icono,
In really small pistols like the KelTec, Davis and Cobra Arms the .380 displays poor penetration and even poorer expansion results regardless of what ammo is used. In these really short barrel pistols the common consensus is that FMJ ammo is the way to go, yes I am one of those who feels this way because I too own a super small .380. The reason people choose FMJ's for the short barrel pistols is this round tends to get a little more penetration than JHP type ammo. For JHP ammo to reliably expand the velocities needs to be as close to 1000fps as possible, and you will never see this from any of the "danty" .380 pistols.
When you move up to the Walther PPK, Bersa Thunder, Makarov/FEG clones and HiPoint CF380's you have a good bit more barrel length to work with. This extra barrel length, generally 3.25"-3.5" gives the .380 round a little boost in velocity and this translates to more penetration and expansion for JHP's.
My wife carries a Bersa Thunder 380, and we have settled on several brands of JHP's for her to carry. The following brands have shown 100% feed and function reliability in the wife's pistol and this is a must if it is to be considered defensive ammo. She will carry any of the three brands so the order I list them is not the "best to worst".
Cor-Bon 90gr JHP
Hornady 90gr XTP/JHP
Speer 90gr Gold Dot HP
Winchester 95gr SXT load is one I want to try, because it uses a 95gr JHP that's designed to open up really nice at .380 velocities. Cant seem to find this load on dealers shelves because its always sold out as soon as they get a new shipment in.
During winter months when people tend to have on heavier clothing and jackets I seriously think FMJ's as the first few rounds out the tube followed by JHP's is the way to go. This has been a common practice of mine for years and I will continue doing so during the winter.
Another thing to do with a .380 is keep shooting till one of two things happen... Your target breaks off the attack, falls, turns and runs etc etc or your gun runs out of ammo.
rimfirehunter