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P238 ammo choices

30K views 52 replies 41 participants last post by  Rich M 
#1 ·
I just purchased myself a brand new P238 and was wondering what ammo choices everyone likes in them the best. Both for practice ammo and defensive ammo. I was wondering how well normal hollowpoint ammo feeds in these little 1911's? I'll post up pics as soon as i pick it up tomorrow.

Brian.
 
#36 ·
Wal-Mart's WWB Is fine and works pretty well ,,, If you can look past the extra mess they leave behind, They just seem to be some really dirty rounds to shoot. But they always go bang and they are pretty affordable to use for range time.


Hydra-Shocks and Federal Premium JHP's are what we've used for Personal protection and they seem to work pretty well also.
 
#37 ·
I use the Buffalo Bore 100gr. hard cast! As stated before they will go threw about anything!!! Massad Ayoob states in his book, In The Gravest Extreme that the ".380 is equivalent in stopping power to the .38 Special round-nose bullet fired from a short barreled revolver. Either gun will improve dramatically when high-speed, expanding bullets are used. With that said the .38 Special gains superiority." Now that was said and printed in 1980 and since then bullets have made leaps and bounds. Many say that the .380 would be marginal, but I believe it is running neck and neck with a standard .38 round. When carrying my P238, .380, I feel the 100gr. HC round to be just perfect for getting threw and in deep enough for the terminal effects needed.
 
#38 ·
For range ammo I prefer good old Federal Am. Eagle but have also used WWB. No malfunctions with either. At the moment I am carrying Hornady XTP hollow points - I was looking for Critical Defense but could only find the XTP locally.

I also just got a couple boxes of Federal Hydra-Shok for carry use once I am able to test them out and ensure they feed reliably in my P238. Not to go off on a tangent, but does anyone know what the difference is (if any) between the Hydra-Shok marketed to civilians (the ones that come in boxes of 20) and the "law enforcement" rounds that ship in boxes of 50?
 
#39 · (Edited)
I purchased a Sig P238 HD about six weeks ago. I also purchased an extra mag for it. The mag that came with the pistol was the new type 3 (glossy finish). The mag I purchased had a dull finish. I checked the dull mag out and I had a FTF about every third round. Sig has been having a tough time with their mags for this pistol. The new type 3 mags seem to have solved the problem. I originally got this Sig for my wife, but after shooting it and checking it out, my wife may have to get her own. As for range ammo, I use Georgia Arms - I have not had any malfunctions of any kind with this ammo and the type 3 mag. For carry purposes, I am using Wilson Combat ammo. I've also shot Hornady's Critical Defense, Winchester JHP Bonded, and Silvertip HP. I haven't had any issues with any of this ammo. I found this pistol has a soft recoil, and is very accurate. I may have to relent and get my wife one - she likes it also. I put some different grips on my Sig - here is a picture - http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l614/b52_driver/Sig P238/DSC_9934.jpg
 
#40 ·
In my p238 I have shoot all sorts of ball ammo: Fed American Egale, Sellier & Bellot, WWB, MagTech, Fiocchi, PMC... all flawlessly.

As far as defensive ammo goes, I tried whatever I had used in my LCP. Can't remember what it was but was the typical conned JHP shape. I noticed that it would catch the feed ramp slightly when racking the slide on first round. I had 1 or 2 FTF issues within 20 so I tried Pow'RBall defensive. If you compare the typical coned HP ammo with ball ammo, the HP are typically slightly longer because of the cone shape. The Pow'RBall is more the size/shape/length of range or ball ammo and Pow'RBall worked flawlessly. Now, my experience with the typical HP issues was during break in. Now way past break in I would like to try something with some more weight, Pow'RBall are only 70gr. Going to give Hornady Critical Defense 90gr a try soon. Any other similar experiences like mine? Any thoughts on defensive rounds regarding the extra length of typical coned (not rounded) JHPs?
 
#42 ·
From what I've researched and watched on youtube, for the .380 hydroshock did not perform well, and neither did the rimington golden sabers.

The golden sabers are perfect .45, nearly perfect 9mm, but with .380 and its low velocity the denim gets stuck into the hole of the hp, clogging it up, thus causing it to act like a fmj with no separation whatsoever.

For HP, I would go with gold dot, or critical defense. People have suggested full metal jackets in winter for better penatration in heavy clothing, but I have yet to look into that.
 
#43 · (Edited)
Love my P238. Not sure why the ammo is more $$$ than the 9mm though. There is a 380 discussion in the ammo can on best ammo. Delta Kilo has given some advice on 380 ammo. I respect his opinions. With that said:

LuckyGunner had a sale on the XTP load. I bought 10 boxes of 25 and have fired 4 boxes down range with excellent accuracy and zero failures. I think it's a happy medium between expansion & penetration. I also found a sale on Fiocchi ammo. Bought 10 boxes of 50 at 95 gr fmj and fired 6 boxes down range with 3 rnds. fte. Surprisingly the XTP cycles better so far. Interestingly, because the practice ammo is hotter than the SD ammo, i have faster follow-ups. :D

Ooops, I just saw this was a resurrected thread. Oh well, good info anyway.;)
 
#46 ·
Take a look at the last ammo report in the Am Rifleman (someone had a link to it this week). The Rem 102 gr golden sabers were right in there with most 9mm +p and .38 +p ammo as far as penetration and expansion. I am running Hornady TAP in my 238 and mostly WWB at the range. It's been perfect. It's a sweet little gun.
 
#52 ·
Well with FMJ, I have had no ftf/fte with 800 rds down the pipe in my Sig P-238 . What I have read is if you use JHPs and are trying to go thru tough coats like leather or several layers of clothes you will be disappointed with JHP. But the FMJ will travel much deeper because of very little if any expansion. You also have to watch the ft. of energy as I think the Sig is around 200 ft/energy over this will void your warrenty on your new gun. It tells you in your manual.
 
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