Ball or H.P. ?

ColdSteelNail · 02-02-2012, 09:16

I'm sure this has been discussed before but I'm a newbie. My wife has started carrying my LCP. I would prefer she carry at least a 38 or 9 but I guess they make her ass look too big or something. If you were going to carry a .380 would you carry ball or hollow point?

White95 · 02-02-2012, 09:19

I carry hornady critical defense 90 grain FTX in my LCP.

Vanilla-gorilla · 02-02-2012, 09:23

^^^ this^^^

**QNman** · 02-02-2012, 09:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by White95

I carry hornady critical defense 90 grain FTX in my LCP.

Ditto.

Don't carry .380 ball. Use every safe measure you can, including against over penetration and liability of hitting unintended targets.

M2 Carbine · 02-02-2012, 09:26

In my LCP the round in the chamber is HP.

The top round in the magazine is ball. The theory being, if the gun is going to jam feeding a HP it will probably be the top round.

The rest of the mag is staggered ball and HP. The reason being I haven't decider which is the better .380 defense bullet, ball or HP, but I figure both will do a decent job.

banger · 02-02-2012, 09:27

Sorry to disagree with the above, but...

In a round like the .380 , or .32 acp, it is my belief that adaquate penetration in key.

I personally carry ball, particularly in short barreled .380's like the LCP.

9mmParabellum · 02-02-2012, 10:16

If it will feed Corbon DPX is good.

The Habit · 02-02-2012, 10:42

Buddy of mine carries DoubleTap 80gr Barnes TAC-XP JHP's. He chrono'd them at 11xx FPS. That's moving for a .380.

JackMac · 02-02-2012, 10:54

recommend Cor-Bon. It's a heck of a good round.

ithaca_deerslayer · 02-02-2012, 10:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by White95

I carry hornady critical defense 90 grain FTX in my LCP.

Me too

And there are good reasons for it. Mainly, it cycles well (got a pointy tip). And it has good velocity. And it opens up to create a bigger hole, while still maintaining penetration in reported testing.

Others may prefer FMJ, or different brands of HP. That's fine. We all gotta pick something. I've purposely switched to the critical defense in my LCP.

Metal Angel · 02-02-2012, 11:00

Check out tnoutsoors9 on YouTube. He shows .380 in ballistic gel. Several different HPs, and even does a test with ball ammo. .380 HPs have a tendency to under penetrate by FBI standards, but ball ammo hardly does anything. Like stabbing someone with a long needle. I don't like .380, but my wife wants one, and when she gets it, she will be carrying HPs for sure.

But, the military uses 9mm fmj, which is going to have the same result as .380fmj... So it's not like ball ammo doesn't kill.

ithaca_deerslayer · 02-02-2012, 11:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColdSteelNail

I would prefer she carry at least a 38 or 9 but I guess they make her ass look too big or something.

If she actually carries it, and it is reliable, and she can shoot half-way decent with it, then you've won the battle (as far as preparing the wife goes).

If I were to go mess with her (of course I wouldn't), and she pointed the LCP at me, I wouldn't say "Ha! That's only a .380, lady!" Instead I'd go into full back-pedal mode.

And if some whacko kept going at her, I think the .380 would have a good chance at stopping the perp. It is a trade-off from a 9, which is a trade-off from a .40, which is a trade-off from a 10mm, which is a trade-off from a .30-06.

But the LCP is light and small and thin and likely to be carried on her. Aside from finding the right load you like, I wouldn't mess with that success

**NeverMore1701** · 02-02-2012, 11:14

DPX-1 has done really well in my P238.