The Best Defense Cartridges!!!

S

SigmundSauer

New member
I'm new to TFL.

For the LEOs, CC citizens and those with strong opinions -- what are your top three best defense cartridges?

Personally, these are my fav's:

#1 Speer Gold Dot HP

9mm = 124 gr +P
.357 SIG = 125 gr
.40 Cal. = 165 gr
.45 ACP = 200 gr +p

#2 Remington Golden Saber HP

9mm = 124 gr +p
.40 Cal. = 165 gr
.45 ACP = 185gr +p, 230 gr

#3 Triton Hi-Vel Rainier Bonded HP

9mm = 125 gr +p, and 135 gr +p
.357 SIG = 125 gr


Speer Gold Dot is one tough bullet!!!

SS
 
In .45 ACP, Speer Gold Dot 230gr. or 200gr. +P
In .40 auto, Remington Golden Saber 165gr.
In 9mm Para, Speer Gold Dot 124gr. +P
 
In 9mm, 124-gr. Federal Hydrashok, the +P stuff when I can get some from friends who are police officers.

In .357 Mag., 125-gr. Remington Golden Sabre.

In .38 Special, 125-gr. Federal Nyclad.
 
10mm: Cor-Bon 150gr. JHP.

.44 Spl.: Hornady 180gr. XTP JHP.

.45ACP: CCI Blazer 200gr. JHP.

These are my three most-carried defense cartridges.
 
Hello, Magnum Force. There are many opposing views on your question, particularly in this caliber! The 124 gr Gold Dot from Speer has quite a bit of support and I've had no problems with this round doing as advertised in terms of velocity and expansion. I guess I think that the best is Triton's 125 gr +P JHP as that's what my defensive 9mm's loaded with right now. I personally like the lighter/faster rounds over the heavier/slower ones, but many do like the 147s for more penetration.

Whatever you choose, make sure it's reliable in your pistol.

In standard pressure loads, the fastest is probably Winchester's 115 gr Silvertip. I personally like Federal's 115 gr JHP or their 124 gr Nyclad HP.

Best.
 
40S&W:
135 grain Federal HydroShok Personal Defense

357 Magnum:
158 grain Sellier and Bellot FMJ
(Hey, I like penetration at times!)

45ACP:
Any 230 grain FMJ that goes BOOM.

Sorry, I don't own a 9mm.
 
In 380 I like the 90 gr. Federal hydra shock. This is one destructive cartridge in a small package. Never seen one that didn't expand. Penetration in heavy bone is questionable though.

In 9mm I like the 115 gr winchester silvertip (old FBI load) and the 115 gr pmc starfire. I prefer to shoot loads that print the same as ball ammo and 115 grain umc prints the same point of impact in my hi-power as the silvertips. Starfires have a more rounded olgive that makes them feed almost like ball ammo.

In 45 acp I'm fond of 230gr federal hydra-shocks, if you are stuck with FMJ as your defensive choice a high velocity 200 gr fmj flat point is the way to go.
 
#1 is .45acp, 230gr Rem Golden Saber

#2 is .357 Mag, 125gr CorBon JHP

#3 is .45acp, 230 gr FMJ

Home defense is 12 gauge 00 buck.
 
Speer Gold-Dots!!

the weights i prefer in different calibers are:

124gr+P 9mm
155gr .40
125gr .357sig
200gr+P for shorter barreled .45s
230gr for full sized .45s although the 200gr+P will still work well in them.

however i'm stuck in NJ so i have to use Federal 124gr+P EFMJ in 9mm for defense.
 
Russell92,

In NJ restricted to only ball ammo <frown> does that Federal EFMJ stuff actually qualify for carry or is that a law suit waiting to happen? curious...

Magnum_force,

My fav obviously is Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P but it is hard to get ahold of. I was privy to an LE trade in which I promptly gobbled up a case of 1,000. There is a website that will sell it straight to civilians but I'm not sure who. I found it on a web search, maybe you can too. But the Triton 125 gr +P is probably second best. It's a little more peppy and very accurate. It also possesses a bonded core bullet similar to Gold Dot's.

SS
 
Mine all mine!

In my 9mm I carry my 115g R-P JHP+P+ at 1330fps, in my 45ACP I use my 230g Golden Saber at 780fps, and in my 41AE I love my 180g Gold Dot at 1030fps.

Or whatever's in the gun...

Maybe not what you asked......all these loads were designed for the specific gun, accurate enough for 'target' work, and 100% reliable.
 
Well, if I had access to & could carry what ever I wanted :D

9mm: 127+p+ Win. Ranger T
.40: 165 Win. Partition Gold
.45: 230+p Win. Ranger T
357 Sig: 125 Win. Ranger T

Of course, these are all LEO loads, & hard to come by. So, back to the commercially available stuff.;)

9mm:
1)124+p Rem. GS
2)124+p+ Fed. HS ( LEO, but available at http://www.bgarmory.com )
if not available, probably Triton's 135gr+p Hi-Vel
3) 124+p Speer GD

.40:
1)180 GD/GS/SXT/HS
2)155/165 Pro Load
3)155 Fed. HS

.45
1)185 Rem. GS or Speer GD
2)200+p Speer GD
3)200+p/230+p Corbon or Triton, 230 Rem. GS

Best, long shot!
 
For what it's worth, we deal with the whole gammut in ammunition, and as far as 9mm is concerned, we've yet to see anything more accurate than Triton's 9mm 135gr. +P Hi-Vel.
 
For the LEOs, CC citizens and those with strong opinions -- what are your top three best defense cartridges?
Click to expand...

#1. Anything coming out of a high-brass twelve gauge shell.

#2. 7.62X51 NATO/.308 Winchester.

#3. .30-06.

Pistol rounds aren't defense cartridges. Pistol rounds are to cover you while you get one of the above.

LawDog
 
LawDog,

I like the way you think, but too many BGs have been stopped with one or two shots with the above calibers to deny their effectiveness.

9mm: Don't have one
.40: 165gr Gold Dot
.45: 230gr Gold dot

TCW
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top