Handgun Self Defense Ammo

[alamo5000]

I would like to hear the various opinions of forum members about ammo for self defense carry in various calibers.

Without so much getting into what kind of gun it is or what kind of specific weapon related discussion, but I am talking about rounds and generally what your impressions are.

For me, I have a Sig P238 .380 that I have always wanted to carry mainly because it seems to be small and simple. That said I have honestly never carried it for a variety of reasons.

My main thoughts on .380 are that people bash it for being under power. That said for being in the deep south where winter means it gets down to the 50's a .380 might be ok for convenience, but it's not optimal.

I tried several types of ammo and I found that Black Hills 90 grain JHP works pretty well. That's not based around some gel test but rather that seems like I can load mags of the stuff and never have a problem. That being said, with buffalo bore, corbon, and a few others they don't cycle as well.

That said with regular ball ammo I have never had a single problem with my .380 but when you get into other stuff my gun seems more picky on ammo. With +P ammo it seems like it was blasting too hard to the point where it was changing the cycling rate and hence it wasn't extracting the spent shells like it should sometimes.

Some of those cycling issues are pretty much why I haven't carried the .380. That said with the black hills standard non +P it has been great and opens that gun up to be able to be carried. It's either that or carry ball ammo. All in all though I think a .380 can do the trick if needed.



With 9mm I carry 124 gr. Personally I think with many kinds of ammo it's a voodoo science. Most of it is marketing. Personally I see no reason to run a +P round. Up to a point I am not so sure why people obsess over penetration tests.

The main reason I like 9mm is I think it's more than sufficient. For me the carry package is relatively small and light. The recoil is less. You can have more rounds (if needed) with less weight.



With .40 I tend to go with 180 grain. In recent years I have shied away from .40 mainly because the carry package is slightly larger and there seems to be more recoil. That said I would have 100% confidence in it. If you connect with the target that's pretty much all she wrote.



I have carried a .45 before on numerous occasions but that said the only real reason why I don't is because the overall package of carrying is much bigger and slightly less 'easy' to conceal with what I have. I do carry my .45 in the car though.

It has nothing to do with the round itself. I actually like it a whole lot. I tend to prefer 230 grain JHP.



All that said my impressions on ammo is just what I said earlier. There is entirely too many people making tens of thousands of youtube videos (although they are fun to watch). For me +P doesn't really bring anything extra to a real world scenario. I think the best selection method is to pick stuff that has a good projectile for your needs and that will cycle well in your weapon. At the end of the day what really will save your ass in some kind of bad situation will be your ability to react and keep your head. My opinion is if you start poking holes in a bad guy his attitude is going to change.

All that said I have long been a fan of Black Hills for all my carry needs. Whatever gun I run them in they just seem to be smooth and overall very good ammo.

[DutyUse]

.380 in our g42 I load hardball or Lehigh extreme penetrator.

9mm in our g43 I use federal hst 147gr +P.

[Eric]

I've had the opportunity to participate in a few ballistic workshops and come to the opinion that current premium handgun duty rounds are very similar in terminal performance. FWIW my agency elected to go with the CCI Gold Dot across the board: 147 gr 9mm, 180 gr .40, 230 gr .45. Federal HST, Remington Golden Saber and Winchester Ranger are among some good choices as well. Buy a bunch of your preferred ammo and confirm proper function in the specific pistol.

[Former11B]

I use Speer Gold Dot ammo in all the carry guns: .380 (wife's gun)...I believe it's 95gr JHP. In 9mm, 124gr +P (I would have bought it with or without the +P), 185gr JHP in .357 Mag, and 210gr JHP in .45 ACP. Although my 1911 5" is hell on them in regards to setting back a bullet in the case....I don't like carrying FMJs as self defense ammo so the 1911 doesn't get carried much because I don't trust it to feed the hollow points reliably. I do carry a Springfield XD .45 compact occasionally but it's usually a G19 with 124gr Gold Dots

[DeviantLogic]

My P238 gets the most carry time. It gets run of the mill Winchester 95gr. Although I carry one of my M&P's when I can, the P238 is easiest to conceal. It easily fits in my back pocket with jeans/slacks or front pocket with cargo shorts. I use the Winchester 95gr because that's what it gets at the range and the P238 hasn't had any problems with it. Having good terminal performance is great, reliability and getting shots on target are my first priorities.

[BoilerUp]

Winchester Ranger-T +P 124 gr is my top choice for 9mm with Gold Dot as a close second. The Ranger-T ammo can at times be hard to find.

