My go to self defense round is Speer Gold Dots. For range, I like whatever shoots reliably...for me it's RWS mainly because I can get it in bulk and it's affordable. I also like Federal, but your gun will tell you what it likes.

As always, even though it's expensive, shoot 50-100 rounds of your SD ammo choice to be sure your gun feeds/fires/ejects reliably. Consider it an insurance policy.

 

My go to self defense round is Speer Gold Dots. For range, I like whatever shoots reliably...for me it's RWS mainly because I can get it in bulk and it's affordable. I also like Federal, but your gun will tell you what it likes.

As always, even though it's expensive, shoot 50-100 rounds of your SD ammo choice to be sure your gun feeds/fires/ejects reliably. Consider it an insurance policy.

^^^^^
What he said. I also like the Corbon DPX in any caliber, but the large hole in the JHP bullet may make your gun misfeed. Run AT LEAST a box of whatever you choose through your pistol before loading it to carry. And not slow fire, either. Run it as if you were in a self defense situation.

 

^^^^^
What he said. I also like the Corbon DPX in any caliber, but the large hole in the JHP bullet may make your gun misfeed. Run AT LEAST a box of whatever you choose through your pistol before loading it to carry. And not slow fire, either. Run it as if you were in a self defense situation.

^^^^^^^^ what they both said. +1 also for the corbon.

 

Hornady Critical Defense

 

380acp is known for less than ideal penetration so for defense I prefer 102gr Remington Golden Sabre or 90gr FMJ

"If you're gonna be dumb you gotta be tough"

 

Winchester White Box.

 

Speaking of which, is 380 as scarce as everya other caliber right now?

 

Speaking of which, is 380 as scarce as everya other caliber right now?

Not quite as scarce as the other mains, but it is pretty hard to find.

 

Speaking of which, is 380 as scarce as every other caliber right now?

Saw one lonely box of JHP 380 at Walmart the other day. Of course, there wasn't a single box of 9mm or 45ACP.

Razrtalk

 

Saw one lonely box of JHP 380 at Walmart the other day. Of course, there wasn't a single box of 9mm or 45ACP.

Razrtalk

Yeah...and leave it to me to get a .380 AND a .45ACP right when TSHTF...

Paid $100 for 200 rounds of "plinking" .45 last night...and felt lucky for it...

 

I guess I'll hold off on buying a 380 then.

 

I guess I'll hold off on buying a 380 then.

I wouldn't let it stop you...ammo will come back around. And for me, I bought a Bersa CC model. It's fun to shoot, but it isn't a "blast through a few hundred rounds" kinda fun.

 

Yeah I'd want one for carry....a Beretta preferably. I have a friend who got a Beretta 380 (not sure of the model) and it was awesome.

 

I'm using Hornady Critical Defense for carry and whatever I can find cheap at the range. I wouldn't hesitate to use the Gold Dot either.

 

Yeah I'd want one for carry....a Beretta preferably. I have a friend who got a Beretta 380 (not sure of the model) and it was awesome.

I'd go for it. With the little pocket guns you don't chew through ammo the same (generally) as you do with larger framed choices.

I love my Bersa, but 50 rounds and I am generally good to move on to something else.

 

Not quite as scarce as the other mains, but it is pretty hard to find.

I was out at Perry's a week ago and they had plenty of .380 among other popular calibers (some 9mm, .22 was non-existant) I did not pay attention to the pricing but they had it.

 

Where is Perry's? I've never been able to find it.

Edit: Nevermind, different shop than I was thinking of.

I went to their site.....is their store mostly long guns like the website implies? Not many handguns for sale on their site.

 

Winchester PDX 1 for defense. Something cheap or reloads for range.

 

Yesterday, Gander Mountain had a couple dozen boxes of Blazer .380 (aluminum), as well as half a dozen different types of hollow points.

They also had a boatload of .40, 10mm, and .45 in stock.

 

Where is Perry's? I've never been able to find it.

Edit: Nevermind, different shop than I was thinking of.

I went to their site.....is their store mostly long guns like the website implies? Not many handguns for sale on their site.

Before all the craziness, Perry's had vast quantities of handguns from nearly every major manufacturer. I would say that their handgun sales made up the vast majority of their total sales. Today, obviously a different story where handgun selection is pretty limited. When I was in there last, I was not looking at handguns, I was looking at over/under shotguns for sporting clays shooting.

 

Penetration is critical with .380. The faster you push that little piece of lead, the deeper the penetration.

I like Hornady Critical Defense, but Buffalo Bore has them beat.

Hornady CD - 90gr FTX 1000fps

Buffalo Bore +P - 90gr JHP 1200fps

Buffalo Bore is +P, so make sure your firearm can handle +P loads

 

Penetration is critical with .380. The faster you push that little piece of lead, the deeper the penetration.

I like Hornady Critical Defense, but Buffalo Bore has them beat.

Hornady CD - 90gr FTX 1000fps

Buffalo Bore +P - 90gr JHP 1200fps

Buffalo Bore is +P, so make sure your firearm can handle +P loads

You need to consider expansion and penetration. From the tests I've seen for .380 the most reliable for expansion are Corbon DPX, Winchester PDX 1 and Buffalo Bore. Of those the PDX 1 had the best penetration.

 

I typically shoot WWB 90 grain FMJ for the range and carry Hornady Critical Defense 90 gr. for defense in my LCP.

Since 2007 I've run somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500-1700 rounds through my LCP without a single failure. I say somewhere, because I lost count after 1300 rounds. My wife found my stash of empty WWB boxes that I was using to keep track and called me a hoarder. Had to throw them out LOL.

Anyhow, mixed in with all that WWB, has been Federal Hydrashok 90 grain, Speer Gold dot 90 grain, plain jane Remington 88 gr JHP, Fiocchi 90 gr JHP, Hornady Custom XTP, and Hornady Critical Defense. It ate all of it without a problem. Of the SD ammo though I've put the most Critical Defense through my gun so it's what I carry. I've put about 120 rounds total of the CD through it.

 

I have 2 p380s and for the range, anything except MagTech. Both guns balked on it. I haven't tried WWB simply because I haven't found it, But Federal, Independence, Lawman, etc all ran well. For Carry I use Hornady 90gr. CD.

 

Whatever FMJ you can find for practice and Hornady Critical Defense for EDC. The extensive testing and reviews on this stuff shows it will get the job done