Rem. .380 88gr JHP almost as good as Win. 85gr Silvertip?

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Green Lantern

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From the March 2001 issue of Hanguns magazine, Cpl. Ed Sanow tested several .380 loads. Here are the results comparing these two (what I carry in my P3AT vs. what I was considering for a better SD choice)

Remington "el cheapo Wally World Special:"

Velocity: 990
Energy: 192
Recovered Diameter: .54
Gelatin Depth: 9.0
ONE-SHOT STOPS: 67% actual

Winchester Silvertip:

Velocity: 989
Energy: 185
Recovered Diameter: .63
Gelatin Depth: 6.5
ONE-SHOT STOPS: 68% actual

Of course, maybe some numbers mean more than others, but by this data it looks like the Remington may actually have an edge? More energy and penetration...less expansion, but only one percent less of a 1-shot stop potential?

One thing that is lacking in this chart is the barrel length of the test gun(s) used...
 
IMO, Remington's best .380 ACP load is the 102 gr. Golden Saber. In my tests, it achieved similar expansion and better penetration than any other .380 factory load. Winchester SXT and Cor-Bon also performed well.

Regardless, .380 is pretty iffy for effecting an incapcitating wound on a determined attacker.

With double the penetration and a good bit more expanded diameter, I'll stick to my 10mm.
 
Find me a 10mm that's the size and weight of a P3AT we'll talk! ;)

BTW, regarding the "one-shot stop" potential (however they came up with the number), the hottest +Ps they tested only got up to 71%.

Thus, the .380 is not a "hot rod," but at least of the two I'm looking at in this thread, they don't get a WHOLE LOT better...
 
To be technical, I should have said "A gun with the size, weight, capacity, and recoil of the P3AT that hits with 10mm power!" :what: :evil:
 
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