.380 Defensive Ammo?

[HighVelocity]

I picked up a really nice Sig P230SL yesterday and I want to use it as an occasional pocket piece. I have no clue what ammo to use though. Years ago I carried a Colt Mustang in my pocket with hydra-shoks. Are the .380 hydra-shoks still the best choice?
I know somebody is going to say, "use what's 100% reliable and accurate in YOUR gun". I know that already, just need some suggestions on where to start.

Thanks.

[MoJo]

I carry Hydrashocks in my P3AT because they run best in it. CorBon, Golden Saber, Silvertips, SXT etc. are all good performers. Carry what runs the best in your gun. I am awaiting the release of CorBon DPX in .380 if they will run well in the P3AT then thats going to be my .380 load of choice.

[Paladin]

The test's I've seen on .380 JHP's show that they have okay penetration, but not necessarily as much as you want. For this reason my mags are staggered with JHP and FMJ.

[Jim101]

Gold Speer in my Bersa .380..

Jim

[Paladin]

Two tests from Firearms Tactical Institute:

.380 ACP Winchester 95gr Supreme SXT JHP
http://www.firearmstactical.com/test_da ... xt-b85.htm


.380 ACP Hornady 90gr XTP JHP
http://www.firearmstactical.com/test_da ... tp-b85.htm

[HighVelocity]

That XTP data looks pretty promising. The Winchester SXT performance was pretty poor in that test. I am very surprised.

Do they have any data on the 90gr Corbon? I looked around the website and couldn't find any.

[Paladin]

That XTP data looks pretty promising. The Winchester SXT performance was pretty poor in that test. I am very surprised.

Do they have any data on the 90gr Corbon? I looked around the website and couldn't find any.

I didn't see any data. Somebody down at ProDefense said that the Corbon .380 was good, but I know nothing more than that.

[Paladin]

Additional info for .380ACP: (although a little old)

http://www.firearmstactical.com/ammo_data/380acp.htm

From FTI:

The following rating system is used to report ammunition test results:

Unsatisfactory - average bullet penetration is less than 9-inches.
Marginal - average bullet penetration is between 9- and 12- inches.
Optimal - average bullet penetration is between 12- and 16-inches.
Satisfactory - average bullet penetration is greater than 16-inches.

This rating system is not intended to predict the wounding effectiveness or "stopping power" of the ammunition tested. Ordnance gelatin test results cannot be utilized in this manner. Readers who are confused by this statement or who are unfamiliar with the purpose of ordnance gelatin testing are directed to the Reference 4 paragraph "Myth Number 1: Ordnance Gelatin Testing is Used to Predict Bullet Effectiveness".

http://www.firearmstactical.com/briefs23.htm#Myths

[Paladin]

Found some more data on .380 ammo.

Looks like it's a rehash of the data on previous links I posted.

.380 Win Silvertip | 85@ 954, 11.6 mv, 172 E|BR 7.9", 0.58", 2.09cu|CL 9.1", 0.47", 1.58cu|avg 1.83, 1.11 re, 1.65

.380 CCI/Speer GD | 88@ 914, 11.5 mv, 163 E|BR 11.6", 0.46", 1.92cu|CL 17.2", 0.35", 1.66cu|avg 1.79, 1.09 re, 1.64

.380 CCI/Speer GD | 90@ 934, 12.0 mv, 174 E|BR 9.3", 0.59", 2.54cu|CL 11.3", 0.49", 2.14cu|avg 2.34, 1.19 re, 1.96

.380 Fed HydraShok | 90@ 971, 12.5 mv, 188 E|BR 6.7", 0.66", 2.29cu|CL 12.0", 0.49", 2.26cu|avg 2.28, 1.29 re, 1.77

An explaination of the fields is here:
http://apollo.demigod.org/~zak/firearms/fbi-pistol.php

[Paladin]

From the tests it looks like CCI/Speer GD 88grain and Hornady 90gr XTP JHP are the better performers, although it would be nice to have some Corbon and Rem GS Bonded data.

[HighVelocity]

I enjoy reading your posts of data. Keep'em coming.

FWIW I'm carrying the Corbon 90gr JHP ammo in it now. According to the box it's muzzle velocity is 1050fps.

[Paladin]

Found another site with some .380 tests. Not sure about the reliablity/accuracy of the site, but they do have nice pictures of the bullets.

http://www.ktrange.com/articles/a10/a10-14.html

[Paladin]

Looks like more info can be found at:

http://www.ammolab.com/

but they want you to pay for full access.

[longtooth]

Reliable enough for my wife & Mother.