.380 FMJ or HP?

greyeyezz · February 26, 2002, 04:48 PM

I know, its a wimpy cal, but i just love my little Bersa 383a for CC, being the light cal it is and penatration of utmost importance are hollowpoints really a good idea in this caliber? I have some corbons but haven't seen any data(expansion, penetration) on the web for this load, if anyone has a link shoot it at me.

D

Scarborough · February 26, 2002, 05:25 PM

Howdy greyeyezz. If you can find a round that will expand and penetrate go for it. I have almost zero experience with this calibre so I cannot give the .02 worth of advice as to specific load. I will opine though that penetration is more important than expansion. Others will weigh in on this with their advice.

Rickmeister · February 26, 2002, 05:31 PM

I know it sounds unorthodox, but if it's blunt trauma AND penetration you want in this caliber, why not consider packing FMJs and JHPs together. You know: alternating FMJs and JHPs in the same magazine. It works at the range. Maybe it'll work on BG.

Cor-Bons would seem too radical for a Bersa, whose manufacturer
incidentally discourages the use of high-power loads.

Ordinarily, I keep mine snuff with Federal Hydra-Shoks.

For more info on stopping power see: http://www.powernet.net/~eich1/sp.html

WIL TERRY · February 27, 2002, 11:02 AM

As a longtime user of BERSA pistols, there are six of 'em home in the safe as we speak, and as the technical Services manager for CORBON, I do believe I'll put in my two cents here.
I have put thousands upon thousands of CORBON 380ACP cartridges [ all of them our ' seconds ' ] through these pistols with nary a problem. They hit about 1140fps in most of the pistols and shoot just fine." Will they wear out my pistol?". Damned if I know. I've been trying to wear out at least one gun in my lifetime and after 52 years of shooting I ain't holding my breath. If it does happen I'll walk over to the trash can. open the lid, drop it in, and go start shootin' the dickens out of another pistol.
I also get the shooting calls here and the last one I took on our 380-90jhp load was an instant one shot stop from one of the more delightful 380 pistols ever made, an ASTRA CONSTABLE II.
" HEY, YOU GUYS NEED AN AMBULANCE?"
' NO. JUST SEND THE CORONER. TELL HIM NO BIG HURRY, HAVE HIS LUNCH FIRST.'

Dave R · February 27, 2002, 12:01 PM

LOL! Great post, Terry.

My attitude on the .380acp comes from William Shakespeare:

"'Tis not so deep as a well, not wide as a church door, but 'tis enough. 'Twill serve".

-Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet

I carry HP's in my .380.

Watch-Six · February 27, 2002, 12:53 PM

I carry a NAA Guardian 380 as a deep concealment gun. I go with hollow points. Assuming your gun feeds them well I can see no down side to the decision. If they don't expand, they act like a FMJ anyway, and they might expand which is good. Federal Hydra-shoks are the most accurate out of my gun of several types that I tested. For that reason I carry Hydra-shoks. Watch-Six

GWC · February 27, 2002, 02:42 PM

check out the info on this website. based upon this, and some other info, I would carry JHP's from:
federal hydra shok
speer gold dot (personal perference)
cor bon +P

http://www.firearmstactical.com/ammo_data/ammodata.htm

Ravenwolf · February 27, 2002, 05:02 PM

I to have a Bersa 383A and it is a great CCW. I've only had it (sorry, my wife has had it) about three months now. I've (we've) put about 500 rounds through it without a burp, hiccup or ralph. We've shot fmjs, hydroshocks, Rem 102 grs, Silvertips and SXTs, and Gold Dots. Right now it is loaded up with the Rems but now that Terry has enlightened me on the matter I'll be carrying Corbon +Ps as soon as I acquire some and make sure of their accuracy and reliability. Knowing the Bersa they will at least be reliable and probably accurate to.

Eric Larsen · February 28, 2002, 08:36 AM

In my own "desert" testing, shooting everything from hams to wood to water bottles...etc. The .380 JHP (many good name brand loads) did almost the same damage as my 9mm. Both guns were CZ's ...the 83 would actually send the .380 round
thru wood better somtimes than the 9mm round did....I would say
it wasnt expanding the same..but sure left nice holes coming out of the other side. A .380 will surely surprise all of the "target and numbers guys" in hard results from actual bullets. 2 liter water bottles explode very nicely and so do 5# hams.......Shoot well

Peter M. Eick · March 1, 2002, 07:59 PM

The 380 JHP from Remington will take out a Texas Hare quite nicely. I was impressed how it dropped the beast from a Beretta MD84.

