Best self defense ammo for .45 and .40 autos?

I was wondering what everyone uses for self defense ammo in their auto's. For this thread I am interested in .45 and .40 caliber especially-- four inch barrels for now. I am currently using the 230gr Federal hydra-shok for the .45 and the Remington 165gr Golden Saber for the .40

Thank you in advance!

In my Glock 30 I use 185 gr +P Remington Golden Saber

I am partial to the 165 grain Remington Golden Saber in 40 caliber.

I think there is a better expansion out of a 4 inch barrel with the 185gr Remington but I am having a bit of a time finding them around town[no luck so far]. Where is everyone purchasing the 185gr Remington? I have also used the 230gr Winchester SXT they have a reputation for expansion and accuracy. Also do you think 185gr would affect accuracy? I practice with 230gr hardball.


Thank-you!

I like the Federal HST line. I use them in all my autos. (and one revolver!)

Shorter barrel .45s get 185 grain +p. Longer barrels get 230 Grain +P.

As for .40 caliber I prefer 165 grain.

Obviously all choices would be a quality hollowpoint.

I use 200gr +P in my 3.25" 45. 45ACP should be kept as heavy as possible IMHO because of its large frontal area. You get more penetration with slow and heavy than fast and light with a fat bullet like the .45, but 230gr is a little too slow out of such a short barrel.

Winchester Ranger T +P

Can I ask a question .:confused: Now I am not real smart ;) , but what the hell is the differents if you use a 165 gr TP or a 230 gr PT . Wont they both hurt really bad if you hit someone with ether one .

I am partial to the Speer Gold Dots in both my .40 and my .45. I have recently picked up some Ranger SXT for my .40 as well. I also just saw a article on the BONDED golden sabre, and they looked like they performed well.
Lesson? Most of the brands work well. Just make sure you cycle some through the weapon you use to make sure that you are used to them if you ever use them in an emergency, and make sure they feed reliably.

RKellogg wrote:
Can I ask a question . Now I am not real smart , but what the hell is the differents if you use a 165 gr TP or a 230 gr PT . Wont they both hurt really bad if you hit someone with ether one.
I tried to address the weight issue in my post 2 up from yours. As far as TP vs PT, you got me there (never heard of those designations)! Most self defense ammo is HP (Hollow Point), and range or target ammo is FMJ (Full Metal Jacket). There are many other kinds, but these are by far the most common. Hollow points are designed to expand which helps in a defensive shoot two ways. First, they lessen the likelyhood that the bullet will pass through and hurt someone else. Second, they cause more damage which helps to stop your attacker quicker. Taken together these attributes make it possible to shoot a more powerful round that will cause more destruction in the bad guy without endangering someone else. The object of a defensive shooting is to stop the attacker as quickly as possible, not to kill him per se, although sometimes those things seem entertwined.

Stick around, you'll be a genuine internet gun expert in no time! :D

Golden Saber 185 gr. +P. A good source is Ammobank:

http://www.ammobank.com/cgi-bin/cshop/store/detail.tam?xax=325045&item%2Ectx=%3AGS45APC

If used solely in the house where overpenetration could be an issue, I use Glasers. Also available at Ammobank:

http://www.ammobank.com/cgi-bin/cshop/store/detail.tam?xax=325045&item%2Ectx=%3AGSS45A

With a 5" barrel I use Federal 230 gr. HydraShok. Ammobank.

I have no use for .40 S&W.

Good luck!

I use Winchester SXT 230 gr. for the .45 and Federal Hydrashok for the .40 with a mixture of 165 and 185 gr. bullets.

Hornady 200 grain T.A.P. JHP's

I use 230 gr Hydra Shok exclusively in both my carry .45s.

Today?
<drops mag>
Hardball, some old USGI issue as matter of fact. Old USGI/Colt 7 rd mags, with sealed floorplates too.

I dunno, all the 1911s I use, just flat work. Still, I run ammo thru guns and mags for being reliable, then POA/POI , then I might shoot dirt to check penetration...

Prefer 230 gr, or a 200 gr.
I just grab what handy, I don't buy +Ps, never seen much use for them.

Shot placment, hits count, so gun gotta run and kinda nice if it shoots where aimed the way I figure it.

Hang on <reaches for Kimber Series I , drops mag> Duckbutt gun got JHPs, 230 gr Fed HS, bought a long time ago, its spare mag has Fiocchi 230 gr JHPs it seems...

Neither of which are going to do me anygood if I do not do my part...

I loaded my own 155 grain hornady XTP's for my 40 today. I'm using 7.5 grains of Unique which should give me 1200 fps out of a 4 inch barrel. I've got 100 of'em loaded.:D

Speer Gold Dot 200gr +P .45 ACP in my 4" Kimber Pro Carry.

When I had a .40 cal I carried 165 gr Speer Gold Dot ammo.

I'm partial to the Gold Dot JHP bullet if you couldn't tell.:)

Cor-Bon DPX for both...

Nothing else comes close...

I use Remington 230 grain Bonded Golden Sabers in my 5” and 4.25” .45s.

