Who Uses Ball Ammo In Their Carry Weapon...

[Phydeaux642]

...instead of a "personal defense" round? Is the expansion and penetration (or overpenetration) issues secondary to reliability for those of you that do carry ball ammo loaded in your weapon? The reason I ask is that I recently purchased a small .32 autoloader for carry when I am on my bicycle because of its light weight and size. I am going to carry ball ammo in it because I figure with this caliber, penetration may be more of an issue than overpenetration. That made me wonder how many of you may carry ball ammo in their .45s, 9mms, etc. I thought I read somewhere that Clint Smith carried his weapon loaded with ball ammo but I may be wrong. Just curious.

_________________

"Phydeaux, bad dog....no biscuit!"

 

[Shooter973]

Ball ammo???

There are better choices for just a few Dollars.......

 

[BobbyQuickdraw]

In the gun by my bed there are two magazines, one is full of 10 hollow points and the other is full of 10 jacketed rounds.

My default grab is the hollow points. The other mag has the speed loader over it, so I can visually or tactically tell the difference between the two. They're always placed in the same position as well, so no mistaking which one I grab.

 

[XavierBreath]

When I carry my KelTec P32, I use ball ammunition.

With .32ACP, the real issue is rimlock.

On other defensive handguns, I use a round with good expansion properties.

 

[Javelin]

Im not a big fan of ball ammo. But in a .32 penetration is your paramount necessity so I am not going to say anything negative about it.

If someone were shooting ball ammo 9mm+ then I would have a few questions as to why they were carrying that ammo in a CCW. As ball ammo would just pass through your target and into something else without giving the knock down energy needed to stop an attacker.

 

[hockeybum]

my dad uses ball ammo in his carry gun, walther ppk. i keep telling him he needs to either get a bigger gun or changes his name to james bond.

 

[AZ Husker]

With a small caliber, you might want to check out Corbon, Magtech, or Glaser. They all produce amazing results, but are expensive. But if your life depended on it, who cares? You will want to buy enough to make sure they function properly.

 

[micky692002]

Ball ammo here in a 1911

 

[AZ Husker]

I carried ball .45 in the Army. Unless you got a head shot, it was worthless. Sure, it might cause a fatal injury, but there wasn't enough shock effect to stop the opponent quickly.

 

[Hoppy590]

in the 1903, .32 harball
in the p14 .45 hardball

 

[drdirk]

Ball Ammo for me as well. Feeds the best and with the right placement good enough. Most of the time it is even my own reloads. I practice with them, I carry them in my 1911.

 

[gbelleh]

I also use FMJ in my P-32, all other defense guns are loaded with HP.

 

[E357]

FMJ for me in my P-32 and P3AT (.380); anything larger gets fed HP's.

Elliot

 

[twinhairdryers]

In my Glock, it's JHP. 1911 its FMJ. Must carry what will go bang.

My 9mm autos all feed JHPs as well as ball. My 45's don't. I carry ball in my 1911s. I know they will go bang every time and feed as reliability as my Glock. Not the case with JHPs in all 45s. I think 45 ball is going to slow anyone down. I'm more worried about overpenetration with it than somebody enjoying it and coming back for 7 more, and generally carry my 9mm G-17 with JHPs anyway.

 

[bluetopper]

I carry and use ball ammo exclusively in my Makarovs.

Next to shot placement, penetration is most vital.

I also use semi wadcutter ammo in my 2'' 45acp revolver. It might not expand, but it will never be smaller than .452''

 

[Maximum1]

Too many outstanding defense rounds out there to use ball ammo.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I carry Magtech flat nosed FMJ in my .40SW MilPro and in my 9mm Walther P99. I just don't have the money to buy enough expensive super rounds to test out my weapons with them.

 

[Gordon]

"Unless you got a head shot, it was worthless. Sure, it might cause a fatal injury, but there wasn't enough shock effect to stop the opponent quickly."

Not MY experience at all in the Army

I usually carry Winchester Ranger Talon in my CCW .45, but don't feel unarmed with ball at all!

 

[MICHAEL T]

My P-32 has Corbon HP in it. Most SD shootings are face on and their more than enough penetration from the Corbon .

 

[makarovnik]

I do. The .45acp does just fine with FMJ. I also use them in my .380acp because the hollowpoints don't have enough penetration for me.

I use hollowpoints in my 9mm because of the possibility of over-penetration.

 

[SnakeEater]

I like FMJ in small calibers, everything 9mm and up gets JHP. You see many 1911 guys use FMJ because of reliability reasons, most other pistols are reliable with JHP's.

 

[AZ Husker]

A cap and ball musket will do the job, but why not use the most effective ammo available? You're only hurting yourself!

 

[NoScreenName]

I have sometimes carried fmj's in my 9x18 mak in the past... but I really like the 115gr bear jhp's now.

Shhh... don't tell anyone.

 

[Mad Magyar]

"Unless you got a head shot, it was worthless. Sure, it might cause a fatal injury, but there wasn't enough shock effect to stop the opponent quickly."

Not MY experience at all in the Army

Well, perhaps we ought to revisit WW1 and Sgt. Alvin York & the Medal of Honor. Using a 1911 w/hardball his citation states: he stopped a squad of eight German soldiers with eight one-shot hits from his pistol. Using the RII, aka Relative Incapacitation Index that was used for many decades, the odds against this was over 32 million to one. In addition to his Medal of Honor, perhaps old Alvin deserved an award as the "world's luckiest man!"
Give me a break....Jeff Cooper, Clint Smith, Skeeter Skelton, Bill Jordan, on & on...Chuck Taylor in a recent interview stated that he would give a slight edge to hardball. His experience dwarfs most mortals in firefights...
Personally, my mags are interspersed with JHP's & FMJ.
I can't shoot as good as Alvin....

 

[Spot77]

"Carry what you practice with," is what I was always told.


I can't afford to practice with Corbon and Speer, so it looks like I carry a lot of ball ammo when I can carry at all.