I am surprised you have less than 100k subs. every time I am looking at ammo online, I think to myself: 'I wonder if Sam has tested this.' and a quick search shows me you did. I love your videos, keep it up!
Well . can't quite ever bring myself to use Ideal or Perfect in the same sentence as .380acp . That said ; this is probably as good as reasonably to be expected from a .380 , and bullet design & velocity is very well matched . Usual disclaimers - This ( praised) test results are from 3.68 in bbl pistol . .380 performance is very dependent upon bbl length & resultant velocities . Don't expect similar from say a 3.25 inch , until testing from that gun .
Good results out of the .380 expected the .38 special to blow it away. The best part about .380 is how comfortable they are to carry while i'm getting my mocha frap cappuccino cold brew lattes
I have been a Gold Dot fan since it debuted in 1994. I was working in a gun shop then. I carefully read all of Speer's literature about the bullet design and their testing process. Impressive. It was kind of the first plateau of bullet improvements resulting from the FBI tests of the late 80's and early 90's. I love their 38 snubby load, and this one is very good too. I have no need for a 380, but i have Gold Dots in 38, 9mm, 357, 40, and 45 ACP and 45 Colt. If they made 38 Super, 8 wiuld have that too. LE knows the 9mm 124 +p is great, as are the 40 and 45. Cirizens know the 357 is great. I don't know about the 45 Colt. It is only specced at 750 fps, probably to reduce recoil in the lightweight Judges. Haven't seen any tests on that load (250 gr; I wonder if a 200 or 225 gr might have been a better choice). Anyway, i will probably never own another 380, but if i am forced to go to it at some point in the future due to arthritis or other issues, i know the Gold Dot will do well.
I have lots of the 135gr by Speer. The 125gr GDHP I have is Underwood's loading. Given how 380 is I would say it performed OK. I would carry it in that gun. I seem to recall the 135gr tends to move at about 950fps in your testing out of a 2" barrel. So the slight boost in velocity with the 125gr is welcome. Although, again IIRC, the 135gr tended to be right around 250ft-lbs. Perhaps the slightly lighter bullet is better. A side by side of the 135 if you have any left along with the 125 would make a nice short. I don't get alerted for shorts though 😞. Great video as always.
Good job and great shooting! You’re making me feel more comfortable carrying my 380 vs the 9. I live in southern Florida where clothing is lightweight. Still carry my 9mm whenever possible though. Thanks again.
I’m with you on Gold dot. It’s gotten to where that’s what I carry about 90% of the time whether it’s 9mm, 357, or 327 mag. They have good velocity even in a short barrel and like you said you can feel the consistency if you practice with them enough.
Pocket 380 acp is my summer wear gun here in the south. Nice to see some good options out there for that load. I still 38 but the 380 gets it done. Thanks.
Great testing of these great defensive rounds. I'm glad you provide some insight and disclaimers regarding the performance and outcomes in these applications. Thanks for all you do Sam! ♠️🎩🎯🇺🇲🎱🏁🇺🇦🔱🌻💮🌸🏵️🏴☠️🏹
Hey man, love your vids. Had a request not sure if you could do it but I’d love to see a 38 Super gel test, maybe compare it to 9mm, 357 sig and 357 magnum. Keep up the awesome vids!
Great! I am running mucho errands, I can't wait to watch this later. It's the two cals I rotate between. I do the 9mm too. But 90% these two. A good practical presentation. Thanks, young man.
Great tests! Would you be able to test 410 Hornady Triple Defense and 410 Federal Premium Buck compared to other revolver/semiauto calibers? The tests against pumpkins at 7 yards was my inspiration for this question.
I'm leaning towards .380 for my first pistol. One concern I have about semi-autos is "limp wristing" while in the heat of battle. I.e. if "it" ever happens then it's unlikely you'll have the opportunity to get yourself set with a good stance and grip. You might be shooting one-handed around a corner. You might be wrestling around on the ground with the creep. Etc. If a less-than-secure grip on the pistol causes it to lock up, that's bad news. Sooo... I'm wondering if a softer recoil round like the .380 might reduce the chance of that. Because a lesser grip on it might still be enough for the slide to operate. Or, just go with a .38 revolver, which never has that problem.
One main reason why I bought my .380 EZ is this very issue. Limp wristing can be bad, perfect grips are never really obtained. I have a popular short about why I prefer pocket revolvers to pocket autos and you can see the limp wrist in action with my LCP, jams a lot. Every caliber has a firearm that is above limp wrist possibilities and I like to stick with those. Examples, my M&P 5" pistols one in 9mm and one in .40, the 9mm has never jammed but the .40 has a few times, as that caliber is just a tad too hot. My smaller 9mm pistols like my G2C and Security 9 run pretty well but jam from time to time and my tin DB9 pistol jams every shot. Same thing for every caliber, there's a place where the pistol weight overcomes the chance it will limp wrist. The EZ pistol is that size. The Glock 42's and newer Beretta Cheetahs are in that size too.
