded, but I can't find them anywhere. Lastly, I settled on the Corbon DPX 80Grain. It expanded EXTREMELY well, and had good 9 inches of penetration that was consistent. If I had to choose from all of them, I'd go with the DPX (if you can afford it), keep some Golden Sabers for a worst case scenarios as they're less expensive (about half the price), and you get 25 in a box from Remington instead of 20 like most other manufacturers.

One other thing, the Hornady "Critical Defense" .380 has just been released. Apparently it was designed not to expand as fully as most hollow points, in exchange for more penetration. They "tuned" the hollow point expansion in this case. I have not been able to get a hold of these, and so I cannot test them to be sure they run right. Here's a review from Stephen Camp, http://hipowers-handguns.blogspot.com/2008/12/informal-tests-hornady-critical-defense.html

Good luck in your testing. I had a lot of fun.

One last piece of advice, it is advisable to run a good 200 rounds of FMJ through your P232 to break it in, and to run atleast as many HP's to verify functionality with whatever round you decide on.

 

[Daniel Foster]

I like the Cor Bon regular hollow points for Bersa .380. Though I am thinking about trying Buffalo Bore Gold Dot hollow points. The energy on these is 267 ft lbs! Excellent for .380.

 

[357sigRog]

In my Bersa Thunder 380 I carry Rem. 102gr Golden Sabre.

 

[okespe04]

Guaranteed to expand. Polly filled jhps.

 

[UnTainted]

The 232's longer barrel will add to the performance of the round as well, so of the 380s, you're not on the shorter end with less velocity!

 

[gglass]

No .380 acp bullet design has yet beaten the Remington Golden Saber 102gr. When it comes to penetration, expansion and jacket retention the Remington GS is still the king of the hill.

Not even the new Hornady Critical Defense XTP round can unseat the king. (It's all Hornady marketing hype so far.)

.380 Testing Links:
http://www.ktog.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1199737660

 

[amd6547]

Personally, I prefer FMJ in 380 and 9mm Mak (which I prefer to 380).

 

[sanerkeki]

I like to carry a short 9mm or 380. Between my Beretta 84, P232, colt pony and Hk(euro edition only) I noticed they shoot well and accurate on Carbon or Federal premium 90gr hydra shok. In my own experience I would recommend Carbon hollow point due to its speed and impact.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

I have owned (still have a BDA .380acp) several different .380acp pistols. they all shot best groups with my handload Golden Sabres. shooting into wet phone books leaves an impressive hole.
I carry a Makarov now loaded w/a Hornady XTP in the spout and FMJ in the mag. Rem doesn't make a GS to fit the Mak or I would use them. I carry my BDA now as a 'dress-up' or 'B-B-Q' gun. due to the Mex gangbangers running around in cars I got concerned about penetration through sheet metal or glass. the Mak has a little more 'punch' than the .380acp.

 

[mr2guru]

Buffalo Bore Gold Dot in my P3AT.

 

[putteral]

102 gr Golden Sabre's with 4.5 grs of Power Pistol in my Walther PPK/S

 

[Just One Shot]

I have the Hornady (Custom) hollow points in my Bersa Thunder.

Muzzle 1000 fps 200 ft. lbs.

50 Yards 913 fps

100 Yards 846 fps

 

[wuchak]

Double Tap loads the Hornady 90gr JHP in a standard pressure .380 that they chrono at 1000fps out of a P-3AT. Their prices are very reasonable for premium self defense ammo and even more so when you consider the extra oomph they pack in the case.

I carry these in my P-3AT. Surprisingly the S&B FMJ practice ammo has more snap and flip than the Double Taps.

 

[benzuncle]

Another 102gr Remington Golden Saber fan. They cycle flawlessly and expand very well.

 

[40jjb]

380 Kel teck

Cor bon power ball 1,100 fps the way to go

 

[makarovnik]

I would use FMJ or powerball. I guess you could load a hollowpoint in the chamber and FMJ in the mag.

I carry FMJ in my 380's. I want penetration (through an arm if necessary), it tends to feed better and with such a low powered round that may or may not expand, I choose FMJ.

I like S&B. It just feels a little hotter or snappier.

I also carry FMJ in my .45 but I carry hollowpoints in my 9mm for fear of over penetration. It feeds than well.