Any experience with Fiocchi Shooting Dynamics self-defense rounds?

[American Eagle]

Does anyone have any experience with Fiocchi Shooting Dynamics? For something marketed for self-defense, they sure don't cost a lot of money, which is great. The problem with most self-defense ammo is that it costs an arm and a leg, so you don't tend to practice much with the ammo you carry. But this stuff is priced great. Whether you used .380ACP, 9MM, 40 or 45, I am interested to know what you thought of it.

I also heard they don't work well for tiny .380 pistols, but work great in larger .380 pistols (like my Beretta).

 

[Webleymkv]

Are you referring to the stuff Fiocchi is loading with XTP bullets? If so, the XTP has proven itself to be a good enough bullet so long as the velocity is high enough. The problem that XTP's seem to have is that they don't expand well at low velocities, particularly with <40 caliber bullets. I'd consider them only in certain calibers and loadings like .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, or 9mm with a 124gr or lighter bullet. For .32's, .380's, and subsonic 9mm's, I think I'd be looking elsewhere.

If you're looking for inexpensive self-defense ammo, look around on the internet for LE over-runs. You can often find 50-round boxes of Speer Gold Dots, Winchester Ranger, or Federal HST for $20-30. I've dealt with SG Ammo before and been pleased.

http://www.sgammo.com

 

[zxcvbob]

I bought a box of Fiocchi .38 Special +P's, and I like them. 125 grain Hornady XTP bullets, Starline nickel cases. The 5 that I tested all went BANG! and the recoil felt snappy enough. I didn't shoot them into gelatin or use a chronograph. If they don't expand, that means they will penetrate that much farther.

I load the gun with 158 grain SWCHP's, and I carry a speed strip of Fiocchi 125's in my pocket for a reload.

 

[treg]

The Shooting Dynamics 125 gr JHP's work very well in my PT99. They are not listed as +P loads but the charted velocities are into other manufacturers +P territory.

I have a bunch of plastic jugs saved up for redneck ballistic lab experimentation with that load. Will post results.

 

[treg]

Tested the Fiochi 9mm 124gr HP's today.

The intentions were to test at ranges of 2 inches, 20 feet and 20 yards. Ammo was fired from my Taurus PT99 w/ a 5" barrel.

First shot (bullet on the left in pic) was fired 2 inches from a length ways windshield wash jug and 4 milk jugs. Bullet was found on the berm behind the jugs in nearly pristine condition. Suprised, I cleaned the nose to see if it had plugged w/ plastic. Negative, just no expansion!

Shot number two repeated the first test. The bullet traveled a straight path thru all five jugs and buried itself in the sand never to be found! This one also gave no sign of expansion by the reaction of the jugs - slicing thru like the first.

Shot number three saw 5 milk jugs lined up to be shot at 20 feet. This time the first jug indicated some expansion, but the bullet sliced straight thru the other four never to be found. There were shards of jacket material stuck in the entrance side of the second jug.

Shot number four was agian fired at 20 feet with 5 milk jugs lined up. Reaction of the jugs was identicle to shot number 3. This time however the bullet, minus its jacket was lying in the sand behind the jugs, having barely deformed as seen in the pic. The base of the jacket and the shard from the side were found in jug number one.

Later I found a jacket base and several small shards on the ground near the location of the jugs.

Due to the extreme penetration of the non-expanded bullets I ran out of jugs sooner than expected. I see no need to finish at a later date.

In conclusion, I had high hopes for this ammo, it is accurate, clean, powerful and reliable in my gun. The disappointing performance of these bullets put a damper on my enthusiasm and neccessitates further searching and experimentation for a reasonably priced HP load.


P.S. I do like the Fiocchi SD 124 gr TC bullets.