The BEST .380 ACP AMMO?

I carried a 1911A 45 for 30 years, i went to 40 cal for a lighter weapon then to a 9mm XDs Springfield for even lighter - getting old. With the underwood 380 extreme defender I went to the LCP Ruger II can't feel it on my hip it so lite. I love Underwood I have it in my 40 and my 9 also. Gave the 45 to my son 😊. Thanks for this video it proves me right.

Great comparison! Thank you!

Thanks for the .380 video!

Which one has the best stopping power?

The 380 is hard to find a reliable expanding hollow point for. However, those solid copper monolith rounds from lehigh defense/underwood don't rely on expansion to do damage and they are the first "gimmick" ammo that I've seen in recent years that have come out to be what I consider a serious contender for a place in people's magazines. All of those fragmenting super exotic ammos that cost an arm and a leg are junk but these are the real deal.

Fiocchi extrema ( impossible to find)
Or precision one.

Either of those will perform consistently to fbi standards out of a ruger lcp

Good, thx

my only concern with the HSD and maybe Underwood as well is feed reliability. G42 can be a bit finicky and my Bersa Thunder Plus also doesnt love hollow points. Critical Defense runs well in both and is pretty damn good as well, better than fmj to me at least.

Critical Defense should have been in this test imo

2.78 is over 3/4".

Great review … thanks.

I’m a little torn in this debate. I know what you’re saying about penetration but I can’t ignore the extra “thump” a bad guy would feel as the bullet dumps its kinetic energy and comes to an earlier stop. That said, I’m pretty sure I’m going with those flat nose FMJs in my P365 380 and M&P EZ. Hoping for a more consistent result against all types of clothing. If you did his test today I’m pretty sure the Sig V Crown would take the place of those Federals

I agree completely with you tools! Thanks again for your efforts.

I picked up some of the Underwood Extreme Defender +P rounds for my Sig P238.

Buffalo boy plus p Barnes XTac 300

I CAN NOT get the Hydra-shoks to feed through my LCP Max.. The sharp lips of the bullets keep digging into the feed ramp and that's all she wrote.. Doesn't matter how much damage a bullet does if it doesn't load into the barrel...

I would use the full metal jacket

Mate. You just advocated FMJ for self defence. Not only that, you suggested winchest white box. You 100% discredited yourself.

You are an absolute moron.

Just like to mention a little fact: following the End of WW2 pistols that were made in Germany or Italy and used by their forces all used the 9mm cartridges or the 9 mm short. The Lugers became Erma , and the 9mm short became the 380 Auto. The Italian Beretta Md 70 is One of the Finest Pistols ever made, they came in the 22,32 and 380 caliber. Walther PP also came in Target Model with a 6 inch barrel and were offered in 22 , 32 , 380 caliber. Ruger has become the best Revolver manufacturer and has taken over the production of Colts SAA and offered all of the Colt employees still working to continue and receive their Retirement. I believe either S&W or Walther will continue making the 1911 designs. I may be slightly incorrect and please excuse any mistakes I have made.

Ill stick with the Underwood Defender. Thanks :)

I've watched other .380 ACP tests into gel with a clothing barrier. The best performing rounds seem to be the Underwood xtreme defender 68 gr, the Hornady 90 gr FTX critical defense, and Hornady 90 gr XTP American gunner. I just purchased the same gun and intend on carrying it with either of the three rounds that I mentioned. You are probably familiar with Lucky Gunner and that website has a lot of ammo test results, and most of the .380 rounds have short penetration. The best was the FTX round. BTW, love your videos.

Does anyone else think, this guy sounds a bit like,
Mr. Hainey,
from Green Acres?

Flat point projectiles are just nasty in any caliber its the choice for bear defense hard cast flat nose slugs

So is there a round for LCP Max that does penetrate good (FBI specs) and expands? Thank you for your time making these videos. The community owes you ❤

Damn none are impressive.

No bro you got to reopen this. The barns X-Tech XPD 380 Buffalo board + b like it says on the box "strictly business", come on tools you know that bore don't play lol

I thought the Hornaday American performed decent in your testing though?

Great video and proves what many of us have been saying for a long time - 380 in FMJ is typically the best round for these micro 380 pistols. Why? because they are more affordable, reliable, and offer some of the best penetration. Gel blocks are great but when you incorporate bone into the mass, you want maximum penetration. Most of the people I know who carry the 380 micros, including myself, all carry FMJ rounds that fire 100% reliable through these guns.