I have no problem carry a JHP as long as it feeds.

blades67 · March 1, 2002, 08:22 PM

I carry Hydra-Shoks in my Mustang and Mustang PocketLite. Makes the same size hole as the FMJ if it doesn't expand and a bigger one if it does.

Jody Hudson · March 1, 2002, 09:20 PM

Corbon or Triton Quik-Shoks would be my choice. And, based on my experience with other Quik-Shoks I will GUESS that they would be my favorite after my large vegetable and fruit testing. Before my fabulous experiences with QS, Corbon was my favorite. In fact I recently purchased an SMG in .380 just to get a small, light, thin and reliable pistol to shoot the QS in. However, it was not as reliable as my Makarov... nothing is... so I sold my SMG .380. I do hear that the Bersas are near perfect however.

www.AmmoLab.com will have .380 tests in the future and all major ammo will be tested as well as some less usual ammo, from what I understand.

swatman · March 1, 2002, 10:10 PM

When I carried .380 it was tih 102 grain Remington Golden sabers. Unlike alot of other brand name ammo makers, remington has info on various results from shooting through" Bare, clothed gelatin, after sheet metal etc...
Rem's Golden saber offer best in expansion/penetration. The latter being very important when using a small caliber hollow point to begin with. When not carrying that, I would carry ball.

7th Fleet · March 2, 2002, 04:22 PM

If your CCW handgun will feed hollowpoints, that's what you should carry because they are more efficient than hardballwhen they expand.
I carry Federal Hydrashocks or Corbons in my stainless Colt Mustang and it feeds and functions perfectly with them.

7th

February 26, 2002, 04:48 PM	#1
greyeyezz Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 2001 Location: N.E. OH Posts: 385	.380 FMJ or HP? I know, its a wimpy cal, but i just love my little Bersa 383a for CC, being the light cal it is and penatration of utmost importance are hollowpoints really a good idea in this caliber? I have some corbons but haven't seen any data(expansion, penetration) on the web for this load, if anyone has a link shoot it at me. D

February 27, 2002, 11:02 AM	#4
WIL TERRY Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2000 Location: BLACK HILLS Posts: 1,322	380'S, BERSA'S ETC As a longtime user of BERSA pistols, there are six of 'em home in the safe as we speak, and as the technical Services manager for CORBON, I do believe I'll put in my two cents here. I have put thousands upon thousands of CORBON 380ACP cartridges [ all of them our ' seconds ' ] through these pistols with nary a problem. They hit about 1140fps in most of the pistols and shoot just fine." Will they wear out my pistol?". Damned if I know. I've been trying to wear out at least one gun in my lifetime and after 52 years of shooting I ain't holding my breath. If it does happen I'll walk over to the trash can. open the lid, drop it in, and go start shootin' the dickens out of another pistol. I also get the shooting calls here and the last one I took on our 380-90jhp load was an instant one shot stop from one of the more delightful 380 pistols ever made, an ASTRA CONSTABLE II. " HEY, YOU GUYS NEED AN AMBULANCE?" ' NO. JUST SEND THE CORONER. TELL HIM NO BIG HURRY, HAVE HIS LUNCH FIRST.'

February 27, 2002, 05:02 PM	#8
Ravenwolf Member Join Date: July 31, 2001 Location: fingerlakes region of NY Posts: 23	Bersa 380 & JHPs I to have a Bersa 383A and it is a great CCW. I've only had it (sorry, my wife has had it) about three months now. I've (we've) put about 500 rounds through it without a burp, hiccup or ralph. We've shot fmjs, hydroshocks, Rem 102 grs, Silvertips and SXTs, and Gold Dots. Right now it is loaded up with the Rems but now that Terry has enlightened me on the matter I'll be carrying Corbon +Ps as soon as I acquire some and make sure of their accuracy and reliability. Knowing the Bersa they will at least be reliable and probably accurate to.

February 26, 2002, 05:25 PM	#2
Scarborough Senior Member Join Date: August 11, 2001 Location: Fargo North Dakota Posts: 543	Howdy greyeyezz. If you can find a round that will expand and penetrate go for it. I have almost zero experience with this calibre so I cannot give the .02 worth of advice as to specific load. I will opine though that penetration is more important than expansion. Others will weigh in on this with their advice.

