Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Gelatin Testing Last Week... Bad News for 380 Lovers...

As posted previously.

Don't presume that just because a bullet is going fast it's going to perform well. Bullet construction (whether JHP or lead alloy) is a major factor in bullet performance. Bullets are designed to work within certain specific velocity parameters, and outside of those limits performance degrades sharply.

LATE EDIT: Just reviewed my notes from after the seminar and I was mistaken. Buffalo Bore was NOT specifically mentioned. I apologize for any misleading suggestion I made. We discussed a LOT of specific loads and calibers, mostly off the record. I should have reviewed my notes before making the comment I made earlier.

FWIW, every Buffalo Bore load I've used has been stout, and I have no reason personally or professionally to malign their 380 load. I've talked with some 24HCF members who like it, but as I'm not a 380 man, I'm not in a position to comment on that one way or another.

Again, I apologize for my error.

I'd probably offer $50 a piece for all those worthless .380 LCP's ya'll need to rid yourself of before somebody gets hurt. Just send me a PM and I'll give you an email address to send pics and details. Might as well throw in those Sig P238's, Kahrs, S&W Bodyguards, etc.

The 135 +P GDHP is what I have been carrying in my 442 & 340PD for the last 3 years or so...........my wife usually carries the 340.

Haven't shot anyone with it yet though

MM

interesting report, Doc. of course, nutria don't wear down jackets or anything, but a fat one is probably eight inches thick and .380 silvertips make a big ugly hole in the back side.

I don't think many perps would want to continue the discussion after receiving one in the chest, but quien sabe?

The only .380 I carry, although rarely, is a Browning BDA just because I really like it. I load it with 12 rounds of FMJ. Sue me.

That or the Corbon DPX for me. The DPX is expensive so I don't use it in my 9mm but the 340 is my American Express Gun (never leave home without it) so I splurge on it.

You make a good point, Steve.

Most of the self-defense shootings info (non-LEO) I've been able to get my hands on shows that hitting the perp with one shot in the head or torso usually ends the encounter, irrespective of caliber or shot placement. But in those cases where the bad guy reallyreallyreally wants to keep on keepin' on, which are not uncommon, am I going to be satisfied with what "usually" works?

Solid high chest hits are almost invariably fatal and end the fight then and there. Usually. But one cop I know, in his first OIS, centerpunched the perp twice in the high chest with his .44 Mag. Dude was a dead man, but didn't know it, and kept coming. Cop gave him three more in the high chest, dude kept coming. Cop said, more or less, "Fornicate this!", elevated his POA and esploded the perp's brainpan. Since then, a la John Wesley Hardin, he has always shot people in the head.

FWIW, despite his disconcerting experience, he hasn't given up his Model 29 for a Ruger LCP. Just an observation.

well, I just hope if I have to deal with a methhead ironman he lucks out and catches me on a Kimber day, instead of a PPK day.


honestly....nutria don't seem to be able to tell much difference between a 100 silvertip and a 230 hydrashok, but then nutria don't shoot back.

I was able to perform a similar test a few years ago when CorBon sent a rep with a huge batch of gel to the training facility where I worked. I fired several dozen different loads that day from .32-.460 s&w.

Quite a few different duty .38 loads were shot. I switched to the CorBon DPX 110gr load THAT DAY after seeing the stellar performance of that load and the SURPRISINGLY POOR performance of everything else.

glad to hear that....that's what I keep in my wife's Chief's special. haven't tried the .380s.....I'm a little worried that big old hollow point will give me problems in my PPK, and I know the silvertips feed every time.

NUTRIA. That is such a wholesome sounding name for a rat on steroids.

it does sound like a health food drink, doesn't it?

nasty marsh destroying little buggers. Katrina and Rita killed a few million of them, but they're back in spades.

SteveNO, I saw my first nutria at Pat Powell's hog hunt in west Texas 2 years ago. BIG mofo!! One of the guys nailed it with his hog rifle.

Sorry to hear they're a big problem down your way. Are they of any value for their fur? What are their natural enemies, if any?

Always wondered if they were qbove the waterline enough that the could be sniped from a bench like ground squirrels or Rockchucks or prarie dogs?

Could be a lot of fun if they could be varmint blasted.....

oh, yeah.....we shoot them from the levees with .22 mags and ARs but you have to be real careful about what's behind them.

some guys climb up in deer stands so they can shoot down and use .22-250s and blow them up all day. they're used to gunfire because of duck season so if it isn't on top of them they just keep doing what they're doing. doesn't seem to panic them when their buddy eating next to them vaporizes.

Excellent post E, and I agree....These little .380 pocket rockets are more a fashion statement than anything else in my opinion, if your going to carry have enough gun to do the job if it's ever needed.............Hb

.380's are for people that really don't want to be "inconvenienced" carrying a gun.

ATTENTION, Jello shooting lovers:

I don't think it takes 'Rocket" science to convince anyone here that the 380 round lacks in almost every degree of measured effectiveness when compared to its many BIGGER brothers.

I've long known folks who were interested in 380 pistols for various reasons and not one considered himself to be a "380 lover" or was under any illusion that the 380 round was anything superior or a REAL man-stopper.

Next thing I suppose is some expert is gonna go test-fire my favorite Beretta 'Bobcat' and tell me that the 25 ACP bullet bounced off of the Jello.

Now we're talking. How about a campfire Nutria Safari. I'll bring down an old .30-30 and a 5 gallon bucket of shells loaded with Sierra 125 grain HP's. That ought to be interesting.

Does anyone have any info on the Mag-Safe or RBCD or Glaser Safty slug ammo n the .380?

How does the gelatin compare with one gallon water jug shooting?