Best type ammo for self defense?

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borrowedtime69

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Hello everybody! Got a question for you to help me pick the best TYPE of ammo for 2 situations please. I have and will be carrying my new Glock 48 (in 9mm for those like me who haven't delved into all the Glock variants) because I found it to be in my price range & light enough to carry, for me it fits my needs. So here it goes:

1. Concealed carry; should I go for a slow but heavy round like 147grn hp, or a lighter, faster round like a 115gn hp?

2. For black bear and mt lion self defense. I hunt coyote in the CO rockies and call in areas with these 2 larger predators and im a bit concerned about having one of these come a running at me. I had a very nice salesman recommend a Winchester silver 147 grn hp, I had been carrying a Winchester flat nose 147grn for bear in another pistol I had. Please keep in mind that I cannot get a larger caliber due to its cost as well as needing to find the ammo for a larger caliber.

I know penetration is key, so do I have a slow heavy flat nose fmj, large & slow hp, or smaller & faster.

Oh, I forgot, I hunt coyote with a .223 bolt gun. Thanks everybody!
 
I split the difference between velocity and mass with 124gr 9mm. +p if you want to squeeze out that extra bit of velocity to make sure there is enough for a hollow point to open up. But +p will produce more felt recoil in a lighter firearm. So that is important to consider.

9mm isn't going to be much of a defense against black bear and cougars. But penetration is what will work best. I would recommend a 9mm hard cast load, in either standard pressure or +p, going as fast as possible. Like the stuff from Buffalo Bore.

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=389
 
As a fellow CO Front Range individual, I would go with a good quality 147 gr JHP like the HST for urban use, and a 147 gr FMJ flat point for trail carry. They should shoot similarly for POA/POI, which makes things easy. 9mm is sufficient for cats, and we don't have coastal brownies here, so 9mm meets "marginal" for bear. Not recommended, but infinity better than zero weapon if an actual attack occurs.
 
For 2 legged animals the 9mm in 147 HP should do the trick as long as you hit them in the torso.
For 4 legged animals you need something much bigger like .40 .45 or 10mm.
 
Well, for personal protection, any quality JHP will do. Pick one that you shoot well and that functions reliably in your gun. For bear, or mt. lion, I'd suggest running your 223 bolt gun dry before reaching for your 9mm. At that point, the difference between 115g or 147g probably is going to be marginal at best.
 
AK Hunter said:
For 4 legged animals you need something much bigger like .40 .45 or 10mm.
Click to expand...

Expect when that is not in the cards right now, per the OP. A deep penetrating heavy flatnose 9mm solid is FAR better than nothing. A rifle is no go for almost all county and city owned foothills trails anyway.

OP- Do you have your CC permit? It may be helpful (or not, given recent state legislation) for your needs.
 
Federal 150 gr Micro HST or Win 124 gr +P would be my choices. For the dual-duty you’re looking for I’d go with the HST load myself.

Trail and camp awareness is honestly your best bear defense. Could a 9mm kill a bear? Sure. That being said I don’t want to beta test that theory myself, thank you very much. Hopefully you won’t either.

Stay safe.
 
Bullet brand is going to be a bigger difference in self defense style bullets than bullet weight. Choose one that has a proven track record such as the HST, Gold Dot, Critical Duty/Defense, Ranger, etc... and don't worry about it.

For animal defense I'd get some of the hard cast heavies like were linked above. If you can't get those I'd use a 147 grain FMJ.
 
FWIW: EDC .40 180gr JHP HST and a bug 9mm 147gr JHP HST.

When I'm at our CO home, and since we get black bears in our yard weekly coming within a few feet of our walkout basement, and occasional mountain lion, for a variety of reasons, I feel a .44 Mag revolver in a chest holster is a solution for my situation. Thus, I bought an Alaskan .44 Mag and practice with 240gr JSP and carry 300gr JFN. Plan A is bear spray, Plan B is the Alaskan. Since I take my dogs out on leashes at night to do their thing, I have missed an encounter literally within seconds. So my bear encounters are quite high.

Data shows most people do not even realize they are by a bear until they are 14 feet from it, IF it is that close, you may get lucky and have only one shot. Thus, in my situation, I want the best odds of stopping the threat.

To be fair, the .44 Mag is not for everyone. I happen to enjoy shooting full loads with mine. Reasonably priced ammo for the .44 Mag can be found.

If you insist on using your 9mm, then absolutely buy the 147gr FMJ or the hard cast from Buffalo Bore. BTW, here is a link to Buffalo Bore's take on Black Bears https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=62#9.

