A 94-grain full metal jacket at 951 fps gives the PPU .380 load 191 ft-lbs at the muzzle, the odd bullet weight in a set of 90 and 95-grain loads. From a 25-yard zero it sits 2.2 inches low at 50 yards and 15.6 inches low at 100. Those numbers matter less than they look: a .380 is a 7 to 15 yard pistol, and at that distance every ball load here prints to the same hold. Recoil energy lands in the middle of its set, below the two 95-grain loads and above the PMC 90-grain.

It is the slowest of the four at the muzzle, but only just. Remington UMC 95-grain leaves 4 fps faster at 955 fps and produces about 3 percent more recoil energy in the same pistol; on paper they are the same load. Federal American Eagle 95-grain is the real step up at 980 fps, 29 fps ahead of the PPU, with about 7 percent more recoil. PMC Bronze 90-grain goes the other way: 10 fps faster than the PPU at 961 fps, but about 7 percent less recoil energy because of the lighter bullet. At 7 to 15 yards, drop differences between these loads do not exist in practice.

This is a plain practice load for shooters who run a lot of rounds through a small .380 and want recoil a notch under the Federal without dropping to a 90-grain bullet. If you carry a 95-grain hollow point and want practice ammo that feels like it, Remington UMC 95-grain is the closer match at 955 fps. If you want to feel the difference between your practice load and your carry load, Winchester PDX1 Defender 95-grain JHP runs 1,000 fps and produces about 11 percent more recoil energy than the PPU in the same pistol, and that gap is worth shooting once before it matters.