Best Self Defense Ammo! Please Vote!

Best General Purpose Self Defense Ammo

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HSTs are just as available as anything else. If you can find them.
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yep they're all over the place online. heck, even walmart and cablela's have them :)


But I still roll my eyes when someone is mocked for carrying 'old, obsolete' Hydra-shoks. A lot of people see to think that they magically became useless when Federal released a new bullet.
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it's not that. it's the fact that they consistently plug up when encountering clothing. that's why federal updated the starfire jhp design into the HST, rather than building on the hydrashock (notice they dropped the post?) ;)
 
I have no idea how common the problem is, or how any newer bullet designs REDUCE the likelihood of the problem. (The Hornady CD ammo in particular.) Even if it fails to expand, you are left with a..... .451 caliber wad of lead plowing through the target. And if one fails to expand, that doesn't mean at all that the follow-up shots will as well.
 
1stmarine said:
Most bullets posted are great rounds. The hydrashock are old that means they are supper good and that's the reason they are old since they had the customer support/quality to stay in the market.
The vote means nothing but more people have a preference in this post.
In terms of lethality the most in many calibers is CORBON followed by the god dot and Hydrashocks according to Marshall and Sanow, Street Stoppers and FBI OFFICIAL reports but in some calibers the hidrashock is the winner.
But I will not get too hanged up about a 90.3% lethality vs. 90.1% or something like this as much as the fact that you need to find a round that works for YOU and YOUR SYSTEM. also keep in mind too much power is a liability since the bullet might kill the criminal an continue towards innocent people.

Very simple idea but often ignored:
A Gun fight in a self defense situation is over in a few seconds, sometimes 2 seconds, so train for this situation.

3 words, train train train. Like an old wise Samurai said, we fight at the DOJO, then we play at the battlefield.
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Just thought this was worth mentioning again. Plus I like the quote.
 
Gold Dots for my Gen 3 S&W 9mm. No problems with feeds and reports are good. For my snubbie I use Federal standard pressure nyclads. I've heard that they have been reintroduced. Hope so because my gun shoots them well and have also read good things about them.
 
I didn't vote. I haven't looked at all the boxes in the selection.

Bearing in mind that in a SD court case, the ammo box, AND these posts may come back to haunt you.

When I find a box of SD ammo which doesn't have Lethal, Deadly,Guaranteed Most Effective, etc printed upon it, then I'll buy it.

My intent with safety ammo is bystander protection, if the time ever really comes to use it.
 
I can't vote for the "best" ammo either. I haven't tested all the rounds on this list. I doubt that few of us have used all these on the list. What this is - is more of a "favorites" poll.

If you are looking for the "best", "most lethal", or "greatest or most consistent expansion", I suggest doing some internet research, looking for side by side comparison tests.
 
Federal HST is available to private citizens from - http://www.policehq.com/ProductList...erValues=c5456663-1803-498f-9a57-3038b4914f95

I didn’t vote because I don’t believe there’s a single “best” load.

I load my 9mm pistols with Speer 124gr +P Gold Dot, not because I believe it’s “best” but because it’s a robust, reliable design that I’ve thoroughly function tested in my pistols and I can easily purchase in 50 rd boxes for less than $30 here - http://www.policehq.com/ProductList...erValues=f4b30d95-68f9-4018-af1f-52a586c95aed

HydraShok was one of the first of the truly “engineered” bullet designs, however it has its flaws – particularly when medium-heavy clothing is encountered. The post in the center of the hollowpoint cavity acts as a clog which prevents a cloth plug from being pushed to the bottom of the cavity. HydraShok won’t expand with its cavity clogged by the lead post and cloth plug. The post is a gimmick.

An interesting viewpoint regarding gelatin tests - http://www.m4carbine.net/showpost.php?p=698568&postcount=12

The best modern JHP loads demonstrate nearly identical penetration depth performance in both bare gelatin and gelatin covered by four layers of heavy denim cloth. (The best performing JHP loads are the ones with the least differences in penetration depth between bare gelatin and gelatin covered by four layers of heavy denim cloth.) Actual in-service performance usually falls somewhere between these two extremes.
 
I don't have an opinion as to which is best as I haven't had to shoot anyone, so I don't have any results to examine.
However, I carry CorBon DPX in my Hi-Power.

Rick
 
I use Gold dot for the most part. I also use remington umc jhps if I need to load up a lot of magazines.

2nd: Winchester pdx1

3rd: Remington Golder Saber

Does anyone know the difference between the Golden Saber and Ultimate Home Defense?
 
Never shot anyone either. I happen to have a lot of Speer Gold Dots in various calibers. :scrutiny:

M
 
Now go back and pull up all the threads on my "my pistol won't feed" (along with all the recommendations on throating, sending it back the manufacturer, etc) and see what ammo they are having trouble with. Invariably, it's Gold Dots.

Then pull up the street track record here: http://www.handloads.com/misc/stoppingpower.asp?Caliber=18&Weight=230 And learn that the "old fashioned" Hydra-Shok has a better record than the Gold Dot.
 
Now go back and pull up all the threads on my "my pistol won't feed" (along with all the recommendations on throating, sending it back the manufacturer, etc) and see what ammo they are having trouble with. Invariably, it's Gold Dots.
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I did your little search and I saw nothing of the sort. Gold dots are mentioned here quite often because they work in a lot of guns. There's nothing wrong with hydrashocks, but they are lagging in the technology department, hence Federal creating the HST.
 
How come I can't vote "All of the above"?

There is no magic bullet or load, only good shot placement.

rc
 
With all the hype on different ammo it can get confusing indeed.
What you have in the pipe is what you will be using.
Thats what it comes down to.
We need to know what we are using and the how it preforms on hard and soft targets.
Nothing is perfect, we need penetration but not too much in most cases.
So is it in a house behind a barrier or in a local store at the mall?
Know your target and beyond.
Know what to say when the smoke clears. Get a lawyer before you speak.
 
I did your little search and I saw nothing of the sort.
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Well, I see them so frequently I'm sick of seeing them. As for HydraShok "lagging in the technology department", newer doesn't always equate to better. Go back to the link I provided and see that the HS is rated #1 in actual police shooting data.
 
Many LE departments here in the "lower 48" carry Gold Dots. Speer still has big govt. contacts. I guess Speer is fooling everyone...including the NYPD.

M
 
My theory on buying SD ammo is there are several that are probably all pretty close to each other with no real winner in all circumstances. Its an expensive pain testing a new SD round in my carry gun. I've done Gold Dots and Golden Sabers so I tend to stick to them. I'm not saying they are the best but I know they work and work well.
 
rcmodel

How come I can't vote "All of the above"?

There is no magic bullet or load, only good shot placement.
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glad we have the guy to show up in the ammo thread and remind us about shot placement. Thanks. you know because the rest of us all thought that we could shoot someone in the foot with the best bullet on the market and it would instantly drop any attacker.:banghead:
 
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