Ask the Community

Hornady Critical Defense 90gr w/ FTX travels around 1000 FPS. I carry it in my Glock 42, it's a nice round. Honestly the Shield EZ 9mm is a better choice for stopping power, it's still a soft shooter that many women really like.

One option is to pick up S&W 9mm EZ. It will fit your wife's needs perfectly. If you don't want to get a new gun, try Hornady Critical Defense 90gr w/ FTX, SIG Sauer 90 Grain .380 V-Crown JHP, and 90gr Speer Gold Dot. This website has an amazing write up on 380 ammo ( https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/380-acp-the-biggest-little-caliber/ ). Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you.

Federal HST was designed for and is carried by many law enforcement agencies all over the country, comes in many calibers (including 380) Great gel test here https://youtu.be/FNyxnmgySH4 -------------- You can use the dealer locator here https://www.federalpremium.com/handgun/premium-personal-defense/personal-defense-hst-micro/11-P380HST1S.html --------- but aside from that there's not really any handgun ammo that I'd recommend over the HST SPEER golddot would be a close second And is available At a couple retailers online https://www.ammobuy.com/ammo/380-auto

Larry, Buffalo Bore is among the hardest hitting .380ACP on the market : https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=129

The ammo James suggested is +P rated ammo, and as per Smith and Wesson's website the Shield EZ is not rated for +P ammo, you could damage your pistol and void the waranty. (Copy and paste from SW website) "warning: read and follow the warnings in your owner's manual. never use "plus-p" (+p), "plus-p-plus" (+p+); or reloaded ammunition with the m&p 380 ez. always use factory manufactured ammunition produced to saami specifications." ------------------- It's in large bold print at the bottom of the page here, and also in your owners manual https://www.smith-wesson.com/mp-380-shield-ez-consumer-advisory

Larry we have both the EZ-380 & EZ-9 firearms, you've got to try our favorite Inceptor ARX 380 cartridge made by the Polycase guys in Savannah GA, one of the key reasons it was developed was for better penetration & harder hitting in smaller caliber firearms ... It's 56-grain fluted copper-polymer bullet uses hydraulic lateral-force dispersion for it's wound-channel instead of relying on expansion like most other hollow-point bullets, and is loaded hot with 4-grains of very-fast-burning powder (Still within standard pressure so no pressure concerns) which will push it thru your 3.675-inch barrel at almost 1300 feet-per-second resulting in a very hard hit with deeper penetration than most 380s and a would-channel similar to a hollow-point ... Bonus is that the ARX cartridge has the lowest felt-recoil so your wife will love shooting it too! ... Buds has it listed but currently out-of-stock, try using the ammoseek dot com search engine regularly to find it in stock. ... PS: I wou