Buffalo Bore's 100gr hardcast 380+P

[Antihero]

So i saw this stuff in the store and decided to give it a whirl for the hell of it and im pretty impressed. Out of my P3AT it hits a chron-ed 1083fps for a muzzle energy of 261 ft-lbs, fairly impressive for a 380. It does have quite a bit o recoil for such a small round, something like twice the felt recoil of the cor-bon Powr Ball i had laying around.

Accuracy was pretty good as well, i got groups in the 3 inch range at about 7yards,which is phenominal for a gun with as horrid of sights as the p3at.

No jamming problems either, another surprising occurance as the kel tec is how shall we say bitchy about what it'll shoot.

All in all i like it. I might give their 90gr JHP load a try as well, as long as i can find some info on how the 380 90 grainer penetrates at about 200fps faster than normal.

 

[Snowdog]

I'm sorry, you lost me at "So i saw this stuff in the store"....

You saw .380acp in a store?

Ok

I've been wanting to try some of the .32acp hard cast fodder for my P32, but I'm cozy enough with S&B 73gr FMJ to bunker down and weather the storm.
It encouraging to see there's someone who found .380acp on a shelf somewhere however.

 

[skoro]

I carry my Kel-Tec quite a bit, especially in the hot weather, which is about 8 months out of 12 here in Texas. My magazine aternates rounds between the BB hardcast and Hornady Critical Defense. The BBs are true penetrators, in my experience. And the CDs appear to expand reliably. When it comes to .380, you can choose one: penetration or expansion. My mix gives me both, just not in the same round.

 

[Dr_2_B]

"So i saw this stuff in the store"

Seriously. You must have quite a collection of 4 leaf clovers too. I've forgotten what .380 boxes actually look like

 

[AJChenMPH]

Thanks for the review. I was planning on getting a box or two of this stuff myself and mixing in with hollow-points for when I can CCW.

 

[Antihero]

Seriously. You must have quite a collection of 4 leaf clovers too. I've forgotten what .380 boxes actually look like

I live up in Idaho and as long as you're not looking for FMJ blasting stuff its fairly easy to find, and not jacked up in price.

Anyone have any info on Buffalo Bore's 380 JHP rounds? Im sorta worried that a bullet that was designed to go around 900fps is gonna basically become a frangible at 1200fps.

 

[Snowdog]

Here's a cut and paste from BBs website. According to them, the JHP they use is bonded (think Gold Dot) and, again according to them, is intended to stay together at 1200 fps. Velocity from your P3AT looks to be 1100 FPS, decreasing the likelihood of fragmentation. Of course all bets are off if you strike bone as can be said with all JHPs.

90gr. Jacketed Hollow Point bullet and is the only hollow nosed expanding bullet we trust to expand reliably, yet penetrate deep enough to be lethal on a drugged up, pain free attacker. It is traveling over 1,200 fps out of my BDA (Browning Double Action) with its 3.75 inch barrel. This bullet is truly bonded and will mushroom to about .55 caliber and not lose any weight, thus penetrating quite deeply in human matter. You should expect about 10+ inches of penetration in flesh and bone. We've utilized the very same flash suppressed powders that we've used in our two other 380 auto +P loads. If you like the idea of the extra big hole this expanding load makes in human flesh, we would advise that you load this bullet in your chamber, followed by a magazine full of our non-expanding loads. So, if the first shot does not incapacitate the attacker, your magazine is full of ammo that will, if you can put the bullet in his spine or brain from any angle. Note my "real world" velocities from my personal "real world" pistols.

1. BDA-3.75 inch barrel----1218 fps
2. Walther PPK-3.5 inch barrel-----1200 fps
3. Colt Mustang Pocket Lite-2.75 inch barrel---1123 fps
4. Keltec---1100 fps

 

[RedAlert]

If I remember correctly this brand of ammo is loaded to maximum SAMMI standards. Only designed for handguns in excellent condition. Not recommended for older pistols or those made to a lower quality standard. I also recall that in some calibers, the company states which pistols it is suited.

Ralph

 

[Antihero]

Here's a cut and paste from BBs website. According to them, the JHP they use is bonded (think Gold Dot) and, again according to them, is intended to stay together at 1200 fps. Velocity from your P3AT looks to be 1100 FPS, decreasing the likelihood of fragmentation. Of course all bets are off if you strike bone as can be said with all JHPs.

Cool thanks, i totally missed that.

If I remember correctly this brand of ammo is loaded to maximum SAMMI standards. Only designed for handguns in excellent condition. Not recommended for older pistols or those made to a lower quality standard. I also recall that in some calibers, the company states which pistols it is suited.

Ralph

While this is good info im not sure it pertains in this context.