If you’re worried about any of those things happening then a snub nose might be ideal for you. Will function every time you pull that trigger regardless of one hand or two hand shooting. Also, if someone grabs your gun and it’s a semi auto, there’s a good chance they’ll induce a malfunction because they’ll most likely be holding onto the slide and if you fire, that spent casing won’t be able to eject. If they grab a revolver, not only will that not be a problem but when you fire their hand will be getting a nice little surprise from the blast coming from the cylinder gap! At the end of the day though, make sure you rent every gun you intend to buy before you buy it so you know what you’re most comfortable shooting.
My philosophy is that if I can hit a far away target, I can definitely hit one that's closer. So I always send the target all the way back in the shooting lane, unless I'm practicing point and shoot.
Sig has a new 365 version of their 380 Vcrown that might be worth a try....I seen a test where the 9mm version of the 365 out did the traditional Vcrown
Always love these vids. just got super disappointed, I recently invested in some sig elite 45acp JHPs and after trying to shoot a few out of my 1911 they wont cycle! any tips?
What are the dimensions of that torso silhouette you have there, length by width, thanks for a great video with some great cartridges that oft are overlooked or just not shown with all these test situations.
More than any other caliber barrel length impacts the .380. My vest pocket Khar CW 380 impacts the target entirely than slightly larger guns. That inch of barrel length changes things
Those are really good loads in both cartridges I have noticed since the plandemic that manufacturers have been under loading revolver cartridges, so that's some pretty good luck, or maybe ammo companies are going back to normal powder loading... IDK...
I wish Speer would tailor their .38 Special Gold Dot projectiles to .38 Special pressure constraints. They use the same bullets in .357 loads, and they naturally work better at higher velocities. In the past, Underwood and Buffalo Bore have loaded those 125 gr. Gold Dots in 38 +P cartridges and those two boutique loaders get pretty much ideal results because they push them to about 1050 fps from my 1.9" barrel LCR. I don't know what the boutique loaders are doing differently, but my brother (who reloads 38/.357) suggests BB and Underwood use "Finnish" powders, i.e., Vihtavouri.
That's interesting information about powder. I really wouldn't know even though I load .38 Special and .357 Mag, just got off the press for the first time in about a year lol. Loaded some 148 gr wadcutters in some .38 Special cases, magnum primers and maxed out charges. Some inverted for hollow points.
These rounds all failed. The FBI specification requires 12" to 18" of penetration in actual organic 10% Ordnance Gelatin at the right temperature. Not Clear Ballistics synthetic, which behaves differently. Handgun hollow point bullets penetrate deeper and expand less in the synthetic. While there is no proven conversion between the two, from all the testing I've seen, a half decent rule of thumb would be to deduct about 3". So, that would make the requirement 15" to 21" in synthetic. In this test, 3 of the 4 failed to make it. The 4th made the depth only by failing to expand. If your hollow point has to fail just to make the minimum penetration depth, your round is shit. Btw, I'm not discouraging the use of synthetic. Everyone just needs to be aware of the differences. What I REALLY wish for would be for the FBI/IWBA to create a standard for synthetic.
No, I use that same grip. Happens when you've got arthritis in your dominant hand snd partially paralyzed off hand......you grip the best you can. I adopted 'Sam's grip (locking my thumbs) and improved my accuracy a bunch. Thanks Sam, your videos are educational and very informative. 😊
hey sam, would love to talk more, only have email here , i am tracking down a tactical axe/tomahawk with spike for trade here only , if you know any guys , send em my way please , thanks n talk soon > tom !
@Joe Sheets The Rag Man you can have David Goggins use a Hi-Point. I'm still going to call it a piece of shit. I would also care more if they didn't have their asses handed to them by a guy carrying a 45 acp.
@@the_shy_man096 As TV dad might say, "it's not a competition". This isn't .380 ACP VS .45 ACP in a full size pistol. The .380 ACP is meant for smaller firearms, and looking at smaller mouse guns the .380 ACP is top dog. In mid size handguns they can be decent too. The lower recoil can be beneficial to many people who cannot shoot bigger calibers.
@Gun Sam _Revolver Aficionado_ I don't know who that is. The biggest issue I have with the 380 is it has no purpose when the 9×19 exists. If they can't handle the recoil of a 9mm, then they need to get a rubber band to strengthen their wrists. My friends 7 year old daughter mag dumped my sub compact .45 glock. "If you have a target that needs to be destroyed, then destroy it. Don't just poke little holes in it." Jack Carr.
@@the_shy_man096 I’ll tell you who that is. My wife is one of them. She is recoil sensitive and the recoil of the 9mm bothers her to the point she didn’t want it. I purchased a S&W Shield EZ in .380 and she loves it. She’s very accurate and confident. She can dump an entire magazine without flinching. I load those magazines every other round with Buffalo Bores flat nose hard cast +P, along with Hornady Critical Defense. Second person, is my mother. She’s 5’ nothing and she barely weighs over 100lbs. She is in her late 70’s and fragile. She’s so tiny that a 9mm +P would probably break her wrist. So what works for you doesn’t mean it’s best for all. The size and shape of individuals dictates what they can and cannot conceal carry. I’d rather my wife and mom have something that they can control and shoot with confidence, than have nothing at all. Matter of fact, if all they can handle is a .22, then so be it. It’s better than a stick!
