I normally carry a Glock 19 with Critical Duty, but am going to try out a P238 for pocket/summer carry.

What does everyone recommend for ammo for the 380?

Any of the 5 offerings using the Hornady bullet discussed in this video:
.380 Ammo Quest Conclusions

Sell/trade it for a 938?

Thanks BlackJuJu...

Not an option Clownbear. Not for what I paid for it, I needed a small pocket pistol.  I got this at an awesome deal and would like to hold on to it.


Any other recommendations?

FMJ for .380 and under.
Bullet performance means nothing if it doesn't go bang and cycle. Little bitty autopistols are already operating on the ragged edge.
Bullet penetration is more important than expansion. Expansion comes at the cost of penetration.
The .380 sometimes has enough oomph to both expand and adequately penetrate, depending on what it hits. "Sometimes" being the key word.

But the real reason is that nobody can look at a wound track through an actual person and tell you whether it was made by a hollowpoint or ball.

Buffalo Bore makes both cast flat nose and jacketed flat nose ammo, in both standard and +P.

The above advice is the conventional wisdom, but it's a bit dated now and really leaves you at a disadvantage with an already marginal caliber.   .380 FMJs make pitifully small holes and while penetration is important, the FBI standard stresses both 12-18" penetration as well as expansion to 1.5 times the starting diameter.   If it were a case where no .380 FMJ round could make the minimum penetration then I'd agree that FMJs are the way to go - but that's just not the case with the Hornady 90 gr XTP being available.

The you tube link in one of the previous posts is pretty much on the mark, but you need to consider that he's talking about a short barreled .380 ACP in the 2.5 to 2.7" range, rather than a PP or PPK sized barrel in the 3.4" to 3.9" range.  

Barrel length makes far more of a difference in .380 ACP than in 9mm Para (and it's even more critical in .32 ACP where the 60 gr XTP also does well).  I've noted velocity losses in the 50 to 70 fps range between the 3.9" PP and the 3.4" PPK/S and when you drop to 2.5" you're taking a round with a 1000 fps potential and reducing it to around 850 fps.  That's at the low end of the effective velocity range for the 90 gr XTP and below the effective range for pretty much every other hollow point.    So with a short barreled .380 ACP, it's your only viable hollow point choice.

What makes the Hornady 90 gr XTP work well in the .380 ACP is that it is only a moderately expanding bullet.  On average you can expect expansion to about .53 caliber which is right at the 1.5x FBI standard so it just hits the minimum expansion needed, and that still allows maximum penetration with the available kinetic energy which means it will reliably exceed the 12" mark in a 3.5" to 3.9" .380 ACP.   If you can get 850 fps out of the 90 gr XTP in your pistol, you are pretty much good to go and are far better served than you would be with an FMJ.

----

With a longer barreled .380 ACP, you'd have a couple more viable options.  The 102 gr Golden Saber expands to a very impressive .60 caliber with nasty, sharp edges on the jacket, but the velocity range where it will penetrate is very narrow.  With too fast a muzzle velocity it will expand prematurely and come up short in the 10" range, and with not enough velocity it will expand slower but will still lack the energy needed to make it to 12", if it expands.  In denim at too slow a velocity, it tends to not expand at all.  For a short barrel pistol the hotter underwood loading is preferable and in a longer barrel .380 ACP the Remington load is preferable.   It has it's faults in terms of penetration, but on the other hand, the full 12" is not needed in the majority of civilian self defense shoots and you can argue that 10" to .60 caliber hole is worth having.  

-----

There is no "+P" loading for .380 ACP, just the 21,500 psi SAAMI spec.   Buffalo Bore has heavy loaded ammo that they call "+ P" but it's a misnomer as there is no "+ P" standard, so it just loaded in excess of SAAMI spec.

The  heavy loaded and standard loaded Buffalo Bore rounds are better than FMJs in the sense that they have a flat point that is probably more effective than a round nosed FMJ, but they are hard cast and will not expand.  The same 75 grain bullet in soft cast lead actually makes more sense from both expansion and leading perspectives.  Given the comparatively low pressure of the .380 ACP round a BHN of 12 is plenty and a hard cast bullet is counter productive.  But marketing trumps science and engineering every time.

I don't recommend the "heavy" Buffalo Bore loads.   They are harder to shoot accurately in a small .380 and the extra 4" of penetration to 21" is a total waste, so there is no upside, and significant downside.   Hits count in a gun fight and I see no advantage to shooting a round that you can't practice with, and you can't practice with the "heavy" loaded BB rounds as they beat the tar out of your pistol.  100-150 rounds a week with a round with a similar recoil impulse would substantially shorten the life of your pistol, so people who use the heavy loaded BB rounds either don't practice much, or have to practice with a round that will have significantly less recoil than their carry round.  That violates the train like you intend to fight principle.    But the BB rounds sell well in a "faster must be better" world and the heavy BB load has avid fans.  

DakotaFAL pretty much nails it.

Barrel length is very important in the micro guns and performance. Till you get into the 3-4" guns, HP's are problematic due to velocity loss.

