CCW(CHL) what kind of ammo do you use?

[sniperlongshot]

your gun can be picky, esp 1911's, good all around defence is corbon powerball, no rubber tips to drag on a feed ramp, and it feeds and shoots like fmj's, and won't clog up on layers of clothing because it hits like a ball, and expands well because the ball forces the hollow point bullet of expand

 

[sniperlongshot]

because i'm a amature reloader, and don't want to buy "bullets intended to kill people"
i load 147gr silver tips with 4.3 gr of red dot, it's a good stiff stopper and great for you 38/357 snubbies

 

[PaulKersey3]

Fiocchi fmj in my .380 and 7.65/.32 pocket guns.
Ranger SXT 230 gr +p hp for the .45s
Ranger SXT 127gr +p+ hp for car work, or OG (92')black talons for PD 9mm
Federal 125gr hp classic (357b) for long barrel .357
Gold Dot 135gr .38 special +p "custom snub round" in all snubbies.

 

[kyletx1911]

Wwb 230 hard ball

 

[sniperlongshot]

when i'm out at the farm, i carry my new vaquero 4 5/8" brl .45 long colt, i like a 250 gr hornady sst fmj hp with 8 gr of unique. it's a very devastating round designed to open up at low velocities.

3 years ago a put down a white tail with my 7 1/2" old model vaquero with the same bullet but a 10 grn ruger contender load of unique, the deer was about 175lb and got picked up 6 to 12 inches and thrown 2-3 feet.

only one small fragmet exited it's neck, it looked like someone nailed it with s cinder block on a chain, i'd have to guess 6 -7 hundred foot lbs of energy minimum.

so if you want a defensive hard hitting on shot put down round, bigger is always better

 

[PabloJ]

Being simple ole' sod I rely on .40 180gr JHPs at about 960fps.

 

[Centurian22]

Ok I'm not looking for two pages worth of "those aren't worthy of carrying" posts, however: IF all you have to carry is a 10 rd .22lr semi auto and a .32 S&W Long 6 shot revolver (and let's not forget the first rule IS to "have a gun"), what ammo do you recomend for these calibers? HP RN or WC? I have seen support for all three and look forward to reading some feedback.

Thanks.

 

[KTXdm9]

Federal HST 115 gr or Ranger 124 gr JHP here.

 

[thecarfarmer]

Ok I'm not looking for two pages worth of "those aren't worthy of carrying" posts, however: IF all you have to carry is a 10 rd .22lr semi auto and a .32 S&W Long 6 shot revolver (and let's not forget the first rule IS to "have a gun"), what ammo do you recomend for these calibers? HP RN or WC? I have seen support for all three and look forward to reading some feedback.

Thanks.

I've seen some .22LR ammo advertised as "Eley primed". Which makes me think that Eley is something worth bragging about...?

answers.yahoo.com thread on Eley

www.eley.co.uk site

Personally, I use the silver tip Winchester that I can buy at the local gun store for my G21, and just plain ol' Silver Bear if I'm carrying my FEG (chambered in Makarov), so I'm not up on what .22LR to use for defense. But, I've been thinking I'd try some Eley for my Ruger Standard if - I can ever become a good enough shot to need it.

 

[Rexster]

I tend to use Gold Dots lately, due to availability in quantity. I could get .40 180-grain Gold Dots when I was reliability-testing some new P229 duty pistols, during the Obamascare, by shopping at a couple of local law enforcement distributors. (Local taxpayers are very tight; I have to buy my own firearms and ammo.)

Even though it is scarce, I have recently adopted the Gold Dot Short Barrel load in .357 Magnum for my SP101 and S&W Model 19 revolvers. My wrists are not so tough anymore. In my heavier-weight GP100 revolvers, I will still use the full-pressure loads, preferring Federal 125-grain JHPs when I could get them, but lately, it seems local stores stock equivalent full-pressure Gold Dots, so I now use them. I used .357 Winchester Silvertips for a while in my lighter-weight .357 recolvers, but its price went way up, and local dealers stopped stocking it.

I have just about used up all of my cache of .45 ACP 230-grain Hydra-Shoks, which I used for many years, and as I have recently started carrying my TRS some of the time, again, I will need to run through a couple of hundred of some new load to establish reliability and confidence. (My TRS has never malfed, but it is good to be sure.) It seems .45 ACP Gold Dots are not so common locally, so I may settle upon something else.

This covers the defensive handguns I tote the majority of the time, when humans are the perceived threat. I prefer the heavier bullets in the auto-pistols, but lighter in the .357 revolvers. If larger critters are in the mix, I adjust the .357 ammo accordingly.

 

[gpjoe]

Currently carry:

45 ACP 1911 (officer, commander, government models) - 185gr Corbon DPX +P solid copper HP

Ruger SP101 (2-inch, 357 Magnum) - Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel

S&W M&P9c and Springfield EMP - 124gr DPX solid copper HP, though I have carried Golden Saber and Gold Dot.

