SD ammo, how do you decide?

Fretting over the choice can be "fun" (in a weird sort of way), but I doubt you'll see any real difference in end-result between any of them.

If you want 125gr, look for a major brand that makes a SD round in that weight. Buy enough to verify that they function well through your intended weapon (thats the main thing - the bestest magic bullets in the world are useless if your gun jams with them) and after that load up and carry.

SPEER GDHP 124gr

Hornady XTP 124gr

Remington Golden Saber 124gr

There are many options, some will debate what is better, choose the type of bullet (JHP, RN) you want, then research and decide on the maker. Research on what you want the bullet to do, helps to decide 115gr, 124gr or 147gr.

I go with any quality brand with a good reputation, and that runs reliably in my gun. I usually carry Speer Gold Dots because I can find them cheaper than most others.

If I was looking today, I would find the first box that was in stock

In other times, I agree with much of what has been said. Much argument is made here and elsewhere about the best SD ammo. IMHO, almost any brand of SD ammo is going to be just fine, especially if it has been on the market for more than a couple of years.

As a whole, 9 mm. JHP ammo made by reputable companies, either American or European, will give you good results. Needless to say, you should use a modern gun, also made by a well known and reputable company. That said, SD experts highly recommend to test your chosen ammo before considering it for SD at home or EDC. As a rule of thumb, shoot 200 rounds in a single session (I know it's a lot of money, particularly in these times) and if you don't experience more than 1 failure, the ammo will be OK for self defense purposes. In my personal case, I alternate Speer Gold Dot, Remington Golden Saber and Federal Hydra Shok, all of them 124 gr. with no hiccup.

Care & feeding....

When selecting a 9x19mm(9mm) defense round, it's good to see what cycles or functions correctly in your pistol. You also want something that offers good marksmanship & enough power.
To me, in 2014, a great carry/defense round that available in most places is the Hornady Critical Duty(not the Critical Defense). The silver box critical duty 9x19mm in the +P format is fast, powerful & able to function in most modern 9mm firearms.
Other top 9x19mm brands include the Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P JHP, Corbon DPX, PowRball, MagSafe SWAT(home defense only, not for regular CCW), Federal HST, Ranger T/T Series 124gr +P, Hornady TAP.
I agree that the 124gr +P JHP is best in 9x19mm. I'd add that to load any spare magazines with a 124gr milspec FMJ like the Winchester Ranger T 9mmNATO or the Buffalo Bore 124gr Penetrator +P+ 9mm load. If you need to reload, there is a strong chance a bad guy or subject will be behind cover or you'll need to make sure 100% your remaining rounds function.

Rusty
www.sgammo.com www.midwayusa.com www.shopcorbon.com www.grafs.com www.brownells.com www.natchezss.com www.buffalobore.com

Till now I have just used a JHP from a known maker and been done with it.

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So, why the change? Have you run out of it?

I run whatever I can find that runs well in my gun. The last time I was looking, I just went with a commonly-available and affordable 9mm JHP round that runs well in my Kel-Tec PF9, and acquired enough of it to hold me a while. It also runs well in my Ruger P95. Granted, it's a 115-grain round, but I cannot find locally enough of a 124-grain version to justify the costly switch. Still, I do not feel "underpowered" with the lighter load, especially in the summer months.

These threads always generate posts where people list the round they carry but don't list the reason why.

I think to go about selecting a self-defense cartridge. you have to gain an understanding or at least form a belief about what causes incapacitation. After that it is a matter of what part of the bell curve you want to cover. On one end of the spectrum is a frontal shot on the skinny guy wearing a T-shirt. The skinny guy is 11" from front to back - not much muscle, a frontal shot with a 105gr EFMG that penetrates 8" to 9" is going to reach vital tissue, a frontal shot with a 115gr all-copper hollow point that penetrates 10" to 11" is going to reach vital tissue. On the other end of the bell curve is having to take a cross shot on a barrel-chested, muscle-bound thug wearing a jean jacket over a shirt, and a T-shirt underneath that. Can those same rounds go through a jean jacket, a shirt, a T-shirt, a bicep, another layer of T-shirt, another layer of shirt, another layer of jean jacket, another layer of jean jacket, another layer of shirt, another layer of T-shirt and still reach vital organs?

Probably not.

Maybe you own a messenger service in Minneapolis and you drive around all winter and your primary concern is a car jacking. And you determine you need to be able to shoot through your drivers side window and stop a car jacker. Well then you want a bullet that can go through glass, heavy clothing and still reach vital tissue. Find the cartridge that does that.

Maybe you own a house on the beach in Florida and you sit on the beach all day but you want to be able to deal with muggers or thugs from the bad neighborhood down the way... so you're probably not going to be shooting through drywall, car doors or heavy clothing... just shooting into an assailant who is wearing a T-shirt or even bare chested, so find a bullet that reaches vital tissue under those circumstances.

But maybe you think your odds of facing a barrel-chested muscle bound thug are too slim to go through all the trouble of preparing for such an encounter. Or maybe you think that once a barrel-chested muscle bound thug sees that you have a gun he's gonna high-tail it out of there.

Maybe another way to approach it is to go by reputation or anecdotes - for example the Federal 9BPLE 115gr +P+ round developed a good reputation with the Illinois State Police.

But there has to be some logic behind the selection process.

Then the cartridge has to work in you firearm.

My Rohrbaugh is 100% reliable with 124gr and 147gr Gold Dots and 147gr Winchester Ranger "T" Series RA9T. My Rohrbaugh doesn't like 147gr Remington bonded Golden Sabre - so I don't load it with 147gr Remington bonded Golden Sabre.

