What Self Defense Ammo is the Best for the Money?

[SHEEPdOHdoubleG]

I am sure this thread has been posted here in a similar fashion... That being "What is the BEST self defense ammo to use in your gun?" And while that is always a good question to ask, I believe that the ability to practice with the ammo you carry, and becoming accurate and proficient with that particular ammo, far outweighs it's ballistic results... (however, I believe that is also important). That is why I am curious... Does anyone know which ammo is somewhat affordable, yet also has been tested and performed well as far as the usual self defense criteria is concerned? Also, I have .380, 9mm, 45acp, 357 sig, etc, so I am asking this question on a broader spectrum, So this is kind of an overall question. (Not, "Speer Gold Dot for 9mm, and Cor-Bon Pow'r Ball for 45). Any feedback would be helpful.

Also, please fill out the Poll for: The Self Defense Ammo you carry daily.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

We could discuss this topic for days. Most modern SD ammo will perform as it should. It's more important to find ammo that will cycle reliably and is accurate out of your firearm. For example, I use 147 grain Winchester Ranger SXT in my FN and Beretta. I use 115 grain Hornady CD in my Kahr.

 

[9mmfan]

I checked off the Cor Bon JHP, although I generally alternate with Gold Dots. Oddly enough, I'm carrying Hornady Zombie stuff now (found a great deal at March's 1500). The box I shot was dead on. Odds are that during the next 6 months or so, I'll pick up some Cor Bons or Gold Dots on sale and start carrying those again.

 

[K_W]

Federal HST (aka hydra-shok two)

Only sold to LE per Federal company policy, but available online to anyone.

$26 for 50 online vs $25 for 20 for "personal defense" ammo from a store.

 

[42769vette]

if your acutually in a self defence situation you will be sorry price of ammo ever remotly crossed your mind. your only talking about a few bucks a box diffrence between the average sd rounds and the best.

i defintally agree with your line of thinking that pratice is the most important thing

 

[JTinIN]

if your acutually in a self defence situation you will be sorry price of ammo ever remotly crossed your mind. your only talking about a few bucks a box diffrence between the average sd rounds and the best.

i defintally agree with your line of thinking that pratice is the most important thing

Good point, however, with a few of the very high end rounds like in the old days the Glaser Safety Slug, have seen guys that carry them but won't shoot them (either at all or enough to be sure they work) since they are too expensive ... this is a poor idea with a wheel gun (need to know point of aim, how is shoots and if any issues with primer/bullet movement) and a very poor idea with a semi if the new round does not feed well.

Once I know a gun is working well (i.e. no failures per 1000 rounds in my world) I like to shoot at least 50 rounds of what ever I am carrying to know that is works and 200 rounds is even better, in particular for anything mag fed. Thus the several dollars a round special high end ammo tends to add up in price, besides being at time over specialized and having limits when used outside it narrow range of application.

Take Care

 

[Tydeeh22]

i carry magtech guardian gold HP's in .45 gap. the expansion is ridiculous while still maintaining the necessary penetration that would incapacitate a person / dog / maybe even godzilla.

 

[JTinIN]

I am sure this thread has been posted here in a similar fashion... That being "What is the BEST self defense ammo to use in your gun?" And while that is always a good question to ask, I believe that the ability to practice with the ammo you carry, and becoming accurate and proficient with that particular ammo, far outweighs it's ballistic results... (however, I believe that is also important). That is why I am curious... Does anyone know which ammo is somewhat affordable, yet also has been tested and performed well as far as the usual self defense criteria is concerned? Also, I have .380, 9mm, 45acp, 357 sig, etc, so I am asking this question on a broader spectrum, So this is kind of an overall question. (Not, "Speer Gold Dot for 9mm, and Cor-Bon Pow'r Ball for 45). Any feedback would be helpful. .......

Interesting poll, however, some of the ammo that works great in the higher speed rounds (i.e. 357 Sig and to a lesser extent 9mm) will not work well in the lower velocity round such as the 45 ACP, or inversely the same brand of bullet will be totally different in construction between the high and low velocity rounds.

