380ACP +P load?
Does anyone make a 380 ACP+P load using the Remington 380 ACP 102 gr GS bullet? It would be a good defensive load. All the pluses: HP, heavy weight to caliber, and great velocity especially if it could match BB 100 gr bullet velocity of 1150 fps.
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I use the DoubleTap .380 ammo and it is quite powerful and actually stays in the normal pressure ratings while adding a lot of power to the little .380.
http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_62&osCsid=rqqceeqb6tpfqjnekp5qdrp4m10 -
Given all the problems commercial loaders and the firearms industry in general, have with legal liability and bottom feeding lawyers. I don't see any of them either selling ammo, or making pistols for a 380 cartridge with a 100+ grain bullet, @1150 FPS.
For all practical purposes that a 9mm Luger load. There have been a number of small 9mm Luger pistols, only slightly bigger and heavier then 380's, put on the market in recent years. If you want to shoot a load like that, your going to have to go with one of them, IMHO.0 -
Technically, there is no such thing as a +P .380. SAAMI sets the standards for ammo, and there are only 4 cartridges with a SAAMI defined +P rating. Those are .38 Special, 9mm Parabellum, .45 ACP. ALL .38 Super is considered +P. With no official definition of what a +P .380 would be, do not know you will see anyone advertising they make a pistol for it. 0 -
Well, just to muddy the waters here, its not clear what the operating pressure of the Buffalo Bore so-called .380+P ammo actually is.
If we stick with the SAAMI convention, a "+P" .380 should operate at 10% higher peak pressure than a regular .380. Does this cartridge do that? Have no idea. Is it HIGHER? Don't know. . Same pressure? Don't know.
The reason the .380 operates at the relatively low (for a modern centerfire auto) pressure of 21500 PSI is because empirically, that's the highest operating pressure designers could get simple blowback-operated pocket automatic pistols to run safely at. Higher pressures than that and the chamber opens up too early. . .NOT good.
As it happens, the Kel-Tec uses a proportionately small version of the traditional Browning barrel/slide short-recoil operating system, like a small 1911 pistol. So if any .380 "should" be able to handle increased pressures, this is it. I've heard empirically of people running super-hot loaded .380 rounds through this gun, and it holding up, at least for a limited number of rounds.
But IMO, its still a bad idea to do that. Even one round like that "should" void the manufacturer's warranty, and I'd say there is a good likelihood of battering the gun apart with that kind of load.
As usual I agree with Rufe. The .380 is simply not a 9mm luger and I simply don't see any reason to push the envelope here. If you want 9mm luger-like ballistics, then just buy a pocket pistol in that caliber.
Not all that long ago, there was a very limited selection of true pocket guns in 9mm (Kel Tec and Rohrbaugh), but now there are at least several others by the biggest "name" manufacturers: Ruger, Beretta, Walther, Smith and Wesson, Kahr, Kimber, and they're reasonably good.0 -
Agree with RS and BTS; if you want 9mm "performance" buy a 9mm sub compact. My LC9 isn't much bigger than my LCP..and as an aside; I bet the recoil from a load you're suggesting would stink in the LCP, it's snappy enough with Win PDX rounds.[:p] 0 -
Due to the design of most .380 pistols, increasing the working pressure is not acceptable and exceeds the capabilities of the guns. 0 -
While it doesn't 'seem' much difference between small 9mm's and 380's, that small difference greatly enhances ability to pocket carry.
Again, I would suggest the DoubleTap .380 loads in a Kel-tec P3AT or LCP. That's what I carry every day in a wallet holster in my front pocket. When dressed appropriately, I do carry a G29 10mm on a belt holster but it is too easily detectable for some scenarious but no one has ever questioned what looks to be a billfold in my pocket.0
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