When selecting a self-defense load for your .40 caliber pistol, you should consider the following;
- Bullet weight: Look for a moderate weight bullet. The 180gr is the heavyweight and 155gr the lightweight. I'd prefer a 170-175gr but most .40 ammo seems to use a 165gr instead. The lighter bullet generally recoils less. A heavier bullet usually penetrates tissues better.
- JHP design: Huge frontal cavities look mean, but depending on your gun may not feed well. Look for bullet designs with a rounded edge near the hollowpoint for more reliable feeding.
- Testing Cycle: It is crucial that you test the performance of your SD ammo in your gun. Don't rely on what someone else says works flawlessly. Verify it yourself. See comments below
- Do some research. If you search each ammo maker's website, generally you'll find a FMJ "range ammo" in their generic brand that uses the same weight bullet at a similar velocity. If you can't find it by the same maker, compare what others have to offer. You may end up with a Remington JHP load and use a Federal practice load because it has the same ballistics (bullet weight/speed).
Testing on a budget
A lot of self defense ammo can cost between $0.50 to $1.25 per round. This makes extensive testing an expensive proposition. Especially if you're forced to buy them in 20-round boxes instead of 50-round boxes which are generally cheaper per round. You can test your SD loads and still have some left over out of 40 rounds.
Each gun is different, even within the same caliber & model series. My pistol may be reliable and accurate with 180 grain Federal Hydrashok, but yours may not feed it reliably or it may not be very accurate.
Always test your SD ammo in your gun to ensure it is reliable and accurate.
To test, load a magazine with FMJ ammo and leave room for 5-8 JHP rounds at the top. Carefully fire all the JHP rounds to assess their recoil, noise, flash, accuracy and reliable feeding and extraction. If you encounter failures to feed, fire or extract then try a different brand or bullet style.
The next test is to load 2 rounds of JHP, 3 rounds of FMJ, then 2 JHP, then 3 of FMJ, until you fill the magazine. The top round in the magazine should be a JHP. Manually chamber a JHP and top off the magazine with another JHP. This will test the reliability of the JHP in various positions, under varying spring pressure, in the magazine.
Ammo should feed flawlessly throughout. If the JHP ammo causes any malfunctions, try a different brand or JHP design.
If everything has gone fine, you've used up 16 rounds (out of 40). Now load 10 JHP rounds atop FMJ's in the magazine. If possible at your range, you want to rapid fire several 2-shot and 3-shot strings at 3-7 yards, one handed. This will test the reliability of your SD loads when fired quickly with one hand (presuming your other hand is occupied). You should experience no stoppages of any kind. All of your shots should hit the target, of course.
If your ammo passed these tests, it's likely to work fine. Obviously firing a few hundred rounds is a better test, but on a budget (with today's prices) these tests should prove to be good indicators of performance.
Being "frugal", I will sometimes only load the first 8-10 rounds of one magazine with premium SD loads. The rest will be either "generic" JHP's that work in my gun or FMJ ammo. The thinking here is that as a
civilian if the application of 10 rounds hasn't solved the problem, I'm in a furball of a fight. I'm trying to find cover and shoot at others who are trying to find cover, so penetration is now king, not expansion.
Every time I go to the range, which is 2-4 times a month, I run a couple of magazines or a couple of cylinders of my carry ammo though whichever gun I'm practicing with that day. As a side note, I clean my guns after each range trip (usually 50-100 rounds).
