Take a look at the gel tests done at Goldenloki. They were done with a P3at, so you get a better idea of what the .380 will do from these shorter barrels.
I generally go with the FBI standard - 12 inches minimum, with 15 preferred. Some JHPs in .380 will just barely make 12, none that I've seen will make 15 (assuming they expand at all).
Given that penetration is vastly more important than expansion - I just use FMJ in my LCPs. FMJ will do 16-17 inches. Works for me.
Isn't expansion basically required to get a solid .380 hit? Also, why does a bullet need to go 12"? The average human torso is 8 to 10 inches deep, front to back, with the heart lying at about 5 inches, and aorta at 7?
I carry some of the Spanish Santa Barbara surplus ammo available a few years back, featuring a flat nosed (actually slightly concave) FMJ 95 grain bullet that gens up 1032 fps from the Kel Tec P3AT over my chronograph's screens. It isn't labeled as "+P" but behaves as "+P". I will only carry some sort of FMJ in a .380. I don't prefer a .380 if I can hide anything larger.
In my humble opinion, you left out the best choices of Buffalo Bore. Their "Barnes" ammo line is non-lead for the "green people" but not nearly as effective as a lead round. I also use Speer Gold Dot in most everything else because it generally has a higher velocity with the same caliber, weight and type of bullet than anything else; however, they don't offer a .380+p for guns strong enough to shoot them safely.
Quick comparisons:
Speer Gold Dot .380: 90gr / GDHP / 1040 fps / 216 ft/lbs muzzle energy
Buffalo Bore .380+p: 90gr / JHP / 1200 fps / 288 ft/lbs muzzle energy
Buffalo Bore .380+p 100gr / HC (flat nose ball) / 1150 fps / 294 ft/lbs muzzle energy
Expansion of the Buffalo Bore JHP is excellent and consistent at the high velocity, and penetration depth of the Hard Cast/flat nose ball is equally excellent at the higher velocity. Since you need all the help you can get with a .380, I haven't found anything yet that tops Buffalo Bore.
I'm only an old combat veteran and by no means an "expert"; so I suppose that's why I continue deviating from most "expert opinion" by keeping my Mustang .380 chambered with a BB/JHP, then the magazine alternating between the BB HC/JHP/HC/JHP etc.... Don't care which one is coming up next, but I can keep pumping alternating expansion and penetration rounds into my target as long as either (1) the threat remains, (2) I'm able to get some running room, or (3) unil I'm out of bullets and have to run.
JHPs in .380, when they expand, usually fail to penetrate 12" in soft tissue.
Given the "super-sizing" of the US population, unless I get a perfect or nearly perfect frontal presentation devoid of any obstructions, twelve inches may not be enough to achieve incapacitation.
If I have to carry a .380, it is loaded with FMJs ("round nose" or "flat point", the difference is negligible). I want the ability to "reach through" barriers (like cover) and an assailant's anatomy (upraised arms) to destroy critical anatomy. Nothing else matters.
I use Hornaday Critical Defense FTX ammunition in my LCP because its designed for short barrel and has excellent expansion qualities that will not clog like standard hollow point bullets when fired through heavy clothing. Ballistic reports show that it meets “FBI Protocol” handgun ammunition requirements.
What reports are those? Every test I've seen of .380 CD shows it failing to meet the FBI minimum of 12 inches. Most tests show 10-11 inches. Close, but no cigar.
You did not have the Buffalo Bore 100 grain hard cast +P. That is what I carry and I think it will work well. .380 just does not have enough power for a hollow point IMHO. I am using a P3AT for what it is worth.
I like Speer Gold dot and also CorBon 90 grain HP (it's really +p) but shoots well in my Kahrs
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