Got my daughter suited up with her gun Saturday!

[Spotlite]

Lets face it, we all have that one caliber that we are confident with. And that is what I wanted for her. I wanted something with a little more punch but it would do no good if she was scared to handle it.

After months of shooting and handling different guns, she went with the Glock 42 .380 with a magazine extension and it fits her like a glove, and she can hit with it consistently.

But for self defense ammo, I am torn between two rounds: Hornady Critical Defense and Sig V-Crown. I am using Hornady Critical Defense in all of my pistols. But heard that the Sig V-Crown might be a little better????

 

[bullgator]

Look at the Federal HST......good stuff

 

[Spotlite]

Look at the Federal HST......good stuff

Will do! Thanks.

 

[wareagle700]

I also recommend Federal HST or Speer Gold Dots

 

[mark-7mag]

I think someone posted a video in here or on FB a while back comparing .380 rounds and both the Hornady and the Federals performed well

 

[transfixer]

I've shot some of the Hornady critical defense rounds and I'm not impressed with the expansion, or rather should I say lack of expansion, I've only shot them through wood boards, but was not impressed, I've been looking at the federals myself for future use.

 

[Jester896]

I've seen some pretty recent test info somewhere but can't put my hands on it right now. Some of the ones you wouldn't normally choose did better than the ones you would in .380 and 9mm.

 

[ryanh487]

Federal HST. the two options you list have not performed consistently in expansion and penetration testing. HST's are the heaviest round on the market, too, which means reliable penetration and the HST design is always reliable on massive expansion and weight retention.

If you're averse to the federal HSTs for whatever reason, then use something loaded with Hornady XTP - it's one of the top performing projectiles out of a .380.

 

[transfixer]

If I'm not mistaken the XTP's are what is loaded in the Hornady critical defense loads ? Those are the ones I had very little expansion on when shooting through carpet and wood, and that was out of a 9mm, with more velocity than .380

 

[ryanh487]

If I'm not mistaken the XTP's are what is loaded in the Hornady critical defense loads ? Those are the ones I had very little expansion on when shooting through carpet and wood, and that was out of a 9mm, with more velocity than .380

The critical defense loads are loaded with a flexible polymer tipped projectile that is supposed to encourage expansion, but at .380 velocities it performs closer to FMJ. XTPs are well made JHP.

 

[bullgator]

You can also check out the ARX bullet that’s loaded in the Ruger line of ammo.

 

[tcward]

Lets face it, we all have that one caliber that we are confident with. And that is what I wanted for her. I wanted something with a little more punch but it would do no good if she was scared to handle it.

After months of shooting and handling different guns, she went with the Glock 42 .380 with a magazine extension and it fits her like a glove, and she can hit with it consistently.

But for self defense ammo, I am torn between two rounds: Hornady Critical Defense and Sig V-Crown. I am using Hornady Critical Defense in all of my pistols. But heard that the Sig V-Crown might be a little better????

To me the Hornady XTP is one of the best rounds you can shoot.

 

[transfixer]

The critical defense loads are loaded with a flexible polymer tipped projectile that is supposed to encourage expansion, but at .380 velocities it performs closer to FMJ. XTPs are well made JHP.

You're right, I got them confused, and should know better cause I use xtp's for reloading, its the ones with the polymer tip I don't like , they didn't expand much at all for me.

 

[krizia829]

As a former firearms saleswoman for Bass Pro Shops (7 Years), we sold many Glock 42's. It is a great lightweight gun that fits every woman's hands. Personally, i'm not a huge fan of 380 because of stopping power but it definitely will do the job God forbid she needs to use it for self defense with proper shot placement, which requires plenty of practice. Although it is the same size bullet as a 9mm, it is a shorter case which means less powder which equals less power. It's always best to try out a couple of different brands of ammunition for self defense and if possible, with ballistic gel to really see the difference of what it can do. I recommend this also because although it is a Glock, just like any mechanical tool, it still CAN fail. Some handguns are picky with certain types of ammunition and can jam. Most of my customers purchased Hornady Critical Defense or even their Critical Duty rounds. I always like higher grain rounds. Speed is not an issue for me because if i'm going to use it for self defense, it's going to be right in front of me, and not at a far distance. Another nice round we sold a lot of is Federal Hydra-Shok. That's what I personally use on my 9mm M&P Shield. They came out with the Federal HST which I have not tried out but I have heard many good things about. Have her try out some different rounds and see what shes consistent and comfortable with and go from there. It's going to be expensive but worth it in the end. Good luck!

 

[pdsniper]

the problem with 380 ammo is most of the manufactures will not load them hot because there is so many cheap junkie pistols out there chambered in that round and they wont handle full house loads with out blowing up so they down load the ammo because of liability, I have hand loaded 380 rounds and shot in my Walther PPKS that had amazing performance

 

[transfixer]

I just picked up a box of Civil Defense rounds for my lcp 380, I had bought some in 9mm last year, I've been impressed with the videos I've seen on the ammo, but have yet to test them myself, I'll be doing that soon, probably try shooting through a stack of 2x8's and see how far they penetrate, they are supposed to fragment with the core staying together. only 50gr bullet, going extremely fast, should do some damage! Also picked up a box of 9mm hst+p , box of 50 was less than $20 online, going to test them out also.