Ruger LCP?

Thank you for highlighting my points about hollow points. The quotes are DIRECTLY from your link.

"Handguns

One should carry only hollowpoint ammunition in a defensive handgun. Hollowpoint ammunition has much better stopping power than full metal jacket or round-nose lead, and stopping power is what you need when being assaulted.

The point is not to wound or kill the adversary: the point is to stop him in his tracks and make him cease attacking you. "Stopping power" (sometimes called "knock-down power") refers to a particular bullet's ability to incapacitate an attacker - the greater that ability, the less chance that your attacker will be able to continue shooting, stabbing, or beating you after you have shot him.

Handguns are not death-rays; despite what you see in the movies, the vast majority of people shot with handguns survive (over 80%). Handguns are weak compared to rifles and shotguns, and thus you want every edge you can get. Great ammunition is no more expensive than mediocre ammunition, so carry the best. Rifles and shotguns have stopping power to spare; handguns do not. Thus you must select your handgun load very carefully, and the detail of the handgun ammunition section reflects this.

Hollowpoint ammunition is NOT more lethal than ball (full metal jacket) ammunition. You may have seen media hype about "killer dum-dum bullets" but this is nonsense. Hollowpoint bullets usually expand and stop in the human body, and thus the attacker absorbs much more of the bullet's kinetic energy than if the bullet had merely zipped through him and left two small holes. Hollowpoint ammunition is also safer for all parties concerned.

* You are safer because your attacker is more likely to be incapacitated after one or two shots and thus unable to fire back, stab you, or whatever. The decreased likelihood of your attacker dying from hollowpoint bullets saves you the moral and legal complications and expense you will experience from killing a man.
* Innocent bystanders are safer because hollowpoint bullets are less likely to exit the attacker's body and go on to injure anyone else. The ricochet danger is also much lower than that of ball ammunition, and hollowpoint bullets are less likely to penetrate walls or doors and strike uninvolved third parties. Furthermore, if your foe is incapacitated quickly he won't be spraying wild bullets around, endangering uninvolved third parties.
* Lastly, your attacker is safer because he is far less likely to die from one or two hollowpoint bullets than the five or six round-nose slugs you would have had to fire to put him down. Most gunshot deaths occur from shock and loss of blood, and ball rounds tend to make entry and exit wounds, whereas hollowpoints go in and stay put. An attacker shot twice with ball ammo will probably have four holes in him rather than two, and is thus in far greater danger of death from blood loss. If you can avoid killing your attacker you should, for both moral and legal reasons.

There are some exceptions to the "carry only hollowpoints in a handgun" rule. Some older or cheaper automatic pistols, will jam with hollowpoint rounds. With these guns one must use ball rounds (or "full metal jacket" rounds - the terms are synonymous), and I specify "reliable with ball only" models by caliber."

From the same link, his view on .380- NOWHERE does he recommed the FMJ over the hollowpoint. Only listing it if the gun ONLY will feed fmj reliably.

".380 ACP (9mm Short, 9x17mm, 9mm Kurz)

Now we're getting into some decent stopping power. The three or four best .380 JHP rounds have better stopping power than ANY bullet fired out of 2" barrel .38 Special snub-nose. All of the Big Five make good hollowpoints for this caliber. The Remington 88 grain JHP is the most reliably-feeding hollowpoint but slightly less effective than the Hydra-shok or Cor-Bon. Reliability is crucial, and thus you must test the rounds before carrying.

I recommend the following two cartridges above all others:

-Federal 90 gr. Hydra-shok (P380HS1 H) - the best standard-pressure .380 JHP load, period.
-Cor-Bon 90 gr. JHP - the most powerful .380 hollowpoint, bar none.

These are the two best .380 loads, and I recommend them for these guns:
SIG/Sauer P230, Beretta 84/85, Browning BDA, CZ-83, H&K P7K3, Walther PPK and PPK/s. The Russian, East German, Chinese and Bulgarian Makarov pistols are apparently perfectly reliable with the hot Cor-Bon, and the strong all-steel construction of these guns should stand up to an infinite amount of these potent rounds. I have heard that the Colt does also well with the hot Cor-Bon JHP, which you should definitely look into if you own a Colt .380. You have better stopping power than any .38 snub-nose revolver (the long-time favorite concealment sidearm) when you load your .380 with these two rounds.

Other good .380 ACP jacketed hollowpoints:

- Remington 102 gr. Golden Saber BJHP (GS380M) - Another excellent .380 load (the BJHP stands for "Brass Jacketed Hollow Point"), the heaviest one available. I prefer the Cor-Bon and Hydra-shok, but many (including Sanow) like this new Remington round for its deeper penetration. I'll stick with the Cor-Bon and Hydra-shok, but the choice is yours.
- CCI-Speer 90 gr. Gold Dot JHP A good all-around hollowpoint.
- Remington 88 gr. JHP (R380AI): A good high-velocity hollowpoint that feeds well in: Colt Government Model .380, H&K HK4, Taurus PT-58, older PP and PPK, Bersa .380, Beretta 70s, Makarov and Hungarian FEG. These are all good guns that might choke on other hollowpoints but they will probably feed the Remington fine. This hollowpoint was redesigned in 1993 and gives excellent performance while retaining its rounded shape for positive feeding. If your .380 chokes on other JHP loads, try fifty rounds of the Remington 88 gr. through your gun and see if it improves.

