Hello All,
I didn't see this mentioned within the thread but Ammo Quest did the best review on the .380 acp round, IMHO. The modern .380 acp is worthy of consideration for concealed carry or deep concealment. I've been shooting for nearly 50 yrs and have no reservations carrying a .380, btw.
1) In regards to the Federal HST, he found the round to be unacceptable in the .380 caliber due to under penetration. See
Video.
2) The two brands which won out was Fiocchi Extrema and Precision One. All of the .380 rounds in XTP performed excellent (expansion/penetration) but those two stood out. The Fiocchi run flawlessly out of our Bersa Thunder 380's and it is what I carry in those. It is a phenomenal round in .380.
See
Video.
3) He later tested the Lehigh XP in .380 and then declared it to be the best for that round. I personally do not agree with his conclusion though or the advertising hype by Lehigh or Underwood. You should also take it with a grain of salt as to how reliable a ballistic gel test is in determining a wound cavity. I personally only consider it viable for comparing or determining penetration.
I think wound cavity cannot be judged with ballistic gel tests and much of the advertising hype associated with the Lehigh/Underwood rounds is bogus. They state the following in regards to the XP round
"creating a permanent wound cavity diameter exceeding that of most expanding bullets" but they offer absolutely no proof of such!
I purchased a box of Lehigh XP .380 and performed a simple test comparing them to the Fiocchi .380 Extrema. The flutes of the XP round is supposed to create a significant amount of
"hydraulic energy" which is attributed to it's purported devastating wound cavity that supposedly exceeds most hollow points (as advertised). So consider the following.
*We are made up of mostly water. So I filled several milk jugs with water and shot them with the XP round and the Extrema round. I used the same gun for the test and shot at a distance of 10 ft. There was absolutely no comparison! The Fiocchi Extrema round completely and violently blew apart it's jug. The XP round simply made a nice entry and exit hole while barely even moving the jug. It was no better than what a FMJ would have done in regards to stopping power. I repeated the test and exact same results. I contacted Lehigh and Underwood several times noting such and requested their proof of XP performance. Neither ever responded or provided proof of their XP claims.
I use the Fiocchi Extrema in my .380's with full confidence. I use the Federal HST in my 9mm as that is a devastating round in that caliber. Hope this helps someone and stay safe.
God Bless,
Ralph