Best .40 cal self defense ammo?

[Preacher.]

I just bought a Beretta Px4 Storm in 40 cal. This is my first 40 that I've ever owned. I'm looking for opinions on best self defense ammo. I travel a lot, so the gun will be with me on the road all the time. When Im home, it will be in my nightstand, but primarily, Im outdoors traveling in a vehicle. Thanks!

 

[777TRUTH]

Anything from the Federal HST line.

Specifically the Federal HST 180 grain P40HST1 is my favorite.

A little test from a fellow THR member with pics CLICK HERE

Any Speer Gold Dot would be my second choice

Winchester Rangers would be my 3rd.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

"Best" is at best subjective. Unless somebody creates a self defense round that vaporizes the bad guy without going on to harm others afterwards, you will always have arguments...er..."debates"...as to which round is best and why. It's a never ending "debate".


I don't own a 40, but the same principles apply for this as for any other caliber I own and have bought self defensive rounds for:

- Research a few and buy various rounds to test fire in your hand gun.

- In my opinion, whatever you shoot should be representative of the bullet mass and velocities you typically target shoot with. This is most likely to result in self defense ammunition that shoots very close to how your target ammunition shoots.

- Above all, whatever you settle on MUST feed flawlessly in your gun.


As an example, the self defense rounds I use for my 9mm and my .45 are the Gold Dot 115 grain 9mm and the Gold Dot 230 grain .45.

They feed reliably, have the same mass and velocity as the target ammunition I practice with, and shoot the same pattern as my target ammunition.

 

[ku4hx]

Here's a bit of performance data that may help you decide.
http://www.firearmstactical.com/ammo_data/40s&w.htm

 

[[email protected]]

It's hard to say which rounds would be the very best, and there is alot of good quality ammo available. I carry Remington's Golden Sabre 180 grain bonded bullets. I dont carry them because I think that they are the best, but by policy that is what I have to carry. When I got my glock 27 for an off duty carry gun I was worried about how well they would open up in the shorter barrel, since they are bonded and have a brass jacket. I tested some in wet newspaper with my glock 27, and using my g22 as a control. The rounds fired by both guns opened up almost identical. Both rounds were on par with each other on how much they penatrated. The bullets held together really well with around 96% weight retention.

 

[19-3Ben]

Seriously, any good, modern bonded ammo.

Gold Dot, HST, Ranger/PDX1, are all good places to start.

 

[Bovice]

Any modern loading intended for law enforcement would be the best. Federal HST/tactical bonded is probably it.

 

[Kahr33556]

the list could be long but the ones I like in order.

1 Speer Gold dot
2 Federal HST
3 Winchester Ranger
4 Remington Golden sabber

 

[Thompsoncustom]

Underwood ammo in any caliber...

Uses Speer gold dots just more power behind them.

 

[Skribs]

My personal opinion is to look up gel results. The primary thing is you want a minimum of 12" penetration, up to 18", and reliable expansion. If the expanded bullet is "clawed" (which a lot of modern bullets are) that's even better.

That said, I tend to prefer 180-grain bullets in .40 S&W, even if it's just WWB JHPs.

Most reputable manufacturers make good ammo, but I'm personally wary of Hornady's Critical Defense line. They tend to go light-and-fast which is good for a lot of things, but lowers penetration. Might not be an issue in .40 but it is for some of the lower calibers.

 

[PabloJ]

My personal opinion is to look up gel results. The primary thing is you want a minimum of 12" penetration, up to 18", and reliable expansion. If the expanded bullet is "clawed" (which a lot of modern bullets are) that's even better.

That said, I tend to prefer 180-grain bullets in .40 S&W, even if it's just WWB JHPs.

Most reputable manufacturers make good ammo, but I'm personally wary of Hornady's Critical Defense line. They tend to go light-and-fast which is good for a lot of things, but lowers penetration. Might not be an issue in .40 but it is for some of the lower calibers.

The folks at Hornady understand your concern. That is why it's called Zombie Max now.

 

[westy39]

We carried the Speer Gold Dot 180 grain hollow point as our duty ammo. I retired not long ago and I still buy and carry the same ammo for my G22.

 

[481]

Regardless of caliber, the most versatile ammo is a heavy-for-caliber JHP. (147s in the 9mm, 180s in the .40/10mm, 230s in the .45ACP)

 

[EBK]

Have a look at the critical duty ammo. It is heavier and penetrates better than the critical defense line.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjrenK4N_qY