Ive only messed with .45s in the past, but recently got a colt mustang .380 as a wedding present. Yall have any preferences/recommendations for a good self defense rounds?

I recently when out and shot through 4 boxes of different types of hollow point .45 before picking a favorite to carry in the gun... And a they all shot differently(but all had plenty of stopping power, obviously), but I did have a clear favorite... Im willing to do the same thing for my .380, but I want to make sure the rounds I try maximize the stopping power of the pea shooter... Where should I start?

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Well, to answer part of my own question after a little more research today...

It sounds like I should stay away from hollow point, due to lack of penetration(that's the general consensus, right?)

So to build on that... ok, so now does anybody have any input on which ball type ammos I should look into?

 

The CorBon guys seem to put out a bit of effort.... Here's a you-tube of a guy who did a field-expedient penetration test.

 

Thanks!!! From the little bit of homework Ive done; that sounds like a really high velocity, and great penetration for an "expanding" type bullet... They will definitely go to the top of my "to try" list...

On my .45 I chose my self defense round based first on how they cycled(had one that the tip of the bullet did not load smoothly, never failed to cycle during use though), how they "felt"(I could barely tell a difference between the lighter "low recoil" rounds and the "standard" type hollow points, and the heavier/hotter rounds yielded MUCH more felt recoil than I could have imagined), and third how accurate they were(not much difference between the rounds I tried)... But all every .45 round has enough punch for what I want; and as I was expecting with 380 that's not the case...

And a little off topic, do most ballistic jells have similar density? Im wondering if the depth of travel tests ive seen done on different jells are similar.

Anybody else have a favorite .380 round I should also try?

 

By no means am I a .380 expert, but, my son-in-law and my daughter both have .380's that they like shooting. I found some frangibles at Academy this morning from DRT. They engineer their bullets to pass thru barriers but, shatter into metallic dust inside a bad guy's body, making more of a wound cave than a wound cavity..... total energy transfer, without worry of pass-thru. The initials stand for "Dynamic Research Technologies", but, the snipers that use their rifle ammo say, "Dead Right There". I bought a box of 9mm for my new Kahr, and a box each for the two of them.

 

where i work we are taught to shoot to "incapacitate" not shoot to "kill". center mass with H.P.. our main job is to protect the public, so i guess this is the reason for the H.P. our issued weapon is a good old reliable .38 S&W Special 4" barrel

 

Incapacitate is the goal. A center-mass aiming point is the most likely way to score a "hit" on the threat. Add adrenaline and motion to the equation, and a center-mass intention can equal a bullet hole in the crotch, shoulder, arm, neck, gut, thigh, or into the wall or crowd beyond. Some of those won't be incapacitating. The unfortunate physiological reality is that "center mass" is also where a lot of life-support organs are located. At the power level of a .380 (none to spare) you need maximum energy-transfer efficiency if you do score a "hit". And we've all heard the horror stories of a nicely-built hollowpoint failing to expand due to getting clogged with clothing, AND being significantly decelerated by passing thru that clothing. If that happens, there's less likelihood of success. So, shoot him again.

 

Keep shooting till the threat is over