Trusting your Home Defense Round?

T

twoblink

New member
I was at the range yesterday, getting better with my Steyr M40.

Anyway, I have some gold dot hollow points as my home defense round. I don't ever shoot it, the cost is just so prohibitive.. But at the range yesterday, I thought I should shoot a few rounds just because if I ever have to use it, I should know how much kick, and how accurate it is...

Anyway, I loaded 10 shots, and the 10th had a primer strike, but failed to fire. I shoved it back in and fired again, and this time, it did go bang.

But, now I'm thinking, I've never had a fail to fire with my federal stuff, and ball ammo that fires is better than hollow points that don't right?

So now I've got some reservations about my home defense ammo. I'm thinking should I just shoot it all and buy something else?

If I don't really trust it, I shouldn't use it right? I'm thinking that's the case since it's giving me some anxiety.

Anybody ever have the same situation?

Thanks!
Albert
 
trust...

twoblink,

First off, I'll be the first to admit that I am not independently wealthy. I'm still in college, so that should about sum up my financial situation. I understand that practicing with "home defense" ammunition can be extremely costly.

Nonetheless, I DO make it a practice to rotate out my "home defense" fodder every other month and replace it with new ammo. This means that I shoot up a box or two of my most trusted "gourmet" ammunition, which is usually Speer Gold-Dot or Cor-bon for my .40S&Ws and my 9mms, and replace them with new ammo of the same make. In other words, I try my best to not allow my personal defense ammunition sit for too long.

By doing this, I have accustomed myself with the ammunition, and I have found that they do work for me and my guns.

Your reasoning is sound, but maybe that is due in part that I think along the same lines. If I do not trust a certain make of ammunition, I would most definately reserve from using it as my primary home-defense fodder. Range ammo, yes, but not for home-defense.

IF the tables were turned, and I had lost faith in my HD ammo, I would load up with the most reliable range ammo in my possesion. Until I have found a reliable "home-defense" cartridge, I would continue to keep the range ammo at the ready. In fact, this is exactly what I have done with both the .40s and 9mms.

You are right, if you don't trust it, then you shouldn't use it. Confidence is a must and this applies to more than just firearms. Test taking, interviews, dates, etc. all require a certain level of confidence. Without confidence I don't find myself up to the task at hand and either perform mediocrely or flounder. This is probably a lot more than you would've to have known. :)

Well, I hope that I gave some helpful advice.

Good luck,
Jim
 
twoblink,

Jim (DoL) gave very good advice, especially how important it is to have trust in your weapon and ammo.

how much is your life (and peace of mind worth?

Anyway, I have some gold dot hollow points as my home defense round. I don't ever shoot it, the cost is just so prohibitive..
Click to expand...
 
WHY I'M a MANUFACTURER......

I decided to become an ammo maker after considerable experience with EVERY OTHER HIGH-QUALITY BRAND failed to convice me it(they) would ALWAYS GO BANG.

So..........I decided I would make my own ammo, the kind that always goes bang. Then folks who know me wanted some. Then L.E., and special folks, and now I is one (custom handgun ammo only)!

I still have other ammo on my shelf to remind me that regardless of reputation and price the ONLY reliable ammo is the ammo I make.

This subject is not "discussion" or "opinion"; it is the basis of my business.
 
I've never had a fail to fire with my federal stuff, and ball ammo that fires is better than hollow points that don't right?

The bullet profile has absolutely nothing to do with whether you had a misfire or not. FWIW, the only misfires I ever had with factory ammo has been with FMJRN.
 
kbear, that's not what I meant. I could care less about the bullet shape in this instance.

I'm saying, having your gun loaded with a cheap ball ammo is which goes bang, is better than loading it with premium ammo that doesn't go bang.

Weshoot, that's one of the reasons I'm starting to think about "home production". I live in an apartment, and that makes owning a bench slightly harder though...

Albert
 
TwoBlink-- and others. There is no such thing as 100% reliability of ammo, 100% of the time. That is why EVERYONE who keeps semi-auto for self defense, should ALWAYS have an extra loaded magazine with them, not so much to have to blast the charging hordes of bug eyed bad guys, but for the simple reason that Mr. Murphy always rides on our shoulders and sometimes decides to play a trick or two on us.