For daily carry it helps to be as familiar as possible with what ever gun you have on you, thus cutting down the number of gun models and calibers (i.e. a 45 ACP and a 9mm in the same model of a gun tend to act different when fired and often are different size). Ideally if one could get down to two pistols (tiny one for a back up / deep cover) and a moderate size for IWB carry, this would make the learning and thus using under pressure easier.

One can make a case for shooting a few hundred rounds of the high end ammo a year per gun, then filling in the remaining practice with a lower end range ammo that has nearly identical internal ballistics and close external ballistics (i.e. 230 gr Fed HS and 230 gr Ball for my Sig P220).

Question, if you only had one carry gun (excluding the 380 backup which is hard to get to work great with anything ;-) what would it be? If something like the 357 Sig in a moderate barrel length, one fines at that velocity most hollow points are reported to work well.

 

[SHEEPdOHdoubleG]

if your acutually in a self defence situation you will be sorry price of ammo ever remotly crossed your mind. your only talking about a few bucks a box diffrence between the average sd rounds and the best.

i defintally agree with your line of thinking that pratice is the most important thing

That's the thing... I want to be able to practice with the rounds I carry, therefore, I can't afford to go to (let's say) dunham's and buy 100 rounds (at 24.99/ 20 rounds) and go out and practice as I want to. Sure, 20 when your are buying 20 rounds it is not an issue when deciding whether to buy the $20/20rds box or the $25/20rds box, but when you want to actually get some adequate range time in with 200 or more rounds, it most certainly does matter. They say 200-300 rounds of SD ammo through your gun before it is deemed carry approved, and I would much rather spend $400 for 200 rounds as opposed to $500 for 200 rounds if they perform similarly.

I think most people would be in the same situation, that's why I posted this... because I would think that most people would want to know which SD ammo is the most affordable ammo that has also performed well in ballistic tests.

I believe that everything, down to the last detail (including using consistently similar, if not exactly the same rounds, while practicing and becoming familiar and accurate with that ammo will have a lot more to do with being the victor in a life or death situation that the particular expansion or ballistics of ammo you decide to use.

 

[GBuck]

I carry the Hornaday CD FTX. It's the JHP with a rubber insert in the tip. Helps for penetration through jackets, denim, etc. without expanding or deforming too soon. Been incredibly accurate too.

 

[SSGSAD]

I use four of the ones that you list, the reason being, is that I usually buy at the 1500, and just look for the "best" price at the time ... I have Golden Sabre, Ranger, Hydro Shock, and Gold Dot, along with Win. Silvertip....

 

[Kedric]

I put down my 2 cent's worth for the Rangers. I have always liked that ammo, even back before the name change and all the hoopla.

 

[NIFT]

Per Dr. Gary K. Roberts, Letterman Army Institute of Research (LAIR), these are the offerings that pass muster on all seven terminal ballistic testing protocols, the most important of which is penetration--12 inches minimum.

9 mm:
Barnes XPB 115 gr JHP (copper bullet)
Federal Tactical 124 gr JHP (LE9T1)
Federal HST 124 gr +P JHP (P9HST3)
Remington Golden Saber 124 gr +P JHP bonded (GSB9MMD)
Speer Gold Dot 124 gr JHP
Speer Gold Dot 124 gr +P JHP
Winchester Partition Gold 124 gr JHP (RA91P)
Winchester Ranger-T 124 gr +P JHP (RA9124TP)
Winchester Ranger Bonded 124 gr +P JHP (RA9BA)
Winchester Ranger-T 127 gr +P+ JHP (RA9TA)
Federal Tactical 135 gr +P JHP (LE9T5)
Federal HST 147 gr JHP (P9HST2)
Remington Golden Saber 147 gr JHP (GS9MMC)
Speer Gold Dot 147 gr JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 147 gr JHP (RA9T)
Winchester 147 gr bonded JHP (RA9B/Q4364)

