Best SD ammo for 380 Auto?

[IronsightsRifleman]

For my .30-06 rifles I think a lot in terms of projectile mass and velocity, but I never worry much about projectile style because the sheer energy is going to do so much damage that expansion is not a primary consideration. Along the same lines of thinking, however, I believe that bullet type should play a significant role in the effectiveness of the ammo for my new 380 pistol.
What ammo do you like for self defense in 380 ACP, and why?

[Tripplet918]

All my 380s had issues cycling Hydra Shoks, Hornady and Fiochi hollow points. I just defaulted to hollow points. Better than nuffin.

[Elgatodeacero]

I think .380 is underpowered for a primary self defense pistol, and the blow back guns have as much recoil as a locked breech 9x19.

However, if you must use .380, then penetration is the main shortcoming so FMJ are the best choice.

[JagerDog]

Not a bad test/review site:

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/#380ACP

[IronsightsRifleman]

I found that Paul Harrell has done at least a couple of videos on 380 ammo. There is significant differences in performance.
Federal HST does well in the first video.
Remmington Golden Saber in the second video.

[IronsightsRifleman]

Not a bad test/review site:

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/sel...-tests/#380ACP

Thanks. The table here is good. It seems consistent with some of Harrell's results.

[EsotericEpsilon]

As stated above, Paul Harrell has some good test videos for 380.

You can also check out "Shooting the Bull" on YouTube. He has an entire series dedicated to finding 380 defensive ammo that performs well. Granted this was a while back so ammo selection might differ now. He does use ballistics gel and it might not coincide with real life results due to bones, tissue density, etc, but it's a good start in the right direction.
http://https://shootingthebull.net/blog/tag/380/

Garand Thumb also did a review on 380 vs 9mm to see if it's effective enough for self defense.

https://youtu.be/1tcvMlCkMJM?si=lLWyJbyd6qHPIdsY

[mofo1111]

Underwood Xtreme Defender is what seems like a good round for .380. The link from Lucky Gunner is great info. There are many other videos to explore on the 380 auto, self defense ammo. The problem with 380 is there is not enough energy in a 380 HP to penetrate to FBI standard. Often they fall shy of 12"-18" of penetration if they expand as intended. If the don't expand, they may reach the 12"-18" of penetration, but they probably behave more like a FMJ.

The bullet from Lehigh Defense (Extreme Defense) is "barrier blind" and does not clog up with denim, cloth, drywall, etc. It also doesn't have to expand to cause tissue damage. That bullet shape is designed to cause tissue damage without expanding. I believe Paul Harrell discusses that there seems to be more damage by Xtreme Defender ammo. You will have to search videos or reviews of Lehigh Defense Extreme Defender to compare penetration tests.

Lehigh also makes another version of this bullet, called Extreme Penetrator, that is designed to (guess what?), penetrate farther.

I also favor lighter, faster bullets. This equates to more muzzle energy. If I can get the desired penetration with a faster bullet, that's the ammo I chose. You may have different requirements. But a lighter bullet will lose velocity and energy faster as distance increases, compared to a heavier bullet. But most self defense ammo is made for close to very close encounters.

[TomReloaded]

Lehigh defense bullets are made almost exclusively for gel tests. They don't do what they claim, as it's physically impossible with 380/9/45/10 velocities.

But in gel it makes a cool looking cavity. Handgun shootings in humans produce a hole the size of the bullet and nothing more.

Fackler wrote a good paper with evidence to disprove it. Your handgun causes wounds only where the bullet touches. For 380 you have to balance penetration with expansion, and expansion has to give to get penetration.

https://web.archive.org/web/20080528021652/http://www.btammolabs.com/fackler/shock_wave_myth.pdf