I also reload the same non-bonded bullets (non-bonded=cheaper) for practice and reliability tests.


Chuck

I like Black Hills 230 grain, JHP, +p.

If you can find any. As rare as hens' teeth around the Wabash Valley, and I'm running low.:scrutiny: :uhoh:

Either Winchester Ranger SXT or Remington Golden Saber. Have never used either on a meat target, only paper so I only know about feel and reliability. Any information about SD effectiveness I have is strictly second-hand.

For the .40 Smith and Wesson I'd go with a 165gr bonded JHP from Remington Golden Saber or Speer Gold Dot. The 135gr JHP loads from Triton/CorBon/etc may work well too but for general use the 165gr loads work just fine, ;) .

For .45acp I would buy the W-W Ranger SXT 230gr JHP +P or the 200gr JHP from Speer Gold Dot/CCI. The Speer Gold Dot short barrel .45acp load would be a smart choice for compact .45 acp pistols.

Frangible/"exotic" loads like Glaser Silver, Magsafe, ExtremeShock, PowRBall have merit but for most uses stick to standard JHPs from major firms. ;)

RS

I like the GoldDots too. In the .45 (4" barrel) I use the 185 grain GDHP. In the .40 (3.8" barrel) I use the 155 grain GDHP.

Ballistics here: http://www.speer-ammo.com/ballistics/ammo.aspx

Great info! Moxie I will probably buy some ammo from ammobank looks like a good deal!

Big Thank You to everyone who responded!

The Best to all!

230gr Speer Gold Dots.

Rangers (The "black talon" that isn't 'evil') in .45
Speer Gold Dots in the smaller semis.
Hydra Shoks in my Revolvers.

Keep in mind what environments you will be in as well. You may find that you definitely need a lacquered primer as extra weather resistance.

270 Nazi stoppers.:D
J/k to expensive to shoot

230 XTP Hornady's TAP. Low flash easy to shoot and a bowling ball.

In my little Para C-645 I roll my own using 185gn golden saber bullets with 7gn of universal powder. It functions very well with this combo.

I like the Corbon 185 +p rounds for the 45. acp. and for the .40 S&W I like both the federal 155 grain hyda shoks and Corbon 165 grain JHP's for self defense. Both are very effective rounds for there calibers and will work very good in self defense situations.

:)

165GR Winchester Supreme T & 155gr Winchester Silvertips and 180gr WWB-HP in 40 S&W.

I like Hydra Shok's but they're too slow in the 40S&W, IMO.

Only have .45 handguns, but shoot 230gr Rem GS out of them with great results. Always feed & it's an accurate, relatively low-flash round in both my 4" & 5" 1911's.

Any type of Xtreme Shock ammo by me.:D

Seriously I use 230 gr gold dots when I had a .45

and use 165 gr Gold Dots in my .40s

I like Hydra Shok's but they're too slow in the 40S&W, IMO.

Federal Hyda shoks 155 gain FPS 1140/ FPE 447 isn't that bad overall. Average penetration is 12 inches.

It's the top rated one stop round right now for self defense handguns. I admit I don't believe in the one stop theory totally, but the real world numbers on the .40 S&W federal 155 grain hydra shok JHP for the .40 S&W have been impression.

The Top Ten One Shot Stop loads for Handguns.

Rounds/percentage of one shot stop ( Actual Shootings)

Federal .40 155 grain Hydra-Shok /97
Federal .357 Magnum 125 grain JHP /96
Federal .45 ACP 230 grain Hydra-Shok /96
Remington .45 ACP 185 grain Golden Sabre +P /95
Federal 9MM 115 grain JHP +P+ 9BPLE /93
Triton & Corbon .40 135 grain JHP /92
Winchester .44 Magnum 210 grain Silvertip /91
Triton .357 Sig 125 grain Rainer JHP /91
Winchester .41 Magnum 175 grain Silvertip /90
Federal .40 180 grain Hydra-Shok /90

Obvious answer: The one that FEEDS the best in YOUR gun!

I'm still undecided on what I'll ultimatley use in my .45 short, but if you don't mind "reloads" I've heard good things about these .45ammo (http://www.perfectshotllc.com/), haven't had a chance to try em' myself yet, but am planing on doing so.
I'd also like to try the Corbon Pow R Ball, but it's kinda on the pricey side. So far though I like the federal efmj's, the rem gold sabers (which are available just about every where) and the speer gold dot's were ok as well.

I read this on a site called internetarmory.com:

45 ACP Caliber:
Federal "Hydra-Shok" JHP 230 grains 94%
Remington "Gold Sabre" JHPP 230 grains 93%
Cor-Bon JHP 185 grains 92%
Remington +P JHPP 185 grains 91%
CCI/Speer "Lawman" JHP 200 grains 88%
Federal JHP 185 grains 87%

The percentage is a "one shot stop". I know nothing about this site or the reliability of their data, but it was interesting reading. They have this type of info for a number of calibers. Here's the link to the page:

http://www.internetarmory.com/handgunammo.htm