February 26, 2002, 05:31 PM	#3
Rickmeister Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2001 Location: Texas Posts: 797	I know it sounds unorthodox, but if it's blunt trauma AND penetration you want in this caliber, why not consider packing FMJs and JHPs together. You know: alternating FMJs and JHPs in the same magazine. It works at the range. Maybe it'll work on BG. Cor-Bons would seem too radical for a Bersa, whose manufacturer incidentally discourages the use of high-power loads. Ordinarily, I keep mine snuff with Federal Hydra-Shoks. For more info on stopping power see: http://www.powernet.net/~eich1/sp.html

February 27, 2002, 12:01 PM	#5
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2000 Location: Idaho Posts: 6,073	LOL! Great post, Terry. My attitude on the .380acp comes from William Shakespeare: "'Tis not so deep as a well, not wide as a church door, but 'tis enough. 'Twill serve". -Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet I carry HP's in my .380.

February 27, 2002, 12:53 PM	#6
Watch-Six Senior Member Join Date: April 20, 2000 Location: Utah Posts: 654	I carry a NAA Guardian 380 as a deep concealment gun. I go with hollow points. Assuming your gun feeds them well I can see no down side to the decision. If they don't expand, they act like a FMJ anyway, and they might expand which is good. Federal Hydra-shoks are the most accurate out of my gun of several types that I tested. For that reason I carry Hydra-shoks. Watch-Six

February 27, 2002, 02:42 PM	#7
GWC Member Join Date: November 7, 2001 Location: michigan Posts: 41	check out the info on this website. based upon this, and some other info, I would carry JHP's from: federal hydra shok speer gold dot (personal perference) cor bon +P http://www.firearmstactical.com/ammo_data/ammodata.htm

February 28, 2002, 08:36 AM	#9
Eric Larsen Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2001 Location: Bountiful....Ut. Posts: 3,226	In my own "desert" testing, shooting everything from hams to wood to water bottles...etc. The .380 JHP (many good name brand loads) did almost the same damage as my 9mm. Both guns were CZ's ...the 83 would actually send the .380 round thru wood better somtimes than the 9mm round did....I would say it wasnt expanding the same..but sure left nice holes coming out of the other side. A .380 will surely surprise all of the "target and numbers guys" in hard results from actual bullets. 2 liter water bottles explode very nicely and so do 5# hams.......Shoot well

March 1, 2002, 07:59 PM	#10
Peter M. Eick Senior Member Join Date: August 4, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2,991	The 380 JHP from Remington will take out a Texas Hare quite nicely. I was impressed how it dropped the beast from a Beretta MD84. I have no problem carry a JHP as long as it feeds.

March 1, 2002, 08:22 PM	#11
blades67 Senior Member Join Date: April 23, 1999 Location: Chandler, Arizona, USA Posts: 6,014	I carry Hydra-Shoks in my Mustang and Mustang PocketLite. Makes the same size hole as the FMJ if it doesn't expand and a bigger one if it does.

March 1, 2002, 09:20 PM	#12
Jody Hudson Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2000 Location: Near Rehoboth Beach Delaware Posts: 1,140	Corbon or Triton Quik-Shoks would be my choice. And, based on my experience with other Quik-Shoks I will GUESS that they would be my favorite after my large vegetable and fruit testing. Before my fabulous experiences with QS, Corbon was my favorite. In fact I recently purchased an SMG in .380 just to get a small, light, thin and reliable pistol to shoot the QS in. However, it was not as reliable as my Makarov... nothing is... so I sold my SMG .380. I do hear that the Bersas are near perfect however. www.AmmoLab.com will have .380 tests in the future and all major ammo will be tested as well as some less usual ammo, from what I understand.

March 1, 2002, 10:10 PM	#13
swatman Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2000 Location: Pa. USA Posts: 768	When I carried .380 it was tih 102 grain Remington Golden sabers. Unlike alot of other brand name ammo makers, remington has info on various results from shooting through" Bare, clothed gelatin, after sheet metal etc... Rem's Golden saber offer best in expansion/penetration. The latter being very important when using a small caliber hollow point to begin with. When not carrying that, I would carry ball.

March 2, 2002, 04:22 PM	#14
7th Fleet Senior Member Join Date: January 28, 2000 Posts: 1,469	If your CCW handgun will feed hollowpoints, that's what you should carry because they are more efficient than hardballwhen they expand. I carry Federal Hydrashocks or Corbons in my stainless Colt Mustang and it feeds and functions perfectly with them. 7th