-
If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership The benefits pay for the membership many times over.
Which self-defense ammo.....
- Thread starter Northeastamstaffs
- Start date
Buffalo Bore...pick any caliber, their ammo is exceptionally accurate, reliable, and loaded HOT.
Winchester PDX1 has great ballistics and expansion in .38spl, 9mm, and .45csl. Best bang for the buck.. cant beat it at 15-16$ per 20rds. stay away from it in .380acp because it plugs and does not properly expand most of the time.
FrugalFannie
NES Member
whichever you pick up buy enough to shoot through maybe 1.5 magazines worth and still have enough to carry. When I pick carry ammo I always shoot a full magazine, do a magazine change and shoot at least half the second mag. I am looking for any feeding, firing issues, or ejection problems. I also look to see how accurate I am ( not talking bullseye practice here) keeping in mind that if I had to use it to defend myself I would have worse accuracy due to the adrenaline most likely. I may then do some more shooting of it and then generally speaking I want to have enough ammo to carry with 1 in the pipe, full magazine in the pistol and 2 spare magazines whether I am carrying 2 or not. I then usually shoot 1 full mag plus the round in the pipe, every 3-6 months and then replace that ammo with the same stuff. Occassionally I have got stuck with a different ammo down the line and only enough to shoot 1mag o it and load one mag and that will usually be my 2nd backup mag until I can get more of my first choice ammo OR more of the new ammo.
Federal HST 124gr 9mm
Winter time is coming 230 grain ball loaded hot.
I like to shoot at least 200 rounds, personally. It helps that I don't change carry guns on any kind of regular basis.
Take a look at ballistics testing around the net. I personally carry Federal HST in 9mm, but I wouldn't be unhappy with any current generation hollow point - golden saber, gold dot, ranger-t, HST. I use the Speer Gold Dot +P short barrel load in 38 special.
bfm
NES Member
normally Golddots in my pistols.
That said, I would be pretty comfortable with just about any self defense round made in the last ten years that I knew was reliable in my pistols. I have Golden Sabers for my .380 as that was all I could find for hollow points when I bought the pistol. When I run low I will try what ever Four Seasons has in stock and if it runs fine in the gun will probably buy what ever number of boxes he has on the shelf.
I used to not trust a round till I had at least 100 of them through the weapon with out any malfunctions. That is getting pricey, so I normally settle for two or three full magazines then stock up with a few hundred rounds.
That said, I would be pretty comfortable with just about any self defense round made in the last ten years that I knew was reliable in my pistols. I have Golden Sabers for my .380 as that was all I could find for hollow points when I bought the pistol. When I run low I will try what ever Four Seasons has in stock and if it runs fine in the gun will probably buy what ever number of boxes he has on the shelf.
I used to not trust a round till I had at least 100 of them through the weapon with out any malfunctions. That is getting pricey, so I normally settle for two or three full magazines then stock up with a few hundred rounds.
That Guy
Banned
I use Remington Golden Saber 124 grain hollow points for my 9mm. Basically I chose it based on what they had at the store at the time, then when I fired it everything seemed to work well and it was about as accurate as I could ask for, so there you go. I don't shoot that ammo often at the range because it's expensive and, IMO, it's more important to shoot, say, 100 rounds of Federal target loads than 20 rounds of self-defense loads.
My carry guns are in .380, 9mm, .40 S&W and 10mm
In .380 I carry Corbon Self-Defense 90gn JHP
In 9mm I carry Federal Premium Self-Defense (Hydro-shok) 124gn JHP
In .40 S&W I carry Remington Golden Saber 165gn Brass Jacketed Hollow Point
In 10mm I carry Federal Premium (Hydro-shok) 180gn JHP, Winchester Super-X 175gn JHP, Hornady's Custom XTP 200gn JHP, Corbon's DPX 155gn Solid Copper Hollow Point
I do a lot of testing with firearms/ammunition combinations before I load up a carry magazine.
Start with water and balistic wax (reusable balistic gel simulant)
Then some comparisons with light barriers in front of water jugs:
2 layers of 5/8" drywall spaced 2 3/4" apart
4 layers of denium
0.032" mild steel plate.
