380 ACP - Hornady Critical Defense - Jug Test

[elmajiko420]

these rounds are awesome i carry them in my bersa on my ankle in case my glock 22 isnt enough.

[chewreece]

That's a nasty rnd.

[jones1inc]

looks like 4 jugs

[frankgon4]

While it expanded, does not look like much penetration.

[MrNicksobie]

ive tested one of these in a ''dry'' phonebook along with a 90gr golddot, well the goldot didnt expand but the critical defce -3pettels opened and 3 folded inward- the widest point on the bullet is 5/8'' and did far more damage than the GD they both went thu about 900+ pages

[MrNicksobie]

@MrNicksobie the gun was a kel-tec p3at

[brandinoa8]

@releger2001

I have the same exact gun and have tested the Hornady round exactly the way you did with 3 gallon milk jugs with just water in them plus clothing and I got very similar results.

However, I redid the test and put ripped up newspaper as well as water in all three gallon milk jugs to simulate a little more realistic friction on the bullet. All three rounds that I shot had basically full expansion and the test was during the winter around 36 degrees outside. Give that a try and see

[Radion561]

About time andreleger stuck the spent hollowpoint next to a ruler to show the size.

[JeffreyAu1]

Nice video. It is nice to see someone doing ballistics testing of not only the 380 round but with a Bersa thunder. I have one and I feel that they are dollar for dollar the best firearms deal out there. Very compact accurate and reliable. I carry those critcal defense rounds in my Bersa. After seeing your video and the one from Hornady I feel safe carrying a 380 in terms of stopping power.

[k2blades540]

These are great videos that you do, but a jug test is pointless if you don't tell us how many jugs the bullets are penetrating. Great expansion means nothing if a round can't penetrate.

[andreleger2001]

@k2blades540 I normally keep rolling and show the empty jugs but for these few .380 ACP tests I brought a shooting buddy who managed to get right in front of the camera in most of the after shooting footage while I was checking the jug count. Oops.

[fordxbgtfalcon]

@andreleger2001 i'm thinking about buying some of these for my bersa thunder, would you recomend them? do you think they will feed perfect in an emergency situation?

[andreleger2001]

@fordxbgtfalcon We had no issues with any of the ammo we tested in the Bersa as far as feeding goes.

[mwcharger]

@k2blades540

you do realize this is a .380 right? penetration is not the .380's strong point. Plus you can plainly see how many jugs it penetrated

[centurionsquad]

Has anyone checked out Federal's Critical Defense. I heard that's a really good round.

[goindownthe1road]

As far as carrying a .380 for personal defense, it wouldn't be my first choice, but it's better than nothing. I carry an SP101 in .357 magnum. These newer .380 defense rounds look pretty effective, surprisingly.

[benjamind1234]

The exact same gun and ammo I carry, now I feel better actually seeing a test using both, thanks alot for the great video

[Crustymarine]

.380 may just be good for warm/t-shirt weather. Cold weather brings many layers of clothing that a .380 might have trouble getting through efectivly.

Could it be safe to say that .380's role for personal defense falls within the summer time only seson?

Good topic for discussion.

[andreleger2001]

@Crustymarine I agree.

[prescottbill]

@Crustymarine FMJ in the cold weather, HP in the summer. Or first three FMJ, last four HP. BTW many people have died after being shot with a .380, it was even a good enough round for 007 himself.

[Crustymarine]

@prescottbill True many have passed on to their just rewards do to the .380, likewise with even smaller rounds. However I’m not sure FMJs would be my choice, but I do respect your opinion. Much to think about. Cheers.

[centurionsquad]

@Crustymarine

I'm sure that ball ammunition will be your best bet for penetration of winter coats, or clothing such as denim and leather. I'm also pretty confident that hollow-points will do the same thing. It's all a matter of shot placement, not the round that you use.

[Crustymarine]

@centurionsquad Agreed shot placement is always an important factor, and goes without saying. Also agreed FMJ/ball will penetrate a winter coat.

However OVER penetration is my concern, and that is why, IMHO, JHP is an optimum load to carry; less of a chance to harm or injure the innocent bystander. Cheers!

[whosthere1]

@Crustymarine You need to look up this round. The critical defense line works through FBI standard down parka that is used in their testing.

[Crustymarine]

@whosthere1 So there is no misunderstanding here. I am familiar with Critical Defiance loads. I carry Critical Defense loads. But I do not carry .380 because I do not own that caliber. And FMJ is not my first choice for a defence carry caliber for the above stated reasons.

Cheers!

[whosthere1]

@Crustymarine The post of yours I commented on was in regards to your statement about a 380 having trouble with winter clothing.

[tubevideoguy762]

@Crustymarine

Actually after watching hornady's tests this round WILL expand through even the thickest winter clothing.

[additionalmc]

@Crustymarine ........very well said, I'm gonna start carryin' a bigger gun during the fall/winter. more power, plus my heavier clothes will conceal it better.....

[RidgeRunner88]

@Crustymarine Your gun doesn't have to, but your carry ammo should. In the winter months I switch to flat nose FMJ.

[mojothemigo]

I've been told anything less then 9mm, you want a hard cast or fmj bullet. Juging from the pentration in to the second water jug, I say there is a point to that. I rather make a clean pass through a badguy then go in a few inches and just barey reach the organs. I don't think the payoff of the very small amount of energy dump and expantion

[Blk05titan26]

just cant go less than 9mm for defense...IMO

[andreleger2001]

@Blk05titan26 While I tend to agree, I was impressed with some of the .380 ACP loads available. I would say that the .380 ACP is a borderline defensive round. It falls in a gray zone for me. I personally wouldn't carry it for defense, but that does not mean it is not viable in certain situations. In either case getting hit with one will ruin anyone’s day.

[dmangoman]

@andreleger2001 I decided that having my 380 with me was better than having my 45 at home because it was too bulky to pack around. In an ideal world a guy would carry a big gun with him at all time, but realistically I found myself leaving my bigger gun at home because it was too awkward. I would rather have a 380 than a pocket knife or nothing at all.

[gunman848]

@andreleger2001 i carry a 38 spl, and a 380 on occasion, i think the 380 would be a verry effective round with the right type of ammo, as you yourself should know, i know some who have carried a 22 or 25 pocket pistol. so i have fair confidense in the 380, and keep in mind, i have most of my experience in handguns, with a 45, so i hold a high standard in stopping power. thanks , i love your videos, helps me out a lot when ordering ammo.

[andreleger2001]

@gunman848 Thanks!

[TheMechAlchemist]

thats an interesting load may have to try that one, thanks for doing the test. If you have an impulse to want to test new 7.62x39 rounds you really want to look into corbon's loads i know alot of people would love to see it

[andreleger2001]

@TheMechAlchemist I will see about getting some for testing.

[MrBallistics]

I plan on doing a barrier penetration test with this load, Ill post it as a video response when I upload it...

[andreleger2001]

@MrBallistics Looking forward to it.

[gunrobot]

Definitely lives up to their claim of "consistent expansion". I carry this exclusively now, in my Ruger LCP and Ultra Carry .45 ACP.

[JosephNowhere]

I better get some of those rounds. What kind of scale is that? It looks really nice.

[bigjohn20081983]

great vid how do you think it dose compared to the pdx1 ammo in 380 all thou i do under stand they maybe diffrent grains i know my pdx1 is 95 grain and these are 90

[andreleger2001]

@bigjohn20081983 I like the PDX-1 better, but that is just my opinion.  The expansion on the PDX-1 is insane.

[vashguud]

I want to get some of these for the collection, nice test thx.

[Nicho2177]

I use this stuff I really like it