What's your favorite Ruger LCP Defense ammo?

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gearchecker

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I just picked up a new LCP for an excellent price and could use some input on a reliable PD ammo.

I would like this to be limited to .380 ammo comments only.
Please don't tell me to get a bigger or more powerful gun or caliber type. I already have just about every other handgun caliber there is except for .454 Casull or .40 S&W. This LCP will be used only as a BUG.

Please tell me what your favorite personal defense ammo for it is?
If you want to comment on your favorite range practice ammo for it that would be great too.

I currently have some 95 gr. Blazer Brass, and some 95 gr. MagTech ammo. both are FMJ so they'll only be used for range practice. I'm open to suggestions especially LCP ownere over any other .380 owners.

Regards,
gearchecker
__________________
 
for me it depends on the weather...........winter time I'm more apt to carry a fmj load to penetrate heavy clothing. Summer I load up with hp ammo (usually Gold Dots).
 
I've carried with Corbon 90gr +P JHP, Speer Gold Dots, and for winter put 2 Hornady Critical Defense loads on top followed by either the Corbon or Gold Dots.

Out of my gun, Corbon were the hottest at 1045fps 218 ft-lbs, followed by the Gold Dots at 1002 fps for 201 ft-lbs, then the Hornady at 917 fps for 168 ft-lbs. All were shot at 75 degrees.

Www.ammunitiontogo.com has all of these in stock.
 
Since I have not decided which side of the .380 JHP/FMJ issue I'm on, I load both in my LCP and other .380 pocket pistols.
I load a Gold Dot or CorBon in the chamber and stagger FMJ and JHP in the magazine.
The top round in the magazine is FMJRN. I figure if the gun is going to jam feeding it will jam on the first round in the magazine.
 
Remington Golden Sabers 102 gr or Speer Gold Dots. Pretty much the only brands I use in all my guns.

The new Winchester PDX shot very well from my LCP and expanded perfectly in my wet newspaper in a bucket test. Mostly water. Covered with a thick piece of dry cardboard and a bath towel. 8-10 inches of penetration

The non expanded bullet is the Remington GS

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Mine never had a problem with the 102 gr. Remington Golden Sabers.

Never had a problem with anything else either, but the Remingtons were what I shot the most and stuck with to carry.
 
I use a 70gr bullet in the winter for high speed and 90gr in summer. Critical Defense is the overall winner for the .380. I use the Golden Saber +P in my 9mm and .357 carry arm.
 
Another vote for the 102 gr Golden Saber........feeds flawlessly and the tests I've seen (online) show the "heavy" Golden Saber to perform the best.......penetration and expansion.
 
The only HP I've tried in my LCP is Federal hydra-shok's 90's they feed good no failures in about 50 rounds I've tested.
 
I hate to interject here, but if I may. . . .

I was wondering if anybody has tried Remington R380A1 88gr JHP rounds in their LCP or other .380?

I'm looking at the Kel-Tec .380. (It is significantly cheaper than any .38spl I can find in my area.) From what I've seen in tests the GD and Corbon's whole line seems to be the top performer. However, at $0.66 if the Remmington is a decent performer I might go in that direction.

I think the info could be of use in this thread since the two designs are related.
 
I've run just about everything through mine and the only trouble I had was with the Cor-Bon JHP (non-dpx) but I don't think you're supposed to run it in the LCP anyway; it's pretty hot. All the "standard" premium defense jhps have run flawlessly. I currently have the 102 grain remingtons alternating with FMJ in mine. I haven't stuck with one brand for a while... I'm still running through all the brands to make sure they work reliably. I carry one brand for a while, then get to the range and run through a few mags of it, and then try another brand for a few mags, etc.

I haven't tried the critical defense yet.
 
I carry the Buffalo Bore +p hardcast rounds in mine. It feeds and ejects them flawlessly, but man do they kick.
 
MikeNice said:
I hate to interject here, but if I may. . . .

I was wondering if anybody has tried Remington R380A1 88gr JHP rounds in their LCP or other .380?

I'm looking at the Kel-Tec .380. (It is significantly cheaper than any .38spl I can find in my area.) From what I've seen in tests the GD and Corbon's whole line seems to be the top performer. However, at $0.66 if the Remmington is a decent performer I might go in that direction.

I think the info could be of use in this thread since the two designs are related.
Click to expand...
I’ve shot 1 box (50 rounds) in my BDA and LCP without out a hitch, now that this is available locally it’s what I’m buying for HP.

