[ragu1macrider]

Has anybody tried the Federal Personal Defense "Low Recoil" (#PD380HS1 H) in their LCPs?
If yes, what are your feelings on this round?
I've been using them in my Sig P232 and they are flawless, and seem to have much less recoil.
An inquiring mind needs to know.

 

[vtwin]

I am using the same round, I often have trouble getting them into battery when loading. I think the tip gets caught on the feed ramp. Anyone else have this problem? I don't want to give up any performance for reduced recoil either.

I am thinking of switching to Golden Sabre or the new Hornady Critical Defense but would like to know more about this Federal Low Recoil stuff before I turn it into target ammo along with the Magtech 77 GR SCHP that was too tall to eject without jamming when unloading.

 

[MEJETSKI2000]

I have some that I've had for years but haven't tried thru Elsie yet. I remember reading about some gelatin testing where the bullet failed to expand sometimes after going thru (heavier clothing) clothing. Just read a rather scathing chapter Mas Ayoob wrote in a book about the .380 ACP (back in 2002, mind you) where he states "Some .380 JHP expand sometimes, but none do all the time". Since the HS PD load dates from that era I suspect his comments also apply to it as well. I wonder if he's tried the new Cor-Bon or Buffalo Bore ammo yet...The HS .45acp load is still a top-rated load in that caliber but perhaps the lack of weight (or velocity) compromises the effectiveness in the .380....perhaps. Both Cor-Bon Powerball and Hornady's new bullet are designed using a "mechanical device" to induce expansion, just like the HS does with the post.

I had a similar feeding issue with my LCP and I really think a feed ramp polish needs to be done on them, especially with the less-than-straight inline feed design they used, such as a Glock or Sig has. Just my .02...

 

[Hawaiian Human]

I shot my LCP for the first time today and had no problem with the American Eagle target rounds. It fed the whole box of 50 without a problem, and the round was easy to rack into the chamber.

After that, I tried a couple of the Federal Hydra-Shok rounds and noticed that the rounds were more difficult to chamber. Even though I only test-fired 7 of them (very expensive), they all fired without failure, but it was quite obvious that the hollow points were more difficult to feed since the nose of the bullet is flatter. This makes me question the usefulness of the Hydra-Shok as a defense round.

I'm glad that you posted this on the forum because it's nice to know that others share the same experience. My small test sample isn't large enough to come up with a strong conclusion. This ammo is so darn expensive that it's not economically feasible for me to do extensive testing (if you know what I mean).

Without even shooting it, I manually rack the rounds into the chamber and I notice that quite often the bullet doesn't feed into the chamber and gets stuck on the bottom of the feed ramp, keeping the slide open. I am guessing it is because of the flat hollow point bullet.

Anyone else experience this? Do you think this would cause jamming during firing?

This is my first post to this forum. I think this is a great forum and I'm glad I bought this great little gun. It's a great addition!

 

[MEJETSKI2000]

I really think that polishing the feed ramp is a very worthwhile modification on these guns if any kind of feeding issue is encountered. Every hollowpoint I cycled thru my gun would fetch up just below the bottom of the chamber and even WWB had several FTF's at the range. Cor-Bon jammed every other round. Even the Golden Saber hung up, which is surprising since it's much more rounded than other JHP. Try polishing the ramp (I did my guide rod also) and see how it works out.

 

[vtwin]

Has anybody tried the Federal Personal Defense "Low Recoil" (#PD380HS1 H) in their LCPs?
If yes, what are your feelings on this round?
I've been using them in my Sig P232 and they are flawless, and seem to have much less recoil.
An inquiring mind needs to know.

I just replaced the Federal ammunition with the new Hornady Critical Defense round.

It just seems sensible to go with the latest technology utilizing ammunition that appears to be more oriented around this particular gun and its intended application, bad social situations.

Has anyone had battery issues with these getting caught on the feed ramp?
The Hornady design does not seem to lend itself to getting hung up on the ramp.

 

[MurrayNevada]

The Hornady Critical Defense has been problem free in my LCP. I polished the feed ramp and chamber (as I do with all pistols) prior to my first range trip with the new LCP.

 

[fangus]

the tips of the critical defence rounds seem to be narrower than some of the other rounds

 

[V4V2]

I have put a box of Hydra-Shok SD through my 371 and 5 other types of ammo and have not had a problem with any of them (200 total so far). The white box Winchester stuff I got at Wally World ($31 for 100) runs great and it has a flat nose similar to a hollow point.

When folks rack the first round you need to be aggressive or it may hang up a little but if you make a quick decisive movement to the rear and release the slide quickly she will slam home every time.

Just like my HK's and Sigs, all the young guys love to use the slide release after loading a new magazine, yes it's fun and is cool but in reality in a critical situation you need to be in the habit of pulling the slide back the extra 1/8-3/16" to get full compression on the spring to guarantee maximum force to drive the 1st round home.

Another nasty little round is the RBCD Performance Plus 45 grain Total Fragmenting Soft Point, very
wicked.

Vernon

 

[MurrayNevada]

the tips of the critical defence rounds seem to be narrower than some of the other rounds

Wouldn't the polymer tip assist feeding?

