380 ammo for SD

[dugby]

A buddy of mine asked what would be a good choice for his small auto. I think it is a ruger LCP.

Any reccomendations?

(I told him he should carry a more powerful pistol)

 

[Comte DeLoach]

Any good Hollowpoint design in .380 is fine for Self Defense as long as your pistol feeds them reliably. I use Winchester Silvertips (which is an older design) in my CZ-83 because they shoot like laser beams.

 

[_CY_]

small .380 auto pistols are notorious for jamming... some due to ammo... some due to grip.

the short answer is your buddy should carry what ever feeds reliably first ... stopping power second. if ball ammo is all that will reliably feed, then ball ammo it is.
a fluff and buff is highly recommended for any small auto pistol and required for some before it becomes reliable.

ANY ammo in ANY auto pistol should be shot at least 200+ rounds to verify feed reliability. unfortunately this is not practical due to cost of self defensive ammo.

it'd cost $300+ which almost no one is going to do.

a solution is Corbon .380 Powerball, identical profile as ball ammo. if your pistol feeds ball ammo reliably ... then it will feed Powerball fine.
distrusting person that I am... would still shoot a few boxes of Powerball to figure out point of impact in relationship to sights.

A buddy of mine asked what would be a good choice for his small auto. I think it is a ruger LCP.

Any reccomendations?

(I told him he should carry a more powerful pistol)

 

[okrob]

Give the PDX1 a try.

 

[spd67]

I use Federal Hydra shock in my Sig P238

 

[Gunrunner45]

I shoot FMJ at the range in my LCPs. I have tried Blazer, WWB, and Federal and never had any problems with any of them.

For carry ammo I use either Hornady Critical Defense or Federal Hydra shok, depends whats in stock at the time. Both function flawlessly in both my LCP's

 

[gunnut]

I use Winchester Ranger 95 Grain T-Series in all my 380's for carry ammo.

Here is a pretty good comparison of some 380 ammo to help you decide what is best for you/buddy.
http://handgunsandammo.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ammotestarchive&action=print&thread=6389

 

[_CY_]

just curious ... how many rounds have you shot of each?
are these rounds reliable enough in your LCP for your life to depend on it?

carried a German Walter PPK .380 for years. shot ball ammo for practice and had no feed problems. carried Glaser self defensive ammo ... they were so expensive couldn't bring myself to shoot very many.

was shooting some JHP .380 ... jam... shot some more ... jam
from that point on... never trusted anything except ball in my PPK. then even had some doubts.

the only shot I could truly count on was the one in chamber.
besides weight, that's the main reason I stopped carrying my Walther PPK.

another reason why my CCW is a 340PD revolver
no feed issues with self defensive ammo or any other.

.380 are always chambered for little auto pistols which besides feed issues
are more susceptible to limp wrist causing jams .... a double whammy

if you have not shot 150-200 rounds of what you are carrying in a small auto
IMHO... you have not proven dead reliability for that round/your auto pistol combo.

I shoot FMJ at the range in my LCPs. I have tried Blazer, WWB, and Federal and never had any problems with any of them.

For carry ammo I use either Hornady Critical Defense or Federal Hydra shok, depends whats in stock at the time. Both function flawlessly in both my LCP's

 

[flatwins]

I use Federal Hydra shock in my Sig P238

How do you like your P238? I bought one of a fellow OSAer a couple weeks back but haven't got to run it through the paces yet. They sure look well made.

 

[ahamay6]

First off, a 380 in the pocket is worth two .45's on a night stand so if thats what he is comfortable carrying, it is a great choice. As for ammo, Hornady makes a great defense round for the 380. Its called Hornady Critical Defense and it was designed to work through the inherent problems of such a small round. Here is a link to a video that demonstrates its effectiveness, please excuse the rather dramatic commercial at the beginning of the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhXSTqV0CT4