Favorite Ammo for P380?

[PBJ]

Hi, whats your favorite ammo for your P380?

Target and Self Defense?

Thanks!

[icysurfer]

Found the cw380 likes Herters (S & B), CCI Brass, for plinking. And so far all XTP Self Defense rounds have performed perfectly.

[JMag]

Sig FMJ & JHP, all XTP loads, Gold Dot, and Remington Ultimate Defense work in mine.


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The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.--Sir Winston Churchill

[zredwire]

Self Defense = Underwood Xtreme Penetrator
Target = PMC FMJ

[CharlieR]

For FMJ, I have had the best results with PMC, PriviPartizan (PPU), Aguila, and Remington UMC. [Bad luck with Geco, Fiocchi, armscor].
For JHP, Have had best results with PDX1, Federal HST & Hydrashok, Speer GD, and Hornady Critical Defense. [XTP loads tend to jam]

Charlie

[erichard]

Self Defense = Underwood Xtreme Penetrator
Target = PMC FMJ

Mind if I ask how many rounds you've tested with XP? I want to carry that, but both the XP and XD get hung up on the asymmetric (and steep) feed ramp that the CW380 has. Some make it, but too many don't chamber for me to trust it in other than the chambered round or the last 2 rounds in the mag, which do seem to work (less mag spring pressure at that point, so I think less friction getting out of the mag which let's them accelerate forward better than earlier rounds.)

I do wonder if the new striker that's being made privately would help feeding if the striker tab isn't partially hitting the top round in the magazine, which may decelerate the slide slightly as it returns to battery (thinking out loud), diminishing the force chambering the round to be fired next.

[zredwire]

I have shot around 80 of the xtreme penetrators through my cw380. I have never had problems with them feeding like many other people have. I never knew why I just figured I was lucky. About a month ago while at the range I decided to shoot a few using a magazine I only use at the range. The first round would not load. I took it out and tried again, it simply would not. I thought about it for a second and realized the difference was that magazine I use at the range was a factory mag while all the others I have are fitted with the Magguts followers and springs. I tried one of my carry mags with the Magguts and the XP's loaded no problem (like usual). So on my gun it does not look like the XP's will work with factory mags but work fine with the Magguts mags.

[erichard]

Thanks for the detailed answer.

[Ed M]

My CW380 runs perfectly with Underwood XD +P with the stock mags. I followed the prep thread advice and polished the inside and outside of the mag bodies. And feed ramp, chamber entrance, outside of the barrel and hood - basically all metal to metal contact points. I was thorough! Attention to detail has ensured my CW380 runs like a Swiss watch...

[erichard]

That's good Ed. Wish I could say the same. For me, the XD flutes and ridge's of the bullet nose kind of tip off to the right of the feed ramp and get stuck before reaching the chamber. The tip of the XD's and XP's when in an "X" orientation (vs. a "+" orientation) I suspect hit the feed ramp with two points (from the "phillips screw driver" nose) rather than just one point from a round nose or hollow point bullet. The left point of contact is fine, but since the ramp is narrow and asymmetric (really supporting the middle and left side of the bullet), the right point (if in an X orientation rather than + orientation) seems to fall off the middle support into the empty space and then get hung up.

It may be that the right aspect of the tip is missing the feed ramp ever so slightly on my gun, whereas yours doesn't.

There's also the question of the speed with which the slide is pushing the round up the ramp and into the chamber, since my gun will feed the XD rounds if they are the last two rounds in the mag, and reliably so. I can only deduce that these rounds have very little resistance leaving the mag since the mag spring is unloaded so much at that point, which overall allows the round to move up the ramp and into the chamber before it has the chance to slide off to the right. Yours may have less resistance moving from mag to chamber, even in the upper rounds of the mag, for whatever reason.

I would caution people in general to test the function of XD and XP rounds thoroughly because you don't want to find them getting stuck during a gun fight. The problem is of course that it's very expensive to test and train with these rounds. You can overcome that expense slightly if you alternate FMJ and XD rounds in the mag and fire only the FMJ rounds. In firing the FMJ rounds, you chamber the next XD round, hopefully successfully so. Then simply eject the unfired XD round and proceed to the next FMJ round again. No XD's are fired that way, but their chambering is tested. Main problem with that strategy is that the power of the FMJ round doesn't necessarily duplicate what an XD round would have produced had the mag been filled 100% with XD rounds. So it's not a fool proof test. But it does provide more data to make your carry decision on. I did this and carry 2 XD's in the bottom of my mag because they always cycled from there.

Bullet setback eventually becomes an issue if you chamber the same round multiple times.

[PBJ]

Thanks much everyone for all the suggestions! :cool:

[icysurfer]

Brilliant, Dude...! I figure if the round makes it into the barrel, it will work. Never thought of saving a dollar each time...!!

[allthumbsplusone]

My range ammo is all Freedom Munitions new or reman. You simply cannot beat their prices, especially when they run sales. Their best deals are always on Black Friday after Thanksgiving. When I buy on sale I can usually get 9mm for well under $10 per 50. The 38o's are more expensive but you can get them for less than $12 per box. Get on their mailing list and they will send you updates on what is on sale as well as "free shipping" days. Sometimes you get both!
I have had probably 2 failures to out of thousands. No stove pips etc. For carry I use either Precision One XTP or Federal Hydra Shok. I like the Federals since the bullet does not move hardly at all when you load and unload your gun often. The precision one bullet will slide back into the casing with each slam of the slide. They both get good reviews.

[PBJ]

Thanks, will have to check them out!

[Preacher Dave]

Over the years I have carried many different loads, but after watching gelatin testing videos I settled on Fiochhi Extrema 380XTP25 JHP. For range use I cycle though different loads as I find "bargains". I only use brass cases and stay away from remanufactured loads. Currently I am using PMC 380A Bronze FMJ 90 grain loads for range.

[gun papa]

If you have a Sportsman's Warehouse anywhere near, I found that the HPR 90gr. HP to be a great performer and an excellent deal for defensive rounds. 50rds for $30 is a great deal.