Self-defense .380ACP ammo for my Beretta 85FS

Stick to Federal's American Eagle 95gr FMJ (AE380AP) in your .380.
Not only does it produce 203 ft-lbs (per Federal's stats) but it is much more likely to penetrate deeper than a JHP.

While some JHP's offer up to 211 ft-lbs, the expansion of the JHP will dramatically reduce penetration. Most of the gel test indicate the JHP's only get around 9-10 inches rather than the recommended 14 inches. Sure, the extra diameter of the JHP might hit something vital. The deeper penetrating FMJ has a better chance of penetrating through a vital structure and/or reaching one of the critical arteries that flank the spine.
 
My warm weather CCW is a Beretta 84b. I went with the BB 100gr +P loading that was previously mentioned. It is very controllable and accurate in a full sized .380.
 
Was using Cor-Bon dxp for my keltech 3AT, but I was noticing a lot more ftfs that with ball. It appeared that the edge of the tip was catching on the feed ramp so I blew off the rest of those on the range and picked up some Hornady Critical Defense.

I have yet to test fire but from the look of the bullet it should feed quite a bit better.
 
I have about 250 rounds of Speer Gold Dot through my ppk without a single failure. I put 2 box's of Hornandy Critical Defense Through it a few weeks ago and experienced 4 failures to feed, maybe its the cone shaped bullet in the Hornandy's which is why I am sticking with the Gold Dot's. Also the Gold Dot has a wider hollow cavity which in my mind would make it expand better than the more narrow Hornandy.
 
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. Has anyone used it? What do you think of it?

I heard they don't work well for tiny .380 pistols, but work great in larger .380 pistols (like my Beretta).
 
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Fiocchi is pretty good stuff, especially for the price.

I like their .38/.357 ammo as it seems to be loaded pretty "warm".
Most of their JHP's look like they're from the 70's or 80's, but for range ammo or bulk stocking up ammo, it's better than most generics and cheaper than premium.

There's been at least one YouTube video about Fiochhi .380 ammo being loaded a little "too long" (Overall length) for the Ruger LCP, but it seems to work fine in some other guns. This might be an issue only with the Ruger. I haven't heard of it being a problem elsewhere. So test before you purchase a 1,000 rounds. :p

For what it's worth, Fiocchi makes a 142gr .357 Magnum load that has a FMJ Conical bullet that looks similar to the old Winchester "Metal Point" sold in the 60's and 70's to LE for piercing heavy auto-body sheetmetal. IIRC the last stats on it were 1250 fps. It's stout.
 
My Interarms Walther PPK/s feeds Gold Dots reliably and they are a bonded bullet design, meaning they will hold together better than a non-bonded, helping in the penetration department. In .380 the Gold Dot seems to be a good balance of penetration and expansion.

The BB rounds appear to be very good as mentioned, and I have recently become comfortable with Double Tap's .95 gr load.

Whatever you choose, put a minimum 2 boxes through the gun to be sure it functions reliably before deciding on the round you plan on using to protect your life/family.
 
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