380 ammo

[Grinder]

I have an S&W Bodyguard 380. It's a fun little cannon. So far it's been accurate and reliable and I load it up with Hornady Critical Defense.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[481]

For the .380, 95gr. FMJs

[rugergunner]

I know its only 380. But for those that own and carry a 380 for sd What type of guns do you carry and what ammo is it stoked with. Do you feel confident in its capabilitys. Do you carry year round. When weather is cooler and the bgs have more clothing on. Just curious on your thoughts on this smaller caliber. My 380 carry is a Bersa thunder 380 with critical defense ammo when I feel like carrying a lighter carry pakage. Stay safe everyone.

Nothing wrong with your choice of gun or caliber in my humble opinion. I have owned three Bersas in the past and they have done well. The Hornady ammo you carry in it is going to give you about all you can expect our of the 9x17mm cartridge. Out of that gun with that load you are getting about 225 ft/lbs. of energy at the muzzle, with decent penetration. Is the .380 ACP a hard hitting round? No, but shot placement is what is important. A well placed .22 LR bullet will kill an attacker. JMHO.

[Shutterbug]

I carry Walther PPK/S w/Crimson Trace grips. Two tone Cerakote black over gray. Just started handloading Hornady Critical Defense 90gr HP...not +p, but a little bit on the hot side. I like this combo

[Stevew]

Have Colt Govt 380 and LCP. Seldom carry either. The small 380s are hard to shoot and the large the 380s can be replaced by 9mm.

[AdamSean]

I found another table on .380 performance. It seems one of the oldest is still the best in this caliber. Hydra-Shock and Golden Sabers are my first choices in this caliber.

http://www.brassfetcher.com/380ACP/3...ry%20Table.pdf

[g26az]

I have a Kel-Tec P3AT. It is my "always" gun - except when I'm in the shower. I used to carry it with a Corbon DPX hollow point in the chamber, then FMJ or BB hard cast loads after that. Figured the first shot was the "expander", then the FMJ rounds were there to make sure I got penetration to something vital. Then When I began watching the ballistic gel testing with 4 layers of denim, etc on You Tube, I realized that the .380 FMJ would probably over penentrate like the old .38 special RNL rounds used to do. That was about the time that LAPD authorized its officers to carry the LCP with Critical Defense ammo. My Kel-Tec works fine with Critical Defense ammo, and since there was a sale going on on the identical "Zombie Max" ammo, I picked up several boxes to use for practice, etc. I figure that if the CD ammo in the LCP is good enough for LAPD, then my nearly identical P3AT with the same ammo is good enough for me. So far, it has never failed me in any of the gunfights I've been involved in (which is ZERO!) so at this time I intend to continue with this current set up for when I'm lounging in my sweats and T-shirt, or feel the need to stick a BUG somewhere to assist my .45 Commander.

[donutz28]

NAA Guardian 380, Federal HydraShok 90gr
Just in case the 7 Hydrashok's don't stop the tyrannosaurus rex from eating me, the backup magazine has 6 BuffaloBore +P 90gr HP's.

[Okie765]

My EDC is the dependable Ruger LCP in a pocket De Santis Nemesis holster. I don't feel undergunned with it at all and I practice, practice, practice with it at the range.
I came to the conclusion to exclusively use the Winchester white box 95gr FMJ-FP for my SD round. It's the same round I practice with and tests have shown that it will penetrate close to 19 inches. (denim & gel).

I had similar questions when I started CC-ing my LCP and I inquired in a previous post. Penetration was what I was concerned about the most with the 380 round in a posible SD situation. Read all about it below:

380 Winchester 95 grain Fmj-Fp for defensive-carry?

[DocT65]

Winchester Ranger Type T, 95 grain (if you can find it). Superb round for the .380 Auto.

[jblives2ride]

carry a sig p238, colt defender, or sig p938 in the summer with gold dots, glock 23, or 1911 in winter..

[MamaMaria]

While I no longer have my P238, I kept it filled with Underwood 90gr +P. If I ever decide to carry another .380 pistol (may revisist the .380 for the summer), I'll continue to use Underwood Ammo--hot loads comparable to Buffalo Bore, sold in 50rd boxes for the price of BB's 20 rd boxes.