what do you use?

Status
Not open for further replies.
F

Flyerman

Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2006
Messages
38
Location
Texas
looking for recomendations for a good dependable and not super expensive ammo to be used mainly for self defense. i think it would be a good idea to use this ammo for target practice, to get a feel of it. i'm looking to get a Springfield Armory XD45ACP. anyone have a good self defense ammo for this pistol?


what do you use?
 
Hydrashok or Gold Dot is going to be the standard answer.

Magtech Gaurdian is a bit less expensive (about $0.75 vs. $1 per round).


-T.
 
DoubleTap will cost you half of what Speer Gold Dot will cost you and they use Gold Dot bullets in their ammo in most cases.

I just changed over from 135gr Speer Gold Dot .38 Special +P ammo to 125gr DoubleTap .38 Special +P ammo because they are both accurate in my revolver but Speer GD costs $21/20 rounds and DT costs $25/50 rounds. That's cheap enough to allow me to practice with my carry ammo without going broke.

Their 185gr, 200gr and 230gr JHP ammo all use Speer Gold Dot bullets and cost $27.95/50 rounds. They also sell quantity discounts unlike other SD companies. Their 45 ACP rounds are priced at $259.95/500 rounds. Here is the link to DoubleTap's .45 ACP ammo page.

Other good SD ammo like Buffalo Bore, Federal Hydra-Shok, CorBon, Winchester Silvertip, Remington Golden Saber and so on are all too expensive to practice wit, at least for me they are.
 
Probably gonna get flamed for this, but here goes. My 1911, and the fiancee's 642 are both loaded with standard, run o' the mill, ball ammo. I've got the remains of some 230 grain WWB FMJ and 230 grain Georgia-Arms reloads in my mags, and she's got her .38 loaded with 158 grain LSWC reloads from GA.

I'm not going to go into it too deeply, but my personal feeling is that things like shot placement, repeatability, and PRACTICE do more for success when shooting than the ammo does. That goes for SD as well. Might be wrong, might be right, who knows. But I'll tell you this - I know for sure how that ammo functions in both of those guns, and I'm confident in the ability of those slugs to make a goblin think twice about continuing the fight.

HP's are dandy, but don't rule out the humble FMJ.
 
This is what I carry in my Taurus 24/7 Pro 45

http://www.streichers.com/ProductDetail.aspx?Catalog=Guns and Ammo&Category=AMMO_DHAND&Prod=FC-45HST

fc-hsttactical.gif
 
I just read an article today that touted the Barnes XPB bullet as the best penetrator into 4 layers of denim, then into a Gelatin block. Then, they added a layer of leather to simulate a jacket over all that. It was the only bullet that consistently fully expanded in all calibers from 380 thru 45ACP. These are Barnes's all copper hex bullet. Not a cheap option, but apparently the best in this test. They also did some testing simulating going through a car door and this bullet also reigned supreme.

You'll have to do your own search, I used google and gelatin testing for firearms. Brassfetcher.com is a good link to compare gelatin and caliber results. Not all inclusive, but still very elaborate to help with your decision making process.

These were specifically Corbon DPX product, but the key is the Barnes XPB bullet. If your a 10mm fan you can find this bullet offered for about $1 per round through Double Tap with significantly more energy than that offered from Corbon. Is this cheap, no way. However, after reading this article, I may be looking into them for CCW use since it's getting cold and the goblins are layering up.
 
I've said it in a few different similar threads.

Call your local Sheriff / PD and find out what they carry. In my case the Sullivan County TN Sheriffs office carries .40 Federal Golden Sabers, so I carry the same except in .45. This way if I ever have to use it some pecker head lawyer trying to get money for the family of a criminal cant say I was using "Homemade, super duper, explosive, man stopper, cop killer bullets." I can politely say nope I use the same thing the cops use to defend their lives.
 
I usually load it with federal HS or Speer Gold Dot 230gr (230gr is what .45 is all about...as a bud once said to me...other than 200gr SWC for plinking I'd agree

I once shot a cow in the head with a corbon 230gr +P It went down with one shot and stayed down (it had to be put down....neighbors cow...long sad story) I backed it with 2 rounds of ball just in case...they weren't needed. I shot the second corbon round just to make sure....cowskulls are pretty stout. It performed well though that load is far to "snappy" for me to do comfortable good work with it. For a "Top end" load I load a 200gr XTP with 7 gr. of Unique. I read that another guy here uses 7.5...which would probably be a good +P hunting load to work up to. I've never gone past the 7 gr load...but plan to try his out nextime I reload some .45 rounds.

I really liked a lighter 230gr XTP load I tried last range trip...I can't recall offhand if it was 5 or 6 grains of unique but it was notably less snappier than even federal 230gr HS ammo. Still hit the steel plate with a good "Pa-Tink" very controllable. I wish there was a comparable factory 230gr load. Federals did hit plate a little louder...but I liked how fast you could follow-up!

I don't like lighter (weight) .45 loads no matter how hot. 200gr. is an "alright" concession to make more room for powder. It gets pretty "snappy
 
Last edited:
My 1911, and the fiancee's 642 are both loaded with standard, run o' the mill, ball ammo. I've got the remains of some 230 grain WWB FMJ and 230 grain Georgia-Arms reloads in my mags, and she's got her .38 loaded with 158 grain LSWC reloads from GA.
Click to expand...

don't rule out the humble FMJ
Click to expand...

