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anyone use Remington Express .380 JHP?

11K views 25 replies 10 participants last post by  Mark_in_wi 
#1 ·
I bought a box of this ammo on sale (more or less on a whim), then got it home and noticed it's a scant 88 grains. The flat nosed WWB I had been carrying in it is still pretty light at 95 grains. I've searched around and can't find much on the JHP Express, not on any of the forums or YouTube. Anyone use it, or can you point me to anything about it? I'm torn on what to carry in this little .380, but I guess I'm in the "even if it doesn't expand what do you lose?" camp in the small caliber JHP v. FMJ debate. I think the Golden Sabre weighs in at 102, but I can't find comparative velocities. Even if it doesn't make much real-world difference I'm curious. Thanks for any thoughts.
 
#2 ·
i have a few boxes of golden sabers in 380cal that i was planning on using as carry ammo. after reading abt penetration with the 380 on different forums, i decided to stick with FMJ for carry ammo for the 380. but for JHP i'll go with the golden saber. i did test the golden saber in my LCP and it fed without a problem.
 
#5 ·
Well, here's an update. I just got back from the range and the 88gr JHP Rem Express feed very well indeed in my P3AT. It also seemed to have quite a bit more zip to it than the flat nose WWB I had. Feeling pretty good about it after sending a bunch downrange. Might not be so great at night though; good size ball of fire compared to the other ammo I've sent through it.
 
#8 ·
MitchellCT,

I thought it might be possible that someone else on this forum might be interested. You evidently were not, but felt the need to post something dismissive. I think your preamble conveys your tone pretty well. You don't have to care about anything that I or anyone else posts, but if it doesn't interest you maybe you could just let it be?
 
#9 ·
You don't have to care about anything that I or anyone else posts, but if it doesn't interest you maybe you could just let it be?
Your request has been submitted for debate by the council...

Answer is...No.

And to the meat of the issue, my answer was dead on point. You aren't getting much with a .380ACP for self defense, so comparing different loads is rather pointless.

Place your shot, and place a lot of them, and they will work. Looking for a difference between .380ACP ammo is like looking for the difference between sheep poop or goat poop.

The differences are rather insignificant, as they both stink.

Placement of fire & volume of fire - That's the thing that matters once you have reliability and accuracy. Nothing more.
 
#14 ·
There are those who think there is a great difference in effectiveness between one handgun caliber and another; or between one kind of ammunition design and another.

From all I've seen and read, including from medical professionals who see lots of handgun wounds, I'm of the opinion that there isn't too much difference.

Reliability is first; shot placement is second; penetration is third; and expansion (if any at all) is a distant last place. More shots, as quickly as possible, is always better - no matter the caliber or bullet type.

I've yet to see a JHP in .380 that will get to the FBI desired penetration depth of 15 inches in gel. Most do not even meet the minimum of 12 inches. Which is why I use FMJ in my .380 LCPs.

Is my 9mm PM9 "better" than my .380 LCP? Sure. But probably by not as much as most would suppose. I feel comfortable with either. And after running my little LCP through a low light class, I think I could do very well with it.
 
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#15 ·
I carry Golden Sabers in my P3AT. I would carry FMJ's, but you give up expansion. I would carry a typical JHP, but you give up penetration. With the Golden Saber, while penetration won't be as good as the FMJ, of course, they're the heaviest .380 round I'm seen, providing a bit more penetration then lighter JHP's, yet you still get the expansion.

For me it's Golden Saber's, FMJ, or nothing. Of course, My P3AT is not my primary carry gun. I'm not very fond of .380 for defense, but I can't carry my Glock 30 EVERYwhere. So a .380 is better than nothing.

I like the carry DPX round in .45ACP, despite the fact I usually like heavy for caliber. If they made a 230gr DPX, I'd use that over the 185gr. But the DPX performs so well, it's hard to argue with it.

I wonder how DPX rounds in .380 perform.
 
#16 ·
According to these tests, your Golden Saber rounds are really just expensive FMJ rounds, as they do not seem to expand when fired out of the P3at/LCP - length barrel:

GoldenLoki.com

Just stick to FMJ, IMHO. Or, if you have difficulty giving up the supposed advantages of a JHP, you can always dutch load one JHP, one FMJ, and so on.
 
#20 ·
I carry the WWB 95 gr FMJ truncated cone rounds. I don't think a few extra grains of weight is going to matter much. They feed well, and I've never had any issues with them igniting. They are a little dirty, but who cares? Some claim the flat points will drive straighter, and have less of a chance of deflecting off bone. Not sure if that is true, but I use them anyway. Some also claim the flat points do a bit more damage to tissue than round nose bullets. Again, not sure if true or not - but a JHP essentially turns into a flat point when it expands, so maybe there is a little bit of an advantage.

I'm still not convinced there is a huge difference between different types of handgun bullets. Buckshot is widely regarded as the best man-stopper available to civilians, and it is nothing more than a bunch of smooth, round lead balls (which each only weigh about 60 gr) - so go figure.
 
#23 ·
That's a good point. Don't Golden Sabres use some kind of "low flash" powder for (supposedly) less flash-induced night blindness? I've never really done a lot of shooting at night, but that's what they say. I do notice comparatively huge amounts of fire when I use certain brands of ammo at the range though.
 
#22 ·
Dunno. Maybe.

All I DO know is that I've fired literally thousands upon thousands of rounds of WWB over the years, and have had zero ammo-related failures. Seems to be of good quality to me.:dunno:
 
#25 ·
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