Informal First Look: Corbon .380 DPX Ammunition...

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Stephen A. Camp

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Hello. I recently received some of this ammunition from Corbon. It is a standard pressure load, something appreciated by many shooters who prefer not loading their handguns with anything +P rated.

380DPXFedammo1.jpg
The 80-gr. DPX is centered between Federal Classic 90-gr. JHP on the left and Federal 95-gr. FMJ on the right.

It uses a homogeneous copper alloy bullet with a large hollow cavity; there is no jacket and the bullet is designed to perform to the FBI protocol of at least 12" penetration. Not having access to ballistic gelatin nor a constant-temperature laboratory, I do not know how well it will meet such testing, but am extremely hopeful after my own "backyard ballistics" informal testing.

380DPXexp1.jpg
This expanded DPX bullet was fired into water using a Bersa Thunder pistol having a 3.5" barrel. Expansion was remarkably consistent whether fired into water or super-saturated newsprint.

Ten shots were fired approximately ten feet from the chronograph screens and the average velocity from my Bersa Thunder was 1067 ft/sec, slightly higher than Corbon's nominally-listed 1050 ft/sec.

When fired into both water and super-saturated newsprint, expansion was very consistant and uniform. These bullets did not fragment and I could find no loss in bullet weight from recovered bullets.

Accuracy was very good and these cartridges ran smoothly in the Bersa. There was no "hesitation" at all in feeding and ejection was positive. There were zero malfunctions.

380DPX15ydtargetbersa1.jpg
Using a rest and a two-hand hold from a seated position, this five-shot group was about average for the DPX and Bersa at 15 yards. Certainly this is farther than most might deem necessary for this type/caliber firearm, but if it is satisfactory at this distance, it should be fine closer in as well. There was no evidence whatsoever of anything other than bullets impacting the target that were stabile in flight; no tipping or out-of-round holes.

Only forty shots were fired and that's not a definitive test for reliability at all, but it does appear that this round should feed in most .380 autoloaders.

If this ammunition might be useful to you, please contact Corbon via their website at www.corbon.com for pricing and availability. If it is not on the market yet, it should be very soon.

For those interested in a more detailed report, follow the link below:

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Bersa Thunder.htm


Best.
 
Nice posting. They look a lot like the Taurus all copper SD rounds they used to have on their web page. I often carry a Walther PPKS with Win SXT's they are the only rounds I have really tested that worked every time. I like Federal Hydroshocks but they stuck on the feed ramp when the gun was new, they work fine now but have it stuck in the back of my mind so I shot them up. Have some Gold Dot's waiting to be tested. Will have to give these a try also.
 
Thanks once again for an informative report. This round sounds very interesting
and I am looking forward to trying it.
 
Stephen,

Thanks for the valuable information!
You may have to re-tweak the html of its particular page
on your excellent hipowersandhandguns website.
It seems the article images aren't displaying properly.


:)

horge
 
Firefox 1.0.6 renders the page fine, as does IE 6.0.x.

The Bersa has entered my radar as a definite possible on my short list. Thanks for the ammo report, Stephen.
 
Hello and thanks very much.

horge, I was at the photo-hosting site I use and they mentioned some possible downtime this evening. I've also had complaints from AOL users about not being able to see the pictures. Hopefully, it's just a temporary thing.

Best.
 
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