Thanks! Yes, the test was skewed toward penetration over expansion. Here is my thought process. I have said parts of this in some other threads over the years, so I may as well put it all in one that I started.
As I understand the FBI protocols used for testing LE duty ammunition, 70% importance is given to penetration and consistency of penetration, 20% to expansion, and 10% to weight retention. Source:
https://www.brassfetcher.com/FBI%20Ammunition%20Protocol/FBI%20Ammunition%20Protocol.htmlThe test involves five separate shots at 6 different sets of media, namely, bare gel, cloth covered gel, and cloth covered gel placed behind each of plywood, wallboard, sheet metal (heavier 20 gauge, not the stuff I used) and windshield glass. The results are weighted based on criteria deemed important by the FBI and are cranked into a formula used to assign a number score to the ammo. In looking at the criteria in the above link (Note that the criteria are stated to be for 9mm Luger, which may be read to imply that there are different weightings for different calibers, but I do not know this.), penetration under 12 inches for any shot is assigned a point value of 1 per shot under 12 inches, while penetration over 18 inches is awarded 5 points per shot. Penetration between 12 and 18 inches is awarded points in the 8-10 range, with 14-15.99 inches getting 10 and 16 to 18 inches getting 9 points. There is no disqualification for penetration over 18 inches-it is awarded exactly half credit.
The manufacturers, social media influencers and hobbyists frequently conduct bare gel and cloth covered gel tests with .380 and proclaim that their tested ammo “meets FBI specifications.” Well, that is not true. They may perform well in 1/3 of the tests, but the reviewers are not performing the other 4. Ballistic gelatin “match[es] the low-velocity flow characteristics of living muscle tissue and have very similar density to mammalian muscle tissue.” See above article. It does not represent things like bone, pocket clutter or barriers.
Why are the testers ignoring the other 4 tests? Because .380 ammo that barely makes 12 inches in plain gel or cloth covered gel will suck when put through the barrier tests, losing a lot of points per shot and also on the score for number of shots per test under 12 inches. So, they focus on pretty mushrooms, which the FBI thinks is substantially less important than penetration. Now, a lot of reviewers imply that barrier penetration is not important because non-police people carrying .380s are only going to be getting in “best case scenario” shootings at 3 yards against someone facing them squarely out in the open. I also see people on forums say that their strategy with their .380 is to dump a couple of rounds and run away. Well, those ideas contain huge assumptions upon which I am not willing to rely. How does one know that there won’t be a side shot, or one through any kind of barriers? How does one know that getting away from a bad guy will not involve running over him? So, I shoot any ammo that does not receive the benefit of massive taxpayer funded research against a variety of stuff to see what it will do.
If someone would expend the effort to run the full FBI protocol tests with .380 hard cast flat points or mono-metal solids, I suspect that those rounds would perform fairly well for a pipsqueak caliber and substantially better than any .380 hollow point out there. I also don’t think they would overpenetrate on the gel based on some other gonzo testing I have posted here in the past. There would be excellent weight retention, which would help on that 10% metric. Expansion would be minimal, but that is only 20%.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. I welcome debate and input from anyone who can add context on the basis of knowledge, training and experience. I know we have tons of it on this forum spread across a number of fields of study, occupations and avocations. Also, if anyone has more detailed knowledge about the FBI testing protocols that may differ from what I found on the Internet, please share that information.
Stay safe.
