Ammo

[global247]

I have a Glock 23, and am wondering what is the best self defense ammunition I can buy for it. I am looking for specifics..... Brand, grain etc.....

Thank You for your help.

[RichardInFlorida]

Everyone has their pet favorites. I can tell you I like the Speer Gold Dot 155 grain loading in .40 for self defense. I carried it for several years in a Glock 22 and it shot very well in that pistol.

I can also tell you from anecdotal information that I have gathered, that round has performed well in stopping bad people.

--Richard

[Steve C]

The "best" self defense ammo is one that works reliably in your
pistol, hits where you aim, and has a track record of reliable expansion over a wide range of conditions. Any of the current production self defense hollow points produced by the major manufacturers for civilian and police use are a good choice.

One can argue about which particular round is the superior forever but the only rational way to choose is to look at some of the test and statistical data for the various offerings and make your selection by what happens to grab your imagination. Those rounds that are used by police forces are perhaps the best tested in both the laboratory and the field. Other choices of ammo produced for self defense market their product based mostly on appealing to the fantasies of the buyer.

Heres some statistical data: http://handloads.com/misc/stoppingpower.asp?Caliber=11&Weight=All

Here's some expansion tests: http://www.brassfetcher.com/40%20S&W.html

I personally like to pick up police surplus ammo when available as its less expensive per round being sold in box's of 50 vrs the civilian equivalent in boxes of 20.

The reality is that most of us will never have to use our guns for self defense and most of those that do will not actually have to fire their weapon, and of those that fire their weapon only a small percentage will actually hit their attacker. For that situation where you have to fire your weapon you want ammo that you can count on to go off, hit where you aim, and have good terminal results. Does it really matter that much if the bullet you shoot is generally effective 94% or the time or only 84% of the time? The stats are saying that 8 in 9 times there isn't going to be a difference between the 2. Those kind of odds mean that the choice between the various options of good self defense ammo isn't near as important as some would like to make it.

Hitting what you aim at is much more important.

[Black Majik]

Once you're getting into quality defensive ammo, you're splitting hairs. Any of the top manufacturers will do fine: Federal HST, Winchester Ranger, Speer Gold Dot, Remington Goden Sabers etc...

The grain of bullet you choose to carry is really a personal preference. But, of course the ammo you choose is most importantly reliable in your gun.

As much as I hate to say it, check out Glocktalk and see what the popular choice is for the G23.

[NG VI]

My pet favorite is the 180 grain HST. Or 165 grain.
Also the Remington Golden Sabers are good, and the Speer Gold Dots, and the Winchester Ranger-T, some people love the Cor-Bon DPX, I can't justify $30 for 20 rounds to myself, no matter how hard I try, not when there are so many great loads out there for less money.

[elChupacabra!]

I like Cor-Bon 135gr JHP. They advertise it at 1325fps, which would put it in a ballistically similar bracket as .357 Mag (on paper, at least).

Although it's a very hot round, recoil seems more manageable than the 180gr FMJ I usually practice with, partially due to the lighter projectile (?). I'm not sure of the acutal physics, but in my experience, a light, fast round has less recoil than a heavy, slow round in the same caliber. This may just be my perception, though.

One thing to consider though, is that I shoot an HK P2000, with a fully-supported chamber... in the Glock, you might want to stay away from this ammunition, as Cor-Bon has a reputation for VERY hot loads, and we've all heard of the infamous kB!s.

This is alot of hypothesizing though... anyone else have experience with Cor-Bon ammunition in a G22 / G23?