High(er) Velocity 380 Bullets in a 9mm. Do They Work?

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Originally Posted by Shawn Dodson

Try 90gr XTP. At approx 1000 fps from a .380 Beretta 85 it fragments and penetrates just shy of 12".

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I've shot the Barnes 95gr TAC XP 9mm loaded by Wilson Combat into gel. Running about 1,200 fps that bullet does 9.5" after passing through clothing. Not a 380 bullet in length but it is in mass.



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Originally Posted by Tokarev

So I'm not sure what all this proves. I guess my takeaway is the Barnes TAC XP bullets are pretty darned amazing. Here's a bullet that's being pushed probably a good 400 fps faster than it is designed for and it is staying together and coming out of the gel with 100% weight retention.

I'm still curious about what it'll take to get the bullet going fast enough to penetrate to a 12in minimum. Maybe next time I'll try the Ruger PCC. See what a 16in barrel does to velocity.

I should also test the load out a little in my SIG 938. The load may have some value in the pocket gun.

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With my homebuilt 16" PCC (AR 9mm) I was hoping to run one load which is my normal 9mm minor load. I found that this load runs 150 FPS faster than in my 5" barreled pistol. This is with e3 powder which is very fast burning. A more conventional powder I would think would be an even bigger increase. The serious USPSA gamers are reducing their loads and still not getting down too far in their PCC guns.

I loaded up some Sierra 90 HP's in 9mm with a heavy dose of CFE pistol. These loads are in major 9 territory and I got an average velocity of 1781fps. I fired two bullets into clear gel and both came in just under 9 inches. The recovered weights were 41gr and 39gr. Lead and jackets started tearing off at about the two inch mark. No sign of pressure so I could probably bump up the charge but the over all length was so short it didn't like to feed in the Glock 17 I was using. That was fun but now I think I will slow it down and see if I can turn it into a mild recoiling steel load.

https://i.imgur.com/ti6caL5l.jpg?1

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Originally Posted by 5pins

I loaded up some Sierra 90 HP's in 9mm with a heavy dose of CFE pistol. These loads are in major 9 territory and I got an average velocity of 1781fps. I fired two bullets into clear gel and both came in just under 9 inches. The recovered weights were 41gr and 39gr. Lead and jackets started tearing off at about the two inch mark. No sign of pressure so I could probably bump up the charge but the over all length was so short it didn't like to feed in the Glock 17 I was using. That was fun but now I think I will slow it down and see if I can turn it into a mild recoiling steel load.

https://i.imgur.com/ti6caL5l.jpg?1

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Far out. Maybe back the velocity down a couple hundred feet and see if you can get a couple more inches of penetration out of it?

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Originally Posted by Tokarev

So I'm not sure what all this proves. I guess my takeaway is the Barnes TAC XP bullets are pretty darned amazing. Here's a bullet that's being pushed probably a good 400 fps faster than it is designed for and it is staying together and coming out of the gel with 100% weight retention.

I'm still curious about what it'll take to get the bullet going fast enough to penetrate to a 12in minimum. Maybe next time I'll try the Ruger PCC. See what a 16in barrel does to velocity.

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Very interested in what you find!

I've always wondered what a well constructed lighter weight bullet would do in a 9mm carbine.