Buffalo Bore 380 Auto 95gr FMJ-FN – Excellent Standard Pressure Penetrator

Description

The Buffalo Bore 380 Auto 95gr FMJ-FN is the standard pressure member of Buffalo Bore’s jacketed flat nose 380 family. 95 grains at 975 fps produces roughly 200 ft-lbs, and Buffalo Bore still rates it for about 20 inches of straight line penetration. No +P, so there is no question about what your pistol can take. Twenty rounds per box, item 27F/20.

• Buffalo Bore 380 Auto 95gr FMJ-FN Overview
• Standard Pressure 380 FMJ Ammo Ballistics
• Why The 95 Grain Flat Nose Jacketed Bullet Drives Straight
• Specifications
• Where This Non Expanding 380 Auto Load Belongs

Buffalo Bore 380 Auto 95gr FMJ-FN Overview

The bullet is a full metal jacket with a flat nose. The jacket encloses the core completely and there is no cavity, so nothing expands and nothing separates. What leaves the barrel arrives at the far end essentially unchanged.

The flat meplat is what makes that depth useful. Ordinary round nose ball tends to slide tissue aside and can deflect off bone, wasting the penetration its construction ought to deliver. A flat face stays point forward and cuts a full calibre channel the whole way.

Choosing the Buffalo Bore 380 Auto 95gr FMJ-FN over the hard cast version in the same catalogue is mostly about cleanliness and feeding. A jacketed bullet leaves no lead in the bore, and its profile is nearer the ball ammunition your pistol was proofed with, which in a fussy pocket gun can matter.

Standard Pressure 380 FMJ Ammo Ballistics

Buffalo Bore chronographed it in the guns people actually carry. A 3.75 inch Browning BDA gives 996 fps, a 3.5 inch Walther PPK gives 970, a 2.75 inch Colt Mustang Pocket Lite gives 888, and a 2.75 inch Kel-Tec gives 863 fps.

Those are roughly 209, 199, 166 and 157 ft-lbs. Against the +P version of the same bullet, which nominally runs 1150 fps, you are giving up somewhere around 60 to 70 foot pounds depending on the pistol.

The penetration figure barely moves though, and that is the whole point. A non expanding bullet’s depth depends far more on weight, shape and sectional density than on velocity, so standard pressure 380 FMJ ammo of this design is still rated at about 20 inches.

Why The 95 Grain Flat Nose Jacketed Bullet Drives Straight

The argument about the 380 is really an argument about expansion. Will a hollow point open at the velocity a two inch barrel actually delivers, and if it does, will it still reach anything vital. A bullet that does not expand simply steps around both halves of the question.

A 95 grain flat nose jacketed bullet keeps its full weight and full frontal area from start to finish. There is no cavity to plug with clothing, no jacket to part company with a core, and no threshold velocity to fall below. The failure modes people worry about in this calibre are not available to it.

The flat nose is what separates it from ordinary ball. Round nose ammunition penetrates well enough on paper and then disappoints in practice because it tumbles or glances. A flat face crushes and cuts, leaving a full calibre wound with clean edges.

And at standard pressure it is easy on both you and the pistol. Deep penetrating pocket pistol ammunition does not have to be punishing, and a load you will practise with is worth more than a hotter one you flinch through.

Specifications

Where This Non Expanding 380 Auto Load Belongs

Think about what is behind your target. Twenty inches of penetration means a 95 grain flat nose jacketed bullet goes through a person and keeps travelling, and then through interior walls. In a home with other people in it, a hollow point is the more responsible choice.

Where it belongs is outdoors, in heavy clothing weather, or in any pistol you would rather not feed +P. That second case is the reason this standard pressure version exists at all.

Confirm feeding with a box. Flat nose profiles are close to ball but not identical, and small 380 pistols are individually particular. A non expanding 380 Auto load is no use whatever if it stops on the feed ramp.

It is a sensible load to practise with. Standard pressure 380 FMJ ammo in a small pistol is perfectly manageable, so you can shoot a full box in a session and actually learn the gun rather than enduring it.

Deep Penetrating Pocket Pistol Ammunition Availability

This deep penetrating pocket pistol 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 the +P version instead, call us and we will check what our distributors have on hand.

Manufacturer details are on the Buffalo Bore site. If your pistol is rated for it, the 380 ACP +P 95gr FMJ-FN gives about 175 fps more. For a cast bullet at the same pressure, see the 380 Auto 100gr hard cast, or browse our full ammunition selection.