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.380 ammo, where to buy?

4,143 Views | 14 Replies | Last: 10 yr ago by shiftyandquick
shiftyandquick
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Does walmart sell .380? Or am I stuck with Academy / Cabelas?

Good ammo source online?

Not familiar with .380, never bought it before.

Also, I understand that people are more likely to carry ball ammo with .380, is there a bullet grain size that is most ideal?
Hoss
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I recently learned about ammoseek.com. I'd start there. Also, I've been using SG Ammo to buy bulk ammunition for years. They usually have good prices and very fast shipping.
The Wonderer
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What is your purpose for the ammo? Self defense? Ball ammo should be restricted to training/range use and as a last resort in extra mags for self defense, in my opinion. None of my weapons' primary mags carry ball ammo for self defense purposes.

Personally, I carry Hornady Critical Defense in the two primary mags of my Bersa Thunder and Ruger LCP. The two secondary mags of each weapon are stacked with Freedom Munitions reman 100gr flat nosed ball ammo.
suprafly03
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quote:
What is your purpose for the ammo? Self defense? Ball ammo should be restricted to training/range use and as a last resort in extra mags for self defense, in my opinion. None of my weapons' primary mags carry ball ammo for self defense purposes.

Personally, I carry Hornady Critical Defense in the two primary mags of my Bersa Thunder and Ruger LCP. The two secondary mags of each weapon are stacked with Freedom Munitions reman 100gr flat nosed ball ammo.


Actually with the light bullets from a 380 many (maybe all) self defense and ballistic gurus suggest ball ammo for defense. The 380 hollow point is just incapable of sufficient penetration. So if I carried a 380 I would train with and carry ball ammo.

The only other option would be a bullet from Lehigh called the XP (I think), that stands for Xtreme Penetrator. It's essentially a FMJ with 4 slots cut out of it that allows for enough penetration. this is kind of the latest/greatest bullet for 380.

You can buy the rounds from Lehigh, but underwood offers a superior cartridge with the XP bullet.
Bitter Old Man
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I've heard great of things about the Liberty Civil Defense hollow points for 380
agsalaska
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Disagree. If I was carrying a .380, especially a pocket 380, I would probably carry ball ammo. Especially in the winter.

GSS
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Not a whole lot of 380acp testing info out there, but did find Shooting The Bull 380 acp tests

Not sure why ball ammo is advocated over a HP that works (as not all of them work as advertised).

NRA Life
TSRA Life
The Wonderer
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quote:
Disagree. If I was carrying a .380, especially a pocket 380, I would probably carry ball ammo. Especially in the winter.


Making the change during the winter makes sense, but when I researched my SD ammo choices, some HPs were shown to meet the penetration thresholds. I'm more concerned with not having through and throughs so as to avoid potential collateral damage.
bigtruckguy3500
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I've also heard regular ball ammo in 380 is ok in most cases since it's a relatively slow round. At least that's what the guy who does my FFL transfers tells me.
BrazosDog02
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I get it at academy. Cheapest stuff I can find. The p238 eats all of it.

If I'm buying 500 rounds of other stuff, then I go online. Sgammo has been good to me recently but I've bought from others. Shop around.
230Ag
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gunbot.net
Waltonloads08
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FMJ is the only ammo I feed my AK-47 and .380 Bersa. Its cheap, reliable, cycles well, and penetrates.
hunter2012
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Shooting the bull has a full series on 380, the Lehigh Extreme Penetrator is the best round for defensive purposes. Just make sure it feeds. Modern HPs are designed for the 9mm and up so there's pretty much no HP round that meets FBI specs.



I have this loaded in my gun after testing and it works great. It's reliable like an FMJ, but it's grooves leave a wound channel similar to a HP. The video above show it.

If you don't get the XPs get a Flat Nose at minimum, Round Nose can be redirected too easy.
oneeyedag
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Was at China mart last night here in Va. they had 380 by bucket load. I know that doesn't help you, but just say'in.
Mr. Dubi
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Brass fetcher testing
shiftyandquick
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The issue is barrier penetration. As I understand it.
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