 

[argyle]

the tips of the critical defence rounds seem to be narrower than some of the other rounds

Wouldn't the polymer tip assist feeding?

Doubt it. Unlike the Pow'R'Ball which is pretty solid, the filler in the CD is softer and stickier. If any of it touches the ramp its not going to slide as easily as hard ball ammo.

The Hornady LeveRevolution has a hard, pointed, polymer tip, but I don't think they make it in .380 - it is more for CAS with lever action .357s, .44s and .45s.

 

[pps_dad]

the tips of the critical defence rounds seem to be narrower than some of the other rounds

Wouldn't the polymer tip assist feeding?

Doubt it. Unlike the Pow'R'Ball which is pretty solid, the filler in the CD is softer and stickier. If any of it touches the ramp its not going to slide as easily as hard ball ammo.

The Hornady LeveRevolution has a hard, pointed, polymer tip, but I don't think they make it in .380 - it is more for CAS with lever action .357s, .44s and .45s.

I would say the filler in CD almost feels like a pencil eraser.

 

[MEJETSKI2000]

Another option for these (sometimes) finicky guns is an older but well-documented load is the Remington 88gr JHP. The ball-shaped ogive is about as close as one can get to a true FMJ nose shape. It may not expand as dramatically as Gold Dot or other more modern designs but it will often function when other shapes won't. Even as low 900 fps velocities it will penetrate to 10+" in gelatin, something that other loads don't always do. At $30-$35 per 50 rounds it's no more expensive than buying 20 round boxes of "Premium" loads. I loaded some of these bullet's for a buddy's P3AT which wouldn't feed other JHP and his gun can actually fire more than a mag w/o a stoppage.

 

[nickj]

Pretty much anything Hydra Shock is a great round. I load them in my LCP and love 'em!!! But it really all depends on what you like. Try several types of defense rounds before you settle.

 

[dal205]

Another option for these (sometimes) finicky guns is an older but well-documented load is the Remington 88gr JHP. The ball-shaped ogive is about as close as one can get to a true FMJ nose shape. It may not expand as dramatically as Gold Dot or other more modern designs but it will often function when other shapes won't. Even as low 900 fps velocities it will penetrate to 10+" in gelatin, something that other loads don't always do. At $30-$35 per 50 rounds it's no more expensive than buying 20 round boxes of "Premium" loads. I loaded some of these bullet's for a buddy's P3AT which wouldn't feed other JHP and his gun can actually fire more than a mag w/o a stoppage.

I had trouble with a couple of the Remington 88gr JHP feeding fully into battery. They would jam about 75% in. But, they were the first rounds I used in my breakin period. After 200 rounds and the recall, the Remington rounds that jammed worked just fine.

I have shot a box and a half of Hydra-shok though my LCP. It's what I carry for SD. I have noticed that I have to pull the slide back 100% when feeding a round or the round will jam at the feed ramp. I have polished the ramp. I have never seen a jam with Hydrashoks when actually firing the gun, though.

But, I've seen 100rd boxes of the Remington 88gr JHP at Walmart for $25. That's why I had them in the first place. If they'll feed reliably in the LCP, it'd be a less expensive SD solution than the Federals.

 

[Finaddict]

The only rounds I carry in my LCP are the Federal Hydra Shoks 90gr. JHP "Low Recoil". Never a JAM, FTF, FTE. LCP just eats them up. Tried Speer Gold Dots, same gr. & JHP. More recoil and groups not as tight as the Federals and have had no problems with them. Been carrying Hydra Shoks 9mm for 15+ years in my S&W 3919 for both business and pleasure, NEVER HAD ONE PROBLEM. FINADDICT

 

[Snubbie K]

In most of the self defense calibers, the Hydra-Shok ammo is considered to be "old tech". Funny how things have changed in the ammo world in the last few years. There was a time when they were considered God's gift to self defense.

Between the problems with plugging in denim tests and failure to expand because of the denim - and feeding problems in guns that are a little rough and haven't been polished a lot (and some that have been) - the concensous seems to be that there are now much better rounds to choose from.

I don't know why they would still be considered state of the art in .380 carry when they have fallen out of favor elsewhere according to most experts in the matter. The LCP/3AT's of the world should have more problems still compared to the full house 9mm's for carry purposes.

Unless you have a slug of the stuff on hand in .380 and don't want to give it up ???, why would you take a chance with it when your life is at stake?

It's not like you have to buy and practice with thousands of rounds of expensive carry ammo. Get a few boxes of something better for carry purposes IMO.

 

[Footin Shool]

My LCP is fairly new. I bought it at a gun show Jan 31, and I picked up a box of Hydra-Shok simply because it was the only JHP available at the gun show.

After breaking the gun in with 200 rounds of WWB, I fired 30 of the Hydra-Shoks just to see if they would feed OK. They all did, but I don't plan to use the rest for carry.

I've got two boxes of Buffalo Bore Gold Dots on the way. If this pistol will digest them OK that's what I plan to carry. If the gun doesn't like the BB, I'm going to try the 90gr Hornady FTX Critical Defense rounds.