Posted: 3/17/2016 10:21:03 PM EDT
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just picked up a glock 42 for the wife after handling various brands and models she said the 42 fit her the best.
im completely new to 380 and have 350 rounds of geco fmj coming to get her some range time with it. what is the go to defensive ammo for these I have seen the lucky gunner gel test and the hornady ftx critical defense seemed to do about the best. however underwood has the Lehigh defense extreme penetrator loaded about 1200 fps and this seems like a solid choice as well I have read the sticky at the top but it is dated 2013 so im thinking there must be something better by now they named the hornady xtp as a top choice but the gel test from lucky gunner showed it didn't preform very well. she is not recoil sensitive and the reason she went with the 42 over something else is because of her comically small hands she can not get a solid grip on anything bigger. |
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In .380 ACP, much more so than in 9mm Para, barrel length makes difference, and the 90 gr XTP is the best overall choice.
90 gr XTP The XTP series bullets were all designed to meet the FBI requirements for 12" minimum penetration and expansion to 1.5x the bullet's original diameter. They were also designed with controlled expansion in mind as any expansion over 1.5X also reduces penetration. So while they won't give the very large mushrooms you see in some other designs that expand to 1.6x or 1.65x original diameter, they do offer maximum penetration and that's an advantage in the .32 ACP, the .380 ACP and in 2" .38 Special loads. That makes then an excellent choice for a .380 ACP self defense load, but barrel length does come into play. In a 3.4" barrel there are a half dozen loads that will produce about 1000 fps with the 90 gr XTP and at that velocity it will meet the FBI's 12" minimum penetration in ballistic gel, and it will reliably expand (slightly loser penetrating a few inches further) in the heavy denim test. That makes the 90 gr XTP a very effective and reliable round in a 3.4" to 3.9" barrel .380 ACP. In a 2.75" barrel, like the Kimber Micro, Glock 42, Taurus TCP, Ruger LCP, etc, those 90 gr XTP loads lose about 70 fps. The end result is that they'll still expand reliably and make 12" in bare ballistic gelatin, but they'll only expand about half the time in the heavy denim test. Still, if your target is in light clothing you're good to go. Even in winter with an assailant in heavy clothing, it's a lot better than an FMJ, and assuming you hit your assailant 4 times, you can expect adequate penetration and you can expect 2 of the 4 to expand. 90 gr FTX Critical defense The critical defense bullets were designed to expand - period. They do that very well even at low velocities and particularly in heavy denim tests. Unfortunately there is no free lunch and that expansion comes at the expense of penetration. Generally speaking you find greater penetration in denim covered gelatin versus a bare denim test in general with any bullet, as the denim delays expansion a bit. In bare gelatin you will find that even in a 3.9" barrel the FTX will just barely exceed 12" and in a 3.4 barrel they will be more likely to come up a little short at around 11.5". In comparison in a 2.75" barrel, in bare gelatin you'll get rapid expansion even at the lower velocity in the 875-900 fps range, but you'll see penetration in the 9" range due to the rapid expansion. It;s a case where it actually looks a lot better in the denim test than it really is over all, if you place a priority on penetration. They are well marketed and surrounded by a lot of hype - usually citing heavy denim tests, but they are not any more effective in 3.5 to 3.9" barrel than the XTP and in a micro .380 ACP they are a poor choice, while the 90 gr XTP still isn't a bad choice. In fact, for a short barrel .380 ACP, the 90 gr XTP at around 930 fps is still the best game in town for a .380 ACP hollow point. And just to be clear, a 90 or 95 gr FMJ offers no advantage over the XTP as even if it fails to expand in heavy denim half the time, it will still function as effectively as an FMJ when it fails to expand. ---- Edit: I reviewed the Lucky gunner data for .380 ACP in a Glock 42, and I suspect he may have been shooting in hot weather or with some dwell time in a hot barrel (likely) as the velocity is a bit more that you'll normally get in that barrel length. In any case, even with his results, I'd still accept the reduced expansion in heavy denim of the XTP for the greater penetration it offers over the FTX, in large part because he's totally ignored bare gelatin testing, which is more reflective of most shoots where heavy clothing isn't involved. In general, in bare gelatin expansion happens sooner and penetration is reduced, which isn't something you'd want with the FTX in a short barrel. A note on the Lucky Gunner 102 gr GS results - they are pretty typical as it doesn't expand well in the heavy denim test, but they are great performers in bare gelatin where you'll get around 11.5" of penetration with excellent expansion. It's a round I'm not opposed to carrying in a .380 ACP and I carried it before I switched to the 90 gr XTP. |
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Quoted:
I still prefer 95 grain FMJ. Yes, first available over a century ago. .380 can't deliver both expansion and penetration, you have to choose one or the other. Nothing else is going to be as reliable. We'll have to agree to differ on that point - you're speaking conventional wisdom but it's a little out of date given modern powders and the 90 gr XTP. As noted above, it depends on barrel length, and it requires a moderately expanding bullet like the 90 gr XTP moving at 1000-1100 fps. There are at least a half dozen commercial l;ads that can achieve that in a 3.5" barrel and I canc some awful close to that in a 2.75" barrel using published load data in hand loads. In any case if you can push a 90 gr XTP to 1000 fps you'll get 12" penetration and 1.5X expansion in ballistic gel, even in a heavy denim test. ---- I've also noted that some .380 ACP pistols don't do well feeding a flat point with a large meplat, so reliability can be an issue. |