Picking up a LCP for CCW. Curious what ammo would be best for it? Some say in .380 to stick to FMJ for adequate penetration. However, the Hornady's 90gr XTP seems to have very good penetration. I'd like input specifically regarding ammo used in the LCP vs generic comments. Thanks!

I will second Hornaday's Critical Defense

So far Hornady seems to be the preferred choice. The Hornady in the tests shown below had the best penetration while the PDX1 had the best expansion. The gun used had a longer barrel so not sure how that will translate when shooting out of the shorter LCP. Using pricing from Sportsman Guide the Hornady was $0.70 a round compared to the Hydra-Shok at $0.99 so that is significant. The PDX1 had some impressive expansion but penetration was a full 3" less than the Hornady.

Has anyone put a lot of the Hornady rounds through their LCP, and if so, have you experienced any failures?

Ammo / penetration / expansion / cost
Hornady 11.25" / 0.44" / $0.70
Hydra-Shok 10.25" / 0.48" / $0.99
PDX1 - 8.25" / 0.66" $0.82

Hornady video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H9M6cZGd18&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Hydra-Shok video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ6PgHhNYg0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

PDX1 video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv7ChS7DurE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I'm carrying Buffalo Bore in mine. I'd recommend getting a spring kit from Wolff if you shoot much of the BB.

BB is quite a bit hotter than standard loads, so upping the spring rate to prevent slide battering is not a bad idea. I tried the various spring weights in the kit from Wolff, and ended up with the 11# spring as being the best. There was a noticeably stronger recoil impulse with both the stock spring and the heavier weights as well.

With no standards for +P pressure in the .380 format it kind of concerns me. Ruger says not to use +P. I wonder if that is because of the lack of standardization for +P .380 rounds or because of the size of the LCP It may not be robust enough to handle the higher pressure reliably?

I have run a bunch of different deffensive type ammo through mine and it ate everything just fine. I run Critical Defense right now.

Because the 380 is too weak to provide both expansion and proper penetration, I would opt for achieving as much penetration as possible. I am in the market for a small 380 and having been researching this topic to death, and there are many videos of gel tests on youtube that show how all of the hollow points when fired through four layers of denim into gel, do not reach the minimum 12" of penetration standards. Therefore, I have decided to carry fmj flat nose. A flat nose bullet crushes more tissue than a round nose and even the standard (non+p) Winchster white box fmj flatnose penetrated 20". While that number may seem excessive, none of these gel test enter bone into the equation, not to mention fat bodies. Additionally, the majority of shootings involve hitting the arms, so I want the penetration capabilities. However if I had to choose an expanding bullet, it would be the Hornady Critical Defense.

Hornady in gel

fmj test