Hey all,
After reading through the discussion on the mouse guns I had a question on ammo for the 380.
I picked up a P3AT from a friend who needed the cash and not having owned one I am unsure on how to judge which ammo would be best for carry.
I know I need to train with it more than my main carry(G19)to become proficient with it.
SO how do you judge ammo to be the best for carry other than reliability in the specific weapon?
Thanks
Personal Defense Network Forum » Handguns
If you have to carry a .380, which ammo.
(13 posts)-
# Posted 2 years ago
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Whatever the gun will feed & extract - sometimes an issue with the P3AT.
Personally, I prefer penetration over expansion in the underpowered .380; if the bullet doesn't get to anything important, who cares how much it expands?
Given that preference, I'd pick the Hornady XTP first, the Remington Golden Sabre second, and the CorBon DPX third.
Start at the top and stop when you find one your gun likes.
-=[ Grant ]=-
-=[ Grant ]=-
Gunsmith, Trainer, Writer
Combat Focus Shooting (tm) Instructor
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http://www.grantcunningham.com# Posted 2 years ago -
I agree with Grant. I'd look for penetration as well since you are already dealing with a cartridge that doesn't have a whole lot of "oomph" from the get go. I'll also confirm that the P3AT can be pretty finicky about the ammo it likes to eat. The one we have can even be picky about the FMJ ammo it likes to feed sometimes.
Chris S.
NRA Certified Pistol, PPITH, & PPOTH Instructor
NRA Certified RSO
Missouri CCW Instructor# Posted 2 years ago -
Thanks for all the replies! I was thinking of FMJ for the penetration and will definitely look into those you mentioned Grant.
What about all those specialty ammo manufacturers like Buffalo Bore, Double Tap, etc?
If penetration is based on numerous factors such as FPS, bullet weight, and whatever others, how do you choose weight. This is something I always wondered but never ask as to not sound dumb. I always carried whatever seem to be what everyone else was leaning to.# Posted 2 years ago -
Cshoff, what does your P3AT like?
Ordnancecorp, from the testing I've seen the XTP has penetration similar to FMJ, but will expand to a blunt face (perhaps a little more) while doing so. In my estimation, it would be the best of both worlds.
The others I mentioned have slightly more expansion and less penetration. For any given caliber, the heavier bullet will generally produce greater penetration.
Personally, I stick with major makers; boutique ammo manufacturers have a habit of going out of business with boring regularity. I also question a tiny company's ability to maintain the research resources necessary to produce top-drawer products. That doesn't mean they can't, of course, but I'd rather take my chances with a company that has a long track record.
-=[ Grant ]=-
-=[ Grant ]=-
Gunsmith, Trainer, Writer
Combat Focus Shooting (tm) Instructor
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http://www.grantcunningham.com# Posted 2 years ago -
Grant - I have found that it likes the Magtech FMJ ammo the best. Don't know if they use a slightly harder jacket or what, but it seems to operate pretty good with it. It had hiccups with Fiochi and Winchester USA FMJ ammo. I've honestly never even fired a hollow point through it as we have only used it for training purposes and as a prop in the classroom.
Chris S.
NRA Certified Pistol, PPITH, & PPOTH Instructor
NRA Certified RSO
Missouri CCW Instructor# Posted 2 years ago -
Wow. You know a gun's finicky when it refuses to run any ball ammo!
-=[ Grant ]=-
-=[ Grant ]=-
Gunsmith, Trainer, Writer
Combat Focus Shooting (tm) Instructor
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http://www.grantcunningham.com# Posted 2 years ago -
It's not that it "refused", it just had a Fail To Feed every now and then. At first, I figured it was a magazine problem, but it doesn't seem to do it with the Magtech ammo, and I can't find anything wrong with either of the mags. This same gun also had a defective extractor on it when we first got it. It would FTE about every 3rd or 4th round.
Now having said that about the particular P3AT we own, I have heard from others that their P3AT's run real good for them.
