Does anyone NOT use expensive hollowpoint ammo in their defensive handguns?

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The military is restricted to FMJ by the rules of war. I'm not. I don't use FMJ to hunt deer, sure ain't going to use it to stop attackers. The only reason I use SWCs in hunting with handguns (other than my .30-30 contender, I use Nosler BTs) is to assure enough penetration. That's not a problem in humans with a major caliber.
 
there are no magic bullets (Oswald used them all up)
A expanding HP round will not always expand or stop an attacker.

There are a few important factors when considering your defensive ammo assuming you already have the gun.
1. Use whatever your gun feeds and ejects reliably if it won't shoot HP well try FMJ or cast, etc.
2. Use the most powerful round you can; for a 9mm try 124grains instead of 115grains.

That's it, the rest is practice and carry more than you think you'll need.
 
Want To Carry What I Can Practice With

Two Pistol Packer at www.ktog.org thinks alot of the Winchester White Box "Personal Protection" 115 grn. JHPs. They have expanded well in his "wetpack" tests. Some Wally Worlds carry them at reasonable prices. I wrote the manager of mine 'cause they were only stocking the 147 grns and some autoloaders won't cycle those reliably, they are actually bigger than the 9mm Luger specs.
I have a box of Speer Gold Dots but at a buck a bullett I simply can't afford to practice with them. So I'm going to try the White Box and see if it's reliable in my Sigma, which has a much better trigger pull then everyone here seems to think.
 
there are no magic bullets (Oswald used them all up)
A expanding HP round will not always expand or stop an attacker.
Click to expand...

A hollow point might not always expand, but a FMJ never will. What's the worst case senario with a hollow point, it'll perform like a FMJ???? Now, reliability isn't an issue in revolvers and if you're using a decent gun and not a 1911. Prove your ammo in your gun. I don't even worry about my P90 Ruger. I already know there ain't a load it's not 100 percent with, but I'd test it anyway first before carrying new ammo.


2. Use the most powerful round you can; for a 9mm try 124grains instead of 115grains.
Click to expand...

Nah, 115 is my favorite. 1260 fps out of a 3" barrel. That expands hollow points. I shoot the Hornady XTP 115 JHP in 9. The faster it moves, the more sure it will expand, generally speaking. I HATE 147 grain 9mms, overpenetrating, slow, low energy. My 9s work with 115s just fine. My Ruger P85 is sorta like my P90, works with anything. I actually still shoot the flying ashtray in that P90, has NEVER jammed in all those rounds and all these years.
 
I put Double Tap in my guns. I figure if I'm going to need it, chances are, it is going to be dark and I won't want a lot of flash. I know that UMC JHPs will work just fine in my guns, but they flash a lot in comparison. In the short barrel 45, that's RNFPs. In the wife's 9mm, that's Gold Dots.

In my reloading tests, I've had the gold dots plug the point and not expand in 230 grainers, they were filled with wood target backing material. Admittedly, these were not the short barrel JHPs. This is unsettling to me in such a "premium" bullet, but it shows how tough this bullet really is. The ones that did expand, expanded fully. Hornaday XTPs, both 180 and 230 flavors, have always expanded. I have never found one not expanded. I have found a couple that had the lead separate from the copper jacket.

I'm not particularly brand loyal as these two Taurus guns my wife and I have eat everything we've ever put through them without issue, FMJ, JHP, SWC and so on, everything. But, we as gun owners have to to admit, most goblins, statistically, do their work at night. So this flash issue probably my biggest concern when considering my carry ammo, not the pill driven by said propellant. It is considered, obviously, but I'm more interested in low flash than the latest uber bullet some gun rag who recieives advertising money from the same company purports as the next greatest thing.
 
Worth It

I'm a Speer Dot guy for self-defense ammo. It's not all that expensive, and I feel it's worth it to have decent daily carry ammo. On the other hand, when I go to the range, I switch to cheaper range ammo.
 
FMJ for practice and Carry... Reliability is the big factor and my 1911s all shoot FMJ reliably. Shot Placement is paramount and practicing with the exact combo that you carry is important IMO. I want it to go BANG and I want it to go where I aimed.
 
I've had mixed emotions about ammo for self defense. My P-14 feeds just about anything I put in it. But I've thought a couple of times, 45acp fmj starts out bigger than most smaller things end up after (if) they expand. And fmj is (possibly?) less likely to "choke up" on heavy clothing. I like CorBon because of its lack of flash. My "felt recoil" says my fiocci is abut as "hot" as some of the super permium stuff. Any "second opinions?"
 
FMJ -FP, drilled hole filled with mercury and sealed in with tin or cadle wax.
okay just joking... not worth the job when just a piece of lead will do.
 
Several of my revolvers are loaded with cast, especially my .38's. Economical, tear a nice hole for the power used, and you don't feel bad punching pumpkins or beer cans with them. Use the Federal Classic .44 Special semi Wadcutters in my Super Blackhawk, great plinking round and have been pretty effective on everything I've shot with them. Haven't tried a deer yet (always have full house mags when I'm deer hunting) but I would feel pretty confident in them in about any scenario.
 
hmmm...

...if I had a self-defense article, it'd probably be loaded with whatever goes bang every time...and of course, the flatter the front with sharp edges would be good too...kinda' like a cookie cutter, but faster...just as long as it barks here and bites down the street, it'll do... rauch06.gif
 
Accuracy

You read about trained policemen firing off an entire 17-round clip from point blank range and miss all 17 shots... and you wonder why a bullet's accuracy would matter at all, for civilian self defense purposes. If you are far enough away that it would matter, you should certainly not be shooting, unless you are in a wild west movie-shootout. I would certainly take a high powered hollowpoint over standard pressure ball ammo, even if the group size was a couple inches larger at 21 feet.
 
I've heard too much about JHPs failing to expand simply because clothing will fill the cavity.

I've also had feed failures from JHP's deforming even in web gear. No pistol can compensate for deformed JHPs.

Soft points when possible, less chance of deforming and still has enough expansion to stop the threat and stop in a wall.

I am interested if anyone has used frangibles.
 
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