I got a good deal on 200 rounds of the Winchester and it's my carry ammo until I try out some solid copper 70 and 75gr flat point bullets from 1776 and Sinter Fire.

I found your review on the Punch!

yeah but a person isn’t going to be that thick if that bullet comes out and hits someone else your going to be charged for that.

My one 380 has that Federal ammo and the other has that Underwood ammo in it. I might need to rethink it.

380 has killed plenty of people in history along with 32 acp

I concur with your choices, except I think I like the wounding from the 63 gr Xtreme Defenders better. Hydra-Shok Deep 380 has impressed me in every gel test that I've seen.

I concur with your choices, except I think I like the wounding from the 63 gr Xtreme Defenders better. Hydra-Shok Deep 380 has impressed me in every gel test that I've seen.

Looks like the "deep" need to be in a longer barrel to work. Think you were getting about 100fps more out of your EZ. Think the Body Gaurd 2.0, and LCP have the same barrel length.

I like Critical Defense, and Gold Dot

I use Norma NXD for my .380 LCP Max. It's the newest version of Inceptor ammo. I believe Norma purchased the inceptor brand, and the NXD is how the old inceptor ARX is being marketed. I may be wrong, but it makes sense.
I haven't seen any other .380 round except the underwood solid copper I would trust to do it's job.

I’ve had the BG 2.0 for a couple of weeks. I’ve shot about 300 rounds of the Winchester flat nose fmj with no failures to feed. I’ve shot 20 rounds of the federal hydra shoc with no failures to feed (too expensive for more tests). And I bought 40 rounds of Underwood XD-Platinum and had at least a couple of FTF in each of two 10 round mags. I tried polishing the barrel and body infeed ports/cones (whatever they are called) and had no better luck. They do not reliably feed when shooting or hand cycling. Just my experience. Don’t have a clue. Anyone else had this problem?

The best one didnt get tested. The underwood xtreme defender.

The original Hydra-shok are notoriously good man stoppers in 380. Lots of street cred backing them up. The deeps seem to clog too much. I'd rather go with a regular Hydra-shok or if expansion is not a main priority an xtp bullet

I just got the M&P, 2.0 bodyguard For power walking, jogging and riding my bike, before the summer is over. and I carry Fiocchi 95 grain FMJ

I wouldn't want to carry any of them, but I wouldn't want to get hit by any of them either

Does anyone care about .380? Why? There are so many good pistol choices in 9mm that are as small as the .380s, so why choose .380? 9mm is cheaper and more effective, right?
Personally, I don't much care about 9mm... so I really don't care about .380.

I'm sticking with the Winchester White Box FMJ. I'v read that the flat point apparently pushed a small bubble of air in front of it for deeper penetration.

You have convinced me on what to carry in my Bodyguard 2.0. I've been watching a lot of your 380 ammo tests and I really appreciate them! Doesn't appear to be too many hollow point worth using in 380.

I recently got the Bg 2.0 because it just feels so good in my hand—after previously using the first Shield PC 9mm—and, of course, the Bg 2.0 is smaller and easier to carry.

I have some Underwood Defender 380 on the way for EDC. At first I was curious why you chose the Penetrator over the Defender, as your video comparing the two gave the (slight) edge to the Defender. But then I noticed that video was made after this one. Either way they're very comparable and I also like the Winchester flat nose FMJ and Federal's Hydra-Shok Deep.

I really appreciate the videos on the 380 ammo and have also watched many of your 9mm tests—not getting rid of my Shield! I think you have the testing down pat and I am subscribed and will continue to watch future videos. Thank you so much and God bless you! 🙏

Use exclusively flat or truncated cone ammo in .45 ACP, .380 and .38 special (no magnum or +P, thank you very much). I'm 73 and been using flat noses since I first heard of them, many moons ago. Even handload flat nose for my .38 S&W! Don't shoot it much 'cause cases hard to come by....

Take that f***ing stupid hat off !!!

The XP shape is essentially a flat nose FMJ with flutes cut in. I would lean towards the XP but in +P to maximize performance.

Good tests and information. I've been carrying the Winchester flat nose fmj in my LCPs for years and I have not found or seen a "boutique" .380 acp load that's any better except the 100 grain Buffalo Bore Hard Cast Lead flat nose that does the same thing except penetrates even deeper and I don't think that penetration in gel past 19-20 inches is a good idea. I'm sticking with the Winchester. Plus, courts/juries may take a dim view if boutique ammo with fancy/deadly names.