Best Personal Defense Ammo

40SWHero51 · Jul 27, 2008

I have been doing EXTENSIVE research on what is the best personal defense load in the .40 S&W caliber. I own a S&W M&P - and I have been racking my brain to put together the best combo of firearm and ammo. I have settled on two loads for the playoff: 1. Winchester Ranger Partition Gold JHP 165gr & 2. Federal Hydra-Shock Tactical JHP 180gr.

I have placed the Winchester PG ahead of the Federal Round, but I cannot for the life of me find ANYWHERE to purchase this load! I can find the Hydra-Shock everywhere without even trying.

At this time I carry +P 165gr JHP loaded buy GA Arms out of Villa Rica, GA - I am very pleased with this load but have seen the terminal ballistics of the Ranger PG & Hydra-Shock and want to try these bad boys out. I don't want to settle on the Hydra-Shock without even running some of the PGs through my piece. I really like the idea and function of a +P load too - are the Ranger PG and Hydra-Shock loads available with a +P option? With these loads is +P even necessary?

MAIN QUESTION:

Does anyone know where I can find the Ranger PGs? I can't even find them on-line... I am open to recommendations, advice, and personal anecdotes.

mgkdrgn · Jul 27, 2008

If you can't even find them on-line, then you likely won't be able to find them.
I carry another Winchester load in 9mm, the SXT. Wouldn't surprise me to find they make them in .40 as well, and they will get the job done.

ge0624me · Jul 27, 2008

40s&w m&p

let me know ,when you find out, i have the same gun, by the way dont you just love this gun, i do, this is a very accurate pistol, but i too would like to know the answer to your good question....

3 gun · Jul 27, 2008

Unless something has changed there is no +P spec for 40S&W. If someone is calling their ammo +P they are telling you up front the ammo is out of spec.

As for top shelf self defense ammo the only real difference is how well you pistol shoots it. They are all really just about interchangeable. The difference between them would fall within the percentage of error in the stats. Just don't tell that to the ad departments.

In my carry pistols you'll find Gold Dots, Hydra Shoks, HST and Hornday XTP based on what each pistol shot the best. What will really make the difference is how well I do my part.

Natchez has about the best deals on ammo I've found on the web overall.

XDGirl · Jul 28, 2008

I was always told to stay away from Federal Hydra-Shock. Can someone please tell me why?

Dees · Jul 28, 2008

I like Federal HST's:

.40 180gr Hydra-shock on the left, 180gr HST on the right

RichardInFlorida · Jul 28, 2008

I was always told to stay away from Federal Hydra-Shock. Can someone please tell me why?

I don't know why you were told that. HydraShok is a good bullet design. It is several decades old, and I feel that there are some better choices now, but I would never feel poorly armed carrying a pistol that would reliably feed it.

FFMedic · Jul 28, 2008

I would say to avoid the MagTech ammo line. I had some 9mm JHP +P+ by them that was out of spec and jamed the slide of my gun a few times out of a hundred, eeek! The case was to large to even chamber.

Winchester Ranger JHP and Winchester Silvertips are good by me.

FFMedic

jcalys · Jul 28, 2008

I've been looking at .40 ammo for SD as well. One thing I've noticed is to get law enforcement ammo if you can, the prices are way cheaper. 20 rounds of HydraShoks will run in the $22 range, you can get 50 Federal HSTs for around the same price. HSTs are supposed to have much better expansion than the older Hydrashok design. I've had a hard time finding HSTs locally, but can get 50 rounds of Winchester Ranger for about $17 at the indoor range I like. Anyway, apparently not every retailer sells LE ammo to regular joe's, but some do, and it's not illegal in most places.

www.ammunitiontogo.com has Rangers, HSTs, HydraShoks, Golden Sabers, CorBon DPX, basically everything, and they sell to non LEO. I've never ordered from them, so I can't vouch, but they say they have it ready to ship.

The-Fly · Jul 28, 2008

I was always told to stay away from Federal Hydra-Shock. Can someone please tell me why?

Based on my own testing, they have a nasty habit of clogging and not expanding. Its a very old design, and pretty much anything else in terms of JHP works much better.

The HST's on the other hand, are excellent.

KC0QGL · Jul 28, 2008

I haven't looked for .40, but hornaday makes a very good JHP in .380. You may want to chech and see if they make it in .40

Cactus Jack Arizona · Jul 28, 2008

I carry a CZ 2075 RAMI, chambered in 9mm. I use two loads: Federal Premium Law Enforcement HST 124gr.
Remington Golden Saber 124gr.

Hornady makes a 40 S&W 155gr. and a 180gr. JHP in their XTP line. They also make the same grain bullets in their JHP TAPs. However, I have been cautioned about using the XTPs in my carry pistol as they are deep penetrators. Take this for what it's worth.

hotpig · Jul 28, 2008

Ranger Partition Gold has not been made since 2004. It was replaced by the Ranger Bonded.

