380 FMJ

[JakeSnakeSlim]

What would you say is the highest quality most reliable feeding FMJ ammo for a 380 pocket gun. The one you would use for self defense not target shooting.

[Bill DeShivs]

I would recommend a good HP, not FMJ.

[kodiakbeer]

+1 - use a hot hollowpoint.

[Furminator]

If I were going to use FMJ, my first choice would be Fiocchi, second choice would probably be Sellier&Bellot (sp?). More powerful than most domestic stuff and very good quality. Overpenetration might be a concern, however.

[NYPD13]

My advice is to find out what your local police use and get it in your caliber. Around here it's Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point+P in 9mm or 40S&W, so that's what I carry in my 38 9 40 and 45. It is available in 380.

[mega twin]

All ammo is not created equally,you would need to try it in your own particular gun,starting with the examples given above.

[Deaf Smith]

Winchester Win-clean .380 FMJ. It's truncated cone design. Works perfect in my Taurus TCP.

Added benefit you won't give your opponent, nor yourself, lead poisoning. Just like the Lone Ranger!

[w_houle]

PMC. I would also suggest PMC for their hollow point ammunition.

[JakeSnakeSlim]

From Tim Sundles at Buffalo Bore. Please note they sell both FMJ and Hollow point ammo for 380's and this is what he has to say:

"Use of Expanding Bullets in Small Defensive Cartridges

A lot of folks carry personal protection handguns. This is a good thing, but there are some misconceptions among gun carriers that can get them or their loved ones killed. This article is an attempt to address one of those issues.

Ammunition featuring expanding (hollow nosed and other designs) bullets can add an extra degree of lethality to typical personal protection pistols, BUT ONLY IN SOME CASES. When dealing with "small" and under-powered pistol cartridges such as 32 ACP, 380 ACP or 9X18 Makarov, it is a possibly fatal mistake (to the user) to use expanding bullets for self defense.

Expanding a projectile that is too light weight and moving too slow, can drastically reduce needed penetration. If every defensive shooting situation could be guaranteed to be against an attacker that wore nothing heavier than a tee shirt, or that didn't weigh over 150 lbs, perhaps expanding bullets would work well every time, but consider the following scenario: The weather is cold and you are attacked by a knife wielding man wearing a heavy coat and under clothing. As he lunges forward with outstretched arms and knife in hand, you fire to save your life. If this man kills you, the consequences for your wife, who is present, are unthinkable. Because the attackers arms are outstretched, your little 380 auto 90gr. JHP bullet hits his heavy coat sleeve and then tears into his large forearm where it expands and lodges and his knife finds its way deep into your chest ------ or, your little 380 auto is loaded with non-expanding flat nosed solid 100gr. bullets (see our items # 27A or 27B) and as you fire, the bullet rips through his coat sleeve and his arm, shattering his forearm and then pierces his sternum, clips his heart and takes out his spine. His arm folds, his legs buckle and he hits the ground for good, while you and your loved ones remain unharmed.

I am a big believer in expanding bullets for self defense provided you are using a cartridge that shoots a bullet that is heavy enough and fast enough to expand and then continue to penetrate 12 to 14 inches in living tissue. 32 ACP, 380 ACP and 9x18 Mak ammunition lack the bullet weight and velocity to push the large frontal area of an expanded bullet very deep into heavy clothing and living mammal tissue. Because many of these 380 ACP pistols are small, I carry them in pants and coat pockets often. I think they are very useful if loaded properly. I have two Kel Tec P3AT's and three Kahr P380's that I carry often. They are all loaded with our items # 27A or 27B. I NEVER use expanding ammo in them, never.

When I carry expanding bulleted loads for self defense against humans, the lightest bullet I'll use is a 124gr. /125gr. 9mm (.355 inch) or .357 and I require a velocity of at least 1,100 fps. This is a very general rule of thumb as bullet construction and the size of the mushroom are factors too and I will not address them here. So, a 9mm 124gr. +P+ or +P will generate (see our items 24B, 24C, and 24E) enough speed and has enough bullet mass, that I would consider carrying it in a personal defense situation, but I'd feel better with a 357 mag. load of a 158gr. bullet at 1,100 fps or a 40 S&W with a 180gr. bullet at 1,000 fps.

I often carry a 2 inch J frame 38 SPL loaded with a 158gr.+P (FBI load - see our item 20A) at 1,000 fps and I am quite confident that even though it is moving slowly, it has enough mass to push that large mushroom very deeply into living tissue. I'm also confident using our "Standard Pressure" 38 SPL that utilizes the very same 158gr. bullet at only 850 fps out of a 2 inch revolver, (item 20C) but it still has enough mass to penetrate deeply enough to get the job done -- I am also very fond of our item 20D, which is a 150gr. full wad cutter HARD CAST bullet, that will not mushroom and cuts a huge hole in living tissueit penetrates very deeply and does tremendous damage.

Lightweight mushrooming 32 ACP or 380 ACP bullets, may in fact kill or stop violent attackers, but under worse case scenarios as outlined above, they can be very ineffective. If I am trying to stop a 300+lb drugged up, violent attacker with a 380 ACP, I want a bullet that can get deep and do a lot of damage at the same time. Flat nosed solid bullets do that. Typical old style round nosed FMJ bullets tend to slip and slide through living tissue and as they do this, they can get sideways and loose penetration - never mind they don't do a lot of damage as they slip and slide. Flat nosed solid bullets tend to cut/smash through material doing a lot of damage and that cutting/smashing action keeps the bullet nose forward, creating the potential for much deeper penetration than a round nose bullet. For more information on this, read our "technical Info" on the 380 ACP or 32 ACP shopping carts.

