[Ditch-Tiger]

If you were forced to carry store bought FMJ bullets for self defence, what brand would you opt for?
Which brand do you think is loaded the hottest?

[Fishslayer]

S&B has a rep for being loaded hot. Wouldn't know for sure, but that would be my choice.

230gr FMJ... don't know how much difference a hunnert fps or so would make anyway. It's gonna leave a mark.;)

.mil surplus would be good, too.

[TexasRifleman]

Which brand do you think is loaded the hottest?

If I were going to carry FMJ I don't think I'd be worried about an extra few feet per second, I'd be worried about a brand with the highest reliability in my particular gun and the lowest failure rate of the ammo itself.

[Frank Ettin]

If I were going to carry FMJ I don't think I'd be worried about an extra few feet per second, I'd be worried about a brand with the highest reliability in my particular gun and the lowest failure rate of the ammo itself. +1

I can't imagine that any small velocity differences amongst available choices would have any meaningful effect on street performance. What counts is reliability.

[Onward Allusion]

Sellier & Bellot, Fiocchi, Winchester Ranger NATO... All good reliable rounds and slightly higher pressure.

[jonn5335]

what ever was cost effective but I would'nt run foreign ammo thru my gun I'd buy federal,winchester,remington but I don't care for blazer and only brass cases for reloading purposes

[Fishslayer]

Sellier & Bellot, Fiocchi, Winchester Ranger NATO... All good reliable rounds and slightly higher pressure.


Is Win NATO a brand or is there an actual .45ACP NATO round?:confused:

[Manco]

If you were forced to carry store bought FMJ bullets for self defence, what brand would you opt for?
Which brand do you think is loaded the hottest?

It depends on the specific caliber, too.

If I were going to carry FMJ I don't think I'd be worried about an extra few feet per second, I'd be worried about a brand with the highest reliability in my particular gun and the lowest failure rate of the ammo itself.

Good point, especially since FMJ is unlikely to be short on penetration depth with the most common defensive calibers (thinking of handguns here).

Sellier & Bellot, Fiocchi, Winchester Ranger NATO... All good reliable rounds and slightly higher pressure.

That's true for 9mm, but some of these brands load .40 S&W relatively lightly--for the latter caliber, I think that Speer Lawman is loaded fairly hot. Also note that Fiocchi loads 9mm more lightly in their US-made ammo, and that S&B uses relatively hard primers that some handguns may have trouble with (great quality for range-type ammo, just not necessarily ideal for every gun).

[Justin Holder]

I like CCI Blazer in 10mm, it is not loaded "hot" but it is still a good load.

[ChCx2744]

Although FMJ doesn't really do well as an expanding wound cavity maker, I will be one of the first to say that it feeds pretty darn well. I don't think I've ever had a feeding problem with FMJ ammo in any of my guns. HPs, on the other hand, tend to give people more of a problem. I believe there are folks out there who actually carry FMJ as their carry load in .45 ACP guns.

[Dr.Rob]

I would get the fastest FLAT pointed FMJ I could find.

[Onward Allusion]

Is Win NATO a brand or is there an actual .45ACP NATO round?

Oops, didn't realize that you were talking 45ACP. I THINK S&B and Focchi are still a bit hotter, but I am not sure. 45ACP is not my forte. Was referring to 9mm when I'd mentioned NATO.

[essayons21]

Any brand name 230gr RN would be just fine with me.

I prefer Federal for range ammo the few times I actually buy ammo. I use it mainly because of availability and price, but have never had any problems.

[Ditch-Tiger]

Let me clarify by giving a specific scenario.

Say you were going into griz country and only owned a .357 for a carry gun. I would assume you'd want a FMJ since the round doesn't really have enough energy to reliably punch a HP deep enough to bring down a griz.

Another example would be a .32acp cartridge for SD against 2 legged attackers for the same reason above.

So, i would think under these circumstances, you would want the hottest (and most reliable) rounds you could get as neither round is ideal for the task at hand but both are better then a pointy stick or a rock.