For .380 ACP Users

[Vinikahr]

I found this at other forum that I belong to and wanted to share:

.380 Data - Completely Unscientific! (http://www.citybillys.com/380%20data)

[jocko]

seen that before, to me it is about as good as one can get. He tried to be totally honest and forthcoming to. naturaly all results can vary, but he put alot of time and effort into that test, let alone the cost involved..

[hsart]

Would be interested in an analysis of all that data (though a picture does say a thousand words). It appears that not all HPs are equal. The Speer Gold Dots have nice even expansion. The Rem GS does not seem to be that reliable???

[bayoutrigger]

So what's the bottom line? Speer Gold Dot most reliable to stop the bad guy?

[unclenunzie]

As I am sure everyone has, I have read a lot of test results. And I find myself buying a few boxes here and there of the top defense ammo products. I can't seem to settle on just one: Gold dots, Pow'r balls, Hornady CDs, cor-bon, golden saber, etc. I think I am a serial acquirer of defense ammo, but mostly in 380. For the 9mm, 38/357, 45 acp, I worry less and settle more easily, as it shouldn't really matter which top-shelf ammo I pick. But for 380 in my LCP, at the moment I am going with Speer gold dots 90 gr standard pressure.

I am however intrigued by buffalo bore standard pressure 380 rounds, they look meaty.......

Help! I've ordered 380 ammo and I can't stop! ;)

[Steve-$]

A nice site and very well done.
Anybody know of a site that compares 357 magnums like that?
:)

[recoilguy]

Nice report. I liked it and will read it in more detail when on my own time.

RCG

[Bawanna]

So what's the bottom line? Speer Gold Dot most reliable to stop the bad guy?

I think the bottom line is whatever you shoot somebody with, be it Gold Dot, Golden Sabre or preparation H capsules it is going to ruin their day completely. With 380 I would not expect the non existant one shot stop nor even a 1 magazine stop. Keep shooting till your safe and ok.
I prefer Gold Dots but have attended a couple Winchester ballistic seminars. Different bullets do different things. Winchester work better after going thru glass for example, Gold Dots do a bit better thru clothing according to them. I got to shoot thru the windshield of a car from the drivers seat once for a demonstration. What a different experience. Very good safety glasses highly recommended, I think I still have powdered safety glass on me.

[ripley16]

Here's some addition test results to add to the above tests. This link is to the Brass Fetcher site and to a compilation of .380 tests done there.

http://www.brassfetcher.com/380ACP%20ammunition%20performance%20in%20ballistic %20gelatin.pdf



A nice site and very well done.
Anybody know of a site that compares 357 magnums like that?

Look here.
http://www.brassfetcher.com/

[fastgun]

I wonder if the supposed unscientific test is more like reality than most of the scientific controlled tests.

By this I mean that the results show almost every round had some good results and some miserable results....sorta like real life, huh?

The ballistic gel that is calibrated and standardized and so very scientific
will give you just one view point. If the bullet penetrates to 14 inches everyone says that it is a wonderful bullet and we all rush out and buy it. We load it up confident that if we have to shoot some bad guy our bullets will penetrate just like the jello test.

With this fellas unscientific test, we don't really know what our bullets are going to do. We load them up and trust in the best. We know that some round might not work so we are prepared to shoot until the threat is over.

I sort of like this unscientific approach myself.