P3AT: Three different bullets tested

[Jackal]

I was a little curious as to which ammo to carry in my P3AT. I just purchased three brands and tested each by firing into a 3 gallon water jug with a thick catalog taped to the back. The Magtech Fist Defense bullet performed very poorly, looking almost good enough to reload and it penetrated the jug and the catalog. The Wolf Gold line Hollow Point deformed slightly and ended up half way through the catalog, but again, no expansion. Then came the Speer Gold Dots. Ah the Gold Dot. The best performing bullet that I have tried yet. I would argue that it is the perfect performing bullet for the P3AT. The Gold Dot entered the jug, expanded to .48 and stopped about half way through. It did not penetrate the jug. All shooting was done from 10ft away.

 

[RyanM]

That is horrible performance if you plan on shooting anything bigger than a fat raccoon. For a human, you want 12.5" in calibrated tissue simulant, bare minimum. The only ammunition which appears to penetrate close to this minimum out of a P3AT (though it doesn't quite exceed it) is Federal Personal Defense Hydra-Shoks. Out of a larger gun, they expand more, and will underpenetrate. Given Hydra-Shoks' tendency to plug with clothing and fail to expand, your best bet is to stick with flatnosed FMJ.

http://www.brassfetcher.com/ Click .380, then Federal Hydra-Shok.