Which is the best penetrating and self defense .380 ammo i need to be looking at for my Ruger LCP gun.
Any FMJ RN will do. (Seriously, trust me, in 9mm kurz there's nothing better than full metal jacketed rounds.)
Maximum penetration? Definitely the FMJ, plus, it usually feeds in picky firearms better than JHP. But if you were wanting a good penetrating JHP, I would probably suggest the Corbon DPX. I've never tested it, but have read of awesome penetration from that bullet.
Speer Gold Dot HP ammo feeds just like FMJ's in my FEG Walther clone. Hornady XTP's won't feed reliably because of the truncated cone bullet design which tends to hang up when feeding. Speer GD HP's also have better than 67% one-shot kills out of a .380 according to an old Gun Test article. CorBon's are good also but fragment easier which may not be good in the winter.
I usually load Remington GoldenSaber in new brass for my client's defensive needs. Here is some interesting test results.
Throw a shirt and a jacket in the way and those figures don't apply. Consider that most vitals are housed behind bone, and they REALLY don't apply. In .380, just shoot as many FMJ's as you have to, because the hollow points aren't going to do anything but piss the BG off. You have to get to the vitals in order to damage them.
i would recomend the federal HST rounds. although im not a 100% sure they make them for the .380, but a good site to look at some terminal ballistics is www.brassfetcher.com. they cover most pistol/revolver rounds as well as many rifle rounds.
Not so fast there rocco! While your there pick up a pack of Glaser Blue Safety Slugs. Will not penetrate sheetrock walls, will not ricochet due to fragmentation design and has excellent soft tissue penetration with awesome wound channel capabilities. And will feed reliably into any weapon.
Me I prefer Hollow Points because HP seems to me to be the best self defense round available. Most of the time the attacker will be scared off if you have any gun in your hand so I see no problem with 'penetration' with HP.
If you're down to a .380 for defense, you're way too close. At this range it wont matter a flipin whit what your feeding the little bugger. Just stick it in his ear and squeeze. An armpit works pretty well too, it just takes a few more rounds and a bit longer for the fight to be over. Just make sure you get contact with the muzzel. Never had to resort to that little wart on my ankle. Hope I never will, but it's sure reassuring to know it's there.
a lot of good info here... I'm new to .380's, just bought my first .380 gun (Kahr P.380) a couple of month's ago. This topic has been very helpful, thanks to all
Nice rifle, UnderFire! I shoot Remington Golden Saber. I have seen the newer Hornady Critical Defense and have some. I shot through cloth with both the Hornady and the Remington. I like the Remington better. Both expanded even after going through cloth. It's just the Golden Saber did not fold back so much as the Hornady. There are some pictures on my web site that show examples of the expanded bullets. GS shoot very tight groups as well. Even if you have 6 inches of penetration, think of where that might put it in YOUR body. Figure your liver area and use your finger. think of having a bullet stuck in there at least 6 inces or more down in there and I don't want it, and certainly will be a deterent with most criminals, with the exception of drug induced pain prevention. Hit someone right at the sternum with the .380 in Golden Saber and they are going to have a hard time making it to the hospital alive.
