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What to carry in .380? FMJ or JHP?

H

henchmen77

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Okay people thought I would check with you all out there. We are coming into winter and I have a nice colt Government pocketlight .380, I was going to go with FMJ to get penetration. You know the winters here in the northeast and people like to dress warm. And the compact size and weight is why I would carry it in winter for all of you that would say go with a 9mm,40SW or 45ACP which I have all of them but find myself carrying the colt do to the size.

If you pick a JHP which weight and brand ammo would you go with?
 
.380 JHPs generally don't expand well, so I would run ball ammo. That said, the JHPs probably won't perform any worse, so if you already have them, I'd still use them. Because most .380s are fussy, the right brand is the brand that works in your gun. As long as you stay away from gimmick ammo like magsafe, extreme shock, glaser, etc, you should be fine.

I'm not sure why you would want to carry a little .380 in the winter. Having extra concealment garments makes it trivially easy to carry something bigger.

Then again all things are relative I guess, depending on what you're used to. I conceal guns like Glock 19 and 30SF all the time, and yet people I run into are like "waaah those are too large.." that's why we have choices. [laugh]

-Mike
 
I carry Hornady critical defense in my LCP. I only have what I have read online as a guide, but it seems to reliably expand and penetrates well also. I have fired about 50 rounds of it and not had a misfire or jam yet. Too expensive to shoot off more than that!
 
drgrant said:
.380 JHPs generally don't expand well, so I would run ball ammo. That said, the JHPs probably won't perform any worse, so if you already have them, I'd still use them. Because most .380s are fussy, the right brand is the brand that works in your gun. As long as you stay away from gimmick ammo like magsafe, extreme shock, glaser, etc, you should be fine.

I'm not sure why you would want to carry a little .380 in the winter. Having extra concealment garments makes it trivially easy to carry something bigger.

Then again all things are relative I guess, depending on what you're used to. I conceal guns like Glock 19 and 30SF all the time, and yet people I run into are like "waaah those are too large.." that's why we have choices. [laugh]

-Mike
Click to expand...

this... i can conceal a full size 1911, Glcok 17/19, 92FS even in the summer time wearing shorts, a loose (dark) t-shirt and flip flops [laugh]

but, i also like my PPS in 9mm because i forget i'm wearing it too. [smile]

as for .380? no comment [rofl]
 
I'll carry a full size 92FS or a 1911 in the summer. I guess the trick is to never carry a smaller pistol so you dont know how much better it can be haha. With the right holster even the 92FS is comfortable when seated in my car and tucked high/close enough when wearing a t-shirt.
 
Thanks for all the feedback. As for you all that talking about carrying full size if you carry anytime you walk out the door and carry on the job like I do, you learn fast that bigger is not always better! When it comes to carry weight and size is always a issue when you talk about carry. Also shot placement and penetration is more of a factor then the size of your pistol.

Thanks and keep the thread going and try to stay on track to the topic at hand guys.

Mike
 
henchmen77 said:
As for you all that talking about carrying full size if you carry anytime you walk out the door and carry on the job like I do, you learn fast that bigger is not always better! When it comes to carry weight and size is always a issue when you talk about carry.
Click to expand...

Not to go too O/T here....but some of us do carry just about 24/7, and do it with full size pistols. If I can manage to function with enough clothes on to cover my Glock 22 and 2 spare mags....that's what I carry.
 
henchmen77 said:
Thanks for all the feedback. As for you all that talking about carrying full size if you carry anytime you walk out the door and carry on the job like I do, you learn fast that bigger is not always better! When it comes to carry weight and size is always a issue when you talk about carry. Also shot placement and penetration is more of a factor then the size of your pistol.

Thanks and keep the thread going and try to stay on track to the topic at hand guys.

Mike
Click to expand...

+.5

I carry a beretta 950 .25 ..........






and a G-19, at the same time. 2 is 1 and 1 is none.

