TexasCHLforum.com

After reading several posts of the use of .380 FMJ as a self defense round, I decided to create a
quick poll to see how many are using FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) vs. JHP (Jacketed Hollow Point) ammo for
self defense carry guns.

I would be leery of FMJ because I've seen a .380 FMJ round pass
completely through a refrigerator, so my fear would be over-penetration.

Thoughts and opinions are appreciated as always.

Although I haven't carried my P238, I have proofed it with Hornady Critical Defense ammo.

Hollow point. No question. I use Winchester +p 127 grain for my 9mm.

I don't have a .380 nor do I carry yet (background under review), but I use JHP in both my P220 & P89.

Buffalo Bore, CorBon and a couple companies, make a heavier grained JHP if you worry about under penetration ... Although there is no "+P standard" for .380 ... there are ballistics you can find showing what should be considered +P ... Buffalo Bore and CorBon are "hotter than average"

I think I once carried a +P 110 grain ... which had ballistics not real far off from a 9mm lower pressure 115 grain.

The velocities exceed that of a .45 ... so you just want heavy if you want deeper.

I'd carry JHP; that's what all the .380s in my house are loaded with ...

I'm still going back and forth between JHP and FMJ, so it will be nice to hear different opinions. Anyone have a good website or video that shows the difference (in penetration) between the two?

USA1 wrote:After reading several posts of the use of .380 FMJ as a self defense round, I decided to create a
quick poll to see how many are using FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) vs. JHP (Jacketed Hollow Point) ammo for
self defense carry guns.

I would be leery of FMJ because I've seen a .380 FMJ round pass
completely through a refrigerator, so my fear would be over-penetration.

Thoughts and opinions are appreciated as always.

I think that a 22LR would pass completely through a refrigerator unless it hit a couple gallons of milk or a pot roast.

WickedOwl wrote:I'm still going back and forth between JHP and FMJ, so it will be nice to hear different opinions. Anyone have a good website or video that shows the difference (in penetration) between the two?

You'll put your eye out with that thing....






I found, oddly enough, that hollowpoints feed more reliably in my .380s than hardball does. That said, neither is all that reliable. I don't carry them anymore, partly because of that, and partly because of a general lack of confidence in the cartridge. But that's just me.

I use fmj, if I were to carry a jhp it would be the corbon. However not sure if the costs of it would make it worth it in the longrun.

Sputz

AndyC wrote:My fear with the .380 is under-penetration - if I'm between a rock and a hard place and had to choose the lesser of the two evils (under vs over), I'll have to go with over-penetration.

That said, if there were a .380 HP I could trust to penetrate deeply, I'd certainly look at it.

Andy: have you looked at Cor Bon Pow 'R ball? "Supposedly" delays expansion for deeper penetration. I have it for my .380 and 9mm pistols. And no, I have not gone out with milk jugs, water, telephone books or pig carcasses to test it

My wife likes to keep my Walther PPK on the nightstand when I'm out of town. The only ammo I'll leave her with is JHP - using Hornaday Critical Defense now.

When I used to work in a gun shop I carried .380 silver tip hollow points.
One time the boss asked me to let a customer try the trigger on my gun.
I removed the magazine and ejected the chambered round. The customer's eyes got as big as saucers when he saw the silver tip with the gaping hollow point.
He said "That's a killing round!"

What did he think? We were kidding?

JHP for anything shy of a mortar.