TwoBlinks, in a real self defense situation, you might have been killed, because you did NOT IMMEDIATELY perform a speed reload with your fresh magazine. (Remember, in a real adrenaline charged situation, you'll do what you've trained to do in practice!)

You should have dropped that magazine and racked that slide a couple of times to clear the chamber, pushed in a fresh, loaded mag, racked the slide, and then fired at your target.
You should not have for one instant, worried about the dud round. You could check that AFTER the "gunfight" was over.

Everyone should practice malfunction drills, EVERY TIME you go to the range. Have someone load a couple of your magazines with a dud round so you don't know when it's coming up. When it does, DEAL with it IMMEDIATELY, as described above.

Mr. Murphy is our constant companion. J.B.
 
I agree with Jay Baker. There is no ammo that is 100% reliable. You really need to have spare magazines handy in case that very thing happens. IMHO, it doesn't matter what kind of ammunition you use as home defense. I use regular ball ammo, because they'll kill you just as dead as a gold dot bullet also. You should always be comfortable with what you use and make sure you plenty in case situations arise like the one you described.
 
I know this is a different take, but the Federal has softer primers than the Speer. In fact, Federal has the softest primers of any brand I know of. I have never had a FTF with Federal ammo, that's why I use it. Do you think that your pistol is subject to make light primer strikes?
 
I agree with Mr Baker with the point that malfunction drills should be practiced. I would also add that drawing and firing from the holster should also be practiced for those who carry concealed. An astounding number of accidents are associated with drawing or reholstering weapons, but then thats another post. :D

I cannot afford to run a reccomended 200-250 rounds through my carry gun before trusting it entirely, as the "experts" would say. At an average of $13-$15 a box of 20, it can get pricey. I do at least attempt to shoot two boxes of my chosen load to check for feeding and reliability problems.

I also cycle my ammo out routinely by using the top round in the magazine as my "chamber" round for a week of carry. I then place that round at the bottom of the magazine and use the next round in line as my "chamber" round for the next week. When all the ammo in a mag is eventually cycle through I shoot the mag and refill with fresh ammo. This way I at least shoot a box of my carry load once every month or two. That, combined with shooting a loads that duplicate my carry load as close as possible keeps me pretty confident in my weapon.

As mentioned in a previous post, always be prepared for Mr Murphy to show up, whether shooting a revolver or a auto.

Good Shooting
RED
 
Did your slide lock all the way into battery? This is a common cause for a light hammer strike failure.

Can't afford ammo? I suggest you trade your auto for a revolver, preferably a 3" or 4" .38 Special or .357 Magnum, and load it with 158gr LSWCHP. The ammo is cheap, and you don't have to worry about functionality problems.
 
PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!

That has been drilled into me my numerous people. Be it drawing from concealment, malfunction drills, tactical mag changes, etc. Think of any sport, basketball, baseball, golf, etc. If you want to be good, you practice. And practice isn't just hot on the range. Some of the best practice is in your home with an empty gun. Cheap, but priceless. I am now in IDPA and the matches reinforce the practice issue.

And you can't practice enough! The other day I went to show my wife how "good" I could draw from (very deep) concealment. Hummm. I dropped the gun!!!! (Good thing it was home and it fell flat on the woof floor.) First time ever! Needless to say, more practice will be in order.

By the way, one mode of primer failure is oil soaking the primer. This is one reason I use "oil proof" carry rounds and rotate the one in the chamber.
 
I agree if you want absolute reliability, you can't beat a revolver. 5 or 6 shots should be enough to fend off most bad guys until you can get your rifle.
 
I have my 5 shot revolver loaded with 38Spls. I hope that is enough. Maybe I'll get some Federal Home Defense rounds for that. My gf shoots 38's like there's no tomorrow. She's about 2x as accurate with it as me. So word to the wise, don't break into my house! She'll put a bullet between you eye!

I find that a 357Revolver loaded with 38's to be the perfect home defense. Enough umph to knockdown or kill a bad guy, not so much kick it's not shootable, and even if you get a fail to fire, pull the trigger again! No jams.

5 shots is enough to give me time to get to my shotgun isn't it?

Albert
 
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