NMGonzo
Member
Today I don't have my bersa with me.
Not because it is insuficient, just because I can rotate handguns!
Not because it is insuficient, just because I can rotate handguns!
I prefer hardball in short barreled .380s because I want maximum reliability and penetration. I'm not convinced that the latest in hollow-point bullet design will reliably expand with the fps limit imposed by short barrels and hardball is the standard when it comes to dependable function in autos and penetration (don't want my bullet caught up in some bg's heavy outer-wear).
I've heard this argument from a LOT of people but honestly it doesnt' make sense to me.
I used to carry a .380 Sig P230, but not any more. Before I left Houston, there was an officer involved shooting. A man was shot point-blank in the face with a .380. While it took the fight out of him temporarily, it was not a definite stopper. In surgery, one slug was removed from his sinus cavity. I dont know if they were solids or hollow points, but thats all I need to know. Besides, the cost of premium .380 jhp's is the same as the cost of a bigger round, either .45 or 9mm, or .357SIG.
Either of those last three rounds can be launched from a gun only a bit larger than some .380's, like the S&W 3913, a Sig 239 or 245. Also there are the mighty.38 and .357 j-frame guns to consider.
Permit me to ask this question.....would you be willing to be hit with .380/9 mm Kurz ball ammunition from 25 yards away.Me, too, Boomcrash. My first EDC was an LCP. But, we recently had an incident were a guy was shot four times with an LCP. He walked up and down the street for 20 minutes trying to stop traffic to get help. Now, I admit I do not know where he was shot at, but still, that makes me wonder.
I have a PF9 that I carry 70% of the time, now. I've got a G36 on the way that I hope to replace the PF9 with. But, I will keep the LCP and carry it at times when the PF9 and G36 just won't do. I figure 13 rds of 380 Hydra-shoks are better than nothing.
That's right jon, in the tests I've see, the clogged JHP acts like a FMJ round as far as penetration goes; but, does not "fail to penetrate" the layers.
if a bullet expands (and if is a big qualifying word when we presume meaningful expansion in the context of relatively slow-moving projectiles from short-barreled .380s), it, almost by definition, cedes some degree of penetration.
True That! It'd be nice to walk into a gunstore and pick up a few boxes of the ammo you want and actually have a choice. These days you have to take what you can get and some prices are outrageous too. There's almost no .380 ammo anywhere for anyprice.I'm not confident, because I can't find any damn bullets.
You do realize that if the bullet fails to expand, it will penetrate *deeper*?I prefer hardball in short barreled .380s because I want maximum reliability and penetration. I'm not convinced that the latest in hollow-point bullet design will reliably expand with the fps limit imposed by short barrels and hardball is the standard when it comes to dependable function in autos and penetration (don't want my bullet caught up in some bg's heavy outer-wear).
A .380 ACP that penetrates a bare arm will probably expand and under-penetrate. Keep in mind that the skin on the exit side of the arm is going to deplete a few inches of the bullet's penetration potential before it reaches the torso. Depending on the angle a bullet may have to penetrate 4-5 inches of arm, and expend a couple of inches of its penetration potential stretching the skin on the exit side of the arm until the skin tears so the bullet can exit, so we’re looking at a realistic possibility that 6-7 inches of the bullet’s penetration potential is depleted before it reaches and penetrates the torso.If HPs are not likely to expand from the short barrels then there is no advantage to the FMJs.