Best self defense ammunition for CW380?

[texas72]

I'm the proud new owner of a slightly used cw380. I have fired around 150 Perfecta fmj's at the range with no problems(thanks Frog Lube). Now I'm looking for a self defense round, as this will be my EDC. I've watched Ammo Quest, and I'm pretty much sold on some kind of XTP loading. Looking for any other experiences or opinions. Thanks in advance.

[Alfonse]

I bought Remington HTP because it was inexpensive. That let me buy a bunch for practice. Feeling free to practice with it is a big factor for me. Lots of folks use Hornady critical defense and you will get quite a few opinions on "best."

[zredwire]

I run Underwood Xtreme Penetrators in mine without a problem. I know some people have problems with them but I have not.

[getsome]

Welcome aboard there texas72, glad the cw380 is working for you....As for the "Best" ammo for .380 that's a good question....Most any modern JHP that will feed reliably 100% of the time will do the job....With .380 penetration is what you are looking for and some folks will even load every other round in the magazine with a FMJ so that if you are attacked by a 350 lb monster wearing a thick jacket you will still be sure to get a round into the kill zone.....

There have been many ammo tests done and much argument over .380 being powerful enough for CCW or should you step up to 9mm bla bla bla but the bottom line is a well placed shot with a .380 loaded with good ammo will definitely mess up a bad guys day if you do your part.....In several tests with all the best modern .380 JHP bullets the surprise winner was the old school Federal 95 gn Hydra Shok bullet because they reliably penetrated 10 inches of ballistic gelatin and still expanded up to almost .40 but it may be hard to find them as they have been replaced by Federal Guard Dog brand but you still might be able to find some Hydra Shok ammo on the internet....

Whatever brand you pick just be sure to shoot a couple hundred at the range to be sure they will feed and so you will get used to the higher recoil of the good stuff and see where the bullets group at 5 to 7 yards which is the distance most self defense situations involving a handgun occur....Again welcome to the site and let us know if you have any questions.....Lots of real nice, knowledgeable folks here will be more than happy to help you out.....

[Bobshouse]

Best self defense in a 380? Round nose, 100 grain jacketed. The only other I would consider would possibly be the new Ruger ARX.

[texas72]

Best self defense in a 380? Round nose, 100 grain jacketed. The only other I would consider would possibly be the new Ruger ARX.
I'm going to wait a few years for some real world data on the ARX.

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[texas72]

Welcome aboard there texas72, glad the cw380 is working for you....As for the "Best" ammo for .380 that's a good question....Most any modern JHP that will feed reliably 100% of the time will do the job....With .380 penetration is what you are looking for and some folks will even load every other round in the magazine with a FMJ so that if you are attacked by a 350 lb monster wearing a thick jacket you will still be sure to get a round into the kill zone.....

There have been many ammo tests done and much argument over .380 being powerful enough for CCW or should you step up to 9mm bla bla bla but the bottom line is a well placed shot with a .380 loaded with good ammo will definitely mess up a bad guys day if you do your part.....In several tests with all the best modern .380 JHP bullets the surprise winner was the old school Federal 95 gn Hydra Shok bullet because they reliably penetrated 10 inches of ballistic gelatin and still expanded up to almost .40 but it may be hard to find them as they have been replaced by Federal Guard Dog brand but you still might be able to find some Hydro Shok ammo on the internet....

Whatever brand you pick just be sure to shoot a couple hundred at the range to be sure they will feed and so you will get used to the higher recoil of the good stuff and see where the bullets group at 5 to 7 yards which is the distance most self defense situations involving a handgun occur....Again welcome to the site and let us know if you have any questions.....Lots of real nice, knowledgeable folks here will be more than happy to help you out.....
Thank you for your input. HydroShocks are still available and fairly cheap in .380 acp. I agree that a well placed shot is key, when possible.

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[jocko]

I'm the proud new owner of a slightly used cw380. I have fired around 150 Perfecta fmj's at the range with no problems(thanks Frog Lube). Now I'm looking for a self defense round, as this will be my EDC. I've watched Ammo Quest, and I'm pretty much sold on some kind of XTP loading. Looking for any other experiences or opinions. Thanks in advance.

best defense round is ONE that goes bang eery time. some guns and even the little kahr 38 can sometimes be ammo sensitive. Find a good round that feeds pefect and goes bang and just stick with it.l Theyt are damn near all the same in what they do, but they all may not work well in ur 380. I tend to pay little attention to the maRketing adjetives theyt put on the name of their ammo. 99.995% of all of us will never shoot our guns in harms way either. Not sure how many different ways these ammo makers can reinvent the wheel either. Best round is worthless if it doesn't go bang in your gun, and the best round is worthless if u don't hit what ur aiming/pointing at either...

