Underwood ammunition

C

cmdc

New member
Has anyone used any of the Underwood offerings in your .380 pistols, and if so, which ones?

Currrently the only .380s I have are Kel-tec and Ruger LCPs, which are not rated for the so-called +p ammunition.

Also, which .380(s) would you recommend for the hotter ammunition?

Thanks
 
cmdc said:
Currrently the only .380s I have are Kel-tec and Ruger LCPs, which are not rated for the so-called +p ammunition.
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No pistols are rated for .380+P because no SAAMI or CIP specification exists for this ammo. It's doubtful that any gunmaker will honor their warranty or service policy if pistol damage results from using it.
cmdc said:
...which .380(s) would you recommend for the hotter ammunition?
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IMHO if you feel than standard-pressure .380 is inadequate, I would recommend buying something in 9x19mm rather than rolling the dice with over-pressure .380.
 
I am not an expert on these matters and have never slept in a Holiday Inn Express. I would think my Beretta 85F Cheetah would handle it. I have two of them and they seem to be tough well built all steel pistols.

Not sure what effects long term use would do to them after thousands upon thousands of rounds.
 
My experience with Underwood ammo has been positive and even their standard pressure ammo is on the warm side. I have not shot their .380 acp. Underwood has both standard and "+P" .380. However, as carguychris noted, SAAMI does not recognize a +P rating in .380 which means its just an extra pressure round. Personally, I don't use non-SAAMI recognized +P ammo but that's an individual choice.

I would tend to think the .380 acp with XTP bullets would probably be a decent round. XTPs tend to penetrate more before expanding than many other bullets. However, this is speculation and before I would use it as a defense round, I would want to see some ballistic gel tests. Sometimes a theoretically good round just doesn't work. For example, I've seen tests where Speer Gold Dots in various calibers are driven past the velocities for which they were designed. The result is very often a fragmented bullet.

Added: Here is a test of the Underwood .380 through clear ballistic gel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhmJoIWEb0I
 
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