40SWHero51 · Jul 28, 2008

let me know ,when you find out, i have the same gun, by the way dont you just love this gun, i do, this is a very accurate pistol, but i too would like to know the answer to your good question....

ge0624me:
I really do love this gun. It took me two hours to decide between the Beretta PX4 Storm .40 and the M&P. I have shot a PX4 Storm and this has reaffirmed my decision several times over.

Back to the Ammo:
I really appreciate everyone's input - I especially like the pictures of the HST expansion vs. the Hydra-Shock.

Hotpig:
Are you saying that the Ranger PGs are essentially the current "Bonded" Model or was the PG line replaced by the "Bonded" model? More directly - are they the same round but named differently?

40SWHero51 · Jul 28, 2008

After reading a bit about the HST load, Federal states that HSTs are designed to hold 100% weight retention and produce maximum expansion. From the pictures posted by Dees it looks like the HSTs expand a bit more than the Hydra-Shocks.

However, from their title it would seem that the Hydra-Shocks were designed to do just that - produce a great amount of hydrostatic shock. I have read and heard that it is hydrostatic shock that is more responsible for stopping and incapacitating an assailant where wound size and blood loss can take longer and be far less effective at this task.

Are the HSTs as "beefy" of a load as the Hyda-Shocks? The pictures seem to show a "plug" vs. a "shredder". However, I am being swooned by that image of an expanded HST. What a beast! I am going to get some rounds of both and put some through my rig ASAP.

wnycollector · Jul 28, 2008

If you cant find the Ranger PG and Hydra-Shock loads, you might want to check out

http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_26&products_id=32

I carry the 165gr Gold Dot in my CZ40B. They produce 1240fps 563 ft/lbs from a 4.5"bbl

TehK1w1 · Jul 28, 2008

40 S&W +P----->otherwise known as 10mm

Seriously though, most JHPs are gonna do just fine. Is the Ranger SXT available for 40 S&W?

40SWHero51 · Jul 28, 2008

wnycollector:
I have come across Double Tap several times and have always had an interest. Never had any word of mouth on them though. They have some premo stuff it looks like.

Hypnogator · Jul 28, 2008

My choices would be Federal HST or Cor-Bon DPX.

Prepster · Jul 28, 2008

Remington Golden Saber gets a big thumbs up here. Or, if you wish to join the JCPenny special forces, I believe Extreme Shock makes .40 SW rounds as well.

hotpig · Jul 28, 2008

Hotpig:
Are you saying that the Ranger PGs are essentially the current "Bonded" Model or was the PG line replaced by the "Bonded" model? More directly - are they the same round but named differently?

Totally different rounds. Winchester had no Bonded LE round to compete with Federal, Remington, and CCI.

PG had to go to make room for the Bonded,plus it was pricey compared to the T-Series ammo.

Psywarrior13 · Jul 29, 2008

I use the Ranger 155gr, and would recommend it to anyone else. Specs from Winchesters site:

Velocity: 1210 fps out of the muzzle, 1148 fps at 25 yards.
Energy is 502 out of the muzzle and 454 at 25 yards.

I haven't had any problems.

Shoot as many types of ammo as you can, you may find one type that you are more comfortable with over the others.

wnycollector · Jul 29, 2008

I have DT ammo in ALL of my pistols (.38, .357, .40 and .45). I have found it to be high quality and very accurate. I will also say it is very fairly priced for premium defense ammo. They have a .40 cal "sampler pack" where you choose 200 rounds of different loadings for ~$110.

40SWHero51 · Jul 29, 2008

Maybe a beginner question - but what exactly is it that makes ammo "bonded"? When looking at a few pictures it seems as though the a "bonded" round smashes in on itself rather than peeling and expanding like a JHP. Is "bonded" ammo sort of similar to the way EFMJ rounds function?

burningsquirrels · Jul 31, 2008

in 40sw i'm using:

135 grn JHP rainier
9.5 grns imr 800-x
speer brass
cci primer

out of a 4.7" CZ-40b barrel and factory recoil spring, though i ordered a 20# and 22# to try from the factory 18#.

i haven't chrono'd it yet but we're guessing a 185 or so ipsc power factor.

if you miss the BG, the flash and sonic boom ought to make 'im or 'er crap their pants.

but personally... as long as the cartridge feeds right and the round goes "BANG!" and accuracy is there for the bullet to shoot to the point of aim, i'd say it passes the most important requirements of all.

before this, i carried golden saber, only because there weren't gold dots on the shelf at the time.

Best Personal Defense Ammo

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Similar threads