[Ronni3_J]

I run Underwood Xtreme Penetrators in mine without a problem. I know some people have problems with them but I have not.

Was actually going to get a few boxes for mine. Hope mine likes them

[texas72]

Was actually going to get a few boxes for mine. Hope mine likes them
I've been checking into their Extreme Defender. It looks promising.

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[kwh]

Lucky Gunner also has recent ballistic gel/denim tests in .380,but in the slightly longer Glock barrel. I use XTP from which ever manufacturer I can find in my Kahr CW380. Good test results in shorter barrel, XTP is made to penetrate while also giving some expansion. It has been feed reliable for me. Better over penetration with no expansion than under penetration.

[timboy]

I use Hornady Critical Defense in all of my carry guns,after doing some profesional lab testing with an old fellow at the gun club(shooting old hard back books..lol) I found the Hornady in .380 penetrated better and expanded better than ball or standard hollow point.

[Ronni3_J]

Lucky Gunner also has recent ballistic gel/denim tests in .380,but in the slightly longer Glock barrel. I use XTP from which ever manufacturer I can find in my Kahr CW380. Good test results in shorter barrel, XTP is made to penetrate while also giving some expansion. It has been feed reliable for me. Better over penetration with no expansion than under penetration.

I'm currently using Freedom Munitions .380 XTP (new not reloads). Put 100 threw my CW380 no issues whatsoever


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[jocko]

I am testing a new wound called the super peetrator, it is shaped like a dick and also expands upon contact. Just sayin uggsy and I have been working on this for the past two years. It takes alot of "testing" to see if it works as designed.

[muggsy]

Of the hollow points the Hornady XTP seems to perform the best. Most others fall far short of 12' penetration. In the 380 I prefer to use ball ammo as it will penetrate deep enough to reach vital organs and it feeds reliably. Flat nose ball ammo doesn't feed reliably in my P380. Check out this website. It's run by one of our own members. Check out ammo tests.

http://mousegunaddict.blogspot.com/

[texas72]

I'm currently using Freedom Munitions .380 XTP (new not reloads). Put 100 threw my CW380 no issues whatsoever


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That's good to know. I have a couple of boxes on order. I took advantage of the free shipping on Veterans Day.

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[Shoop]

Pretty jealous your CW380 actually runs Perfecta. Mine won't extract it most of the time. Did you buy it at WallyWorld?

Then again I can run flatnose with my magguts installed, go figure.

[CharlieR]

Hornady Custom XTP, or the American Gunner XTP both feed well in my P380. I bought some of the Federal HST in .380 but haven't shot more than one mag with it so far.

[texas72]

Pretty jealous your CW380 actually runs Perfecta. Mine won't extract it most of the time. Did you buy it at WallyWorld?

Then again I can run flatnose with my magguts installed, go figure.
I've had no problems with it. Yes I bought it at Wal-Mart.

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[texas72]

Hornady Custom XTP, or the American Gunner XTP both feed well in my P380. I bought some of the Federal HST in .380 but haven't shot more than one mag with it so far.
American Gunner in .380 has great reviews.

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[Armybrat]

Don't have a CW380, but Hornady Critical Defense FTX runs great in my CT380.

[Shoop]

I've had no problems with it. Yes I bought it at Wal-Mart.

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Thanks for reply, maybe yours is just more 'broken in' than mine. Meant to say for SD ammo I run XTP from Freedom Munitions. I've done about 120 rounds of it no failures and it blows up soda cans very well.

[morork19]

I use HPR's XTP round. It has worked well for me and is cheaper than Hornady.


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[Fedupmech]

I've got about 1,200 rounds through my CW380 so far. One broken striker. I shot 50 rounds of Precision One XTP's, no problems. I recently tried 20 rounds of Underwood ammo 65 grain xtreme defender, ran flawlessly. I really like the Kahr CW380 a lot, but be wary of light primer strikes. It usally starts out like that and then the striker fails. Hopefully that won't happen to yours. Unfortunately it's happened to several other people. After looking at the testing on the lehigh bullets, i'm really impressed. I would shoot a whole box before you carry them though. Some people have had issues. I carry the Underwood xtreme defender now.

[CPTKILLER]

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/01/shootingthebull410/380-ammoquest-buffalo-bore-100-gr-hardcast-flat-nose-regular-p/

I use Buffalo Bore 100 gr. hardhcast flat nose in my CZ 83 and it at them and fired them reliably. The CZ 83 is a backup to my Kahr MK9 or Springfield EMP or CZ PO1 or FNH FiveSeven or when I am going somewhere and can't legally concealed carry.

