I'm looking for opinions on a good 9mm defense round. I have found some hornady critical defense at my local shop for a good price. They seem like very good rounds that aren't too pricey so I can afford to run more rounds through my guns than I could with other options. What are some other good option available in 115 grain that are good for carry and don't cost more than a dollar a round that I might be overlooking and are possibly better than the hornadys? Thanks in advance for your replies.
Hornady Critical Defense or?
- Thread starter Triplec
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I remember a few years ago there were some good deals on 50 round boxes of Gold Dots. Others may include Winchester PDX, Fiochhi Extrema and a few others, but to be honest you will be paying right around a dollar a shot for factory hollowpoints no matter what brand you buy.
Sapper771
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http://www.prestostore.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?ref=hotpig27&ct=65200
That is where I get my ammo. 50 round boxes for the price of the 20 round boxes.
I dont have any experience with the Hornady CD ammo. Had a friend that used it, but I think the only reason he used it was because it was cheaper than the other ammo he had to choose from.
I like all of the Speer Gold Dot loads, with a preference for the 124gr +P in 9mm and the standard pressure 230gr for 45acp. I am currently using Winchester Ranger SXT 127gr +P+ in 9mm. It is a stout load , but the recoil is not as bad as you would think. I have found this load to be very accurate, controllable, and my Glocks seem to like it.
There are plenty of options out there, some better than others. If you reload, you can purchase a lot of the same hollow point bullets that are in the factory loads and test them til you are content without breaking the bank. I like the Hornady XTP bullets for my general purpose back 40 woods ammo.
That is where I get my ammo. 50 round boxes for the price of the 20 round boxes.
I dont have any experience with the Hornady CD ammo. Had a friend that used it, but I think the only reason he used it was because it was cheaper than the other ammo he had to choose from.
I like all of the Speer Gold Dot loads, with a preference for the 124gr +P in 9mm and the standard pressure 230gr for 45acp. I am currently using Winchester Ranger SXT 127gr +P+ in 9mm. It is a stout load , but the recoil is not as bad as you would think. I have found this load to be very accurate, controllable, and my Glocks seem to like it.
There are plenty of options out there, some better than others. If you reload, you can purchase a lot of the same hollow point bullets that are in the factory loads and test them til you are content without breaking the bank. I like the Hornady XTP bullets for my general purpose back 40 woods ammo.
bigfatdave
Member
Almost all modern HP ammo is designed to do the same things:
1 - feed in most modern guns
2 - develop enough velocity to penetrate to 12-18" in fabric-covered gel (the "FBI test")
3 - expand signifigantly (also part of the "FBI test")
... the differences between the various defensive ammunition choices in any given caliber are minimal, reliability matters too much more to waste time worrying about those minimal differences.
So, seeing as they all do pretty much the same thing, don't overthink your choice of exact load, in fact you should at least be aware of 2-3 loads that function in most of your guns (in my case, that's; Gold Dots, Critical Defense, PDX1, EFMJ, ... those loads feed in all my modern autoloaders, others {surplus/oddball guns} have specialized needs)
So you'll need a box or two of anything promising to test in your carry/defense gun(s). Once you know what works, buy cheap and stack deep - which means no more stupid 20 or 25 round boxes for $1/round if you can avoid it. (I don't remember the last time I saw a 50x box of Crit.Def. in the wild, now that I think about it)
1 - feed in most modern guns
2 - develop enough velocity to penetrate to 12-18" in fabric-covered gel (the "FBI test")
3 - expand signifigantly (also part of the "FBI test")
... the differences between the various defensive ammunition choices in any given caliber are minimal, reliability matters too much more to waste time worrying about those minimal differences.
So, seeing as they all do pretty much the same thing, don't overthink your choice of exact load, in fact you should at least be aware of 2-3 loads that function in most of your guns (in my case, that's; Gold Dots, Critical Defense, PDX1, EFMJ, ... those loads feed in all my modern autoloaders, others {surplus/oddball guns} have specialized needs)
So you'll need a box or two of anything promising to test in your carry/defense gun(s). Once you know what works, buy cheap and stack deep - which means no more stupid 20 or 25 round boxes for $1/round if you can avoid it. (I don't remember the last time I saw a 50x box of Crit.Def. in the wild, now that I think about it)
smalls
Member
I agree with Dave, except Critical Defense fails to meet the FBI's penetration requirement. This is can be a good thing, in home environments where you'd like your walls to hopefully catch stray bullets. This is matter of opinion, though.
Look for the proven performers such as Federal HST, Speer Gold Dot and Winchester Ranger T in fifty-round boxes and make sure they work properly in YOUR gun.
AmmoToGo, Streichers, Target Sports USA and SGAmmo are some good sources.
W-M
AmmoToGo, Streichers, Target Sports USA and SGAmmo are some good sources.
W-M
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