So I see what you mean about the small one, I don't even know it's there.
 
As do I atmay but I also carry on the job with a lot more gear. Yes all my kit has tools that I will need for the job but its about 15lbs worth so you learn that weight is a issue. When I carry off the job I go lite and compact which makes a differance when you are walking around all day or on your feet.
 
Why not load both? Stagger the clip JHP, FMJ, or the other way around, that way you get the best of both rounds. Or not?
 
Depending on the gun...380 seem to be as fickle as a 1911 in what they shoot. I run Hornady Critical defense in my Micro Eagle, 100+ without a jam. I used to run the solid copper Corbon but I like the heavier Hornady's.
 
To me, the physics are simple. You shoot anything, wearing however many layers of whatever (except armor), you'll get the penetration that you need to kill them with a simple JHP. Look up the ballistic to see what I mean.
 
Don't always put to much into Gel test. Most of the test are just Gel with no heavy clothing which will fill most JHP. And bullets JHP or FMJ tend to act different when in a human. Some will pass throw and others will be just under the skin of a persons back if you do a front on shot. And some will not hit one thing in the person to kill them. A brain,heart or brain stem shot are the only almost 100% way to end the fight. A shot to the hip with a large caliber will put them down on the ground.
 
henchmen77 said:
Thanks and keep the thread going and try to stay on track to the topic at hand guys.
Click to expand...

Thread drift is often key to thread longevity. That or a title that incorporates words such as "breasts" or "taser."

atmay said:
If I can manage to function with enough clothes on to cover my Glock 22 and 2 spare mags....that's what I carry.
Click to expand...

What do you do when you can't?

henchmen77 said:
A brain,heart or brain stem shot are the only almost 100% way to end the fight. A shot to the hip with a large caliber will put them down on the ground.
Click to expand...

Even those don't always work, even with multiple rifle hits.

DonKroob said:
the first two rounds are snapcaps. Gotta be safe out there.
Click to expand...

Everyone with a brain does this. It's common knowledge in the gun world that the 1st two shots are the ones that most commonly overpenetrate. With snap caps you completely eliminate the possibility of overpenetration without losing the immediately incapacitating effect of racking the slide to prevent a convenience store robbery.

It's a total win-win.
 
I carry 230 grain +P Hollowpoints in my .380. Works pissa. [wink]

No, I used to carry HP's in my Walther PPK/S (summertime gun), but now only carry FMJ. The gun will cycle anything I feed it but after reading up on how .380 HP rarely expands reliably, I figured FMJ is the way to go. It's the smallest caliber I carry, and again that's only in the summer months. Well, the LCP on the ankle as a backup sometimes.
 
Neither, every old curmudgeon handgunner knows that anything less than 10mm is completely ineffective as a personal defense round.
 
drgrant said:
.380 JHPs generally don't expand well, so I would run ball ammo. That said, the JHPs probably won't perform any worse, so if you already have them, I'd still use them. Because most .380s are fussy, the right brand is the brand that works in your gun. As long as you stay away from gimmick ammo like magsafe, extreme shock, glaser, etc, you should be fine.

I'm not sure why you would want to carry a little .380 in the winter. Having extra concealment garments makes it trivially easy to carry something bigger.

Then again all things are relative I guess, depending on what you're used to. I conceal guns like Glock 19 and 30SF all the time, and yet people I run into are like "waaah those are too large.." that's why we have choices. [laugh]

-Mike
Click to expand...

+1 Always default to Hard-Ball, especially if the ballistics might be in question. Smaller the caliber = less penetration. FMJ stands a chance at giving you the best chance. And agreed in winter you have the perfect circumstance to carry your favorite, mine is the Kimber TLE II 45 acp.
 
Last edited:
Gun tests magazine had a test of .380 ammo last month. The preferred FMJ as the JHPs didnt penetrate that well. Couple other factors as well... It is worth a read.
 

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