I might have to eat my words about .380....

[daddyo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PDQcE-1T40

[mikegideon]

Ya think?

 

http://www.lehighdefense.com/products/45-acp-p-200gr-xtreme-penetrator-ammunition

 

I just bought a G42. I'll probably get some of the 380's

[10-Ring]

Wonder how it stacks up against the Hornady Critical Defense?

[maroonandwhite]

Didn't watch the video but just looking at it makes me wonder if it could induce feeding issues.

[mikegideon]

Wonder how it stacks up against the Hornady Critical Defense?

 

I wondered. but it's nothing like it. These bullets are lead free, and dont expand at all. I have some Lehigh machined brass bullets for my 458 SOCOM. You can shoot them at a concrete wall, and then reload them again if you can find them. Concrete just scratches them up some.

[mikegideon]

Didn't watch the video but just looking at it makes me wonder if it could induce feeding issues.

 

He was shooting a G42, and all was well. Funny how 380 ammo starts to matter when Glock gets into the game.

[bersaguy]

I don't own a Glock and don't plan to but I do love my Bersa's and Llama's 380s and they are my main and only carry guns. I have Fiocchi Ball Ammo loaded in all of them with great confidence if I ever needed to use them they would do what I need in the protection areas............jmho

[leroy]

Folks.... There's a lot of baloney, hype, failure stories, invocation of "expert' opinions and test results, along with a healthy dose of fanboy stuff RE the smaller calibers on most every gun forum... The one thing i've always noticed in all of them is that there is no one who wants to volunteer to demonstrate the "failure" of "small caliber" handgun cartridges by offerin to be shot with one... I wonder why that is...?

 

I bet most any bullet works good in a 380 if it's loaded up a bit (...1000 fps or so...); and fired in a good, strong pistola by a competent shooter... Whatta ya think...?

 

observin leroy

Edited March 19, 2015 by leroy

[mikegideon]

I don't own a Glock and don't plan to but I do love my Bersa's and Llama's 380s and they are my main and only carry guns. I have Fiocchi Ball Ammo loaded in all of them with great confidence if I ever needed to use them they would do what I need in the protection areas............jmho

 

I'm thinking you would love the G42. 

[mikegideon]

Folks.... There's a lot of baloney, hype, failure stories, invocation of "expert' opinions and test results, along with a healthy dose of fanboy stuff RE the smaller calibers on most every gun forum... The one thing i've always noticed in all of them is that there is no one who wants to volunteer to demonstrate the "failure" of "small caliber" handgun cartridges by offerin to be shot with one... I wonder why that is...?

 

I bet most any bullet works good in a 380 if it's loaded up a bit (...1000 fps or so...); and fired in a good, strong pistola by a competent shooter... Whatta ya think...?

 

observin leroy

 

When I made the big switch in the late 70's to 9mm, I viewed it as a whimpy caliber. I guess it was, since I was moving from .357 magnum. We viewed 380 as a BB gun that didn't have room for a spring :). Shooting somebody with one was a good way to get your ass whipped.

[espacef1fan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LczfeWK9lHw

 

That video is shootingthebull410 on youtube. He tested dozens of different ammos for 380 and 9mm. Some interesting clips.

[E4 No More]

Folks.... There's a lot of baloney, hype, failure stories, invocation of "expert' opinions and test results, along with a healthy dose of fanboy stuff RE the smaller calibers on most every gun forum... The one thing i've always noticed in all of them is that there is no one who wants to volunteer to demonstrate the "failure" of "small caliber" handgun cartridges by offerin to be shot with one... I wonder why that is...?
 
I bet most any bullet works good in a 380 if it's loaded up a bit (...1000 fps or so...); and fired in a good, strong pistola by a competent shooter... Whatta ya think...?
 
observin leroy

i don't want to be shot with a BB gun.

[leroy]

i don't want to be shot with a BB gun.

Amen brother...! I agree fully...

leroy


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[hipower]

Didn't watch the video but just looking at it makes me wonder if it could induce feeding issues.

 

My first thought as well.

[enfield]

We already have both expanding and non-expanding .380 ammo with at least 12 inches of penetration.

[JAB]

We already have both expanding and non-expanding .380 ammo with at least 12 inches of penetration.

