Guys and Gals, pick your self defense ammo.

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I've posted on this topic before so I'll just make the same points again.
1) I've never (thank the Maker) had to shoot a person.
2) Any critters I've shot have been with a long gun excepting one put-down of a deer struck by a truck. That was a .357 Magnum at point blank range.

So any opinion I have on a good self defense round comes from a combination of reading testing results, my own semi-scientific tests, and recommendations from law enforcement personnel (primarily U.S. Secret Service and FBI).

As a result of that my preferred self defense round is -still- the Winchester Ranger SXT (except for my .380 which really likes the Cor-Bon DPX) however they are getting very hard to find so I'll probably have to switch to something else soon, most likely Speer Gold-dot.
 
Probably would use DPX except they don't feed reliably in my Kimber or Springfield 1911s ... the Springer, my nightstand gun, loaded with 165gr +p Pow'RBalls, the Kimber UCII with 230gr Golden Sabers, which are excellent rounds and feed in pretty much anything ... my carry PM9 is loaded with the new Hornady Critical Defense rounds ... my carry j-frame, a 637, is loaded with old reliable, the FBI load, Federal 158gr +p SWCHPs ...
 
My carry ammo is Federal LE HST JHP; 147 grain 9mm +P in my Ruger SR9 and 230 grain 45 ACP in my Bond Arms Derringer.

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I've been around long enought to remember the day of carrying FMJ 45 and 9 for duty rounds. I still like reliable feeders that go bang everytime. There are a lot of theoretical and anecdotal info floating around about every load manufactured. Heated debates among those mostly who have never had to fire a round in defense of life. All that said, I still like the Fed 9BP, Fed 45 HS, Fed 125 Nyclad 38 as my staples. But, most importantly to me, have a gun that functions reliably with whatever is in it at the moment.
 
.45 - 230 gr Hydrashok or equivalent (e.g., Gold Dot) JHP - not +P's
10mm - Doubletap 180 gr Golden Sabre JHP
 
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Well, as someone else upthread said, it depends.

Depends on the specific gun - I do test for reliability, and consider it important.

But generally, I was convinced by our tests that CorBon is hard to beat (see my sig). And I tend to particularly like the DPX rounds.

But most of the premium defensive ammo is pretty darn good, and advantages of one over another are somewhat marginal.

So it depends on reliability - what will *my* gun shoot?

Jim D.
 
As others have mentioned, it depends upon the gun, especially in semi-autos. For example, my Springfield .45 has a special affinity for 200 gr. Hyrda Shoks. It feeds them reliably and is very accurate. I have a Les Baer that chokes on Hydra Shoks but likes Golden Sabers.

Having said all that, my "go to" bullet for all handguns is the Gold Dot. It consistently has good penetration and expansion across a variety of calibers and loads in both revolvers and semi-autos. It also generally feeds well in most semi-autos. That doesn't mean it's the best in all situations for all guns in all calibers. For example, the Hornady Critical Defense looks very promising in .380. I haven't shot any yet, so can't really comment beyond that.
 
9mm - either standard pressure Speer Gold Dot 115 gr or Federal 9bple, depending on which gun.
.45 acp - Federal Hydra-shok 230 gr.
 
Historically:
9mm: Cor-Bon 115+P (the original one with Sierra Power Jacket bullet)
.45: Fed Hydra-Shok (pre-HST) 230
.22lr: CCI Stinger, Velocitor, and Quick-Shok(CCI)
.22 Mag: CCI Maxi Mag +V (recovered dime sized mushroom once)

these next ones, without real preference, just some I remeber using, in ctg.'s off the top of my head I've owned:
.357 Mag- Federal 110 (?) JHP, Glaser Blue when staying in a trailer, Buffalo Bore HC 180's-outdoorsman use

.40- Federal PPD 165 gr, something in 135 gr also (Golden Sabres? or the other way around), Triton Hi-Vel on occasion

.44 Mag- PMC Starfire? Today would be ProLoad light mags (.45ACP ballistics)for SD and Buffalo Bore heavy hard cast for getting off the beaten path. Hornady LeverEvolution for stetching range. Maybe Strike 3 for SD also if still made. And CCI snakeshot for more survival utility and Cottonmouth killing. Lots of versatility with this ctg. and load options

.223- Federal 40 gr Varmint JHP's, WWB 55 FMJ's. Did a lot of shooting with old 1:12 rifling, liked the faster stuff anyway.

7.62x39: Wolf Steel case JHP and FMJ

12 ga: "Blue Peters Whistlers" 00, Rem. Slugs and 00. Federal & Winny big box 7.5 bird for plinking. The Peters are the best deal without ordering cases of Estate or S&B

some other cal.s I've owned too but these stick out.
What I put down for .45 and 9mm were definately what I preferred, maybe due to a little of Marshall and Sanow I took as gospel back then. And CCI aluminum Blazer for both for practice, sometimes dirty Magtech .45 FMJ when on sale. That Magtech made me clean my SA after every use, filthy, sooty residue. Magtech has a couple lines of economical JHP (incl. an all copper hollowpoint), but around here .45 ball goes for .50 a round.

The .45 Hydras fed well and shot to point of aim, same as ball. Now the Cor-Bon 9mm, did not always run well, maybe something with increased slide velocities, as bullet profile was not bad at all. I had a Star Ultrastar that would choke on em 3-4 times out of a 9rd. mag. Never missed a beat once with ball. I sold that gun for almost nothing. Wish I still had it and some Powrball or the Hornady version. Different phiosophies: light and fast 9's, slow high momentum .45. I did wanna try the .45 Aguila 117gr., but never could find it, and was happy enough with the Hydras that hit like bowling balls. On the flipside, I'd never go above 124 gr. in a 9mm auto. 147's only in a carbine.

There were a lot of semi-exotic JHPs back then, under engineered compared to today. Now there is a wide selection from several mfg.s many with different lines of defensive ammo, with weapon specific technology(e.g., Gold Dot short barrel). There are a lot of types past and present that I've not tried but would like to.

Nowdays you can also get good stuff for oddball or surplus cal's like 9x18, .30 Tokarev, .38 Super, 9x23, 10mm, etc. Alot of the smaller ammo companies (RBCD, Double Tap, Georgia Arms, Magsafe, Extreme Shock, and so on) make stuff that on paper smokes the major manufacturers. No experience with those though.
 
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40 grains of FFFG, behind a 225 grain round lead ball (Lyman Plains Pistol). :D

Ok, modern cartridges... in .45 or .380, FMJ. In .38 Spl, 158 LSWC.
 
Sureshot better not ever use that round ball in self-defense. It's obvious he's a cowboy wanta be, just waiting for a chance to shoot someone. A dangerous cowboy psycho...:rolleyes::eek::D
 
Summer: Double Tap, 10mm, 180 grain, GDHPs in my S&W 610-3.
Winter: Double Tap, 10mm, 200 grain, Hornady XTPs in my S&W 610-3.
 
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