Buffalo Bore 380 ACP +P 100gr Hard Cast – Remarkable Deep Driving Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 380 ACP +P 100gr Hard Cast answers the 380’s other problem. Everyone worries about whether a 380 hollow point will expand; far fewer ask whether it will penetrate deeply enough if it does. This load sidesteps the question entirely with a non expanding hard cast flat nose at 1150 fps, roughly 294 ft-lbs, and over 20 inches of straight line penetration. Twenty rounds per box, item 27A/20.

• Buffalo Bore 380 ACP +P 100gr Hard Cast Overview
• 380 Auto Hard Cast Ammo Ballistics
• Why The 100 Grain Flat Nose Bullet Penetrates So Far
• Specifications
• Where This Deep Penetrating 380 Pocket Load Belongs

Buffalo Bore 380 ACP +P 100gr Hard Cast Overview

The bullet is cast from a hard lead alloy with a flat nose, not jacketed and not hollow. It is not designed to deform on impact, so what leaves the muzzle arrives at the far end at full weight and full diameter.

The flat meplat is doing the important work. A round nose bullet of the same weight tends to push tissue aside and can tumble or deflect off bone, which wastes the penetration the design should deliver. A flat nose keeps its point forward and cuts a clean full calibre hole the whole way.

Buffalo Bore loads the Buffalo Bore 380 ACP +P 100gr Hard Cast to +P and uses a flash suppressed powder. That matters in a pocket gun more than in most, because the 380 is the pistol people actually have on them after dark, and a fireball from a three inch barrel takes your night vision with it.

380 Auto Hard Cast Ammo Ballistics

The published real gun numbers cover the guns people actually own. A 3.75 inch Browning BDA gives 1160 fps, a 3.5 inch Walther PPK gives 1149, a 2.75 inch Colt Mustang Pocket Lite gives 1072, and a Kel-Tec gives 1061 fps.

Those work out to roughly 299, 293, 255 and 250 ft-lbs. Even the smallest pocket guns are still over a thousand feet per second, which matters here less for expansion, since this bullet does not expand, and more for keeping the penetration figure intact.

That penetration figure is the headline. Buffalo Bore reports over 20 inches of straight line penetration in flesh and bone, which is far beyond what any expanding 380 load will manage and beyond what most service calibre hollow points achieve. From a cartridge usually described as marginal, this 380 Auto hard cast ammo is doing something genuinely unusual.

Why The 100 Grain Flat Nose Bullet Penetrates So Far

The standard criticism of the 380 is that it lacks the velocity to open a hollow point reliably, and that when it does open it then lacks the depth to reach anything vital. Both halves of that criticism are about expansion. Remove expansion from the equation and both halves go away.

A hard cast bullet is the oldest answer to that problem and still the most reliable one. A 380 Auto hard cast ammo load keeps every grain of its weight and its full frontal area, and it keeps going. There is nothing to fail, no cavity to plug with clothing, and no jacket to separate.

The flat nose is what makes the penetration useful rather than merely deep. A 100 grain flat nose bullet crushes and cuts as it passes, leaving a full calibre wound channel with sharp edges, where a round nose of the same weight would slip through and leave far less behind it.

The result is a deep penetrating 380 pocket load that behaves more like a small woods cartridge than a typical carry round. Against a large attacker in heavy winter clothing, or at an angle where the bullet has to travel a long way, that is a real advantage.

Specifications

Where This Deep Penetrating 380 Pocket Load Belongs

Think hard about where you will use it. Twenty inches of penetration means a 100 grain flat nose bullet will pass through a person and keep going, and then through whatever is behind them. In an apartment or a house with other people in it, an expanding load is the more responsible choice and there is no real argument about that.

Where a deep penetrating 380 pocket load makes sense is outdoors, in heavy clothing weather, or for anyone who has concluded that unreliable expansion is the greater risk. Those are legitimate positions and this load serves them well.

There is no SAAMI specification for 380 Auto +P, so treat the designation as meaning above standard pressure. Use it in a sound modern 380 in good working order, and if your gun is an older or well worn blowback, ask a gunsmith before you make it a steady diet.

Expect noticeably more recoil than practice ammunition and confirm feeding with a box. Flat nose bullets feed differently from round nose ball, and small 380 pistols are individually fussy about profile. Flash suppressed 380 ACP ammunition is not cheap, but one box through your own gun is the only proof that counts.

Flash Suppressed 380 ACP Ammunition Availability

This flash suppressed 380 ACP ammunition is in stock and ready to ship from MAG5 Firearms, a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Ammunition orders ship to most states, and local customers are welcome to pick up in the shop. If you need case quantities or a standard pressure version of this load, call us and we will check what our distributors have on hand.

Manufacturer details are on the Buffalo Bore site. For an expanding bullet in the same calibre see the 380 ACP +P 80gr Barnes TAC-XP. For the same idea in 9mm, compare the 9mm +P+ 124gr Penetrator, or browse our full ammunition selection.