Last, 200rnd in the specific carry gun to confirm flawless operation.
The above combinations provided the best combination of performance and function that I was able to identify in my specific guns.
In .380 I carry Corbon Self-Defense 90gn JHP
In 9mm I carry Federal Premium Self-Defense (Hydro-shok) 124gn JHP
In .40 S&W I carry Remington Golden Saber 165gn Brass Jacketed Hollow Point
In 10mm I carry Federal Premium (Hydro-shok) 180gn JHP, Winchester Super-X 175gn JHP, Hornady's Custom XTP 200gn JHP, Corbon's DPX 155gn Solid Copper Hollow Point
I do a lot of testing with firearms/ammunition combinations before I load up a carry magazine.
Start with water and balistic wax (reusable balistic gel simulant)
Then some comparisons with light barriers in front of water jugs:
2 layers of 5/8" drywall spaced 2 3/4" apart
4 layers of denium
0.032" mild steel plate.
Last, 200rnd in the specific carry gun to confirm flawless operation.
The above combinations provided the best combination of performance and function that I was able to identify in my specific guns.
StevieP
NES Member
What are you carrying? I have used Remington Golden Sabre 124+p, Speer Gold Dot short barrel 124+p, Federal Hydra Shok (newly carried at WM) and Hornady Critical Defense 115gr.
The Hornady is easier to find in stores, is slightly less expensive (25 box for the price of 20 Speer GD) and because it's 115grain, it shoots (feels) the same as 115 grain practice ammo. The 124 grain, especially in +P, is "snappier" and I find not quite as accurate.
Zombie Max 115 grain is the same as Critical Defense, just with green tip instead of red.
The Hornady is easier to find in stores, is slightly less expensive (25 box for the price of 20 Speer GD) and because it's 115grain, it shoots (feels) the same as 115 grain practice ammo. The 124 grain, especially in +P, is "snappier" and I find not quite as accurate.
Zombie Max 115 grain is the same as Critical Defense, just with green tip instead of red.
That is what I use also, and for the same exact reasons.
what he said
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2012
- Messages
- 61
- Likes
- 12
I am using a S&W M&P 9c, just bought some Federal 124 grain hydra-shock JHP. I'll let you guys know what I think once I shoot them. I do want to try critical defense and gold dot too. Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm new and learning! Jerry
StevieP
NES Member
I also carry an M&P9c. Truthfully, any modern 9mm JHP will feed through your gun just fine. Because of its compact size, I do believe the 124 grain +p loads "feel" a bit snappier. Not wildly uncontrollable or anything, but for consistency with practice ammo and PD ammo, I settled on the Hornady.
Good luck with your new gun, and have fun (safely) out there!
GM-GUY
NES Member
In my G26, I shoot Speer Gold Dot +P Short-Barrel, accurate and has plenty of bang.
For my PT92 I shoot Hydra-Shocks out and about, Glaser Blue at home load (wall board penetration prevention)
For my PT92 I shoot Hydra-Shocks out and about, Glaser Blue at home load (wall board penetration prevention)
Hornady Critical Duty
Winchester PDX1
Speer Gold Dot
Federal Tactical HST (More difficult to find because it marketed for "law enforcement only")
>>I almost always choose the heaviest bullet available for each caliber.
You can't go wrong with any of those. I have them all, but I'd say right now the NEW Hornady Critical Duty is my favorite.
Winchester PDX1
Speer Gold Dot
Federal Tactical HST (More difficult to find because it marketed for "law enforcement only")
>>I almost always choose the heaviest bullet available for each caliber.
You can't go wrong with any of those. I have them all, but I'd say right now the NEW Hornady Critical Duty is my favorite.
Critical Defense/Zombie and Critical Duty have a lot of "simulated" evidence that looks real good in everyone's tests. Always preforms as advertised. Critical Defense for shorter barrels, Critical Duty for longer/full sized barrels.
I also really like Golden Sabre 124gr+p and 147gr. Very accurate.
I also really like Golden Sabre 124gr+p and 147gr. Very accurate.
