Do you reload your own SD ammo?

[PotatoJudge]

The argument about not being able to afford factory ammo or not getting the performance is pretty weak IMHO...

Performance-wise I agree. There are loadings out there to fill about any need.

Cost-wise, 200 rounds for the semiautos (100-200 for revolvers)- that's 10 boxes at about $20 a box. That's $200 per gun and that's if the first ammo you try works. Add another $100 if you want to try different loads for flash, noise, POI/POA, etc. At $200-300 a gun (and who keeps just one gun loaded for SD?) that'll add up real quick. The argument is weak if you have the money for it but on a budget it's a pretty good one.

 

[jerkface11]

I for one do not trust factory ammo. Having your gun go click when you NEED it to go bang is a bad thing. And I've run into factory ammo with no flash hole!

 

[DMZ]

I do not develop loads specifically for SD, but in my area the most available bullet (over the counter) in most calibers and weights is the XTP. This is a bullet I can afford and find it to be accurate in all of my pistols and revolvers, so, most of my ammo stash is loaded with XTP's. If I was ever to shoot a home invader, it would be easy to show I used my plinking/target/hunting load.

 

[Oohrah]

Yep I do. I would only worry about a clean kill without a surviver!

 

[polekitty]

In that case of SD with a 10mm, the guy probably didn't have a gun-knowledgeable lawyer. To say he was guilty for too much power was stupid. Most police don't use those calibers because they just can't handle a "strong" gun! Let's face it, most police are not shooting enthusiasts. Folks go int police and fire for one prime reason: where else do you find a job which will still be there next month? Much less, 25 years later to retire! The 40S&W is popular for one and only one reason---it's more potent than 9mm, but works fine for people who just are plain scared to try shooting anything bigger! And, 10mm takes a bit of practice. Most police fire maybe 50 shots once a year to re-qualify. That just doesn't cut it!

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

Don't handload sd ammo, check massad ayoob's posts for reasons why.

DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT used rainier plated hollow points for SD. They are extremely soft and I'd be willing to bet that penetration is horrible in a real life application. The lead inside the plating is very soft, swaged rather than hardcast. Use a good jacketed hollow point instead.

 

[The Bushmaster]

No...I use the same ammunition as my local sheriff uses. But I do hand load an equivilant for practice. I flat out trust my handloads, but for liability reasons I use factory loads for SD. Sheriff uses Federal 124 grain Hydra-shoks...

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

What about factory reloads like Buffalo Bore or Double Tap with their higher pressure gold-dot rounds? Are those considered handloads or factory? I wonder if it would be brought up in court that "regular ammo wasn't deadly enough for you?" like Ayoob says.
I'd like to use handloads but I worry about attorneys. I'd like to use factory but I can't afford to spend $300 in ammo to test reliability of each new round I'd like to try.

 

[StrikeEagle]

I'm an enthusiastic Reloader and Caster. I actually enjoy preparing ammo almost as much as shooting it.

But no... no reloads for SD, not for me.

I know it "shouldn't" be this way, but using non-standard ammo is another joker in the overall deck. Things happen in court that just shouldn't... we all know that.

Trials are NOT always 100% rational. Often perception is a key. Mistakes and misjudgements DO happen. And when the very subject of firearms is an issue, goofiness and invincible ignorance can really, REALLY go through the roof. Have you never tried to have a discussion on guns or hunting with some robotic type who gets in freeze-frame mode and just keeps repeating:

"If you have a gun, you're just looking for trouble!"

"How could you shoot a deer? Would you like it if a deer shot you?"

etc, etc, etc...

Have you never seen this mentality? Well folks like that can and do end up on juries. You all know that, right?

Factory ammo is mighty good... certainly good enough. IMO, it makes NO sense to run any risk at all, no matter how small, of handing a prosecutor any additional... (for lack of a better word) ammunition.

 

[Okiecruffler]

With all due respect to Mr Ayoob, it's my butt on the line, not his. My number 1 worry in a shooting , and it's number one WAY ahead of anything else, is the nasty SOB in front of my muzzle going down and going down HARD.

 

[zxcvbob]

DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT used rainier plated hollow points for SD. They are extremely soft and I'd be willing to bet that penetration is horrible in a real life application. The lead inside the plating is very soft, swaged rather than hardcast. Use a good jacketed hollow point instead.

You're rather insistent, considering you haven't done any tests. (I would be more concerned that they wouldn't expand, since the nose and cavity are also plated)

 

[CoRoMo]

Depends on the caliber/gun. I reload my own .357, 38Spl, and 38 +P ammo, and I feel fine about carrying them.
I don't reload 9mm though. Just too expensive

 

[jerkface11]

Mr. Ayoob can insist that we not handload our defensive ammo till he's blue in the face. When asked he can't cite ONE case of someone losing a case due to handloads. The guy with the 10mm mentioned above was using FACTORY ammo and they used THAT against him.

 

[massad ayoob]

Wrong, Jerkface. Anyone on here can do a search under reloads/self-defense and find the case I exhaustively quoted here some time ago, in which the citizen's lawyers said he wouldn't have gone to prison and become a convicted felon if his home defense gun had been loaded with factory ammo instead of reloads.

 

[jerkface11]

The last thread I saw you post about this on, you couldn't cite a case where a good shoot lead to conviction due to the use of handloads. And the fact remains I can ensure that my handloads go off EVERY time. I have no control over what winchester speer or corbon do though.

