Best standard pressure .380 load?

"Best" .380 load for the LCP?

  • Corbon DPX

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Remington Golden Saber

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Speer Gold Dot

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Winchester Ranger T-series

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other (please specify)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
tyr_shadowblade

tyr_shadowblade

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2006
Messages
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Well, I've never been a fan of the .380 ACP cartridge and I did not want to get a pistol in this caliber, but after shooting a friend's LCP I decided I needed one too. It is a really cool little pistol, half the weight of a Jetfire with twice the power.

Anyway, as y'all probably know, .380 is one of the most popular rounds for concealed carry. There have been thousands of opinions and nearly a hundred tests of velocity, energy and expansion in a variety of mediums posted on the internet. As a result, there are about 4 different loads that many people feel are "the best." To confuse things, each of the 4 "best" loads have an equal number of detractors saying that they "suck", usually due to either lack of expansion or lack of penetration.

Being new to this caliber, I'm somewhat confused. :confused:

Here are a few of the loads that are supposedly "best" (but also "suck", dependent upon the source).

Corbon DPX
Remington Golden Saber
Speer Gold Dot
Winchester Ranger T-series

I was specifically advised NOT to fire +P rounds through an LCP, which eliminates Grizzly, Double Tap and Buffalo Bore.

I want to hear which of these 4 loads is "best" and why. Don't tell me to run FMJ for better penetration. I do not like the idea of ball ammo for personal defense. I've also heard that Glaser and Extreme Shock fail to perform well in this caliber.

Thanks.
 
I have heard that the Corbon Pow'rBall in 380 is a good load but have not tested it myself. I have used other Corbon ammo (357 defense loads and 44 hunting loads) without a problem. However, I was kind of ticked off at them when they changed the powder in the 320 gr 44 mag load, decreasing the velocity by about 100 fps, and didn't bother to publish that or have retailers list the lower velocities in their catalogs. I could have accomplished the lower velocity with my Dillon and traditional powders. The only reason I paid a much higher price for the Corbon 320 gr was that their (formerly) special powder allowed them to get about 100 fps more than I could. When I called/wrote them about the issue, senior management basically told me to go jump in a lake.

DancesWithKnives
 
I like .380. I prefer to carry my 40. But when its hot I like my 380. Dunno if it's the best but gold dot always performed well for me. Pretty must any 380 will stop you with a shot to the head
 
I have no experience with .380 but my preferred round for SD in .40 is the Golden Sabre. I have heard good thing about the Speer to. Maybe compare the ballistics data and draw your own conclusions. Any of the above suggestions seem reasonable depending upon your specific applications.
 
I've shot DPX, GS and GD. I've never seen the Winchester. They're all good.

Try 'em all and pick the one that functions most reliably in YOUR gun.
 
I prefer Hornady Critical defense, it's a great .380 round
 
Golden Saber buy a mile. The next best thing about them is that you don't suffer the bullet set back from chambering a round repeatedly. Check the rounds in the magazine of your carry gun. Pressures can go way up with a round that's set back.
 
Here is my suggestion...buy one box of each, go to the range and fire them in a test. Try and complete each test the same way, i.e. shooting the DPX cold, first rounds of the range session and then follow that pattern (i.e. next session try the winchester cold, first round of session). The set of ammo that had 1) the least amount of failures and 2) the best group at a range of at least 10 yards is the one I would go with. It isn't what you carry it is where you put it so if one gives you better inherent accuracy that is the one you should go with.
 
Speer GOld dot was specifically designed to perform well even when shooting through layers of thick clothing. Something that many ammos have a problem with as the hollow point often fails to expand when the opening is plugged. We carry them in the DOC and I carry them in all of my personal weapons. Gold Dot all the way!
 
I've been hearing that Gold Dot and Golden Saber work great in 38 Special and 9mm but fail to reliably expand out of a short barreled .380. Can anyone refute this?
 
As we all know, 9mm is faster than 380 so a bullet of the same construction might expand better at 9mm velocities. However, the 38 special certainly doesn't enjoy a significant velocity advantage over the 380. So if the bullet construction is the same and 38 specials are performing well, I would be surprised if the 380s don't perform just as well.

Unfortunately, that's just theory and I have not tested them myself.

DancesWithKnives
 
I have had a chance to use the Gold Dot ammo in .45 and was not impressed with it.I had to put down a German Shepard that had bit a census worker to have it tested for rabies.Could not take a head shot because of the testing so I went for heart-lung.Hit just behind the heart entry and exit would was the same size and it took a second shot.
 
u812 said:
I have had a chance to use the Gold Dot ammo in .45 and was not impressed with it.I had to put down a German Shepard that had bit a census worker to have it tested for rabies.Could not take a head shot because of the testing so I went for heart-lung.Hit just behind the heart entry and exit would was the same size and it took a second shot.
Click to expand...

A German Shepard is tougher than most people. I'm not surprised it took more than one shot.
 
Voted other for doubletap ammo although I think all that you listed are fine. I stagger my .380 magazines, one HP, one fmj. Better chance of penetration and expansion with multiple hits.
 
I read, I believe in Gun Test magazine, that they liked the FMJ in .380 because they did not think hollow points would expand reliably and the FMJ would penetrate heavy winter clothing better. Whether this stands up to actual testing or was just their opinion, I don't know.
 
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