Anyone use FMJ ammo as their carry ammo?

[Packman]

Just curious. If so, what caliber are you using? Any particular reason?

On-duty military guys, you don't count. You don't have a choice.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Yep, it's a .32, but I also load the first round and top mag round as Fiochi SJHP, so kinda, but I've never had a problem with maglock

 

[Erik M]

My first handgun was a bersa thunder that did not like hollow points. I kept a gold dot in the pipe and a magazine full of buffalo bore hard cast rounds.

Ive been real curious about some 9mm 95 grain jacketed soft points I saw on CTD for about 13 bucks for 50.

 

[Zombiphobia]

I have, but as soon as I was able to find HP's on local store shelves or a reasonable internet price, I got them.

This was last year, still during high "rights-loss" scare and pretty much all good stuff was constantly sold out.
I still carry a 15-round mag full of FMJ as back-up... but if 15 rounds of Speer Gold Dots don't stop what I'm shooting, I'm in trouble anyway.

 

[zombie666]

I never felt ill armed carrying 230 grain FMJ's in my .45.

 

[JShirley]

I have carried blunt-nose FMJ in my P32, but that's because the .32 ACP struggles to penetrate deeply enough for good SD.

 

[mljdeckard]

I don't, but if for some reason I had to, I wouldn't mind. I think the real world difference is limited, particularly in .45. I think that to see significant difference in actual stopping performance, you need to compare the extremes of the scale, like, 115gr 9mm FMJ to 230 gr .45 HST.

But it's still a good idea to give yourself every possible advantage when you are fighting for your life.

 

[nathan]

They recommend you use FMJ for small calibers like .380 and .32 cal. They need the penetration and the FMJ does better with HPs.

 

[blitzen]

I don't, but as I think about it penetration really means a lot to me. I would not feel ill armed or begrudge anyone who uses hot fmjs.

 

[deafdave3]

I carry a .32 FMJ, only because I can't afford a 9mm yet. Once I get that, it'll probably STILL be in FMJ.

 

[DasFriek]

With my full sized 1911 ive been know to carry my first round as a FMJ as my gun really loves to give ammo a slamming and gives horrible bullet setback.
At the moment ive been using a box of 50 Ranger T-series so i have a few spares but so far i have 6 rounds ive marked and set aside due to excessive setback.

Same with my .40 also.
So soon i will go back to my first round being a fmj and the rest all HP's.

If i carried a gun smaller than a .380 id carry fmj in it also.

 

[rskent]

Somtimes

In .380 I do. I just don’t think it hits hard enough to use hollow points.
In .45 Sometimes. I just think it’s big enough to not have to worry too much.
In 9mm. Federal Hydrashocks.
In 38 spl. Federal Hydrashocks.
Steve

 

[chupacabrah]

not in 9mm, since it would probably just pop through the target. JHPs all the time for me.

in .45, I wouldn't be against it especially in the winter. I prefer JHPs or SJHP or soft points in the summer at least though.

those are the only two calibers I have for carry currently.

 

[youngda9]

No, its been proven to be much less effective...I wouldn't tie my hands like that. I want every advantage I can possibly, heck I might not even fight fair if it comes down to a life and death situation, j/k of course

 

[Webbj0219]

Ive got FMJ in my .38 S&W644, Its just what I have right now. Its not the ideal. Just havent gotten the gold dots yet. Fmj is what my local wallyworld had in stock so thats what I got.

 

[Creature]

I carry FMJ in handguns with a caliber smaller than 9x18mm Makarov because with smaller calibers, penetration is far more important that expansion.

 

[Bubba613]

My rule is: in small calibers like .380, .32 etc a hollow point won't be effective. In a big caliber like .45acp a hollow point isn't necessary because it will be effective. Anything in between, .38, .357, 9, 40 I use HP.

 

[HOWARD J]

I use hydra-shoks in my nine.
Sometimes I wonder if I survive a gun fight--will some lawyer use them against me in a civil trial---HE USED A HORRIBLE BULLET TO KILL SUCH A WONDERFUL CHILD---A EVERY SUNDAY CHURCH ATTENDER, ETS, ETC, ETC/////////////////////////

 

[THe Dove]

40 = HP

45 ACP = FMJ

My preference...

The Dove

 

[CraigC]

Not if I can help it. For some reason folks seem to think that .45 hardball is an effective fight stopper but it is not. It just pokes a little hole all the way through with very little tissue disruption. You'd be far better off with a semi-wadcutter.

 

[snorky18]

I bet (most) everybody in New Jersey uses FMJ....

If I ever carried anything .380 (or 9x18) and smaller, I would carry FMJ to ensure adequate penetration.

With a 45 I wouldn't worry about "only having" FMJ instead of HPs, but given a choice, I'd certainly go with HP.

Also had to on my first carry gun (9mm) b/c it would not feed modern hollow points. Other than that, pass the HP please

 

[Skribs]

I have FMJ in mine right now, simply because I shot all my hollow points to make sure they'd feed. I had a box of FMJ left and I was like "oh, I guess I should save some." Once I go buy some more though, I'd use HPs. Not so much for the extra stopping power (that helps) but for the less over-penetration factor.

I do agree though that I'd probably use FMJ's if I bought a .380/makarov or smaller.

 

[sidheshooter]

Only when I'm coming or going to the range with the commander; too lazy to bring along more ammo boxes, and it's a .45. Soon as I finish cleaning her, though, it's back to jhp.

 

[bigfatdave]

For some reason folks seem to think that .45 hardball is an effective fight stopper but it is not. It just pokes a little hole all the way through with very little tissue disruption. You'd be far better off with a semi-wadcutter

Indeed.
The "hole doesn't get smaller" argument is ridiculous, the type of wound is entirely different from HP to FMJ or at least something that doesn't have a nice rounded non-deforming nose.

I use HP or EFMJ/filled HP in everything I carry that isn't a mousegun. On the rare occasions I carry a mousegun, it is a KT P32 loaded up with hot ball ammo or a NAA mini with the most reliable .22mag I can find, which happens to be CCI maximags, they don't generally expand but they do penetrate. But I carry a mousegun perhaps one day in a hundred, it isn't that hard to effectively conceal a compact gun in a duty caliber (9x19mm or .45acp in my case)
I recently picked up a CZ82 on a lark and I'll be evaluating HP for it to decide which side of the line it is on, if I'd have to sacrifice penetration for expansion, I'll go ball and keep an eye out for a semiwadcutter or similar.

Placement.
Depth.
Width.
In. That. Order.
Perhaps trauma or wound track style should replace width in that statement, but the concept holds true.
Most duty ammo is designed to give ~12" penetration in gel, mousegun HPs generally can't do that. Pretending that the cheap ball ammo you get from the plinking supply counter at Wal Mart is as good as a modern HP is just being stubborn or willfully ignorant of physics and the freely-available testing out there.

 

[SwampWolf]

As others have opined, in the interest of adequate penetration with the .380 cartridge, I prefer FMJ ammunition for my Ruger LCP. I also believe that it's hard to beat hardball bullets for extreme feeding reliability performance in most semi-auto pistols.