Of "standard" 380 ammo, I love the Winchester Train/Defense lineup of both the FMJ and the JHP.  The JHP is the same 95gr bonded JHP they use in their PDX1 series and the 95gr FMJ is the same great flat nosed design as comes in the white box bulk stuff (and Q4206) you buy at the store.  Both hover around 875 fps from my 2.5" CW380.  The JHP expands nicely and both it and the FMJ would make for an excellent self defense load, recoil is easy too.





Of non-standard I've tried the Buffalo Barnes 80gr all copper (Barnes DPX) HP, which does around 1,100 fps and also expands very well, and of course it is a bit snappier than the standard pressure factory fodder.



I would also be okay with the Hornady XTP and Critical Defense, although expansion is a bit weak they typically penetrate a little deeper.  The 102 Golden Sabre would be good too, and a newer version just hit the shelves with a more shallow cavity hollow point.

The OP mentioned a short barreled pistol, and the guy in the video I posted uses a short barreled pistol.
What's not to love here?

Agree.  Everyone has their favorite ammo, but the guy that does the ammo quest videos actually tests the rounds against ballistic gelatin out of short barreled 380s.

Much to my surprise, the Federal 90 gr. Hydrashoks and several loads using the Hornady XTP bullet came out on top (adequate expansion with at least 12" of penetration and not exceeding 18").

As a bonus, the Federal round is advertised as low recoil.

Please go and watch the wrap-up video before claiming the merits of your favorite load.

FMJ

Because the .380 is at the minimum-end of my 'acceptable' range, I want reliability first, penetration second and expansion third. I carry remington 102 jhp in my lcp simply because it's the heaviest-bullet .380 load I've found commonly-available that I can buy OTC in my area. Haven't used it on anything larger than a raccoon so far, but for use on larger targets I figure if it expands as advertised, great; but if it doesn't expand, I'm still shooting the heaviest bullet I can throw from the tiny little gun.

For those that are considering fmj, the usa fmj-fp is the most powerful non-plus-p load I've clocked thru it and may be a compromise worth considering. The fp design may (or may not) terminally perform like like an swc; and swc loads have had great success in the revolver world for decades.

Check out Underwoods 100GR hard cast.

My 380 is a Beretta 84F, and it is loaded with Underwood +P XTP. 14rds of 1200fps XTP's makes me warm and fuzzy.
Nobody else has pointed it out, so I will...the XTP is of course a Speer product, not Hornady.

Are you sure Hornady doesn't make an "XTP" bullet? What do you think they put in the "Hornady Custom"? Speer bullets?
Take a look at 6:55 in from that video I posted. Here are several Hornady XTP bullets in the "Winner's Circle".

Disclaimer: I am not associated with the maker of that video. Just an ardent supporter of his scientific approach.

90gr Gold Dots.

I was surprised with the results as well. completely made me rethink my .380 ammo choises.  XTP .380 is hard to find right now though.

What?

nope

http://www.hornady.com/store/XTP-XTP-MAG

Stagger European FMJ (its hotter and youll need it for penetration) and Gold Dot HP.

BUFFALO-BARNES LEAD-FREE 380 Auto +P Ammo - 80 gr. Barnes TAC-XP

I carry an LCP off duty and as a backup while working.     My dept requires hollow point ammo, but lets the individual officer choose which HP's to run.      Since HP .380 ammo tends to under-penetrate, especially in short barreled pistols, I choose to run Hornady 90 grain XTP ammo.     The small hollow point cavity helps to limit expansion and penetrate more deeply.     The dept is happy since it's still a hollow point, and I get a bit more penetration than say a Gold Dot or PDX1 both of which expand more.

I accept the limitations of the .380 cartridge, but for my application it works well.

I like Gold Dots.

Glock 42 with FMJs or Critical Defense.

From the video, that one was a little too fast, and the higher velocity made for better expansion, but at the cost of penetration.  He liked the bullet, but preferred it loaded by others.

TXL

Look at Brass Fetcher.
Federal Hydra Shock is an amazing performer, so is the Speer GDHP. I was carrying Hornady Critical defense, but the Hydra Shock out performs it...

Has anyone tried the 380 offering under the newer Ranger T-series line?  I currently use Golden Sabers, but they can be hard to find sometimes, and my local store is a Winchester stocking LE dealer and has plenty of Ranger T ammo.

Find the largest grain bullet with the flattest point.  .380 just plain sucks for expansion.

That being said if I *had* to carry a .380 I'd use 90gr DPX.  

Why not a 9mm?

I carry 100gr FMJ in my Ruger LCP. When it comes to handgun lethality, shot placement and penetration is all that matters. There are a couple .380 JHP loads I've seen that meet the penetration requirement set forth by the FBI but they're few and far between.

I have never in my life heard of a 1.5x expansion specification by the FBI, only a penetration spec. An expansion spec makes no sense as it's relative to the calibre. I tried Googling it, but can't find anything. If anyone has a source for this claim I'd love to see it.

That's what I got for the wife's P380.

Great video. Looks like I'm going to try and find some XTP-loaded ammo.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shooting/Ammunition/Handgun-Ammunition%7C/pc/104792580/c/104691780/sc/104372280/Hornadyreg-Custom-Handgun-Ammunition/1159883.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fhandgun-ammunition%2F_%2FN-1100189%2B4294752091%2FNe-4294752091%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BBRprd1226042%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=SBC%3BBRprd1226042%3Bcat104372280