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Hi all,
I was wondering if it was okay to use target ammo for self defense? I know it’s not smart due to over penetrating the target and hitting others beyond the target. However, I can’t afford to purchase 200 rounds of hollow points to blow through at the range. But I also don’t know if my gun will shoot hollow points reliably. What do you guys do? Do you run hundreds of hollow points through your gun to make sure it shoots them reliably?

I have a Ruger lcp2 which doesn’t like hollow points very much from what I hear from the forums.

I generally run +/- 500 rounds to prove the gun and familiarize myself with it. And then run a few boxes of whatever ammo I plan to carry...

In your case (that's a .380, right?) if you carry the same ammo you use on the range, once you prove the gun and are confident/familiar with it, I wouldn't worry further with ammo testing. But that also means you can afford to shoot it more since your carry ammo is not high priced stuff Back when I carried a .380, I also used FMJ ammo in it, as the JHP's at that time were not considered reliable and many didn't penetrate enough.

Over penetration is not the issue you need to be worried about,IMO, it's hitting the target. How many stories have you seen where someone was hit with a pass through? I haven't seen any, outside a war zone. Now how often do you hear about a bystander being hit with a stray round? Happens all the time... moral of the story is that the rounds that miss are of much greater concern than those that hit the intended target.

I generally run at least a hundred rounds of self defense ammo through my guns before using that ammo. That said Seecamp recommends running one magazine through their guns. If the choice is between only running one test magazine of hollow point through your gun or using target ammo, I would run the single magazine test. Target ammo is just not very good self defense ammo for a variety if reasons but most of all lack of stopping power and over-penetration.

Self defense mean spending more than you probably/possibly expected.

If you're sincere...pm me and I'll provide more info.

If you're trolling, I'll know...

Search the internet for recommended self defense ammo for your hangun, ammo that has been proven to cycle reliably in your gun,. Buy a box and shoot a magazine or two full to see that it is giving the desired results. Carry the rest.

Depends what you are shooting. I think if you are shooting a mouse gun (.25ACP or .32ACP) you would go with FMJ "target" ammo. Anything larger in caliper and then it is a question of which ammo to use. Paul Harrell on youtube has some great videos on different ammo and is fun and educational to watch. Highly recommend.

I know a retired LEO who only will carry FNFMJ as his SD ammo. Claims it is the best ( he has been in a few gun fights). I knew a Viet Vet who only would carry ball ammo in his beloved .45. Said it worked well many times in Viet Nam at bad breath range and was reliable.

If I were to carry a 380 I would consider just carrying FMJ as others have pointed out there really aren't that many incidents reported where pass-through shootings are a factor. Paul Harrel has a good video on this topic that you might want to look at.

I personally am not crazy about the LCP or any .380 as they tend to be finicky, and can be underpowered. A 9mm such as the LC9 will provide a little more accuracy and a wider range of ammo choices. YMMV others wiser and smarter than I carry the LCP with confidence, We even had a governor shoot a coyote with his.

use range ammo at the range and SD ammo for SD carry.

Only because we are talking about the .380: If you have to go with FMJ, use flat nosed bullets instead of round nosed.
But your best bet is to look for deals online for any of the XTP loadings. That round turns the .380 into something formidable.

In the .380, many of the hollow points on the market will not penetrate the 12 inches minimum as mandated by FBI Protocol.

A good source of .380 ammunition tests is https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-d ... ts/#380ACP

Try some of the deeper penetrating rounds in your gun to check for feed reliability. If your handgun will not feed JHPs, try Flat Point FMJs. If those don't work, try Round Nose FMJs.

Sometimes actually shooting your handgun with different loads is the only 100% way to know what works best.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

I haven't used it, but my dad likes Corbon Glaser Pow'rball. It is supposed to expand like a regular JHP bullet, but because of the polymer ball in the cavity it is supposed to feed as well as any FMJ ammo. They claim that it penetrates deeper and has better velocities as well... of course they all claim that.

Anyway, it might be a good option for a .380 if feeds and penetrates better than a regular JHP.

I also had found some of the Liberty Civil Defense in .380 on sale at my local gun store. The Civil Defense round is a high velocity lightweight bullet that fractures instead of expands. I'm not sure if it has any advantages over a jacketed hollow point lead bullet, but my Taurus .380 never had trouble feeding it even though it has a huge cavity in the bullet. I've run several magazines of it and done double taps and rapid fire with it and never had a failure.

I think that there are lots of voices out there saying that if you carry .380 you may be just as well off carrying FMJ ammo as self-defense ammo. I rarely carry the .380 anymore in favor of carrying 9mm, but if I were to keep carrying the .380 routinely I would probably switch to FMJ ammo after I use up the self-defense ammo that I bought.

My wife's Sig P238 (.380 for those unfamiliar with Sig) is very picky about hollow points. Hornady Critical Defense with its pointy bullet is a solid performer and the only HP I trust to cycle in that Sig.