What ever you choose, just make sure to buy enough to test it in your gun. Each gun has different ammo preferances and will shoot different loaded ammo to different accuracies and points of impact. Some ammo will not cycle in certain auto loaders. So test it.

As far as what to choose, think about your potential threat, animal or human or both, your environment (Light for caliber standard pressure ammo may help limit the potential for overpenetration and collateral damage, but may be less effective as a result. Heavy hard cast ammo may be better for big critters.), and then watch and read some reviews of potential choices.

Be advised, ballistic gel tests indicate the potential to penetrate and expand, but should not be taken as a litteral interpretation of what a bullet will do in a body. Bones and clothing alter everything.

Selection of self defense loads is mostly about confidence in the ammunition. All JHP's from the major manufacturers will work but the premium ammo is more likely to perform better under more conditions like heavy clothing or minor barriers.

I primarily use what the police use since it is ammo that's been most tested where one can find performance based data from both in the lab and actual street results, at least on anything that's been around for a few years. The amateur testing on Youtube is also interesting and gives one some assurance regarding the effectiveness of the ammo.

For semi auto calibers I generally buy police surplus as its less expensive per round than the standard pressure 20 to 25 round boxes of equivalent loads you find at the stores. I also pick up civilian packaged when found on sale. Some of the best loads like +P+ 9mm are not available to us civilians except as surplus. I reload my practice ammo so other than some initial testing to make sure the factory loaded stuff will function and is adequately accurate or to rotate out old ammo occasionally, the SD ammo is carried but not shot.

+1 Hornady Crictical Duty. Watched "you tube" on several brands using FBI standard and was most impressed with this round and my gun(s) love it too.

FBI protocol tests....

The "standard" many go by is the FBI protocol tests. This in depth T&E measures a pistol caliber bullet's performance with things like gel, steel, auto glass, denim(fabric), plywood, sheet-rock, etc.
If a common handgun round like the Speer Gold Dot +P, Hornady Critical Duty, Ranger T/T Series, etc do well then it's a good way to decide what to use.

Budgets, logistics(available sources) & training can all be factors.

I don't buy into all the hype regarding the uber round of the week. I usually buy some type of older design hollowpoint (9mm) and practice with that. For the last few years, I've been able to get my hands on Federal's Hi-Shok or Hydra-Shok and the Fiocchi HP's at what I consider to be a reasonable price. Are they the latest & greatest? No, but I practice with it often because it doesn't cost over $1.00 a round. I am a firm believer that someone who practices a lot can do a decent job in defending themselves even with FMJ rounds.

That said, SD experts highly recommend to test your chosen ammo before considering it for SD at home or EDC.

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One old-timer told me that I should use the same ammo as I practice AND the ammo that is carried in your SD gun should be from a box where you have successfully shot a mag (or at least a few rounds) from.

Good ole days....

In the 1990s & 2000s, I would advise gun owners or armed professionals with 9mm pistols to use a 124gr defense load. That way they can purchase milspec surplus or NATO rounds that were 124gr FMJ at a much lower cost.
Today, in 2014, you pretty much need to take what you can get.
Prices & even logistics mean you can't be 100% sure a 9x19mm round or FMJ will be available.

Buying in bulk(500-2000 rounds) isn't as far fetched as the 1990s/2000s.

I buy a quantity of whatever I can get a good price on when I need more so I can afford to practice with it and be sure there are no issues with it in my carry guns.

Where you place the bullet on the target is far more important to effectiveness that which bullet it happens to be.

Most of my recreational shooting is my reloads.

SPEER GDHP 124gr

Hornady XTP 124gr

Remington Golden Saber 124gr

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This.

With as advanced as bullet technology has become it is hard to make a bad choice.

I usually stick with one that has a proven record in real world performance and works in my gun.

Right now I carry Underwood 124gr +p+ loaded with jhp.

WildBillz said:

What are your thoughts?

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My general preferences:

1. Top shelf hollow point from a long established mainline manufacturer; Winchester, Hornady, Federal, Remington, Speer.

2. Heavy for caliber; 38spl = 158gr, 45acp = 230gr

Speer 124+P GDHP
Federal 124+P HST
Remington 124+P Golden Saber

Ammunitiondepot.com is a great place to buy the 50 boxes. The HST +Ps are unobtainium right now.

All sorts of factors. Ballistics and availability are the two that usually influence me the most. I stopped carrying Federal Hydra-shok 115gr after seeing videos of that round clogging with denim during ballistic tests. I switched to 147gr HST, the improved "big brother" of the Hydra-shok.

About 5 years ago there were numerous Winchester White Box 147gr JHPs for sale at Walmart so I grabbed them up. They were 50 round boxes for about 25 bucks a piece. They run well in my S&W SD9VE and I like the idea of a heavier bullet. Though they were not premium, I am confident in modern bullet design and when I run out of them I'll find something else comparable. I think, to some extent, the premium stuff follows suit with marketing strategies, the hype and packaging are "sexy". They are good stuff to be sure but in my opinion not worth the extra dough.

LeftyTSGC said:

SPEER GDHP 124gr

Hornady XTP 124gr

Remington Golden Saber 124gr

There are many options, some will debate what is better, choose the type of bullet (JHP, RN) you want, then research and decide on the maker. Research on what you want the bullet to do, helps to decide 115gr, 124gr or 147gr.

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Yes. This...Just make sure the box says Underwood on it.