Question On SD Ammo

I'm big beleiver in better ammo for SD work. I personally don't like hardball for defense. Saw a patient who shot himself with a .45 in the lower leg about a month ago. Nice little holes in and out. He was walking on it.

I like Gold Dot and Winchester SXTs because they have bonded jackets that don't like to separate.

In my .45s I do still like to stick with 230 gr, but something that will expand. I don't put a lot of faith in any handgun that doesn't say "Magnum" to do the job efficiently.

When my 9mm or .45 rounds will expand to close to .70 cal it makes me feel a little warmer inside.

 

Though I now carry hp ammo in my normal carry gun, I carried with wadcutter bullets for years. I always carry with the most accurate round for that particular gun. To me it makes more sense as there is a better chance I will want to shoot something other than a human with my carry gun. No matter what my target is I want the most accuracy.

 

I think about 95% of the ammo out there will perform like a champ, especially once you reduce it to JHPs/defense rounds.

I buy/carry Winchester Rangers for all calibers. I believe in the brand and they come in 50rd (as opposed to 20rds) boxes for under $30. That leaves room to have a little stash and plenty of "test cycling". But I'll buy any reputable ammo if the cost is right, and have the shelves to prove it. I've seen some tests demonstrating that Walmart WWB 45acp JHPs seem to perform about as well as any other tacticool round out there.

I don't carry FMJs unless I'm in the great outdoors. And for 9mm, I'm a little more picky about the specifics of weight, speed, etc. I'm a big fan of the Win Ranger 127gr +p+ in a fuller framed 9mm.

 

Ball ammo in semi-autos feeds -- reliabilty comes first, right? Well, when you are comfortable, a tapered flat-nose is probably best, like a Keith Semi-Wadcutter of hard lead. Penetrates, cuts, breaks, dumps energy...

 

+p+ HP.

Confidence like having a 12" member.

 

I believe in every advantage I can get

Federal +P HST's in all my mags and one in all the chambers at all times

 

Both of my pistols have Win PDX1s. 124+P JHP for the 9mm and 165 JHP for the 40sw. I buy all my ammo at Walmart.

 

i thinks as long as you stick with any quality JHP ammo you will be good to go. some will perform better than others for sure, but i think as long as it feeds well, which IMO is more critical than whether brand "A" or brand "B" expands more than the other. if it doesn't feed and fire, then how much it expands or incapacitates is irrelevent.

 

never had a gun that wouldnt feed any factory ammo I put in it....must suck

 

i agree. but finding out when the gun was needed wouldn't be cool at all. better to find out beforehand and move to another brand or another pistol maybe.

 

no doubt....

 

I carry Carbon DPX in .38 +P or .357 mag. in my LCR

 

Any ammo to be used to save your life should be fired and tested through the gun it's going to be carried in. If I've got a gun that won't feed some expanding bullet I wouldn't bet my life on that gun. I don't like to bet on fmj to do much for me but for work it's pretty much all we have.

 

Thank God for high cap

 

In addition to a larger wound channel, HPs are also considered to limit over penetration. Maybe that is not as much of a concern for the heavier & slower .45ACP, so I guess it could be acceptable, but I still prefer HPs. In lower calibers such as .25, .32 & maybe .380, FMJ may be preferred in order to provide deeper penetration.

 

For SD, I like the HPs, especially in 45ACP...

 

That is one reason why I carry HPs.

 

IMHO the thing that matters most is reliabilty,accuracy, then penetration. When i first started carring my childhood adopted uncle was a county sheriff, he took me and my guns we shot all kinds of ammo to see what worked best. That is what i still do today, i believe more what i see from my guns than what the manufactor tells me. There is so many good choices now than 20 years ago, i just think the guys who are serrious in self defense will always make a good choice.