Ammo question about my new bodyguard 380

chrgnu · Post by **chrgnu** » Sat, 08 Jan 2011 16:16:11

What types of ammo does my BG 380 take? The reason I ask, I bought a bag of bullets at a fredericksburg gun show and it had ACP-380 and 9mm bullets in it. I dont want to jam or damage my pistol.

Thanks Jesse

Post by **allingeneral** » Sat, 08 Jan 2011 16:22:35

.380 and 9mm use the same size bullet (.355 inch) - it's the casing that's different. The .380 (or 9mm Kurtz) is a 9x17mm whereas the 9mm Luger (also called parabellum) is a 9x19mm shell.

The bullets themselves are interchangeable, but the casings are not.

So, to answer your question - you want to use .380 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol), also called .380 Auto in your pistol

gunderwood · Post by **gunderwood** » Sat, 08 Jan 2011 21:54:32

Rick is right. I would add that 380ACP usually uses 80-95gr bullets while 9mm usually uses 115-147gr. That isn't set in stone, it is the more common weight ranges.

meak99 · Post by **meak99** » Sat, 08 Jan 2011 22:06:33

chrgnu wrote:What types of ammo does my BG 380 take? The reason I ask, I bought a bag of bullets at a fredericksburg gun show and it had ACP-380 and 9mm bullets in it. I dont want to jam or damage my pistol.

Thanks Jesse

Are you saying that you bought a bag of ammunition labeled as 380 ACP, and it contained the .380 and 9x19 rounds in it? Or, did you buy a bag of bullets to hand-load and it was labeled for use in .380/9mm cartridges?

Diomed · Post by **Diomed** » Sun, 09 Jan 2011 03:43:51

And just to make things more complicated, do not get anything labelled ".38 ACP"...

chrgnu · Post by **chrgnu** » Sun, 09 Jan 2011 17:54:12

The bag of bullets (ready to shoot), were mixed .380 and 9mm

gunderwood · Post by **gunderwood** » Sun, 09 Jan 2011 18:17:29

chrgnu wrote:The bag of bullets (ready to shoot), were mixed .380 and 9mm

Mixed?

Despite being called a .380ACP, the bullet diameter is the same as 9mm which is .355". More than likely you mean the bag contained .355" bullets which were in a mid-weight 95-110gr which could be loaded in either a 9mm or .380ACP reasonable well. I.e. the package was appropriate for either loading.

AlanM · Post by **AlanM** » Sun, 09 Jan 2011 21:04:48

Set one of each on the table pointing upward.
Are they the same overall height? Is the brass the same height?
If so, the ones labeled 9mm are 9mm Kurtz or 9mm short which is the same as .380 ACP.
As was said before 9mm Kurtz is 9mm x 17mm.
9mm Makarov is 9mm x 18mm and 9mm Luger, the standard 9mm pistol round, is 9mm x 19mm. (The second measurement is the length of the case.)

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