Do you change your SD ammo during winter months?

I use my own hand rolled JHPs year 'round.

The only reason I would change, would be if my carry piece were a .380acp or less, where a JHP would keep it from getting to the vitals.
Another reason may be if my carry piece were picky, and only reliably fed FMJ.

Knowing what's behind the target is a nice theory, and definitely the goal. But push may turn to shove in a lot less time than you have available to consider it.

TomJ said:

I recently came across an article in which the author mentioned changing the ammunition in his carry gun for the winter due to the need to penetrate additional clothing. That had never occurred to me, and I was wondering if anyone does so, especially in colder climates where heavy winter coats are the norm.

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I find that notion extremely silly and no of course I don't do it.

Not only is penetration of clothing extraordinarily easy, but you are likely to get more penetration through heavy clothing because of the hollow point cavity getting plugged.

I would immediately stop reading anything from that author and likely from that publisher/source, as anything they write or allow is now suspect.


...and so what if the JHP clogs, doesn't expand, and acts more or less like a FMJ? How is it 'better' to have FMJ that acts like FMJ all the time no matter what, instead of a JHP that probably expands and is thus superior, but MIGHT not expand and act like a FMJ?

We have every kind of weather here. From tank tops to parkas.

It's the FBI load for me. All the time. Either it expands, or it cuts and crushes. Both are undesirable for a bad guy. But in the end, I am just happy to have any sort of firearm for protection. Most options will work, IMO.

When I carry .380, it's Hornady Critical Defense. I like the idea of a deeper penetrating, but still (moderately) expanding round in a lower powered caliber.

For 9mm, I use the same ammo year around.

9mm 124g or 115g Gold Dots year round. They both do great through 4 layers of denim.

I change from .380 in a pocket to a 9mm on my hip

Both shooting Critical Defense



d

youtube actually is your friend with this question.

Check out shootingthebull410 videos on youtube. He has a excellent series of videos testing 9mm bullet performance from 3" barrel pistols. He uses FBI calibrated ballistic gelatin and rates the bullet performance based on FBI requirement of minimum of 12 " and not more than 18" of penetration.

What makes his tests really good is he shoots five rounds in bare gel and five rounds into gel covered with four layers of denim. This gives a excellent sample of bullets tested. I don't always agree with his arbitrary disqualifying cartridges that penetrate deeper than 18" but he makes good tests using a real world carrying gun.

p.s. He also tests .380. 38 Special, 45 Auto along with a few other calibers.

I carry same type year long but do shoot it and replace it every 6 months

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I follow this practice as well. Primarily FMJ ammo in .380 and .45 ACP, and JHP ammo in 9mm.

No, but I do switch pistols to something slightly larger in size simply because I'm generally wearing bulkier clothing which means that I can conceal a larger gun a little bit better.

It just so happens that the slightly larger gun is in .40 S&W (G23 4th Gen) vs the 9mm (G26 3rd Gen) that I normally carry.

Maybe it's a subconscious thing.

Not Much Call To

Some of the natives bundle up when the mercury drops into the 60s but most everybody else just puts on a sweater.
The tourists are still in teeshirts and shorts.

I often change the ammunition I carry during the winter, but really only because I change what firearm I carry during the winter. I carry a Ruger LCP Gen 1 380acp all year long, but usually in the winter I'll change over to an SP101 357mag, Glock 19 9mm, Sig P224 40s&w, Officer 45acp, etc.

Nice having the cold weather to help conceal larger firearms.

I use nothing but HP I saw a guy shot 5 times in body with a 45 auto 3 of 5 went clean thru . He escaped from the robbery and was arrested in hospital many miles away.

With pocket guns 380 /32 I toss the FBI 12" in the dumpster and carry HP I'll take 10"
on average person it will reach good parts . I am not going to shot 1 time with a pocket pistol I going to dump the mag as fast as I can .

I kind of do, but mostly because it's hunting season.

Wadcutters in snub in summer because it's squirrel season. I can also shoot these faster than the FBI load.

FBI load in cooler months because I might have to shoot a downed deer, and guys are wearing heavier clothes.

I used to carry federal nyclads. Shot 2 milk jugs and the billet barely popped out the second hug. Expanded perfectly but that ain't much penetration. I shoot the hell out of my snub, not worried about accuracy or power so long as I get it done in a few shots.


HB

Years ago I purchased a few thousand gold dot bullets, win silvertips, and for the short period of time the black talon bullets were available, a few thousand of them as well. I loaded almost all of them on a single stage, hand weighing every charge, mic'ing every round, and ran each batch through a chrono confirming their consistency.
This is what I have carried for years and sadly I am almost out of all of them. I just got another 1k gold dots and will get them tested and that will be my defensive load year round. I have full confidence in my rounds and on the incredibly slight chance I am ever put into the position of using them, I expect them to do just fine.

I do still have a hundred or so of the black talons in 9mm, and about the same for the silvertips in 9 & 357 that I'll probably just keep and load at some time.

No I don't change ammo type.

No.

Nope. I'm confident that my ammo will have no problem with a Carhartt jacket or a tank top. Same ammo as I carried on patrol for many years.

No.

230 grains Hydra Shok, .45 ACP, will do whatever I need in a dire situation, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.

L.W.

I don't change due to seasons. I always carry Hornady Critical Defense whether it is in .45ACP (my preferred), 9mm or .357 mag.

I do change weapons with climate and attire, but never gave ammo a thought. Still don't.

"....you should ALWAYS know what's beyond your target..."

This is unrealistic and nearly impossible to "always" do, or even have any reasonable hope of doing, for the average citizen in a adrenalin-charged, once-in-a-lifetime self defense shooting.

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When the home defense question comes up people are quick to advise using calibers that are less likely to penetrate walls to kill family and neighbors. This is a possibility in many areas where a self defense shooting might take place. Modern construction doesn't offer much to stop a bullet.

Not to mention active shooter situations in crowded malls that are full of panicking people. Pretty hard to always be aware of what's beyond the shooter in those circumstances.

shafter said:

When the home defense question comes up people are quick to advise using calibers that are less likely to penetrate walls to kill family and neighbors. This is a possibility in many areas where a self defense shooting might take place. Modern construction doesn't offer much to stop a bullet.

Not to mention active shooter situations in crowded malls that are full of panicking people. Pretty hard to always be aware of what's beyond the shooter in those circumstances.

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You remain responsible for every projectile you send downrange.

TomJ said:

I recently came across an article in which the author mentioned changing the ammunition in his carry gun for the winter due to the need to penetrate additional clothing. That had never occurred to me, and I was wondering if anyone does so, especially in colder climates where heavy winter coats are the norm.

Click to expand...

No, I don't make any changes. FWIW I don't believe that the military or my local police department does either. IMHO making those type of changes are a solution in search of a problem.

I carry the same thing year round. I know it works in my carry gun and I'm not going to go through the trouble of checking another just because the seasons change.

I don't change every (or any, really) time a new whiz-bang bullet is introduced either.

Having a round the functions 100% in your firearm is more important than any incremental improvement in terminal ballistics, IMHO.

Sport45 said:

I carry the same thing year round. I know it works in my carry gun and I'm not going to go through the trouble of checking another just because the seasons change.

I don't change every (or any, really) time a new whiz-bang bullet is introduced either.

Having a round the functions 100% in your firearm is more important than any incremental improvement in terminal ballistics, IMHO.

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If the newer and better round functions 100%, it is better, though. Depending on how long a person holds onto their ammo, they may be carrying something sub-optimal. Ammo is getting better and better about consistently expanding even through various barriers and clothing