Personal Defense ammo question...
 

I carry a XD40sc and am wondering what the majority of you would use for self defense? I have a box of "Hornady 155gr XTP or Federal Premium 135gr hydra-shok jhp? Which would you carry? Right now its loaded with the hydra-shoks in my 12rd mag and my extra 9rd mag has the xtp's

I will say this, once you choose a carry ammo that you feel comfortable with and your gun eats well, I wouldn't go switching around and have a box of this and a box of that. Just a suggestion for once you make this decision.

As for me, I don't shoot 40, but I really like Winchester Rangers. They are a great price and work perfectly for me. Mostly, though, all of the top-shelf HP rounds will work well (Hydrashok, Ranger, XTP, Gold Dot, Golden Saber) so the decision should be made at the range with a box of all these and then a few boxes of the one you like best.

Thanks... my gun only has 700rds of federal fmj thru it at the range and only one sd round ever which was one of the hornadys on the 4th... my dad bought me a box of the hydra shoks... i do agree on not flip flopping ammo but i should probably have some experience with the sd ammo im trusting to carry at all times huh?

I love Hornady for SD. I keep mine loaded with the Critical Defense and my brother likes the XTP. I'm a fan of the Federal Classic JHP mainly due to the value, but haven't had much experience with the other Federal models.

I too am a fan of hornady but my buddy will swear up and down about the hydra shoks in his m&p 9mm i guess i should just shoot a few of each and measure the groupings and debate from there

Oh yeah! Until you decide on which kind of ammo you like, you may go through four or five different kinds. Then maybe 2 or 3 more boxes of your favorite kind. If all goes well, then you're good to go.

I suppose you could measure groupings, but that could be over-thinking it. If a particular ammo feeds and fires without problems, that's my measurement. Reliability is much more important than a group that is an 1" smaller.

i have to agree with CHLChris on this. find something that feeds well and shoots it with no problems. reliable is much more important than accuracy or how well an ammo expands. the most accurate or best expanding ammo is useless unless it feeds well. most of the major ammo makers make fine SD ammo, and most have made huge improvements in the last several years. my personal choice as of now are the Hornady XTP's, and the XTP bullets i use for reloads for practice. just my personal preference.

Don't get hyped up on hype & advertisement-
Get some good HP's & be sure they are accurate & reliable in your weapon -
Just my 2 bits-

Critical Defense gets my vote.

There was a thread, I believe in the Bunker, where the S/M's put a bunch of HP Defense rounds to the test. I can't find it at the moment, but I know someone will know the thread and post the link. :cool:

The most important characteristic is finding a round your weapon will cycle and a round/caliber that YOU shoot well. It doesn't matter what any of us shoot well if you are not us & if you can't hit a barn with our round of choice.

Having said that.....

I carry Winchester Ranger +P hollow points. A full mag of them in the summer, but I alternate them with ball ammo in the fall and winter months in case someone is wearing a Carhartt, heavy denim covering or the like. I want to be able to hit hard, penetrate and follow up with a massive wound channel that causes extensive bleeding.

The Rangers, in my opinion, star out in a perfect pattern that will slice, sever, nick or otherwise invade with the intent to cause significant bodily harm. :eek:

Remember the "Black Talon" controversy? The Winchester Rangers are the "modified" version of those exact bullets. They still do a tremendous amount of physical "meat" trauma. :eek:

Pick a round that feeds well, then test it on wet newspaper and see the results for yourself.

Good luck!

JD