DoubleTap v.s. Ranger v.s SXT v.s etc. 380acp

[oldgranpa]

Today, August 10, 2007 at 7 a.m. before it got really hot, the long awaited test of Double Tap .380acp ammo was done using a Bersa 380 CC pistol. As shown in the first photo, 7 different brands of .380 ammo were compared. It is hard to see on the photo, unless you enlarge it, there is a difference in the bullet used in the Winchester Ranger compared to the Winchester SXT. The Ranger is more of a conical bullet with a smaller cavity and not as serrated around the lip. The larger cavity and deeply serrated end of the SXT caused several FTF's with the Bersa pistol. Both the Double Tap and Speer ammo use the same GoldDot bullet, however, the DT expanded differently in the wetpack.
This wetpack had soaked 40 hours with the papers loose in the tub before placing in the box for shooting. The DPX and one Ranger went just over 7" into the pack. (A picture will be in the next post due to room here.)   All other bullets were 8" or more into the pack. And a Rem UMC FMJ bullet went the full 12" into the pack stopping at 1/2" wood backing. A FMJ should go 10" or more into a wetpack or the pack is not wet enough.
The second picture here shows the wetpack results, with expansions and penetrations summarized as follows...........

Rem GoldenSaber 102gr JHP went 8" and 8+" with .644" and .617" expansion.
Speer GoldDot 90gr JHP both went 8+" with .526" and .541" expansion.
Winchester SXT 95gr JHP both went 8+" with .605" and .550" expansion. Bullet petals open normally with no talons.
CorBon DPX 80gr copper JHP went 7" with .656" expansion.
Winchester Ranger (LEO ammo) 95gr JHP went 7" one and 8" other with .654" and .648" expansion. Sharp talons on petals.
Double Tap 90gr (GD bullet) JHP both went 8+" with .533" and .543" expansion. Nice star shaped bullet some petals torn off.
Rem UMC 95gr FMJ went the full 12" with no expansion, as it should in a good wetpack.

Then with the Chrony, here are the velocity readings. Do your own average if you want to but as far as I'm concerned, factory ammo is not very uniform.....at least you can see the range.......

Rem GS.......886.2....843.2.....933.0 fps
SpeerGD......910.8....953.4.....919.1......956.6 fps
Win SXT.......856.5....956.7.....823.5......856.9 fps
CB DPX........1030.....1047  fps
Win Rang......906.8....937.0....904.7......916.7 fps
DoubTap........1042....1017.....1067.......1022  fps
Rem UMC.....878.4....935.5....1010.......887.2 fps

The final picture with a little accuracy test is in the next post, along with a pic of the wetpack, along with some comments.

og

[oldgranpa]

Accuracy was good enough with both the DoubleTap and Ranger 380 as shown in the picture. Recoil was a bit more noticeable with DoubleTap compared to Remington GoldenSabr, but the recoil was not excessive, IMO.
As noted earlier, the only malfunction was with the Winchester SXT which has a "fat" bullet with a heavily searrated edge around the top of the cavity. The Ranger rounds fed fine although the ballistics results with Ranger were no better, really than the SXT. Don't know what to make of that.

The DoubleTap appears to be a good round. I had no problems with it at all like some have reported. So I suspect the "light strikes" reported elsewhere were really a problem with the pistol having a dirty firing pin or something. But I only fired 10 rounds in all so maybe I'll wait until the next range trip before passing final judgement. I hope others will order some and try it and post your opinions. It looks like good ammo to me. And I note that Midway will soon have it available so you don't have to order factory direct.

Regarding the wetpack results (pic posted for first bullets showing)....you can plainly see the difference by using a correctly made wetpack, with the papers soaked over the 24 hours minimum. So if you read DTW's wetpack report over at KTOG, he did it wrong. We have tried to help him understand (at the H&A site), but some people just can't learn. He would be a great wetpack tester if he'd do it right.

Your comments are welcome as this report will stay open.

[Norfdet]

Great report OG and as always, thanks. I still think that the GS is the most value for the money. Based on several wet-pack test, I see no reason to change my current platform. However, when I come down in October, I would like to shoot the Bersa. I used to own one several years ago (model with the fat wood grips) and I liked it. I tried shooting one of the newer models and did not like it as much as my AT. I would like to give it another try.

[oldgranpa]

Norf,
The Bersa will be here for you to shoot. All you have to do in exchange is bring your P3AT so we can do a few wetpack shots with the DoubleTap and Ranger to compare.
Sure looking forward to the nice weather we will have in October.
Cheers,
og

[Bobo]

Well it looks like I stick with Golden Saber also.
It's seems as if the Ranger would be a good one too.

The Double-Tap had good penetration but not great expansion. It makes me wonder what would happen with a Double-Tap load and Golden Saber bullet combination.

It's interesting how velocity doesn't seem to correlate to penetration and expansion. It's as if velocity numbers mean very little in actual performance.

Thanks for the great tests OG - U da man!!!

[Norfdet]

Most people don't remember, but I can remember a time when these wet-pack test first came out and people were switching to the 102gr Remington GS en masse. OG's wet-pack test have helped a lot of shooters re-define their ammo choices. We are very fortunate to have him here.

[oldgranpa]

Well, thanks all, if these "un-official", "FBI un-certified", tests help anyone with ammo choices, great! But always remember, what you choose has got to work in your pistol 100%, with no malfunctions. That's one thing that came out of this test, the plain Winchester SXT, box type S380, had several FTF's with the Bersa pistol. A test last year with flyandscuba's SeeCamp 380 had the same problem. By contrast, the Winchester Ranger, box type RA380T, functioned fine in the pistol. It's easy to confuse the two since both are called 95grSXT on the box.  When you look at the two rounds up close there is a difference, not very big and easily missed. So here is a better picture of the two rounds up close showing maybe why the Ranger works better in my pistol.
Also, the two bullets are very different in terminal ballistic performance, the Ranger has slightly higher velocity and produces the vicious talons while the S380 does not. The old picture showing that is reposted here also.

(Oh, BTW, when I first started wetpacks 4 years ago, I only did the 8 hour soak at first. Then it became apparent that wasn't good enough and the 24 hour minimum soak is required to break down the Lignen binder in the paper. Otherwise it isn't "WET"!!   Ain't science wonderful!!)

[unit1069]

OG's wet-pack test have helped a lot of shooters re-define their ammo choices. We are very fortunate to have him here.

I strongly second your opinion!

[unit1069]

Well, thanks all, if these "un-official", "FBI un-certified", tests help anyone with ammo choices, great! 

A lot of "official" ammo tests are sterile, except for the basic statistics.  All your tests are done as closely as possible to consistent testing mediums and your personal observations add so much more than "official" reports do.

I my opinion "official" test reports have good info, but on balance I have gotten a lot more information from your tests than from those "official" tests I've read.