What defensive ammo do you carry and why?

[Hot brass]

What ammo do you carry and why?
Why is that you carry said ammo and are willing to trust your life on such ammo? Is it the gun, the ammo? Tell me your reasons.

 

[4570Rick]

What...Federal Hydra-Shok

Why...Hydra Shok


[edit to add] From a 5" Gummit

 

[QuarterBoreGunner]

I carry a Glock 30 loaded with Remington Golden Sabre .45 185grn. +P; I used to carry Federal HydraShock 230grn... until I had a shoot when the 230grn. failed to perform.

Later I found that the 230grn. loads from a 3.75" barrel just don't get up to speed to expand reliably.

I'm a relatively skinny guy so I carry the short barrel stuff most of the time; G30, G23, Kahr 40...I've found that velocity and lighter bullets are what works for me.

 

[Redlg155]

Right now Speer Gold Dots in both .45 and 9mm.

Why? Three reasons.

Reliability, Accuracy and Stopping Power.

Good SHooting
Red

 

[keyhole]

Glasers.
(Duty)
Issued for court security

Off duty, Hydra-shok.

 

[Tamara]

Whatever's close to hand when I load the gun...

 

[Snorkel Bob]

Cor-Bon 155's in my 40 cal
I like th hot little moads and they shoot great for me

 

[sm]

Another one whom loads with "whatever's close when I load the gun".

FWIW all defensive loads I carry have been run a min of 500 rds in that particular firearm. They are reliable--everytime--in said gun, acccurate and I do practice with them. That's MY criteria for ammo choice in a defensive firearm. Shotguns: a min. of 250 rds.

 

[Soap]

230 gr. hardball in a Government-sized 1911. I'm old skoo.

 

[Covey Rise]

Any hollowpoint works for me

I only use hollowpoints, and I like to use light and fast bullets, because if I ever have to use my gun in self defense, I don't want my bullet going through the bad guy and splattering some little girls head all over the place, nough said.

That said, I currently carry in
40. 135gr Corbons in my Steyr M40 pushing 1250 fps
if I carry my 10mm 1911 I carry Hornady 180gr pushing 1200 fps, I think I'm going to switch to this new Double Tap Ammo Nosler HP 135gr pushing 1600 fps

 

[TheeBadOne]

.40 Glock 27= 135 gr Corbon (good street record)
.45 ACP= 230 gr Hydra-shok. (accurate as heck, good street record)

 

[Fly Navy]

.40 165 gr and 180 gr Ranger-T (have a mag of each) and 9mm 127gr +P+ Ranger-T. Why? Cause I found it at a good price and the street record is good.

 

[Dr.Rob]

44 Mag = 240 gr jsp (if I'm carrying it I'm likely hunting) when I used it as a nightstand gun I loaded it with 240gr lead cowboy loads at 800fps.

45 acp = 230 gr Hydra shock Big hollow point, not +p so it won't bust up my older Colts, same POI as ball ammo.

9mm = 115 gr Winchester silver tip; fastest rated non +p on the market, former FBI load, feeds like ball ammo, same POI as my practice ammo.

.357 = 158 gr sjhp on 6.4 grains of red dot. Even out of a snubby that's serious medicine. Been known to use the 158 gr hyrdashock as well. That red dot load will knock down a man sized steel popper with AUTHORITY at 35 feet from a 2 inch Colt revolver.

.380 = 90gr Hydrashock or ball ammo. If you hit heavy bone with this load it will crater and create a superficial wound (seen it happen on a game animal)

 

[Lone_Gunman]

if I ever have to use my gun in self defense, I don't want my bullet going through the bad guy and splattering some little girls head all over the place

Corvey, I bet that 10mm will go right through the person you are shooting.

I think picking hollowpoints for concern about overpenetration is a misguided proposition. Many will penetrate and keep going. One of the rules of safety is to not shoot if there is something behind your target. Hollowpoints don't change that.

Plus, when you take into account that in most shootings, more misses occur than hits, then what you really need to be worried about is where those misses will end up. They will hit with full force, without being slowed down by the target.

 

[CrudeGT]

Ruger P89 with 15 rounds of Hydra-Shok. I figure a 9mm is a relatively smaller round so I want a round that will stop someone with the least amount of trigger pulls. I wouldn't shoot to wound, so why would I pick ammo that won't kill...

 

[Jack19]

Federal's 9mm 124gr +P Expanding Full Metal Jacket round. It has extremely good expansion characteristics, doesn't get clogged up with clothing like some hollowpoints, and I've found it to be very accurate.

Read about it here: Federal EFMJ

and here: EFMJ

 

[newman32]

What Jack19 said.

 

[Obiwan]

http://www.tacticalforums.com/

Check out the terminal effects forum...

Use the search engine

Leave your Dogma at home!

A wealth of information

 

[Kamicosmos]

SP101 loaded with the Federal Premium Defense 130 gr HydraShocks. (.357 Mag)
Beretta 96fs has the 135 gr Fed Premium Defs too.

The .357 load I think I will like. Haven't shot them yet. I would like a 165 grain version for the .40 though, so I've been considering picking up some CorBons or Gold Dots for it.

Main reason I pick this load is for the low-flash powder. Originally I picked it for the 'don't want to use handloads for legal defense reasons'. That reason has been pretty much proven Not Viable here. So, only reason I don't go with handloads is mainly cause of the low flash factor.

 

[DMK]

S&B FMJ in my CZ-70 and Walther PP.

Remington Goldensabers. 230gr. in my 1911 and 165gr. CZ-40B.

I chose those because the rounded nose feeds completely reliably. Other ammo I've tried have not fed 100% of the time for 200-300 rounds.

Reliability is job 1 for my ammo. The best magic bullet in the world will do you no good if your gun won't feed every single round.

You guys do function test your defensive ammo don't you?

 

[RCS]

Speer Gold Dots in my .45's and 9mm's (230/124gr).

Win .38 cal 148gr WC's in my j-frames.

Win .32 cal 71gr fmj in my P32.

regards

 

[Hemicuda]

Winchester Black Talons, .40 Cal, 165 Grain...

and before someone else posts, YES, they're REAL 'Talons... put away before the PC crowd got 'em banned...

I have a modest supply, and carry them for personal protection...

 

[WT]

Lone Gunman - you are absolutely correct.

It seems to be an article of faith these days that FMJ ammo will ALWAYS penetrate the bad guy.

Another mistaken article of faith is that ALL bullets will hit the intended target. Seldom are people concerned with misses where bullets travel 1/2 mile down the street striking an innocent bystander.

 

[garrettwc]

Either Speer Gold dots or Remington Golden Sabers, depending on what the shop has when I need to restock.

In 45ACP - 230gr JHP
In 9MM - 124gr or 147gr


Reasons - they are accurate, reliable in my guns, and independent testing has shown that they give consistent expansion and penetration in a self defense round. The other reason is because I can't get my hands on a steady supply of Winchester Ranger T.

 

[TonyB]

In my SP101:38+P+ Federal 125gr.Conrtolled Expansion(JHP)(carry gun)
In my Glock17:Cor-bon 125gr.+P(2nd choice for CCW)
In my Taurus pt99:Winchester 115gr. hollowpoints(personal protection)(at bedside)