[MoxyDave]

Nice write-up. I like .380 for the reasons you mentioned. I only use bonded bullets, which I think is especially important for a weaker round like the .380.

Also just FYI, there is no "+P" SAMMI specification as far as I know in .380 ACP. With no standard, manufacturers have no means to test a "+P" .380 round, so your mileage may vary ... I prefer to stick with standards.

[alamo5000]

Also just FYI, there is no "+P" SAMMI specification as far as I know in .380 ACP. With no standard, manufacturers have no means to test a "+P" .380 round

I've tried a couple of variations of that stuff. It works but I experienced problems like I mentioned above with it. I will go try again and see if maybe it was a fluke.

But yes, I am with you... I don't get the need to go +P for the most part.

[voodoo_man]

While I am issued 9mm HST at work, I have started carrying 147gr flatnose (federal or winchester, whichever I can find).

HST and other hollowpoint ammo does not do well with barricades (cars, house doors) - 147gr does really well, the wound channel is negligible.

[MoxyDave]

Manufacturers can claim whatever they want. I'm pretty sure there is no +P SAAMI spec.

List of SAAMI Specs

http://shootingthebull.net/blog/why-...or-any-p-ammo/

[alamo5000]

I have an opinion question to ask you guys... I had a small collection of hollow points that I have collected over time. I just had a box here or there that I picked up for dirt cheap over time.

My host guns were a Sig 238 and a Sig 938

My unofficial tests results are as follows:

With the .380 Buffalo Bore Hard Cast RN and the Buffalo Bore Hollow Points were both labeled as +P. They were extremely smoky and both didn't feed as well and both did not extract spent cases. I had several issues with both. Corbon also sucks for my gun. They did not reliably feed at all. Once again, the Black Hills worked flawlessly in my .380 so if I end up carrying that... the black hills is the way to go.

On my 9mm I tried Hornaday 124 gr and 147 gr, Federal 124, and of course some Black Hills 124 that I just bought to test out. The 124 Hornadays were ok. The 147s were not feeding. The Federals were actually flawless. The Black Hills functioned very good as well although they were very snappy. More than anything I was trying out reliability and overall handling.

Here is my choice for 9mm. I really like Black Hills for everything. That said they were very snappy. The federals had noticeably less recoil and they fed without even a hint of a hiccup. Personally for a carry gun I lean way more towards control (less recoil) and reliable feeding. I don't want to be that guy racking on his gun in the middle of an emergency. Reliability trumps any kind of new fangled expansion in a bucket of water test they might have.

That said I understand that Federal has a JHP and a HST. Does anyone have any opinion about those two? The ones I tested were the standard pressure 124 gr hydroshock.

At this point even though I am a black hills fan boy I am leaning towards federal for my 9mm merely because after shooting a box of it I like the way it cycles and after today I am pretty confident in it's functional reliability. The black hils ain't no slouch but I think the federals might have a tad bit of overall advantage for my personal preference. Now I just need to see if the HST has any kind of advantage over the JHP.

[alamo5000]

A little background...

When a holiday or birthday or whatever rolls around... when people ask me what I want... I always answer 'ammo' :) Even in my office white elephant exchange I get all kinds of ammo every time :)

The stuff has just been piling up so I wanted to see what they could all do... The Black Hills 124 has been unobtainium for a while so when I saw some for cheap I ordered a few boxes. My main go to up until now has been the Hornaday 124...but after today I will probably be carrying the federals for the reasons listed above.

[Stone]

Another big federal fan here as well. Like the HST's but carry the 135g +p Tactical bonded. IMO from the research I have done, its definitely one of the top performers.

[El Cid]

While I am issued 9mm HST at work, I have started carrying 147gr flatnose (federal or winchester, whichever I can find).

HST and other hollowpoint ammo does not do well with barricades (cars, house doors) - 147gr does really well, the wound channel is negligible.

You're carrying FMJ ammo on and off duty? Why not use one of the FBI tested and approved 147gr loads? They have no issues with barriers. If you're not ready to trust the new Gold Dot G2, the bonded Ranger works great. Only way I'd consider FMJ is for 38/380 or for bear protection in the woods. Way too much liability to use it for defensive purposes in my book.

[dgod]

I carry a .45, G2RIP, Snag Mag, so 2 Mags Full. Backup is a Sig P220, 9MM with Alternating G2Rip and Hornady SD HP's

Never had to use it, but if I do, I'm satisfied it will get whatever is necessary accomplished.

Great Thread...