S&W 442 - Hornady Critical Defense, though I am considering a change.

 

[9mmfan]

Glock 19 has 124 grain Speer Gold Dots, extra mag has 115 grain of the same. (I thought I had another box of the 124's around here, maybe at the bottom of the ammo crate.) I would be just as happy with Golden Sabers, Hydra-Shoks, or any quality JHPs, really. 642 has 135 grain +P Short Barrel Gold Dots. Out in the country on private property, Cimarron Model P would be Buffalo Bore Standard Pressure .45 Colt 255 grain LSWC. If'n I felt like packing the Government Model, I have some 230 grain Golden Sabers. I don't CC those, or my other handguns, so that may be out of the scope of the question. Sorry about that.

 

[M7]

When it comes to selecting ammunition for CC and SD, I just go with the heaviest premium JHP regardless of the caliber. (I carry guns in both 9 and .45)

After reading MacPherson (Bullet Penetration) and Schwartz (Quantitative Ammunition Selection), I've chosen to go with "heavy for caliber" SD ammo.

The .45 and the 9mm are loaded subsonic/heavyweight Gold Dots, HSTs or PDX, whatever is available.

 

[USAF04]

Hornady 185 gr FTX in .45 ACP. I use my reloads for practice. {:{)}

 

[CraigC]

I'm a big fan of Gold Dots and have been very impressed with their performance on game.

Just as a side note, it's usually not a good idea to carry so many different handguns for SD. You would be better off using one and getting very familiar with it. You don't want to make a mistake when under pressure when fine motor skills vanish.

I would have to agree. Familiarity is extremely important.

 

[RBid]

Ruger SR9c with 10+1+17 of Speer Gold Dot 9mm 124gr (standard pressure).

The 'fancy' stuff isn't bank-breaking, and GDHP have been incredibly consistent in testing. I'm good with spending a few extra dollars on the good stuff.

 

[cwl1862]

Usually Speer Gold Dots or Corbon JHP in whatever caliber firearm I happen to be carrying that particular day unless of course I'm toting a 357 mag, in that case I'll have it loaded with either good ole Rem 125gr JHP or WW 145gr Silvertips.

 

[cleardiddion]

.45 acp - 165 grain Low recoil Hydra shocks
.38 special - Nyclads

 

[tarosean]

9mm = 147g PDX1
45acp = 230g PDX1

 

[BSA1]

This is my take on the Taste Great, Less Filling debates.

Depends!

On the caliber mostly and the gun being used.

A friend and I have a debate over what bullet to use in the.380/9mmMak. He carries JHP's for maximum tissue damage and energy transfer. I carry FMJ for complete relibility and deep enough penetration to hit major organs regardless of the angle of the shot.

Reibility is everything.

Oh, as kyletx1911 says, ball ammo in my 45's.

 

[CraigC]

I carry FMJ for complete reliability and deep enough penetration to hit major organs regardless of the angle of the shot.

Problem with that is that FMJ simply passes through with very little tissue disruption. I've used .45ACP hardball on a few critters and none of them knew they were shot.

 

[WoodchuckAssassin]

Anything Federal has always worked perfect in any gun I've ever owned. Even their "lower end" ammo has always been just right for me.

I've had some real bad luck with MagTech (faulty primers, mostly), so even though many will disagree, I wouldn't recommend MagTech. The first box of ammo I bought for my Ruger 1911 were Magtech hardballs...and 3 of the 20 rounds just fizzled when I pulled the trigger. For self defense, I can't trust my life to ammo that only goes *bang* 75% of the time.

 

[skt239]

Anything with these guys in the box

 

[popper]

Functions and goes bang every time, plus accurate enough to hit the x @ 25'. Does the style of bullet make any real difference? It is SD, right? 10 holes in a the OP wearing a leather jacket is still a problem for him. My pellet gun does a thru & thru on rabbits and they just jump a couple times if not DRT. Yes, I read the books about expansion and wound channel and such. So? My home SD is 40SW 165/180 lead FN, mid range load. I don't want to get hit by even 1.

 

[Elm Creek Smith]

My wife's* 4 inch S&W Model 681 is loaded with Speer 135 grain Gold Dot JHP .38 Special +P "Short Barrel" loads, as is my 3 inch Model 13-3, my 4 inch Model 10-5, and my Taurus 85SSUL. My work 4 inch Model 686-6** is loaded with the same only in .357 Magnum when I'm working indoors. Working outdoors it's loaded with Remington 125 grain SJHP .357 Magnums chronographed at over 1400 fps. My nickeled S&W Model 37(no dash) Airweight Chief's Special is loaded with Buffalo Bore standard pressure 158 grain LSWCHP-GC .38 Specials.

I usually carry two of them, sometimes three of them, and, on one occasion, four of them.

ECS

*(I lost the 681 to her when I put Crimson Trace grips on it. The "Short Barrel" .38 loads make it like shooting a .22. Yes, she carries it concealed.)
**(Yes, I carry it concealed sometimes. Depends on the mission.)