Best .380 ACP SD Ammo - NO BS

[The_Sheriff]

I am wandering what the hottest most accurate best expanding .380 auto ammo is right now with the exeption of Speer Gold Dots becuase I am already running them and want to do balistics tests. NO BS please!

 

[NG VI]

102 grain Remington Golden Saber is what I've heard the best things about.

Give em a shot. And in the future this may be more appropriate for Handguns: autoloaders

 

[The_Sheriff]

I'll try those, what does everyone thing of federal hydra shocks?

 

[The_Sheriff]

or Hornady SXT's?

 

[bogie]

Round nose.

Pretty much a guaranteed feed.

And they go through layers of stuff a LOT better.

AIM, fellows. Aim.

 

[Halo]

I've seen some gel tests and the SXTs showed very little expansion in 380. Some people advocate FMJ in the 380 to assure sufficient penetration. I think the modern bonded core HP designs like the Gold Dot are fine though.

You're already carrying the best choice IMO, and it's what I carry as well in my Bersa Thunder.

 

[The_Sheriff]

I know, I have the Bersa also, the caliber is the reason I'm experimenting with different loads right now.

 

[Prepster]

It's fmj for me, any brand will do so long as it's reliable. If you feel like you need a power boost Buffalo Bore's the ticket. If you're set on hollow points, my vote is for hydrashoks, tried and true, and the milder expansion will still give respectable penetration.

 

[bogie]

Well, it's also a .380.

Not a lot of weight, not moving all that fast, generally out of a short barrel. And likely in an undersized package, so if you're going to shoot something other than roundnose, you're gonna want to run a few boxes through the thing to make sure you do not get hangups.

If you're using a .380 in a self-defense situation, odds are you are well within 7 yards, and perfect function is far more important than perfect terminal ballistics.

 

[Bobarino]

if it were me, i'd probably look into something like Cor-Bons. thats probably the highest muzzle energy round out there. i don't think you'd be all that handicapped with any of the modern JHP's though.

Bobby

 

[bogie]

Does anyone make a .380 "ball in the end" hollowpoint? Of course then you're looking at a lighter round, which will have a louder report/sharper recoil impulse... Not good with small boomstick in a small area.

 

[metrotps]

I carried .380's a lot and always had a JHP in the tube and hot FMJ ammo in the magazines. I shot a lot of them to test function with the brands I carried. Here is a link to some interesting penetration tests. http://www.brassfetcher.com/380ACP.html

 

[maestro pistolero]

Hydra shoks in my Ruger LCP are so accurate, I can't believe it's a pocket gun. No failures of any kind so far.

 

[230RN]

I was glad to see that I'm not the only one who'd rather have the penetration with FMJ rounds in that caliber than simply ruining someone's couture.

 

[PTK]

I was glad to see that I'm not the only one who'd rather have the penetration with FMJ rounds in that caliber than simply ruining someone's couture.

Hell, as a backup gun I carry .45ACP hardball. I figure, if I'm reaching for that I REALLY need penetration.

 

[papajohn]

In my limited Duxseal tests so far, the 102-grain Golden Saber is far and away the best I've tried. Hydrashoks were inconsistent, and the Remington generic HP was AWFUL. I'm sticking with Golden Sabers pending anything else getting my attention.

BTW, I have it on good authority from a retired surgeon I know (who has treated a lot of gunshot wounds) that 380 ball is NOT a good choice, he carries a Bersa .380 like many of us, and stokes it with hollow points, Speer Gold Dots, IIRC. I have yet to test them, but the Gold Dots have pretty well out-performed eveything else, in all other calibers I've tested. To paraphrase what he said, if the HP plugs up, you've got ball anyway, but if it actually expands, the damage is increased by quite a bit. His thought was that the heaviest hollow-point that actually expands would be what he'd choose, in ANY caliber.

He's seen my technique for digging bullets out of the Duxseal, and suggested I keep my day job. Autopsies are apparently not my forte!

Papajohn

 

[rocinante]

102 grain Remington Golden Saber is what I've heard the best things about.

This fires fine in my bersa

 

[230RN]

papajohn noted:

To paraphrase what he (a retired surgeon... who has treated a lot of gunshot wounds) said, if the HP plugs up, you've got ball anyway, but if it actually expands, the damage is increased by quite a bit.

That's a good point. I'm willing to think about that one. And of course the actual wounds he treated had the HP go through normal clothing.

I was wondering if the folks who've tried testing on duxseal, gelatin, etc. actually put some denim, winter overcoat material, a Tee shirt, etc in front of their test media.

Seems to me that aspect of the tests are never reported, so I assume the answer is no. I didn't get a chance to really look at the results in the site cited above, where I think they put "clothing" in front of the medium, but I'll look it over more thoroughly later today.

I'm not "married" to hardball, after all. Just seemed with this and that and the other tradeoffs, hardball seemed to be my own best choice in my .380.

I recently got a Kel-Tec PF-9 which, until I wring it out for reliability with HPs, will be loaded with hardball, but that's a different category of cartridge.

Bogie, I too was wondering about some kind of cap, or, as you say, "ball in the end" HP cartridge for this chambering. Didn't Federal come out with a sort of FMJ with a light jacket over the internal HP?

If it was mentioned in the posts above without reference to the "light cap" jacket, but just by brand name, someone tell me.

Anyone?

--Terry

 

[XDKingslayer]

Nobody is mentioning CorBon DPX?

 

[arthurcw]

Does anyone make a .380 "ball in the end" hollowpoint ?

There's a pow'rball version of that round.
https://dakotaammo.net/shop/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=184

Some folks at KTOG did wet newsprint tests with .380 and found it was hard to beat the Winchester Silver Tip. But the Corbon DPX was an impressive very close second.

Now that was a while ago, I haven't been there is a while to see what's what.

 

[NG VI]

Bogie, I too was wondering about some kind of cap, or, as you say, "ball in the end" HP cartridge for this chambering. Didn't Federal come out with a sort of FMJ with a light jacket over the internal HP?

I think you are thinking of the Federal EFMJ, it is an FMJ with a stressed front jacket and the front core is rubber, not lead, so the front of the bullet squashes flat and expands decently.

 

[mr.72]

surprising nobody has mentioned Doube Tap. I am curious about the response to this thread as well.

 

[Halo]

Nobody is mentioning CorBon DPX?

In the gel tests at the Brassfetcher link posted above, the DPX yielded such shallow penetration that they didn't even finish the test procedure. Of course that's just one test, but it's not very confidence-inspiring. I believe the DPX has been pretty impressive in the more powerful calibers, however.

 

[Zebulon]

I don't independently test ANY ammunition. I trust those that do to provide a large enough body of information so I can make a sensible conclusion for myself. I spent three weeks recently beating evry internet source I could and then bought a case of Cor-Bon DPX. Apart from one aerly test, before the round was redesigned...the DPX is simply unbelieveable! Do your homework, you'll find what you want. There are several very, very good rounds...one or two outstanding rounds. I've heard great claims about Buffalo Bore everything, especially from them...I've seen NO actual testing...I'd go with DPX without any hesitation. Be sure to check the Kel-Tec Forum (owners Forum) and see several long lists of links to actual tests and comparos...Those folks really want to max the power of the .380 because of such short barrels...I've learned much there.....Zebulon

 

[jocko]

dpx

dpx works great in my lcp. also in my PM9..