Chris S.
NRA Certified Pistol, PPITH, & PPOTH Instructor
NRA Certified RSO
Missouri CCW Instructor# Posted 2 years ago -
Well then It looks like I need to buy a bunch of ammo and see. The friend I got it from is a Riflesmith and said it has never had a failure. Of course I didn't ask him what it likes!
"For any given caliber, the heavier bullet will generally produce greater penetration"
I figured as much but why the trend towards lighter and faster instead of heavier and faster? If you look at 9mm it seems to be(at least to me) that 115gr is the standard in defense ammo...why not 147gr at 1100fps? I am not a reloader and this might be an obvious answer?# Posted 2 years ago -
The trend to lighter and faster has actually waned a bit. A decade or so ago, there was fierce rivalry between the "light and fast" and "heavy and slow" camps, with some extremely light (65gn @2000 fps!) boutique 9mm loads being sold. This was the heyday of Magsafe and Glaser and the infamous "Strasbourg Goat Tests." Seemingly endless magazine articles talked about "energy dump" as the most important factor in handgun performance, despite the fact that there is no such thing (energy isn't dumped, it's used to do work. Sometimes it's useless work, but that's another topic.)
In the ensuing years we've learned that there has to be a balance in bullet performance: the bullet has to penetrate enough to reach something important, and it has to be constructed in such a way as to do rapid and significant damage when it gets there (generally meaning it must expand.)
More penetration is not only inefficient, it's also dangerous to things behind the target; early, violent expansion is a waste of potential. The operative term became "controlled expansion", and that's where we sit today.
Ammunition choice is always a compromise. In the .380, as we've discussed, the problem is lack of penetration to reach vitals. In the 9mm, excessive penetration is actually a problem, which is why the lighter bullets are more popular. The 147gn subsonic loads, which satisfied the "heavy and slow" camp, had a tendency to shoot through the target and not expand. Once they were sped up a bit, they became much more useful - increased expansion countered the excessive penetration.
One the other hand, the 115gn loads sometimes showed less-than-ideal penetration, which is why the 124gn class came into being. Today, those police agencies issuing 9mm usually prefer a 124gn +P or 147gn load for balanced overall performance.
-=[ Grant ]=-
-=[ Grant ]=-
Gunsmith, Trainer, Writer
Combat Focus Shooting (tm) Instructor
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http://www.grantcunningham.com# Posted 2 years ago -
Personally, I would feel safer with a rock. The 380 cal is definitely not a servive cal. Jim
# Posted 10 months ago -
i really like the hornady critical defense ammo for my 380s that is all i feed them, both my p3at and my db380 runs really well with this ammo, i also feed my kel tec pf9 with this ammo as well! i have not had any problems with it what so ever runnign in any gun i have use it in! all three guns shoot to point of aim with this ammo and shot better groupos then i can shoot out of them with that said any of the top brands out there will prob do good just train with it get real good with it and carry it! i love my little 380s on those days i just cant pack my g27 cause there is no way in hell i am leaving the house with out a gun at all, not going to happen! and with the exception of being attacked by 7 or more people i feel just as safe with my lil 380 as i do with my g27 cause i have put the training time in and know how to use it!! good luck stay safe
# Posted 9 months ago -
I shoot vermin type animals with it, and if you do this, you will be really, really unimpressed with most handgun loads, to include 230 gr jhp .45's. :-) The 380 really is very little more effective on the critters than a .22lr. Ditto .45 and 9mm "ball" fmj ammo. Altho most people will howl at that claim, they will never go test the loads to find out for themselves!
The Keltec 380 is a locked breech design. As such, it can be safely reloaded to have about 2x the power of standard 380 ammo, but some claim that reloads "can" cause trouble in court. Me, I'd rather have legal trouble than be dead or maimed from having my gun/load not stop an attacker. That having been said, look reall hard at the Keltec 9mm pocket model.
# Posted 3 months ago
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