Best SD ammo for old .380/9mmK pistol ?

[Nyt Ryda]

Hi guys,

My grandfather is giving me an old FN Model 1910 pistol in .380 ACP as my third handgun.
Once it's licensed it will be used mainly for some sport shooting, but if my main gun is in for ballistics and I need to arm someone else in a home defense situation, then I can use this to arm someone else so there's two guns in the fight and not one.

So that got me thinking, what's your thoughts on the best SD ammo for this old .380 ACP/9mmK/9mm Short pistol (3.464 inch barrel) ?

I've seen that the Hornady XTP and Critical Defense look to be good performers that balance expansion and penetration. Or just stick with FMJ and hope it doesn't over penetrate ?

Thanks

[BigT]

That gun is not going to be reliable like you're used to.

Feed it ball for best results.

[treeman]

What I have learnt.
The caliber is a poor choice, if there is any better available.
My own testing with various ammo has confirmed what was said here on GS - poor penetration and unreliable expansion if any. ( works well in perfect test conditions some times)
Factory ammo is more reliable than reloads ?, but they my unreliable expanding bullets and ball ammo which is a poor self defense bullet in a poor self defense caliber.
I reload Impala bullets as hot as possible for my wife's .380 which for reasons I am not going into is about all she can handle.
Look up my old questions on GS for the many answers. I posed and argued your same question a while back.

[Andre in Alberton]

You should limit use to a range gun. If u want to use an older firearm for possible SD, get a revolver in .38spl/.357mag.