 

I agree.  I think this ammo is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist - and not a very good solution, at that.  Of course, different people have different expectations and theories as to what they want out of a handgun round and I realize that my opinion is no more 'valid' than anyone else's.  That said, here are some reasons I don't think I would use this ammo unless I had no other choice:

 

1.  To my understanding, one of the reasons 9mm Luger got a bad rap, especially in the military where they are limited to ball rounds, is that 9mm ball just pretty much zips right through an assailant, leaving a 9mm wound channel with an entrance and exit wound.  It is said that these wounds don't do enough immediate damage to stop the threat in a timely manner.  So, why would I want a round that, basically, causes my .380 to mimic those negative properties of a 9mm Luger - i.e. just passing right through the assailant and leaving a 9mm wound channel without doing enough immediate damage to quickly stop the threat?

 

2.  26 inches of penetration sounds to me like a good way to get overpenetration and increase the chances of injuring or killing a bystander.

 

3.  After Kel Tec released the P3AT, many ammo manufacturers turned their eyes to making more effective .380 defense ammo that could both penetrate adequately and expand.  In fact, many of them used the P3AT as a test platform to develop said ammo.  When Ruger released their Little Copied Pistol, there was even more attention cast on pocket .380s.  True, even some of the newer ammo may expand but not quite reach the F.B.I. standard of 12 inches of penetration but then I am not in the F.B.I. and feel that most of them do adequately penetrate for the purposes of a private citizen, like myself, using a pocket pistol to repel an assailant.  I don't really envision a scenario in which I would get involved in a lengthy gun battle where I am trying to shoot through barriers and the like with my pocket pistol.  Could it happen?  Sure - and (as I have said, before) a piece of space debris could fall from orbit, hit me in the head and kill me but the chances of it actually happening are so remote that I really am not concerned.  That said, I stick with Hydroshoks in my P3AT because, in the test results that I have come across, they seem to generally penetrate to between 11.5 and 14 inches while giving at least minimal expansion - plus I have shot enough of it to know that my pistol will feed it just fine.

 

All this is, of course, just my :2cents: and worth every bit that you paid for it.

Edited March 20, 2015 by JAB

[bersaguy]

I have always considered a few issues when thinking about needing to use any of my 380's to either stop a situation that may be happening to my self or someone else. I don't know how many people here have ever been in a situation where they are on the wrong end of a muzzle of a hand gun but I have a couple times. Believe me I didn't give any thought to what caliber gun I had aimed at me. A 25 Caliber looks like a 45 caliber and your hoping and praying that the guy does not start popping caps is the only thing on your mind. I have given thought to possibly owning a 9MM or a 40 Caliber and over the past couple years I have owned both and shot both. I also got rid of both. I don't want a gun that might have a problem as mentioned in a post above. I don't want a bullet I fire having a potential of passing through my target and injuring an innocent person. I think the 380 Caliber has to ability to stop any assailant I might encounter without the threat of a through & through. That is my  :2cents: and feeling on the issue........ :up:   

[Erik88]

I may have to pick some of this up. I've been wanting to get something a little more potent in this caliber but didn't want to invest in Gold Dot's knowing they may or may not penetrate as needed. 

[bersaguy]

I wish I could learn where I could find some of that gel they use for these tests so I could run a few of my own tests.............jmho

[mikegideon]

I may have to pick some of this up. I've been wanting to get something a little more potent in this caliber but didn't want to invest in Gold Dot's knowing they may or may not penetrate as needed. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr5FwlCo3XU

[eapking]

Glock just announced the G43 today. 9mm single stack. Ding, ding, ding. G42, meh.

[SupaRice]

Educate me.... I'm confused.

 

Why would (at least for personal defense carry) 2 feet of penetration be a good thing? If I've got 2' of bad john for my bullets to penetrate... then he's fat enough I can get away from him.

 

Like JAB, I don't envision a scenario where I'm "defending" myself or someone else and having to send rounds through car doors and walls.

 

Is it possible? I suppose.    Likely? No.

 

I'm certainly not the most experienced member on this site, but seems to me in a personal defense situation.... My JHP rounds that will disperse the bulk of their energy inside at least the first 12" would be preferred. Causing massive trauma in 80% of the area you shot lands in would be pretty damn debilitating.

 

No?

Edited March 20, 2015 by SupaRice

[eapking]

My problem with 380 is availability. It's MIA here in Memphis. And already invested in 9mm. I'd use HP too in the G43, as I would the G42.

[espacef1fan]

I guess noone watched the video I posted?

[eapking]

Not me. Bandwidth issues.