Best .380 ammo?

Mitch Rapp · Feb 16, 2011

Just got a Kel Tec P-3AT and was wondering what ammo yall would suggest. One very knowlegeable person suggested FMJ's so that you are certain to get the neccesary penetration. My only problem with this is that most ball ammo is loaded to specs that are just enough to function reliably. A hot FMJ would be good, but I dunno. I know we are talking about mouse guns, and that a .380 is marginal for personal defense, just looking for opinions.

DoctorJJ · Feb 16, 2011

I'd say, hands down, the Corbon DPX is the way to go, if it will reliably function in your particular gun. I've had no issuses with any FTF', FTE's or anything with either my P3AT or my Ruger LCP. Most people don't either. That being said, I'd want to run a minimum of 100 rounds through my gun before I trusted it. The downside to that is that the DPX is pretty expensive.

ldp4570 · Feb 28, 2011

Two different loads you may want to look at.
First is Winchester Ranger-T. You can find it on www.ammunitiontogo.com its Winchesters LEO loading for the .380.
Second is Buffalo Bore's +P loading for the .380. The company has a good track record, and their listed MV are very close to correct. Now the listed MV is from a longer barrel such as a Beretta 84/85 or BDA380, and at 1000+MV your gonna want to keep track of how much you fire and change slide spring. I've shot this load out of my BDA380, and she's got a bark!!

dennishoddy · Feb 28, 2011

I've always used Corbon in my p3-at, occasionally using some speer gold dot.

Having reviewed several tests in ballistic gel, I'm thinking the Hornady Critical Defense ammo is going up to the next level.
3 layers of denim, and 10" of penetration, puts it right up there for SD ammo.

Pstmstr · Feb 28, 2011

I run Gold Dot in my Kahr. Seems to work fine in every other caliber and it's usually easy to find.

ShaneP · Nov 23, 2014

I just acquired an LCP for pocket carry, looking for a good defense round to get. Are Corbon or Hornady still the preferred round by you guys? Anybody have experience with a round that works well in the LCP? Any particular rounds to avoid?

Scott Hearn · Nov 23, 2014

dennishoddy said:
I've always used Corbon in my p3-at, occasionally using some speer gold dot.

Having reviewed several tests in ballistic gel, I'm thinking the Hornady Critical Defense ammo is going up to the next level.
3 layers of denim, and 10" of penetration, puts it right up there for SD ammo.

I'll second the Hornady observation.

I just looked at a crapload of gel tests and it seems that the hollow points that expand ALWAYS fall well short of 12" penetration. Ball on the other hand seems to go well past 18". Also that Buffalo Bore load is a screamer like Leighton said. The test I watched it was pushing up close to 1100 FPS, but the penetration was real short because of the expansion. Seems that .380 bullets just don't have the mass to go anywhere when you get big expansion. The Hornady flex lock bullet is the one closest to 12" in all the tests I watched and that's because it only expands a little bit. Seems to be the best compromise there is from what I can tell.

mike cyrwus · Nov 24, 2014

youre over thinking it; if you want expansion and petnetration, youre not shooting a 380.
I know a guy that alternates fmj and hp's but thats too gadgety, imo.
I prefer gold dots in my 380.

Burk Cornelius · Nov 24, 2014

I haven't done any gel tests or any fancy ballistics but I did try a bunch of different rounds through my LCP when I first got it. The two rounds that functioned reliably 100% of the time were Hornady Critical Defense and FMJ.

I obviously didn't try every single HP available but Hornady CD is the one that worked and fed all the time. I'm sure there are more that work.

Gold Dots worked also but after I tested them, I couldn't find them so I went with Hornady. Now I just carry FMJ

Matt1911 · Nov 24, 2014

Hornady Critical Defense for the win.

Scott Hearn · Nov 24, 2014

mike cyrwus said:
youre over thinking it; if you want expansion and petnetration, youre not shooting a 380.
I know a guy that alternates fmj and hp's but thats too gadgety, imo.
I prefer gold dots in my 380.

IIRC, I looked at 3 different gel tests on Gold Dot .380 loads and every one of them expanded perfectly and had basically 100% weight retention whether it was bare gel or through a fabric first. But they also didn't get to 12". With that in mind you could sure pick worse loads for the .380. Gold Dots are my favorite in just about anything, but for the wife it's going to be Hornady as long as they run in the gun.

Chris54326 · Nov 24, 2014

I'm certainly no expert on the subject, but I alternate Gold Dot and Critical Defense in all of my personal defense pistols. I even use .357 Critical Defense in my lever action 1894 Marlin. I started out using Silvertips, but when Gold Dot came along I almost instantly became a convert...............and when Critical Defense came along, I liked what I read about it so much I converted to that..........well, sort of...................... which is why I load alternating rounds in my personal defense pistols. I'd think either/both would be great in an .380.

charger arms · Nov 24, 2014

I put Gold Dots in the wife's Sig 238. I had to get it to Sig before it would load any hollow point or flat nosed fmj (wwb). Since the trip to sig, it has been 100% for couple hundred rounds.