.40 S&W:
Barnes XPB 155 gr JHP (copper bullet)
Speer Gold Dot 155 gr JHP
Federal Tactical 165 gr JHP (LE40T3)
Winchester Ranger-T 165 gr JHP (RA40TA)
Winchester Partition Gold 165 gr JHP (RA401P)
Federal HST 180 gr JHP (P40HST1)
Federal Tactical 180 gr JHP (LE40T1)
Remington Golden Saber 180 gr JHP (GS40SWB)
Speer Gold Dot 180 gr JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 180 gr JHP (RA40T)
Winchester 180 gr bonded JHP (RA40B/Q4355/S40SWPDB1)

.45 ACP:
Barnes XPB 185 gr JHP (copper bullet)
Federal HST 230 gr JHP (P45HST2)
Federal HST 230 gr +P JHP (P45HST1)
Federal Tactical 230 gr JHP (LE45T1)
Speer Gold Dot 230 gr JHP
Speer Gold Dot 230 gr +P JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 230 gr JHP (RA45T)
Winchester Ranger-T 230 gr +P JHP (RA45TP)

Source: Thoughts on Service Pistols, along with Duty and Self-Defense Ammo Recommendations - M4Carbine.net Forums

None is particularly inexpensive, at least, not to "civilians." When doing function testing on new guns and magazines, I intersperse my choices from the above with Winchester White Box ammunition from Wal-Mart (generally, the least expensive factory ammo) and could not tell the difference in terms of muzzle blast and recoil.

Other than being sure a particular defensive round will function reliably in a particular gun, I fail to see a legitimate reason for spending a lot of extra money on practice ammunition. I think it a mistake to choose carry/defensive ammunition based solely on price. Any of the above listed offerings are good choices, and, if price is a major consideration, find the cheapest price on any of the above, but be sure they function reliably in your gun.

 

[Broom_jm]

I'll be the first one to say "none of the above".

I load my own in everything from 380ACP to 44RM. I tweak the loads until the guns cycle perfectly and shoot accurately. I then practice as much as I like, at affordable prices, with the exact ammo that will be in the gun when it's carried. No worries about a particular brand being cancelled or not being available.

As a few folks have pointed out, the effectiveness of one particular bullet over another is at least somewhat subjective. IF (in caps for a reason) IF any of the factory bullets are more effective than the XTP's or JHP's or FMJ's I buy as components, it is by small degrees and absolutely secondary to accuracy, should they ever be needed for self-defense. Given how unlikely that is, and how ridiculously costly some of this "SD" ammo is, I am perfectly happy and confident, loading my own. YMMV n' all that.

 

[x10]

How would anyone know unless they had used the ammo for its intended purpose multiple times.

Come now. go with the stats published, There is no way to know unless you team up with Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis, and 50 Cent. And live one of thier movie days where we dispatch 100's of evil bad guy, prison escape, Aliens

 

[SHEEPdOHdoubleG]

Huh?

 

[45fan]

I have used several of the ones listed, and still have a few of the choices in my ammo locker, dependent on caliber.
My current choices in SD ammo is somewhat vairried, as I use Fed. Hydra-Shok in my 45, Remington GS bonded in my 9mm, the old standard Rem. SJHP in 38 Spl +P, and hornady XTPs in my 380.
I am sure that there are probably better choices to be had in each instance, but the choices I have made have made have decent reputations. The deciding factor to me was that I found a good deal on each of them, and they should work if the situation should ever arise that I need to stop an attack.

As far as practicing with what you carry, kudos to the OP for having that much dedication. I am satisfied with hand loading cast LRN in my SD calibers, and am happy with just getting the point of aim to a close approximation. I do shoot my SD ammo to verify function, though admittedly I usually only shoot around 50 or so rounds initially, and the occasional magazine from time to time for reassurance. If I have issues with the ammo I am shooting, its likely not the ammo so much as an issue that has arisen with the gun.

 

[jLr]

I have good luck with any Federal ammunition. Not many people use PMC that I know of, but I like it really well also.