Posted: 2/8/2026 1:28:31 PM EDT
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For a Beretta "Cheetah/series 8x" 380ACP or similar pistols, what are the better loadings today for self-defense-oriented use? I am specifically thinking more along the lines of aggressive dogs, not drugged space cadets, Zombie impersonators in altered mental states, etc. I see a huge amount of MARKETING NOISE trying to sell ~$1/rd options to people who don't seem to be experienced users. So, Hornady XTP options at ~$0.50/rd or Golden Saber/Critical Duty,HST/HTP/SIlver tips/... What are the top choices for this type of use? No need to mention larger calibers, which would be more effective too!  TIA! Sid |
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I have carried the Hornady American Gunner 90 grain XTP since buying my Glock 42. Years ago in the 80’s and early 90’s I used to carry a PPKs then a PPK with 85 grain Silvertips. I’ve seen people shot with 380 and shot placement is the key. When I first bought my Glock 42 I bought a box of Remington 88 grain JHP (HTP). The Remington 88 grain JHP feeds about like FMJ round nose and the 88 grain JHP worked in one shooting I investigated. The Remington 88 grain JHP was shot out of a Browning BDA 380 which has the same barrel length as the Beretta 84/85 Cheetah. I like the Hornady XTP better than the other hollow points I’ve tested. I’m a firm believer that the first rule of a gunfight is to have a gun. I always carry two spare mags when I pack my Glock 42. |
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Freedom XTP I like this round. It’s advertised velocities are correct. |
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Originally Posted By blt-2-drg: I carry Underwood 68gr +P Extreme Defender in my LCP and LCP Max. I found most hollow points do not reach the velocity they need to expand and work properly in such short barrels, at least not 100% of the time or even close to it. This is what I carry in my Glock 42 but from reading reviews just now, it doesn't feed well in all .380s. Ballistic tests in gel blocks are impressive. |
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"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6:10 KJV
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https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/handgun/380-auto-90-gr-ftx-critical-defense# Years ago, LAPD was trying to get their officers to carry off-duty more. They authorized the Ruger LCP, if they used this ammo. Not 100% on the LCP. |
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Originally Posted By Yankee-Carpet-Bagger: https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/handgun/380-auto-90-gr-ftx-critical-defense# Years ago, LAPD was trying to get their officers to carry off-duty more. They authorized the Ruger LCP, if they used this ammo. Not 100% on the LCP. That's what I'm running in my .380. |
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Originally Posted By dump1567: This is what I've gone to in .380. Although the Hornady CD did well in Paul Harrell's meat target test. Unscientific, but shooting into gallon jugs of water, expansion was about the same, but HSD penetrated 4 jugs while the CD only went through 3. |
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Lucky gunner did some good gel tests. https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/#380ACP I run Hornady ftx |
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Originally Posted By cubie: I carry flat nose FMJs. .380 is a back up gun for me, so I want all the penetration I can get. Especially in the winter months, when everyone has thick coats on. |
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Originally Posted By sidpost: An important consideration! Adequate penetration is crucial with weaker rounds like the 380 ACP, as is proper bullet construction for its capabilities. Originally Posted By sidpost: Originally Posted By cubie: I carry flat nose FMJs. .380 is a back up gun for me, so I want all the penetration I can get. Especially in the winter months, when everyone has thick coats on. .380 Ball, with the exception of Hornady 100Gn FMJ, penetrates very deep. The Hornady 100Gn FMJ yaws more than once increasing crush cavity and limiting penetration. I normally recommend Hornady XTP but recent lots of American Gunner have had insufficient crimp resulting in bullet set back. In my several .380s I carry a round nose FMJ that shoots to the sights and groups the best. That means different loads for different guns based upon testing my guns. I’ve tried the underwood Xtreme defenders. They were not reliable in my LCP, had a bad POI shift and even had a misfire or two. Underwood refunded my full order. Attached File Attached File |
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I carry Underwood +P penetrators in my BG 2.0. In urban circumstances you may have a car based threat and the ability to penetrate car glass with effectiveness could be important and overpenetration in a SD shooting with a 380 is a hundredth order concern. The defenders were not consistent in my 2.0 but the penetrators are 100% through several hundred rounds. TBH, I have ordered some Buffalo Bore and Underwood hard cast to try out; I may go to that. Hollowpoints are likely futile in 380. |
