.380 FMJ for a BUG

[Jerm]

My experience with the search says i wont have much luck looking for .380.I went back several pages manually and didnt locate anything.

I have a cousin who's carrying a pocket .380 and asked me to look into the best route for feeding it.

I see in the sticky it's recommended to use FMJ if you're going with a .380 due to the added penetration.I had already told him this would probably be the case but...

Is just going with a major brand of "target" FMJ acceptable?Or is there any "defense FMJ" for the .380 i should point him to?Perhaps higher velocity?...More reliable function?

Any info would be appreciated.I have yet to come across any FMJ that wasnt marketed as "target/range/practice" in my search.

[cathellsk]

I do believe the Winchester white box FMJ is preferred since it has a flat point.

[Wayne Dobbs]

Good luck finding any WWB.

The first hurdle is to make sure that whatever your friend selects ammo wise will reliably run the pistol. The little .380s are fairly notorious for being unreliable and ammo sensitive. I can think of a couple of godawful horror stories involving off duty shooting incidents with the first round firing and hitting and the gun then malfuctioning (both bank robbers).

Next, the really bad news on this caliber is that if the bullet penetrates far enough, it will not have expanded much, if at all. Conversely, if it expands adequately, it won't penetrate far enough (at least 12"). Therefore, you get the worst case with the round and typical guns: questionable reliability and inadequate expansion or penetration.

I think that FMJ is the only logical choice for the caliber. At least it makes a hole, albeit a small one, deep enough to possibly work. I did note during my LE career that the .380 seems to work very well on the good guys if that's any help.

[Jerm]

So there's nothing in an "FMJ defensive load".

...Maybe cleaner,better powder/lower flash,QC,higher velocity,etc?

Well,I can tell him there's no need to spend on premium ammo for it anyway.The guy at the shop sold him some Hornandy Critical Defense.

It's a tiny little Ruger if i'm not mistaken(three finger grip IIRC).I was more interested in others on the table.He just picked it up before coming into town.We're taking it tomorrow for the first time to see how it runs.

[Glock17JHP]

I tested 11 different .380 ACP HP loads while in the IWBA back in 1997. Not much has changed since then. The only marginally good load in HP form was the Hornady 90 grain XTP. The FBI has even tested this load through their FBI Protocol, and actually the results were not too bad (relatively). The Hornady 'Critical Defense' may be OK, also... but it is so new that the jury is still out. Don't trust this load... at least not yet...

Like most here, I would not really advise using a .380 for serious self-defense. However, some do buy and use them, so a little advice is in order. You may want to load with FMJ to ensure enough penetration. FMJ does not make a hole that is caliber-sized, however... rather it will make an ice-pick sized hole, typically... unless you find a FMJ bullet that is flat on the front, like a truncated cone shape. Even then, your wound channel will be sub-caliber since tissues stretch during bullet passage, and only a full wadcutter (cylinder shaped bullet nose) will cut a full caliber (or close to it) hole. The problem here, however, is that people don't make loads like that, and they wouldn't be reliable in a semi-automatic pistol if they were offered.

So, if you use a FMJ, you will get adequate penetration, but a rather small wound channel. This forces one to choose carefully when to shoot, and one has to carefully choose the anatomical location to target, too. A shot in a moderately vital structure may have too small an effect, and also have far too slow of an effect. There are horror stories of this sort of thing... like a big, angry brute beating a woman nearly to death while she pumped slug after slug into his torso point-blank with little effect.

Whatever the .380 owner chooses to load in the pistol, reliability of the weapon with the chosen ammunition is a MUST!!! If you have a reliability issue, fix it or get a different gun!!!

Then... realize you may be forced to take head/face shots...

Also, look here: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=30910

[rat31465]

I have a .380 ACP that I carry periodically and although not my first choice in a Personal Defense handgun it is still a little better than chucking rocks.
This pistol defies all conventional wisdom on what should and shouldn't run in a
.380 auto pistol as it has a real fondness for Wincester Silvertip Hollow points. (Yeah I know these are considered antiques)

I also shoot Fiocchi FMJ out of the gun, it feeds them well and they shoot to the same point of aim as the Silvertips.

It is also important to note that it has always been my intention when carrying this pistol to take head shots if ever I am forced into using it...Note that I said intention. Hopefully I could keep my wits about me enough to place a quick pair as practiced on many occasions.

Anyone have any experience with Cor-Bon in the .380 ACP?

[PA PATRIOT]

When I'M forced to reduce weapon size due to clothing restraints I find myself carrying the Kel-Tec .380 loaded with Winchester 95gr FMJ Flat tips which backs up my primary S&W ultra-lite revolver that is loaded with Safe Stop 148gr FMJ Wad-Cutters. Both are very lite in weight and small in size and are able to be dropped into pockets for quick deployment. I have found that the Kel-Tec is reliable/accurate/controllable with the Winchester load and while I don't know if the flat tip profile does anything in terms of wounding it did wonders with reliability in feeding with this pistol.

[malignantbum]

When I'M forced to reduce weapon size due to clothing restraints I find myself carrying the Kel-Tec .380 loaded with Winchester 95gr FMJ Flat tips which backs up my primary S&W ultra-lite revolver that is loaded with Safe Stop 148gr FMJ Wad-Cutters. Both are very lite in weight and small in size and are able to be dropped into pockets for quick deployment. I have found that the Kel-Tec is reliable/accurate/controllable with the Winchester load and while I don't know if the flat tip profile does anything in terms of wounding it did wonders with reliability in feeding with this pistol.

I've never actually carried a .380, but for my purposes I'd trade that .380 off for a nice J frame and a couple speed strips

[Glock17JHP]

Agree... or a Glock 26...

[Jerm]

Belated Update:

It was the Ruger LCP.

Jammed about once every 4-5 rounds fired.He's also have a hard time finding ammo for it of any kind(apparently .380 is in demand right now).

It's his back-up to a .40 Taurus.After our trip to the range he seemed quite impressed with my M&Pc.I wouldnt be surprised to see him ditch both for a M&Pc of his own.