Range Report - Remington Golden Sabre 380 Ammo

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I recently purchased two boxes of Remington Golden Saber 102 grain 'Brass Jacketed Hollow Point ' ammo. The store price was $30 per box of 25, I got them for a little less than that. Pricey. They have the typical Golden Saber bullet construction with angled cuts in the jacket material at the hollow point to aid expansion. The cases are nickel plated, and each curiously had a smudge of what appeared to be hardened case lube from the manufacturing process near the case mouth. They are noticably longer than Hornady Critical Defense 90 grain JHP ammo which have an angular profile.

 

It is a bit irresponsible, IMHO, to carry a defensive handgun with untested ammo, so off to the range we went. It was a brief, simple test, that stuff is awfully expensive. The test pistol was my personal Ruger LCP 380 which has @300 rounds through it. I rotated three 6 shot magazines. I fired one magazine of 6 rounds from 10 yards to test group size and reliability. There were no malfunctions, and the group size was about the size of a golf ball. Next, I fired six rounds rapid fire for reliability and to check recoil / muzzle rise. Again, no malfunctions, and recoil was on par with factory 100 grain FMJ practice ammo and the Hornady 90s. Third, for a lark, I shot the next 6 at 50 yards on a 10"×12" steel target. Four out of the six were on target....ok for a pocket pistol and minimal sights with my old eyes from 50 yards.

 

I have had no feedback from former coworkers or students who have used this ammo in defensive situations, so I cannot vouch for its ability to stop an assailant. The Golden Sabers have a good reputation in other calibers overall, so they merit careful consideration as a carry round.

 

YMMV.

[KingWalleye]

You may want to check out the ballistic gel tests done on youtube. The .380 Golden Sabers didn't expand at all and over penetrated dangerously.

The heavier bullet means less fps = poor performance.

 

Just my .2 cents. Stick with Speer Gold Dots or the Hornady Critical Defense load. They expand well and get adequate penetration.

[C0untZer0]

I don't think any of the 380 ACP hollow points have adequate penetration, especially against heavy clothing.

 

There are different test results for the GS, here is at least one where the GS fails to expand on the other hand it does penetrate...

 

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Ahhhh, just the 'careful consideration' I was hoping for. Although I'm not a big fan of gel tests, not expanding AT ALL is troubling. A fair amount of penetration is a must, but it can cut both ways (no pun intended). I hope they take note of Hornady and a few others, tweak the bullet construction to match the lower muzzle velocity from pocket pistols, and get the expansion needed. 380s are awfully popular not have some REALLY good carry options. Thanks for the input fellas. Anyone else, feel free to jump in and add to the discussion.