.380 ACP hollowpoints to avoid:

-Winchester 85 gr Silvertip (X380ASHP) I really cannot recommend this weak and jam-prone round. It works reliably in a few modern European guns (e.g. SIG 230, Beretta 84F), but every load named above offers better performance. The Silvertip will likely jam in any American-made .380 automatic. Russian .380 Makarovs and PPK series guns may jam with the Silvertip, as well. The .380 Silvertip was once state-of-the-art, but has since been superceded by superior designs. It is also quite expensive. Look elsewhere.
- PMC-Eldorado Starfire 95 gr. JHP This round is similarly weak and jam-prone.
- Federal 90 gr. JHP (380BP) (see below)
- Hornady 90 gr. XTP-HP (9010) Both the Federal 380BP and the Hornady XTP-HP never expand and may jam many guns due to their truncated-cone bullet nose profiles. Pass by these two.

95 gr ball:

Davis P-380, Accu-Tek, EAA .380, Tanarmi, AMT/OMC/TDE "Back-Up," Heritage, FIE, Jennings, Bryco, Lorcin, Llama, or "other." Hollowpoints should never be used in these low-priced guns."

 

Hornady Critical Defence ammo is one of if not the hottest hollow point rounds available for a .380 at 1000 Fps, yet it still does not meet the 12 inch minimum standard of penetration for a self defence round

The FBI prefers 14 inches of penetration with the ammo that they carry, most law enforcements that care go with the 12 inch minimum standard

Although law enforement do not carry a .380 for defence if they did they would carry Fmj`s

FMJ`s make a complete passthrough in a .380, Hollow points do not

Here is a vid for Critical defence ammo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H9M6cZGd18

 

one of the things I dont like about the lc9 is that if the mag is dropped and you still have one in the chamber it wont fire.

 

^^^^^this...

 

Let me start by saying I do not carry or use a .380.

If you use a FMJ round it is likely to pass through the assilant. That means it does not deliver the full muzzle energy it is capably of but carries much of the enregy beyond your target.

If a .380 hollow point only penetrates 12 inches (or even 9!) instead of 14 but does not exit the target it applies 100% of its muzzle energy into the assailant.

In my experience power applied to the target prevails every time.

As for me I'd use hollow points, hollow points or hollow points.

 

this^

The video above about the .380 is pretty good

 

I'm glad someone else gets it.

 

ive got an lcp w/crimson trace, i carry it inside the waistband and i almost forget i have it on. i like how light and thin it is, and it shoots well for such a small handgun. only dislike is the long, heavy trigger pull. but most similar handguns are the same way

 

My bodyguard is the same way. Long trigger! Just remember to use the pad of your index finger and you should be good to go.

 

After all this discussion, and you still ask that question?
With a .380, yes, a passthrough is a must, they dont do enough damage with hollow points

It was fun but it was`nt real fun

Take care

 

did you not see the video posted above with the ballistics gel? are you not afraid of hitting people behind your target?

 

Worst advise ever. You are responsible for every round that you fire out of your weapon. You are also responsible for what the round hits, regardless of what your intent was. A prosecutor would have a field day with your justification if you hit and killed someone beyond your intended target. If you get lucky you would get charged with culpable negligence, if they really stuck it to you murder. You claim to be an expert, and that you have been shooting for 26yrs etc, you should know better. I’ll stick to my advice from accredited professionals, not a keyboard commando without any real life experience. Massad Ayoob, Evan Marshall and Ed Sanow, police officers who have extensively studied the issue of firearms, ammunition and stopping power.

 

LOL is all I can say

 

I gave up awhile back.

 

Yea wtf happened here??

Anyways... Went to a local pawn shop and got one that looks new for $260. They paid $250 for it.
We walked in and dude lists what personal guns he ha and my boyfriend says "I have all those plus a glock 18" he says you have to have a special cert for that. He says yea well I'm a police officer... Then showed a video of him shooting it. All the guys drooled.. Better price on gun offered. Hmmm he is handy!

It's so much easier to carry than my glock 26! I would love to keep the glock but sadly the truck needs tires so glock has to go. Have many people wanting it though!

Holster for the LCP should be here Monday crossbreed knock off.

 

I know you got it already, and like others said the grip extension is a must, though mine is the Ruger floor which doesn't provide the extra round only something for a finger. Without it the weapon is very hard to control, and with it it can still be a challenge. Just put in some range time and get used to it. I have the Elite systems holster and carry it in my back pocket as its the same size/smaller than my wallet. Mine has the CT laserguard, not that you need it but it fits snug so I don't have to worry about it falling out if I chamber 1, but still draws clean. I like the Federal Hydrashock and have never experienced problems with jams/ unclean loads. There were some videos of people with this problem and it was manuf. defect, sent it back to ruger and they filed the barrel you can find them on youtube.

That said if I had to do it again, I would wait and spend it on the S&W bodyguard, feel in hand and control are better for me, and the availability of the safety, along with the slide lock on the final round, but to each his own.

Enjoy shooting