Skip to main content
Help Center Community Shop

best ammo

Comments

5 comments

  • range
    what is the most reliable ammo for a ruger lcp 380
    0
  • ruger41
    Mine runs 100% with Hornady Critical Defense and regular fmj. But every gun can be different. Keeping it properly cleaned goes a long way.
    0
  • beantownshootah
    "Best ammo" for your gun is any ammo that:

    1. You can actually find to put in your gun consistently (no matter how good it is, it doesn't help you if you can't get your hands on any!).
    2. Cycles your gun reliably.
    3. Has whatever ballistic properties you think are best.

    Only you can determine which ammo types actually run well in your gun, and the only way to do that is to test them in your gun.

    In my experience with the Kel-Tec .380 (of which the Ruger is a copy) ball ammo runs the best. Hollowpoint "premium" ammo tends to have cycling issues, though this may vary a bit between types of ammo, and even between individual guns (which have slightly different tolerances and geometries). Also, unfortunately, these guns come a bit rough out of the factor and require some break in time, so you may find that NOTHING runs reliably in your gun until you break it down, clean it, and either do some manual polishing ("fluff and buff"), or run a number of boxes of ammo through the gun.

    In terms of #3, terminal ballistics, I think you'll get different opinions on what's most desirable here.

    In *my* opinion, with any lightweight bullet, the limiting factor in stopping power is usually penetration. That means that unlike with higher power rounds, and contrary to the conventional wisdom, ball ammo (or solid bullet design ammo) will actually yield the best ballistic performance.

    .380 rounds in particular are known to have limited penetration, sometimes having trouble getting through thick (ie winter) clothing, and the like. So all else being equal, I'd be looking for heavier weight (rather than lighter weight) bullets of solid (rather than expanding) construction.
    0
  • ruger41
    IMO the Hornady Critical Defense gives you the best of both worlds. They feed like ball ammo, penetrate like ball ammo and expand. But make no mistake, they do not turn a .380 into a death ray. You still have to have good shot placement. I did a little test with this ammo. It went through a 3/4" solid wood board that was covered with heavy towels and backed by a large stack of wet magazines. Out of 18 rounds none failed to penetrate to 12" and 3 went 16". There was some expansion but not like in a lab..but they left .50 cent piece sized holes in the magazine. For me 100% reliability is #1
    0
  • Riomouse911
    I, too like the .380 and 9mm Critical Defense loads from Hornady, and the .380 and 9mm +P+ PDX from Winchester.

    As was posted, try things out before you stake your life on them to ensure they work well.
    0

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Recent Activity

Didn’t find what you’re looking for?