How many of you carry reloads in your SD guns?

Yes, I carry reloads. I know their POI, recoil generated, and my recovery time between shots. As for QC, I have never seated a bullet upside down, but have bought factory ammo with that occurring. I have never seated a primer upside down, but have bought factory ammo with that situation occurring.

Also, I have been in Federal Court. Seriously. After spending two days on the stand, I have more than apocryphal knowledge of what it is like. I stuck to the truth, and I walked.

Mrs Deckard has plated lead reloads in her XD right now because it's all I could get for a long time. Wen Uncle Sam re-pays my annual interest-free loan I will get some factory loads.

I want to carry ammo that I understand thoroughly. It needs to have been recommended by a competent authority, be in in wide circulation, work day and night and in the heat and the cold in my carry guns, fire a projectile that penetrates enough but not too much, have sufficient but not excessive energy for self-defense purposes, and be consistent from batch to batch.

As a result, I have chosen to carry factory ammo that a major manufacturer says is suitable for self-defense purposes (.45 acp Winchester Ranger T 230 JHP). I have a decent supply of this ammo and have tested it for proper function in my carry guns.

I've documented that the bullets in this load travel at an average of 851 fps from my carry guns, with a standard deviation of 17 and 370 ft-lbs of energy. These numbers do not vary significantly from lot to lot. Every year, I shoot large numbers of handloads that use 230 gr LRN/FMJ/JHP which travel at about this same velocity.

Periodically, I fire the rounds that I have carried for a while and then load fresh ammo. When I load fresh rounds, I document this action by writing the date on the ammo box the rounds came from (which includes the manufacturer's lot number), and store the box in my safe.

I've tested the Rangers at night, and have found that the powder used is extremely low-flash (especially when compared to my handloads). I've verified that the Rangers work reliably in the heat and in the cold. I've seen the results of tests conducted in calibrated gelatin, firing through layers of denim (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-K9krp7fnE). Penetration was 14 inches, bullets expanded to .74", with 100% weight retention.

For those of you who know your carry ammo this well (be it factory or handloads), I say BooYa! If you don't, though, run some tests, and see how it performs. You'll have fun! And you might be surprised by a few things.

If you do this work, nothing about your carry ammo will surprise you (if, God forbid) you ever have to use it for real, and you'll be able to respond effectively with documentation to most ammo-related questions that anyone might ask you afterwards. In my mind, these are both priceless benefits.

I carry a 442 and a 5star speed loader. Sometimes a speed strip also. One of these days my speed loader will be a second 442 or something similar.

I've been reloading metallic and shot shells for better than 30 yrs., and in that time, I have yet to experience a single failure with any of the cartridge types. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for factory and have experienced a number of mis-fires, as well as defects. But this is typical of most anything that is mass produced. So I won't trust my life with factory for SD, unless it's my only choice.

I asked a certified expert about using reloads for SD, he said no case history found. So unless someone is reloading a bullet that is designated as illegal in that specific state or region, there is no legal reason to not use them.
Expert source: www.armedpersonaldefense.com

GS

I use 125 gr Hornady XTP reloaded ammo because it's the only 125 HP stuff I can find and that is my first choice round for self-defense in .357. As far as the attorney stuff above, I would say I got the load out of the Hornady reloading manual and they are experts. I would also note that it is not a max load. I would also note that the good-guys (police) use hollow points. I probably wouldn't add that it is better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6 although I might if I got too upset.

"Attorney: so Mr Smith you made your own extremely lethal ammo? Why?"
Me: Do you have POSITIVE proof that my ammo was "extremely" lethal?

I just got into reloading and I am not comfortable with my abilities yet so I carry factory loads that I KNOW work in my carry guns.

I reload for everything but .22lr and my .40 Glock.

Re post 123: I just bought Mrs Deckard a set of Hornady CD. No more reloads.

I'm a freshly retired LEO of 38 years. I carried daily. I only used factory ammunition in my guns. I've been reloading for 20 years and have had only one squib round in that time. However, that squib was from my product, my hands. I can honestly say that I've never had a squib round from factory ammunition after only the good Lord knows how many thousands of rounds fired. So, I choose factory. You carry so you don't have to worry, (as much). Choose whatever makes you comfortable.