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Originally Posted By VASCAR2: I have carried the Hornady American Gunner 90 grain XTP since buying my Glock 42. Years ago in the 80’s and early 90’s I used to carry a PPKs then a PPK with 85 grain Silvertips. I’ve seen people shot with 380 and shot placement is the key. When I first bought my Glock 42 I bought a box of Remington 88 grain JHP (HTP). The Remington 88 grain JHP feeds about like FMJ round nose and the 88 grain JHP worked in one shooting I investigated. The Remington 88 grain JHP was shot out of a Browning BDA 380 which has the same barrel length as the Beretta 84/85 Cheetah. I like the Hornady XTP better than the other hollow points I’ve tested. I’m a firm believer that the first rule of a gunfight is to have a gun. I always carry two spare mags when I pack my Glock 42. I carry a G42 pretty regularly too. It is small and easy to have on me in an office and mobile around town setting. I very much prescribe to the carrying a gun is better than none. That said I am fond of the XTP loadings, they are reliable and meet the performance requirements in the Lucky Gunner Ammo Tests . |
| I follow Tools & Targets on youtube he does a lot of testing of 380 and does it out of these short barrel guns like the bodyguard and the LCP as well as larger guns like the shield plus. The best I have seen is from Federal the HST the punch and the train and protect with the train and protect rating very high even being the cheapest option. |
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Originally Posted By ag04blast: I carry a G42 pretty regularly too. It is small and easy to have on me in an office and mobile around town setting. I very much prescribe to the carrying a gun is better than none. That said I am fond of the XTP loadings, they are reliable and meet the performance requirements in the Lucky Gunner Ammo Tests . Originally Posted By ag04blast: Originally Posted By VASCAR2: I have carried the Hornady American Gunner 90 grain XTP since buying my Glock 42. Years ago in the 80’s and early 90’s I used to carry a PPKs then a PPK with 85 grain Silvertips. I’ve seen people shot with 380 and shot placement is the key. When I first bought my Glock 42 I bought a box of Remington 88 grain JHP (HTP). The Remington 88 grain JHP feeds about like FMJ round nose and the 88 grain JHP worked in one shooting I investigated. The Remington 88 grain JHP was shot out of a Browning BDA 380 which has the same barrel length as the Beretta 84/85 Cheetah. I like the Hornady XTP better than the other hollow points I’ve tested. I’m a firm believer that the first rule of a gunfight is to have a gun. I always carry two spare mags when I pack my Glock 42. I carry a G42 pretty regularly too. It is small and easy to have on me in an office and mobile around town setting. I very much prescribe to the carrying a gun is better than none. That said I am fond of the XTP loadings, they are reliable and meet the performance requirements in the Lucky Gunner Ammo Tests . The Lucky Gunner tests are valuable, but understandably conducted using clear gel - not calibrated organic ballistic gel - which is what the FBI performance requirements specify. So something that goes 12" in clear gel is not likely to go 12" in calibrated organic ballistic gel. |
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After shooting several loads over my Garmin Im using Aguila 95Gn FMJ https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/Bodyguard-2-0-380-Chronograph-results-updated-/5-2835925/ |
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I bought a couple cases of Magtech Guardian Gold in the 2ks when someone was clearancing them out for less than fmj. They did pretty well in Lucky Gunners testing back when. I still have a bunch, they still go bang when I switch out carry ammo for the wifes g42 once a year ETA- Bought some Magtech First Defense all copper hp after the Guardian. Almost no recoil and would choke the g42 when nothing else has. Some impromptu water jug testing had zero expansion. Had several lot #'s so I dont think it was just some accidentally underloaded batch |
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Originally Posted By cubie: I carry flat nose FMJs. .380 is a back up gun for me, so I want all the penetration I can get. Especially in the winter months, when everyone has thick coats on. |
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Originally Posted By olscruffy: federal 99 grain hydra shok deep. I haven't killed anything with it but the reviews and tests are very good. ymmv It does test well. It’s very expensive though. Prohibitively so IMO. Buy 200-rounds of the same log number. Inspect, chrono, function test. If it checks out use the rest for carry ammo. |
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Originally Posted By blt-2-drg: I carry Underwood 68gr +P Extreme Defender in my LCP and LCP Max. I found most hollow points do not reach the velocity they need to expand and work properly in such short barrels, at least not 100% of the time or even close to it. So you chose the most expensive non expanding bullet you could find instead? |
Life member of CRPA. FPC contributor.