Here is a link regarding handguns and bear attacks https://www.ammoland.com/2020/03/up...r-attack-93-cases-97-effective/#axzz76POtOIIx. While both of the links give some form of support for a 9mm against black bear, I would strongly suggest against using a 9mm unless that is all you have. I would strongly suggest you buy a larger caliber revolver.......

https://ring.com/share/e64d10ee-75e9-4579-afa3-d2bc91b34e7c
 
Last edited:
CodeSection said:
FWIW: EDC .40 180gr JHP HST and a bug 9mm 147gr JHP HST.

When I'm at our CO home, and since we get black bears in our yard weekly coming within a few feet of our walkout basement, and occasional mountain lion, for a variety of reasons, I feel a .44 Mag revolver in a chest holster is a solution for my situation. Thus, I bought an Alaskan .44 Mag and practice with 240gr JSP and carry 300gr JFN. Plan A is bear spray, Plan B is the Alaskan. Since I take my dogs out on leashes at night to do their thing, I have missed an encounter literally within seconds. So my bear encounters are quite high.

Data shows most people do not even realize they are by a bear until they are 14 feet from it, IF it is that close, you may get lucky and have only one shot. Thus, in my situation, I want the best odds of stopping the threat.

To be fair, the .44 Mag is not for everyone. I happen to enjoy shooting full loads with mine. Reasonably priced ammo for the .44 Mag can be found.

If you insist on using your 9mm, then absolutely buy the 147gr FMJ or the hard cast from Buffalo Bore. BTW, here is a link to Buffalo Bore's take on Black Bears https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=62#9.

Here is a link regarding handguns and bear attacks https://www.ammoland.com/2020/03/up...r-attack-93-cases-97-effective/#axzz76POtOIIx. While both of the links give some form of support for a 9mm against black bear, I would strongly suggest against using a 9mm unless that is all you have. I would strongly suggest you buy a larger caliber revolver.......

https://ring.com/share/e64d10ee-75e9-4579-afa3-d2bc91b34e7c
Click to expand...

I am similar to you- my primary open carry bear gun is a 4" 629 with 240 gr JSP or 300 gr HC, and has been out of its holster quite a few times- day and night. However, such a platform is some impractical for concealment on the "Open Space" type trails. The OP stated only wanted 9mm options, so that targets the discussion. Regardless of pundits, the 9mm does have deep soft target penetration with a heavy solid projectile, and that makes it at least "marginally viable" for animals in this area. I absolutely concur the pepper spray should be option 1, gun option 2.
 
.455_Hunter said:
Expect when that is not in the cards right now, per the OP. A deep penetrating heavy flatnose 9mm solid is FAR better than nothing. A rifle is no go for almost all county and city owned foothills trails anyway.

OP- Do you have your CC permit? It may be helpful (or not, given recent state legislation) for your needs.
Click to expand...

No, but will be taking the class soonest I am able, then wait a month or so before the state will issue it to me.

And thanks to you & others for working with my limitations. I tried to balance between full size for open carry & a slimmer one for CCW.

Thank you to ALL OF YOU for your experience and advice!
 
SharpDog said:
I use Federal 147 gr. HST Tactical +P exclusively. The fact that you need anything else is a myth. Quickness of presentation and shot placement are key.



View attachment 1025496

https://www.ammoland.com/2020/03/up...r-attack-93-cases-97-effective/#axzz75j22M85M
Click to expand...


Yes- The 147 gr HST variants are excellent, for human defense, and smaller four legged threats- dogs & probably mountain lions. They do not penetrate deeply enough for emergency use against a target like a black bear.
 
.455_Hunter said:
Yes- The 147 gr HST variants are excellent, for human defense, and smaller four legged threats- dogs & probably mountain lions. They do not penetrate deeply enough for emergency use against a target like a black bear.
Click to expand...

And did you look at the data in the Ammoland article ? I suppose not.
 
My favorite carry round is the .40sw. Deal with it.

Usually Speer or Winchester PDX1. Federal HST is usually unavailable locally. As for weight, whatever the JHP is. Each round is optimized for a certain weight. Usually these high end rounds work well. If they didn't in a certain weight, that weight would disappear and be discontinued.
 
ANY 9mm round that goes boom will scare off any mountain lion or bear that I have ever seen. If the bang doesn't scare them off (very highly unlikely) hit them with bear spray.

But the common knowledge on this board is you should be packing a 500 S&W... in case you run into a Big Foot!
 
SharpDog said:
And did you look at the data in the Ammoland article ? I suppose not.
Click to expand...

I don't care about an ammoland article. FBI specification penetration performance is insufficient for an emergency bear gun.

Curious- How many times have you "supervised" a bear or mountain lion over the sights of your sidearm? It's an interesting experience.
 
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