One of the only things that is a problem with some little 380s, is them having a fail to feed some times with hollow points, and with there light weight and short barrel, they have a decent amount of Recoil.
The newer ARX Polycase ammo is a excellent choice to use for Defense with the 380. It has the stopping power of a Hollow Point, but not the tendency for feeding problems, and actually has less recoil than most FMJ rounds. Since it is hard to get adequate penetration with the little 380, some people use FMJ with them, which can create other problems. These Polycase rounds solve both.
There are better rounds for other calibers like 9mm, but these make a Great Defensive Round for the little 380.
For Traditional type Ammo, the Federal 380 Personal Defense 99 Grain HST has the best Penetration and Expansion combination of Hollow Points. What ever you choose, make sure it feeds reliably in your weapon.
380 Hollow Point Test
There are 6 and 7 round magazines for both the LCP and the LCP2s. They will interchange, but only the ones for the LCP 2 will work with the bolt hold open
feature on the LCP2 pistol.
I would pick up a couple boxes of FMJ and quality Defense Ammo, and shot at least 50 rounds of FMJ in it to break it in, and make sure it functions properly, then a couple mags of your Defense Ammo to be familiar with it, since some may have different ballistics and recoil. Do Not use FMJ as your carry ammo.
The sights are not adjustable or replaceable, but are adequate
for a close in defense gun. One thing that you can do to improve
it, would be to put some florescent orange or green paint on
them to make sighting easier, especially in low light conditions.
How to Field Strip the LCP 2
On the left is a 9mm Luger cartridge (Hornady Critical Defense if my eye serves). On the right, a .380 ACP (the scored hollowpoint design could be a lot of rounds, my guess is an older Hornady TAP). Notice the cartridge length; the .380 is significantly shorter. This allows .380 firearms to have smaller grips, making those firearms easier to conceal. The smaller powder charge of the shorter cartridge also burns that much faster, so you don�t get as much advantage from a longer barrel.
Talking about lesser powder charge, let�s compare muzzle energies. The 9mm, out of a 4? barrel, ranges in energy between about 280 and 460 ft-lb. The .380 ranges between 160 and 300 ft-lb through the same barrel length. Now, that in itself might be cause for serious concern among self-defense advocates, but hear me out. What was, until the mid-80s, the standard police-issue caliber? If you said .38 Special, you�ve watched too many old-timey police shows, but you�re also right. Now, the police standard issue was a 6? barrel, which produced energies between about 250 and 375 ft-lb. Less, even significantly less, than 9mm out of a shorter barrel (which, along with the ammunition capacity of the average �wonder-nine�, is a big reason you don�t see too many anymore), but generally comparable. However, out of the �snubbie� 3? barrel? 180�240. .380 ACP out of a 3? barrel ranges between 150 and 240. So, the .380, in the firearms typically chambered for the round, is comparable in energy to the self-defense class .38 Specials, while the firearms are smaller, slimmer and safer to use (revolvers have that cylinder gap, which even for low-energy cartridges is a place you don�t want to have your fingers while trying to aim and fire this small-frame gun in just a second or two).
And, less muzzle energy means less recoil. You can buy 9mm Luger firearms in much the same frame sizes as .380s. They are not firearms you want to spend much range time with, and that�s a problem, because being unfamiliar with a weapon you are trusting your life to will get you killed. Most 9mm advocates recommend something at least a little larger, in the poorly-named �micro-compact� range which is actually larger than the �sub-compacts� most .380s fall into. I prefer �single-stack compact�, which more accurately describes the difference between these 9s/.40s and their fatter �double-stack compact� brethren typically produced by shortening the barrel and grip of a �full-frame� handgun. But I digress. Single-stacks, by virtue of being slimmer, conceal better than double-stack compacts, but they are still larger than most .380s. A .380 will very easily fit in the average pants pocket, hence �pocket pistol�, while single-stack 9s like the M&P Shield, LC9/LC9S, Glock 43 etc are just a little bit too big for that, and need an IWB holster instead.
Anyway, the lesser recoil of the .380 allows the firearm to be smaller and easier to carry around, without making it painful to shoot on the firing line, thus encouraging practice and therefore competency with your defensive weapon, and this is a critical component of actually being able to effectively use it when needed.
All of this means that the .380 is well-suited to small, concealable firearms, and also to small-framed, lightweight shooters. If you can control, and hide, a small nine, go for it. If you can�t keep the more powerful 9 MM on the paper at the range, in a size that disappears under your clothes or a reserved space in your purse (if you must), .380 is a viable option for self-defense, which is virtually all self-defense encounters outside one�s home. Nothing is ideal in any situation where you would have need of a firearm in a public space, and having any reliable firearm in such a situation is better than not.
Selecting quality Defense Ammo, and making sure it feeds reliably is critical with all carry guns, but even more so with these small 380s.
