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Thread: .380 JHP vs. Ball

  1. #1

    .380 JHP vs. Ball

    I carry a BUG (keltec or ruger, depending) that fires .380, and while I realize it isn't an ideal round or gun, it is easy to carry in a pocket.

    My dilemma is regarding what ammunition to use. I've done quite a bit of research, and most JHP SD rounds seem to have pretty reasonable penetration for what they are, but I can't help but think that expansion is going to slow it down.

    I'm considering giving up my Hydro-shocks for ball ammo.

    Thoughts?
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  2. #2
    Very Pro Dentist Chuck Haggard's Avatar
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    Doc will tell you that none of the .380 JHPs penetrate enough to meet spec, thus ball is what is recommended.

    I'd go with whatever is 100% reliable in your gun.

    Of the .380 JHPs that I have seen tested the only ones I would carry are the Hornady XTP or CD or the Speer Gold Dot. Both expand some and almost make the 12" mark.

  3. #3
    Member CatsEye's Avatar
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    Me and most of the people I know who carry a .380 backup do so with FMJ ammo. With this round I prefer more penetration over expansion.
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    Fairly sure this topic has come up here before, but definitely count me in the crowd that would only use FMJ in .380 ACP. The cartridge just plain doesn't have the energy needed to ensure both reliable penetration and expansion.

  5. #5
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    I carried the Buffalo Bore 100 grain hardcast in my P3AT for a couple of years with the idea that it would definitely penetrate to at least 12". It clocked 1,031 fps on average if memory serves me, and with about 200 rounds of it through the gun it functioned flawless. Unfortunately it was causing the barrel hood to peen the breachface, so I gave up on them and switched to the 90 grain Gold Dots. They don't beat the gun up and I can get better follow up shots off. I can see why someone would choose fmj instead of jhp though. To each their own.

  6. #6
    Site Supporter JodyH's Avatar
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    There are very few FMJ .380 rounds that have the QC I trust for carry ammo.
    I have Winchester RA380T 95gr. JHP in my Ruger LCP.
    They function perfectly and I consider the LCP a "screw it in the eye socket" pistol anyway so I'm not that worried about 1 or 2 inches either way.
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by JodyH View Post
    There are very few FMJ .380 rounds that have the QC I trust for carry ammo.
    I have Winchester RA380T 95gr. JHP in my Ruger LCP.
    They function perfectly and I consider the LCP a "screw it in the eye socket" pistol anyway so I'm not that worried about 1 or 2 inches either way.
    Speer Lawman is available in .380, FWIW.

  8. #8
    Murder Machine, Harmless Fuzzball TCinVA's Avatar
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    So lemme wrench the works with a question:

    We're frequently told to use ball ammo in mouseguns because we want all the penetration we can get. I'm cool with that...but in my experience the overwhelming majority of ball ammo you can find in any non-military caliber is the mass produced stuff which is made with lower quality components and lower quality control. For whatever reason, this seems to be especially true in the .380 I've purchased over the years. I've encountered more dud, squib, and malformed .380 rounds than from any other caliber even though I've fired truckloads more 9mm or .45 ACP than .380 in my life.

    As a result, I carry the 90 grain Speer JHP in my LCP because while the little hollowpoint round may not be the best in terms of the terminal ballistics performance it offers, it's made to the same standard as the rest of Speer's duty/self defense rounds in terms of the quality of the components, the attention to detail in the manufacture, and the quality control it receives. So it's more likely to go bang in the first place and to reliably function in the little pistol.

    Is there a source of really good quality FMJ ammo that addresses all these concerns that I just don't know about or what?

  9. #9
    Site Supporter Tamara's Avatar
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    One thing I don't like about round-nosed ball in .25/.32/.380 is that it seems like it would exacerbate the tendency of these underpowered rounds to glance off ribs and such. I don't have any empirical evidence to back this up, but it's the reason I carried XTPs in my Jetfire lo these many years ago. If they made .25ACP semi-wadcutters or even flat-point FMJ, I'd have gladly carried those.
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  10. #10
    Site Supporter Tamara's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jslaker View Post
    Speer Lawman is available in .380, FWIW.
    My opinion of Speer Lawman took a nosedive during the Boberg XR9S testing, when I discovered that it was so lacking in anything resembling a crimp that the rounds simply separated as the pistol tried to cycle them.

    (Similarly, we were using .45ACP Lawman as range ammo at CCA at the same time we sold off some clearance-priced S&W 325PD AirLite N-frame snubbies. Hilarity ensued as not one of those revolvers could make it three or four rounds before tying up the gun with pulled bullets.)
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