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=127

[RWW84]

I bought two boxes of Underwood's +P 90 Grain XTP (https://www.underwoodammo.com/380-acp-p-90-grain-xtp-jacketed-hollow-point/). My CW380 did not like them! I experienced a failure to feed nearly 3 out of every 4 shots - talk about a huge disappointment! I'd like to try their Xtreme Defender, but it is really expensive (by comparison). I'm convinced that the XTP bullet is one of the better options for the 380 round, but I've got to find a reliable one. Besides morork19, has anyone else tested the one by HPR (http://www.hprammo.com/catalog/jhp/380-auto-13/) in your CW380? Has anyone encountered any problems with the XTP round by Precision One?

[muggsy]

I use Hornady Critical Defense in all of my carry guns,after doing some profesional lab testing with an old fellow at the gun club(shooting old hard back books..lol) I found the Hornady in .380 penetrated better and expanded better than ball or standard hollow point.

Thanks, Timboy. The next time that I want to shoot a copy of Websters New Collegiate Dictionary I'll know what to buy. :)

[Armybrat]

Thanks, Timboy. The next time that I want to shoot a copy of Websters New Collegiate Dictionary I'll know what to buy. :)
Maybe that's what ol' Jocko used his dictionary for...

Just... you know...

[RonW]

I gave up on .380 caliber for a carry gun however when I did carry my .380 I loaded up with Federal Hydra shoks after watching "shooting the bull" ammo reviews (Ammo quest) Although not the .380 ammo quest winner, it was the best store bought ammo available without having to order online.

[RWW84]

After watching ShootingTheBull's final wrap up (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNtPHYwcDts), I decided to check out Hornady's Custom XTP. I think I've found my new self-defense round (for 380). There were no hiccups whatsoever in my CW380.

[Russ]

I'm the proud new owner of a slightly used cw380. I have fired around 150 Perfecta fmj's at the range with no problems(thanks Frog Lube). Now I'm looking for a self defense round, as this will be my EDC. I've watched Ammo Quest, and I'm pretty much sold on some kind of XTP loading. Looking for any other experiences or opinions. Thanks in advance.

Texas72:

After watching several YouTube videos I decided for my Taurus TCP 380 is the Lehigh or underwood Extreme Penetrator (underwood uses the Lehigh bullet)

The problem with hollow points from ballistic gel tests on YouTube in a 380 is you can't get enough penetration and a ball round provides the penetration but lacks a would cavity. Lehigh provides both with its unique design

Russ

former CM9 owner 2011

[muggsy]

The best ammunition for your .380 is the ammo that goes bang every time you pull the trigger, penetrates deeply enough and finds it's mark.

[muggsy]

What is referred to as a temporary wound channel or stretch cavity in ballistic gel is of little or no consequence. Human flesh stretches. Ballistic gel tears. The temporary wound channel generally results in nothing more than a bruise in the body. Penetration is a far more important consideration in choosing a defensive round.

[JMag]

Speer Gold Dots are tried and true. I'll soon find out if the same is true in my new CW380.

[gun papa]

HPR 90gr. Good penetration. See some video on it.

[SlowBurn]

I've been shooting the new Ruger ARX. Lighter bullet, lighter load, lighter recoil yet more velocity. And this is subjective, but I swear it spins the spinner targets harder. I feel like its the right round for the P380/CW380.

CAVEAT there's an issue in Ruger LCPs, Kel Tec P3ATs, some Taurus TCPs, any gun subject to the "smiley problem" (google it). The bullet is a polymer-copper blend. If the top one in the mag gets banged on the nose by the feed ramp during recoil before being scooped in, it could break up inside the chamber. If shooting one of those, be really sure there's no smiley issue before trying ARX. Kahr P and CW 380s don't make smilies, which was a big reason I switched in the first place.

[XCO]

Anyone know what 8 ARX weighs vs 8 Critical Defense?

[JMag]

Load data of late appear to show Hornady XTP loads are better than the FTX (Critical Defense) loads for .380 pistols in meeting FBI standard.

[bamaman]

I am using the underwood +p xtp for my defensive load. 1200 FPS. very sweet round. Dont feel undergunned with this load



Load data of late appear to show Hornady XTP loads are better than the FTX (Critical Defense) loads for .380 pistols in meeting FBI standard.

[tjs721]

Speer Gold Dot


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[RWW84]

Along with Hornady Custom, I've put several hundred XTP rounds from Freedom Munitions (https://www.freedommunitions.com/ammunition/pistol/380-auto/380-auto-90-gr-xtp-new.html) through my CW380 without any hiccups. They have a slightly higher velocity than Hornady at a much cheaper price.

[Ronni3_J]

I'm with you on FMs XTPs!


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