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Originally Posted By Yankee-Carpet-Bagger: https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/handgun/380-auto-90-gr-ftx-critical-defense# Years ago, LAPD was trying to get their officers to carry off-duty more. They authorized the Ruger LCP, if they used this ammo. Not 100% on the LCP. OCSD just authorized the BG2.0 for off duty carry. Apparently the original Bodyguard 380 sucked so bad they prohibited it? They also ban anyone from using the 320 at their range. |
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I like Underwoods +P load using the 90gr XTP bullet. It feels pretty hot and shoots well. For a while, I was carrying Sergeant Major steel cased FMJ made by Tula of Russia. It shot well, 100% reliable and felt hotter than any other FMJ I tried. No chronological data though, sorry. |
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Originally Posted By StevenH: .380 Ball, with the exception of Hornady 100Gn FMJ, penetrates very deep. The Hornady 100Gn FMJ yaws more than once increasing crush cavity and limiting penetration. I normally recommend Hornady XTP but recent lots of American Gunner have had insufficient crimp resulting in bullet set back. In my several .380s I carry a round nose FMJ that shoots to the sights and groups the best. That means different loads for different guns based upon testing my guns. I’ve tried the underwood Xtreme defenders. They were not reliable in my LCP, had a bad POI shift and even had a misfire or two. Underwood refunded my full order. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/128204/IMG_9501_jpeg-3731384.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/128204/IMG_9589_jpeg-3731385.JPG A close relative sat as a juror in a murder case. The defendant was in a "club", when she saw a romantic rival across the dance floor. Defendant fired one round of .380 FMJ across the dance floor. She missed the rival, but struck an innocent bystander in his upper chest. All the testimony showed that the victim immediately fell down and never moved. DRT. |
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| Paul Harrell on youtube has done a bunch of testing with 380. He generally doesn't like "hyper ammo" and if I remember right, almost any factory self defense ammo totally fails to expand except the Hornaday FTX which did so reliably in the "meat target." His testing, along with some other sources and personal experience with my least favorite of all time pistol, an utterly unreliable 380 Sig in the 1990's, was enough to put me off 380 entirely, but that's a discussion for another time. |
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Originally Posted By JWnTN: A close relative sat as a juror in a murder case. The defendant was in a "club", when she saw a romantic rival across the dance floor. Defendant fired one round of .380 FMJ across the dance floor. She missed the rival, but struck an innocent bystander in his upper chest. All the testimony showed that the victim immediately fell down and never moved. DRT. I worked a similar case. Victim was running away and the perp fired some shots and hit him in the back right next to the spine. The 380 is enough to kill pretty easily. |
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Originally Posted By c4aig: Paul Harrell on youtube has done a bunch of testing with 380. He generally doesn't like "hyper ammo" and if I remember right, almost any factory self defense ammo totally fails to expand except the Hornaday FTX which did so reliably in the "meat target." His testing, along with some other sources and personal experience with my least favorite of all time pistol, an utterly unreliable 380 Sig in the 1990's, was enough to put me off 380 entirely, but that's a discussion for another time. Interesting. The Sig P230 is one of the best 380 pistols ever made. Never had a jam. Although not fun to shoot and usually draws some blood from my fat hands. |
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| Freely admit it was a one-off. But racking slide on a straight blowback was very stiff for me, for my mom (intended individual for carry) was not sustainable even with cross-body rack technique and that was before her arthritis got bad. Every ammo we tested from premium to cheapo malfunctioned about once a magazine even for me and not just for my mom. Two trips to the 'smith to polish/adjust the feed ramp didn't resolve it, sig wasn't interested in fixing it. Cleaning was a pain with the weird tiny slide release spring (think itty bitty paperclip flying off into space). Never had confidence in the gun and was the only one I wasn't sad to see go. Shot another one 20 years later, it was fine, but once your confidence in the platform goes, why bother? Sig was bought and sold (topic for another time) a couple of times since then, but there are so many other options at this point. Just saying, for me, 380 platform failed me and my own internet research shows caliber is... could be better overall and terminal performance of even the best ammo is supremely manufacturer dependent. Love the sport and hobby so happy that everyone can make their own decisions. No shade to the 380 lovers, but it isn't for me. |
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Originally Posted By c4aig: Freely admit it was a one-off. But racking slide on a straight blowback was very stiff for me, for my mom (intended individual for carry) was not sustainable even with cross-body rack technique and that was before her arthritis got bad. Every ammo we tested from premium to cheapo malfunctioned about once a magazine even for me and not just for my mom. Two trips to the 'smith to polish/adjust the feed ramp didn't resolve it, sig wasn't interested in fixing it. Cleaning was a pain with the weird tiny slide release spring (think itty bitty paperclip flying off into space). Never had confidence in the gun and was the only one I wasn't sad to see go. Shot another one 20 years later, it was fine, but once your confidence in the platform goes, why bother? Sig was bought and sold (topic for another time) a couple of times since then, but there are so many other options at this point. Just saying, for me, 380 platform failed me and my own internet research shows caliber is... could be better overall and terminal performance of even the best ammo is supremely manufacturer dependent. Love the sport and hobby so happy that everyone can make their own decisions. No shade to the 380 lovers, but it isn't for me. You must be referring to some 1911 clone SIG made in 380 and I am not familiar with it. I was referring to THE SIG P230. |
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