Personal defense ammo

It depends on the caliber and the specific gun. I generally like Gold Dots the best.

.25 auto
-- 50 gr. FMJ from any quality manufacturer

.380 auto
-- 90 gr. FMJ from any quality manufacturer except flat nose ammo (WWB) which does not feed well in one of my pistols

.38 spl (standard pressure)
-- 125 gr. +P Gold Dot (in snubbies); VERY LIMITED AMOUNT in my standard pressure guns
-- 148 gr. lead wadcutter

.38 spl. +P
-- 135 gr. +P for short barrel for my snubbies
-- 158 gr. +p Remington LSWCHP for four inch barrels and longer
-- 158 gr. +P Gold Dots for 4" or longer barrels (old stock of newly manufactured ammo from Georgia Arms)

.357 magnum
-- 125 gr. or 158 gr. Gold Dots depending on how sights on gun are regulated
-- Any 158 gr. JHP from a quality manufacturer. You have to work pretty hard to screw this one up.

9mm
-- 124 gr. +P Gold Dots in my Kahr CM9 (three inch barrel)
-- 124 gr. standard or +P Gold Dots in all my other 9mms (longer than 3" barrel)
-- 115 gr. +P Gold Dots in my other 9mms (longer than 3" barrel)
Note: going to try some Win. PDX1 someday

.45 auto
230 gr. standard pressure Gold Dots - 4.25 in. or 5" barrel
230 gr. Federal HST from 4.25" or 5" barrel
230 gr. standard pressure Rem. Golden Sabers from 5 in. barrel
185 gr. +P Rem. Golden Sabers from 4.25 in.
230 gr. FMJ from any reputable manufacturer for my one 3.5 in. barrel and in my extra mag I carry for all of my 1911s
 
Colt Detective Special 38Spl: Buffalo Bore 158gr LSWCHP +P
Sig P6 9mm: 124gr Gold Dot +P
AR15 Carbine: 60gr Honady TAP
Moss 590A1: reduce recoil 00 buckshot
 
With the quality of premium defense ammo from the major manufacturers today, I doubt one has much if any advantage over the other. Find what functions best in your gun and run with it.

Me personally, I like Gold Dots, but I'd be okay with anything else too.
 
Morgue monsters & Jello Junkies..

I disagree with the "hey, so what" posts.
In my opine, a few factory made defense rounds or designs perform better than others.
No matter if you are a "Jello Junkie" or a "Morgue Monster", you should pick the carry or defense round on the related data.
Some major ammunition firms like Hornady, Corbon, Federal, Speer/Gold Dot, Winchester, etc do have handgun rounds that are a lot alike but more serious thought should be put into what you use for duty/home protection/concealed carry.

As I sometimes remark; "the life you save or protect may be mine." ;)

ClydeFrog
 
.22 Magnum

NAA mini. I have solids in it, but I'm looking at the new Speer SB. Its only a third gun, or sometimes BUG to my PM9 anyway.

.38 Special

Speer 135 grain Gold Dot Short Barrel +P (Hand loads)

Remington 158 grain LSWC-HP +P

9 MM Parabellum

Speer 124 grain Gold Dot +P (Hand loads)

Barnes 115 grain XPB +P (Hand loads)

.357 Magnum

Hornady 158 grain XTP (Hand loads, Max charge of H-110)

Nosler 180 grain Partition HG (Hand loads, Max charge of H-110)

.41 Magnum

Speer 210 grain Gold Dot (Hand loads, Max charge of H-110)

.44 Magnum

Hornady 300 grain XTP (Hand loads, over manual Max charge of H-110)

.45 ACP

Hornady 230 grain XTP +P (Hand loads, I'm getting right at 950fps)

.45 Colt

Speer 250 grain Gold Dot (Hand loads, medium-high charge of 4227, safe for SAA)

I would also use my semi-wadcutter revolver and .45 ACP loads, if I needed to. I don't use my .380, .32s, or .22s for defense, if I did I'd use solids.
 
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