 

[BobMcG]

For over three decades I've enjoyed handloading for all of my practice, plinking, target and hunting needs whether for shotgun, rifle or handgun. However, when it comes to carry ammo I've always used factory rounds.

Any shooting would be a nightmare come true and I don't need to carry around the thought that an overzealous DA might just be able to make my nightmare even worse because my handloads were involved. That's BS I can live without.

 

[MCgunner]

I live in Texas. I ain't real worried about such tripe being used in court. I like my hand loads, shoot to POA, accurate, and I can afford 'em and obtain them without ordering off the net. Hard to get premium ammo down here in Podunk. Another thing, in my autos, I want my loads to be tried and tested which ain't easy for me to afford when they cost a dollar a round. I guess I could stay away from autos and just carry my revolvers, but sometimes I like my little Kel Tec 9. In fact, I like to carry it a lot. I've handloaded the whole of my adult life, started about 40 years ago. I started with rifles, delved into shotgun reloading, and of course, when I got into handguns, I bought dies and molds and such. Actually, I inherited the habit from my grandpa and uncle. Some of my fond memories were as a 12 year old rug rat hanging out in the "reloading room" as they got ready for deer season. They usually gave me the case trimming to do to shut me up...."Let ME do somethin', Pa Pa!" LOL

 

[MCgunner]

You know, just a thought, I doubt the yokles down here at the Podunk PD even know you CAN reload ammunition. Don't know about the DA, maybe, think he hunts. He's no Johnny Holmes, but he's a republican.

 

[hamourkiller]

Yes I reload and use my reloaded ammo for defensive purposes. I also use factory loads depending upon the gun. Revolvers get reloads and spasmatics get factory ball.

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT used rainier plated hollow points for SD. They are extremely soft and I'd be willing to bet that penetration is horrible in a real life application. The lead inside the plating is very soft, swaged rather than hardcast. Use a good jacketed hollow point instead.

You're rather insistent, considering you haven't done any tests. (I would be more concerned that they wouldn't expand, since the nose and cavity are also plated)

check out gunblast for expansion results on rainier bullets. they didn't expand and penetration was poor. There are also other sites that tested them and got a "splatting effect", couldn't find that link.

 

[mavracer]

Quote:
DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT used rainier plated hollow points for SD. They are extremely soft and I'd be willing to bet that penetration is horrible in a real life application. The lead inside the plating is very soft, swaged rather than hardcast. Use a good jacketed hollow point instead.

You're rather insistent, considering you haven't done any tests. (I would be more concerned that they wouldn't expand, since the nose and cavity are also plated)

if you keep the in their "window" of velocity they both expand consistantly and stay together well.and Bob they are plated and then punched like gold dots

 

[mavracer]

check out gunblast for expansion results on rainier bullets. they didn't expand and penetration was poor. There are also other sites that tested them and got a "splatting effect", couldn't find that link.

like I said you need to keep them in their window. if you go to rainier's websight they say from about 900-1250fps so yes it's not gonna expand at 736fps but I'd dissagree about penatration as it outpenatrated every bullet that expanded.

 

[goon]

I often try to duplicate at least the bullet type/style and approximate power level in my practice handloads but I don't carry them for SD.
I generally carry 9mm and there are many different factory JHP loads for all budgets. I have watched at Wal-mart and picked up Win white box JHP's for about $10 a box before so there really isn't any reason that you couldn't carry a factory load just based on price.
Even when you go with premium defensive stuff, I don't really think its necessary to blow through 800 rounds of the stuff before you trust it. I have found that a reliable autoloader is a reliable autoloader - generally if they feed and work well with one brand of JHP they will work perfectly with other brands as well. I have owned SIG's, Glocks, CZ's, and a Browning HP and that has been the rule with all of them. 1911's have been a different story. But if you are carrying a 1911, you probably already know that some of them can be tempermental and that you may have to put some $ into it to get what you want. That's why I don't own any.
With a revolver, if it fits in the chamber it will almost certainly be fine. All you have to do is shoot enough to know where your POI is and to make sure that primers aren't too hard or something - a box should do that.
Generally, after I have shot about a hundred rounds or so through an automatic without ANY issues, I'll carry that load and not worry about it. I've never had a problem with this system (but I haven't ever needed to use a CCW either).

The real reason I use JHP isn't to make a bigger hole, eventhough they do that. Lets face it guys, people got killed for centuries long before they had JHP ammo. Two .355, .357, or .452 inch holes in the chest is a bad thing whether they expand or not and would almost certainly take the fight out of you either way.
I just don't want to worry about hurting an innocent bystander so I consider the use of expanding or fragmenting ammo to be a social responsibility for anyone who carries.

 

[zxcvbob]

Bob they are plated and then punched like gold dots

I haven't used the Rainiers. I buy Berry's plated hollowpoints to use for target shooting because they are extremely accurate. They appear to be swaged and then plated; I assumed the Rainiers were the same. I wouldn't trust them without doing a lot of testing, but they are more accurate than wadcutters in my S&W 15-4.

 

[madcratebuilder]

If you're that worried about what happens after a shooting perhaps you shouldn't use a gun for SD. There be reloads in mine, I've never had one of my reloads fizzle, can't say the same for factory.

+1