I am a real fan of using a 45 ACP pistol, loaded with our 45 ACP +P ammo for self defense. I also like to carry a Browning Hi Power 9MM loaded with our 9MM +P+ ammo however, when hot weather arrives and I can't conceal a big pistol as easily, (it can still be done, just not as easily) I will always have a little 380 ACP in my jeans pocket. It will be loaded with non-expanding flat nosed bullets, powered by a 380 ACP +P charge"

[Erich]

I've worked on three shootings in which .380 JHPs failed to penetrate adequately. (I'm an appellate lawyer who's worked in some capacity on a couple hundred handgun killing cases.) From what I've seen, I don't like the idea of hollowpoint braking action on such a light, slow bullet. I carry 95-gr Double Tap ball in my .380.

I have seen one case of overpenetration (that hit a bystander) with .380 ball, but this appears to have gone through the first person's leg, not his torso. I've never seen a case (out of a couple dozen) of inadequate penetration with any .380 ball round.

[jaughtman]

I am impressed with just how heavy the guy from BB "loaded" that scenario - wife present (and the consequences to her), "300 lb+" attacker, "large forearms", etc. - I am not saying he does not have a very valid point (he does), but he was really playing on the emotions to sell it. For what it is worth, I also carry flat-point FMJ's in my PPK.

Jamie

[ice monkey]

It may not be a popular choice but as FMJ’s go through my pistol, the most reliable would be Winchester White Box . Besides their reliability, they shoot exactly where I aim. This is not only true for me but my pals 2 .380’s as well (LCP & Sig 232).

Having said that, Buffalo Bores have never given me or my pal any problems either. They do however, shoot high in both of our pistols. There is no doubt in my mind that the BB's are moving at a faster clip than the Winchesters!

[Water-Man]

I use Double Tap 95gr. FMJ

[Brian48]

For FMJ, I prefer plain ol' Remington UMC ball. I've shot a lot of it and found that it's definitely hotter than some of the favored Euro brands like Fiocchi, SB, etc.. Where I live, it's cheaper too which is a plus.

[Erich]

Hmm. What I've definitely seen is that different ammo chronos differently from different guns, so it's worth trying a number of types to see which performs best (velocity, functionality, accuracy) through the gun in question. If anyone's interested, here are a number of chrono results (all taken at 5950'>sea level) for .380 ball from a particular Ruger LCP.

58°F
Speer Blazer Brass 95-gr FMJ M 779.8/ES 41.45/SD 15.52
PMC 90-gr FMJ M 846.1/ES 36.25/SD 14.79
Double Tap 95-gr FMJ M 985.7/ES 64.82/SD 24.12

78°F
Winchester white box 95-gr flat-point FMJ M 900.2/ES 31.47/SD 11.87
Federal 95-gr ball M 851.0/ES 28.05/SD 9.94
Remington 95-gr ball M 890.6/ES 39.06/SD 15.19
Fiocchi 95-gr ball M 808.7/ES 63.96/SD 26.15

[Kreyzhorse]

It may not be a popular choice but as FMJ’s go through my pistol, the most reliable would be Winchester White Box . Besides their reliability, they shoot exactly where I aim. This is not only true for me but my pals 2 .380’s as well (LCP & Sig 232).

+1. For a range round, I've had great success with WWB FMJ ammo. I'd suggest a good hollow point myself like Speer Gold Dots or Federals, but if you want a FMJ, I'd do no further than the WWB.

[Deaf Smith]

If I am trying to stop a 300+lb drugged up, violent attacker with a 380 ACP, I want a bullet that can get deep and do a lot of damage at the same time. Flat nosed solid bullets do that.

Hence Winchester Win-clean .380 FMJ as it is a truncated cone design.

[Dave R]

My anwer: both.

I use mixed magazines in my .380--every other round a Gold Dot or a 100gr. RN. That's the only gun I used mixed mags with. I figger one or the other will be better in any given situation.

Just don't plan on shooting once...

[scottperk]

The conclusion EVERYONE should draw is that it is a BAD
idea to shoot hollow points in 380 pistols for self defense.

Dont do it. You may not be blowing huge holes but
a pass through from some of the really tiny 380 pistols
out there would be very impressive and at least have the chance
of causing some lethal damage even if it takes a while.

I had to put down a 35 pound dog once and I used my
Keltec 380 with Corbon hollow points and I shot into
the side of the skull in front of the ear to directly
enter the brain and nothing exited from the other side.
Again this was a 35 pound dog They are not that big.
Think about it. That is when I started carrying BuffaloBores
cast lead "penetrator" ( my description ) 380 round.

[Always-Vigilant]

I have a Sig P232 - I only use Buffalo Bore 380 Auto +P Ammo - 95 gr. F.M.J. F.N. (1150 fps M.E. 279 ft. lbs.) or 380 Auto +P Ammo - 100 gr. Hardcast F.N. (1150fps/ M.E. 294 ft. lbs.). IMO the best personal defense round for a 380.

[Magyar]

For FMJ, I prefer plain ol' Remington UMC ball.

+ 1 on that one and some good, ol'Hungarian ammo: MFS 2000 Magyar from Cabela's...

[kodiakbeer]

In actual data from police records, .380 fmj rates 55% one shot stops while the various hollow points get 68 to 71% one shot stops.

The various theories are fine and dandy, but in real world use the HP's win.

http://www.handloads.com/misc/stoppi...=10&Weight=All

[RickE]

Hello kodiakbeer. Was that through a t-shirt, or your typical winter clothing in Kodiak? It does make a difference. My curiosity??? If you live on Kodiak Island, why would you even think of a .380 for carry? I think a 454 casull would be a minimum. Do you have bad guys there that are not furry?

[Elvishead]

The OP wasn't asking about HPs, he was asking about FMJs.

[druryj]

My PPK/S in .380 runs great with Fiocchi or Remington 95 gr FMJ.