We had an interesting discussion in a local club forum about which 380ACP ammo to carry in a small gun like the Ruger LCP and that led me to conduct a very simple investigation using the wonders of YouTube.
Most of the hollow point 380s do well if you shoot it through water jugs or ballistic gel, but once you put 4 layers of denim in front of it, almost every one of them don’t expand. I think shooting through 4 layers of Denim is a good gauge of how the bullet will perform in a realistic self defense scenario as you would most likely be shooting through some clothing.
Here’s a video of the Corbon DPX shot into water jugs (yes, I know this is hardly scientific) but it’s the only thing we have to compare performance.
– Awesome expansion.
and the same bullet, through 4 layers of denim.
– Whut??!?
Here’s more.
Remington Golden Sabre : – Also bad through denim.
Speer Gold Dot : – No expansion
Winchester Ranger-T : – My Fav, but no expansion
PMC Starfire : – no expansion
and finally,
Buffalo Bore : – awesome expansion!
Hornady Critical Defense :
The Buffalo Bore .380ACP is “+P”. I don’t feel confortable carrying +P in the LCP as it’s not recommended. Not because of recoil, but because of structural integrity.
Hornady’s claim of reliable expansion is pretty much spot on, it expands consistently through everything (you can watch the videos on youtube yourself). Although the expansion is not as large as the other brands, it is consistent.
that’s why I carry Critical Defense, that and practicing proper shot placement.
** and NO I’m not sponsored by Hornady, perhaps I should be 
Thanks to NCFLYFISHER for making those videos.
Gunbot! 