My LCP seems to hang up on any HP when I load a new mag in and rack the slide. It just seems to need a nudge to make sure it’s in battery, no issues during firing though and I’ve talked to a few others who have the same issue.

I thought about just using BB +p in both the BDA and LCP but the Ruger warning scared me away from it for now.
 
"I carry the Buffalo Bore +p hardcast rounds in mine. It feeds and ejects them flawlessly, but man do they kick."

I've been wondering about the +P's. I have some of the std. Hardcasts. I haven't fired the +P's out of fear the slide will nail my right eye! I already have enough shooting disabilities!!!
 
In the 380 LCP, penetration is a must and I personally prefer ball ammo until hollowpoint ammo is perfected. The LCR in 38 Special is about the same size and delivers better performance, but not as well as a Ruger SR9C compact 9mm where ammo has been perfected. Right now, the 380 bullet is being perfected like no other, just as the 9mm round was heavily updated during the past decade. If you go with a hollowpoint in 380 instead of ball, be sure the bullet is bonded for adequate penetration.

For self defense out of a short barrel in 38 Special like the LCR, suggest you consider hollowpoint ammo with a fast burning powder, like Speer's excellent 135-gr. Short Barrel Gold Dot load. It has a little less recoil than the FBI load of LWSCHP 158-gr., penetrates about the same and has a lot more expansion.

Regular 38 Special ammo wastes a lot of powder out of short-barreled revolvers. Snubnose handguns can be optimized with faster burning powders designed for short barrels.

148-gr. Wadcutters are likely to give you the lowest recoil and raise the fun-factor in shooting the LCR for practice.
 
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I'm quoting terry_p from the Ruger site on his results for short barreled guns.

"Trying to duplicate the Buffalo Bore 38 Spl +P 158 gr LSWCHP-GC -----------

I used a Rim Rock bullet that is very similar if not the same bullet that Buffalo Bore uses. I chose Power Pistol powder and had previously worked up from what was listed as min to max in the Speer Manual so I chose the +P max load of 6.0 gr which had previously had not caused me any pressure issues and was consistent.

I brought my chrony to the range, set up and proceeded to fire 5 Buffalo Bores, and 5 of my loads from my SP101 and recorded each reading after firing 5. I then proceeded to fire 5 each from my LCR and record each. The results from the BB were impressive averaging 1037 FPS in the SP and averaging 1017 in the LCR. I didn't see unburns and the loads didn't show any excess pressure signs in either revolver. My loads chronied an average of 936 FPS in the SP and 894 FPS in the LCR and did not show signs of excess pressure in either revolver but were not quite as snappy as the BB's. The only problem I had with my reloads was for some reason my 38 Spl sizer die wasn't putting a very strong roll crimp on the Rim Rocks and was adjusted as aggressive as I could get it. I quickly checked a random loose RR bullet when I got home for size and it was right on at .357 so the next time I'll use my 357 mag dies and see if I can get a little more consistent and agressive roll crimp as they are newer dies.

The load is what it is because I am at the top and other powders listed in Speer are listed as generating slower bullet speed. I'm still down from 100 fps to 124 FPS from the factory so they obviously are using a different powder but the two loads seemed to shoot to the same point or about an inch below point of aim at 7 yards.

It was an interesting exercise and although I didn't match speed the loads will be good for practice and not a bad alternative to the $2.00 per cartridge for the Buffalo Bore's."

A lot of very good info here, thanks to terry_p
 
I thought that was the thread...then it wasn't. Sorry..

Anyway, I think I might be coming around the the idea of penetration vs. hollow points. My LCP has the 1st three Gold Dots and the rest Buffalo Bore 100 gr. solid flat points. But then will a hollow point mushroom anyway? Kinda feel strongly both ways! are there any tests out there? Best.....
 
Yeah, I alternate FMJ with JHP lately. I figure I'll aim center mass and empty the mag, and if that doesn't work, chuck the thing at the bad guy. Which probably won't hurt too bad as it only weighs 11 oz. Then I'll run away like a little girl. :D

BTW make sure that BB stuff runs in your gun. Ruger recommends against the hotter stuff. I ran a couple of mags of BB HP through mine but it was noticeably warm. I could almost feel it beating up the gun. I stick to "regular" premium defense loads now.
 
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