FMJ is not plain lead semiwadcutter. That load is good and effective in a .38 Spc. FMJ has a copper or steel jacket around a lead core, like what you say you are loading in your .45 -- not a bad load in that gun.

FMJ in a .38 is usually an anemic (slow) 130 grain bullet, and is not a wonderful load. Your soft lead semiwadcutter is much better in the .38. It's plain jane, but decent.
 
Probably gonna get flamed for this, but here goes. My 1911, and the fiancee's 642 are both loaded with standard, run o' the mill, ball ammo. I've got the remains of some 230 grain WWB FMJ and 230 grain Georgia-Arms reloads in my mags, and she's got her .38 loaded with 158 grain LSWC reloads from GA.
Click to expand...

Eh, I happen to have hydra-shoks loaded up in my .357 right now, but I would feel just as comfortable with the regular old SWC cartridges that I had in there before. I do feel just as comfortable with plain old ball in my .45. The only pistol I have where I truly feel better having hydra-shoks loaded up is my 9mm. I like the 9mm, but I have been shot with regular old 9mm ball and I will just say that an expanding bullet would have been far more devastating to me than the ball was.
 
XD, no experience

45ACP, lots of experience.
Personally I like:
230 gr : Hardball, and Old Fed HS
200 gr: Flying Ashtrays and HG#68 SWC.
185 gr: Win STHP (great for indoor use, less felt recoil, and feeds in anything IME).
I ran out of 50,000 rds of some kind of Montana Bullet reload, one of these days maybe I will check to see what this was.
These only lasted me just over a year...

Name it, I've shot it, and my main deal is reliable with mags, POA/POI.
For what I do, concerns with glass, mirrors, and all , Hardball is fine.
Guns I use, will feed anything, just easier to grab hardball
 
My 1911, and the fiancee's 642 are both loaded with standard, run o' the mill, ball ammo.
Click to expand...

Don't carry ball ammo. Unless you live out in the woods. Remember that you are responsible for every round that comes out of your gun. Get a good expanding round that won't over-penetrate your target.

Federal Golden Sabers
Click to expand...

Golden Sabers are made by Remington. They are a good round for defense, however they do not use modern jacket bonding methods, so core/jacket separation can occur. I use them though, and they seem to work fine.

I think that the three very best on the market are the Gold-Dot +P, Corbon +P, and the Winchester Ranger +P. They are pricey though, but the expansion consistency, jacket bonding, and energy delivery are well proven.
 
SXT, Hydro-shock, Gold Dot, Golden Saber, DPX, HST all will get'r done! There are other good ones out there, but any of these is a pretty safe bet.
 
I don't get to the range often these days and I don't use a lot of SD ammo for practice - I shoot mostly WWB plus whatever's in my gun plus my reload.

At that rate of consumption - maybe a 20 rd box of DPX every few months, I figure I'll buy the best SD ammo that functions well in my SD gun, regardless of price. Ranger, Gold Dot, DPX, whatever. So I buy one 20 rd box of SD ammo plus a few hundred WWB rounds each trip.

That only changes when I'm breaking in a new SD gun. Then I put more SD ammo through it.
 
Last edited:
I haven't had a chance to buy any defense ammo for my .380 so I just carry ball. Its done a fine job killing people in every war since the hague convention, why wouldn't it work today. Especially with a .380, more penetration might not hurt. In my .45 I carry hydrashoks or DPX.
 
I haven't had a chance to buy any defense ammo for my .380 so I just carry ball.
Click to expand...

In .380 ACP or .32 ACP or .25 ACP, fmj is not a bad choice. The first task is to penetrate far enough to do the damage necessary to stop the person. In those low-pressure, light bullet autos, fmj maximizes the limited penetration potential the cartridges bring to the table. .380 or 9mm Mak is where I am most ambivalent about it, but I don't get too uptight if I have good hollowpoints or ball in either of those two, leaning towards ball in .380 and some types of hollowpoints in 9mm Mak -- if I can't find them, then ball is fine.
 
I agree with the above statements... anything smaller than a 9mm luger should be loaded with FMJ to consistently meet the minimum 12" penetration rule.
 
I am fond of Federal "Classic" JHP (the 115-gr. 9mm "9BP," 185- and 230-gr. .45) ammo. I admit, they are not the latest and greatest. This is just a conventional hollowpoint design, not the new HST or even a Hydra-Shok for that matter. But they are accurate and known to function in my guns, and I've never read any accounts of any supposed ineffectiveness. The 9BP is about $11/20, the .45s about $15/20, these at my local Sportsman's Warehouse.

Another load sharing these attributes is the Winchester Silvertip 185-gr. .45.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

G
  • Locked
Small 22's, to what use?
2 3
Replies
51
Views
2K
6x6pinz
6
T
  • Locked
My Eyes Aint What They Used To Be.
2
Replies
39
Views
2K
tomaz45
T
Michael Tinker Pearce
  • Locked
Do you 'break 'em in?'
2 3 4
Replies
80
Views
4K
Styx
Styx
L
Factory ammo damaged my pistol...now what?
2
Replies
42
Views
2K
Skylerbone
Skylerbone
T
  • Locked
JSP ammo for Self Defense?
Replies
11
Views
6K
only1asterisk
O
Back
Top