What is the best .380 HP ammo?

[highcap]

What is the best .380 hollow point ammo for my gals Sig 232? Does anyone have comparative ballistic data for HP's in this caliber? Thanks

 

[Pilot]

I carry Corbon .380 in my Beretta M85FS Cheetah. I have also heard Buffalo Bore is very good.

 

[Guitargod1985]

I also carry Corbon's .380 JHP load in a **drum roll**...

P232.

Not the DPW, but the traditional JHP. It pushes a 90 grain projectile at around 1100 fps.

 

[flphotoguy]

Remington Golden Sabre 102 grain in a P3AT

 

[usp9]

What is the best .380 hollow point ammo for my gals Sig 232?

You may find some HP ammo feeds more reliably than others in your gun. I suggest you try several of the available brands and pick the one that works best. Gold Dot, Winchester Silver Tips and Remmington Golden Sabre have all worked well in my P232s. Your results may vary.

http://www.brassfetcher.com/index_files/Page638.htm

 

[legion3]

+1 Remington Golden Sabre 102 grain in a Ruger LCP.

My second choice would be Corbon PP JHP not the DPX.

 

[mr2guru]

Buffalo bore .380 90gr gold dot.

http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#380

 

[searcher451]

The best one for you is the one that works best in your gun. Buy a handful of boxes of different brands and give each one a run through your Sig. Make your selection when you finish, based on performance. The bottom line is that one guy's best-ever ammo is another guy's jam-o-matic special.

 

[Ala Dan]

I too, suggest the Remington 102 grain Golden Sabre's~!

 

[hinton03]

I don't own a 380 but have been reading about the new Hornady Critical Defense ammo for my older 38 special snubbies. I noticed that they are touting some pretty awesome performance for the 380 round.

 

[Davionmaximus]

I carry Federal Hydrashock's but I have heard good things about Hornady

 

[1KPerDay]

What's wrong with the Cor-Bon DPX?

 

[357sigRog]

I carry Rem. 102gr Golden Sabre's in my Bersa Thunder .380.

 

[Big Daddy Grim]

I prefer golden saber in my smaller guns 9mm and .380. They open really well and I have not had any problems in my tests.

 

[Brass Fetcher]

We may want to open this discussion up, to include answers to the original question.

My quick answer - the .380ACP load that penetrates to 12.0" or deeper in 10% ballistic gelatin and expands. Next up would be the load that does not expand and penetrates to 12.0" or beyond.

So far, out of 2.75" barrels, the Federal 90gr Personal Defense Hydra-Shok expands and penetrates adequately. Everything else .380 that I have tested either expanded too much and penetrated too little, or did not expand at all.

Hope this helps ...

 

[Ben Shepherd]

JE223, Have you tried the Fiochi offering loaded with the Hornady 90 grain XTP?

 

[Brass Fetcher]

Ben,

I have not tried the Fiocchi loading, but I have tested the 90gr XTP bullets from handloads.

http://www.brassfetcher.com/Various .380ACP handloads.html

Based on the limited testing that you see on the website for .380ACP, I would take the XTPs as my choice in this caliber/barrel length, if it were not possible to get the 90gr Hydra-Shok bullets.

The 102gr Golden Saber >should< penetrate more deeply than it has, but it appears to expand to too large of a diameter to do this.

 

[WRGADog]

Corbon DPX or hornaday Critical Defense

These are my favorites.

 

[X-Rap]

Corbon or Hydra shock is where I would start.

 

[tostada]

This is for a girl! The Sig 232 is a 17.6oz blowback pistol -- it already recoils more than most small 9mms. It sure seems pretty absurd to suggest ultra-hot +P ammo like Buffalo Bore.

The 232 has a 92mm barrel. The Bersa Thunder 380 has a 90mm barrel, so results should be similar. The Walther PPK is 83mm, so it's not too far off.

I think DPX is your best choice in .380. It's standard pressure. It seems to penetrate better than any other standard pressure JHP. It expands to about 0.73". Here's a test of DPX in the Bersa:
http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Bersa Thunder.htm

Here's some data with DPX in a PPK -- penetrates 7.5" and expands to 0.725" with 4 layers of denim:
http://www.stoppingpower.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10021

Tests like this show excellent results for Golden Saber and Hornady XTP:
http://www.mouseguns.com/final380.htm

But then tests that include DPX show the DPX clearly outperforming Golden Saber:
http://www.ktog.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1158344941;start=

Here's another good test with DPX in a Sig penetrating 10" in a wetpack.
http://www.ktrange.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=5183&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

Many people recommend ball ammo with .380 so you can be sure you get enough penetration, but it looks like DPX can penetrate pretty well (at least out of 3.5" barrels like the Sig/Bersa/PPK). Maybe it doesn't get 12" penetration, but I'd say that 8-9" penetration and a 0.60 - 0.75" hole is better than ball ammo penetrating 20"+.

I'm not going to get DPX in larger calibers because there's plenty good ammo out there that costs 1/4 what DPX costs, but in .380 there aren't many choices.

 

[gglass]

Remington Golden Sabre 102gr - Hands down!

 

[oldgoat59]

Do a search for this ( Glaser Blue Safety Slug ) my boss uses this in his colt 380

 

[jackstinson]

ANY that you can actually find to buy these days.

 

[1KPerDay]

Do a search for this ( Glaser Blue Safety Slug ) my boss uses this in his colt 380

You and your boss may want to read up on that stuff re: penetration.

jackstinson... no kidding!

 

[bannockburn]

I like Corbon DPX and Federal HydraShoks. I have found 100 round WWB at WallyWorld for around $33.00. Not bad ammo for practice or plinking.