And the best is..............................
I have used Federal Hydro-Shok in all my defensive handguns for the last few years because they were said to be the best by Evans and Sanow in their ammo book. Now everyday in everyone of my gun mags it seems the new Hornady "Critical defense" is supposedly the way to go. Which do the majority of this forum prefer? Thanks for your assistance.
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come on.. dead is dead 0 -
It's called smoke and mirrors, AKA BS. If they gave the gun ragers enough money under the table they would be telling you a Red Rider BB gun would be the best thing for self defense. 0 -
First of all, Marshall and Sanow's data is of questionable validity to put it politely. I won't get into that here.
More important, the difference between brands of premium ammo in a given caliber is really not all that significant. If you place the shots correctly, any of them can work, and if you don't, none of them will work.
Just make sure the ammo you pick:
a. Is intended for "personal protection" or "personal defense" if you can get it. This is generally soft point or hollowpoint "premium" ammo from a major manufacturer.
b. will reliably cycle your gun, and
c. is affordable to you and readily available, so you can practice with it at least a little bit every so often and rotate in fresh rounds.
As to which ammo I prefer, at the moment I happen to have 125 grain winchester .38+Ps in my snubnose, but I've also carried (and will continue to carry) Corbon and Federal, and I really don't spend a lot of time worrying about which one happens to be in my gun at any time.
See above.
Because I'm using a wheelgun, I know that ALL of the brands are going to be 100% reliable. . .that's one of the reasons why I like a revolver.
Given the choice, if there were a readily available 158 grain +P load, I'd probably choose that one (but there isn't, so I don't). The Speer 135 grain +P round intended for snubnose .38s is probably amongst the best, so that one is also probably a good choice, if you can find some. And I'm sure there are others that could work too.
In 9mm, I also like Federal and Corbon, but others could work. I'd prefer 124 grain, but I've also carried (and would still use) 115 or 147 grain. I've also carried plain jane 115 grain cheapo Winchester white box ball ammo, when that's all I've had. Not the best choice, but I don't think you'd want to be hit by even one of those, let alone 15+1.
In .357, I've used Federal. I've also used (and still use) crappy aluminum cased CCI 158 grain rounds, and believe me, whomever is unlucky enough to get hit with one of those 158 grain hollowpoint 357 slugs isn't going to know the difference.0 -
I agree with Dano
Winchester Ranger
Remington Golden Saber
Federal Hydroshock
all are good, and thats a good set to test in your gun to see which it likes best.. after you choose a round. Use a digital scale to weight out each round in your selected boxes, to make sure that each round is uniform and discard any that aint. thats your SD ammo.. Do that each year..
If your gun doesnt like open tips then federal makes an expanding FMJ round. The critical defense round is trunicated with a plug, and Corbon also makes an expanding round with a polymer tip..
test all three choose the most accurate and reliable.
Again, with whatever round you choose, buy an extra box or two and weight out each round you might use in your mags to make sure they are uniform, and you are as good to go as you ever will be.
buy new ammo every year or so, just to be safe.0 -
I prefer Corbon PowRball in my guns. It has the feeding of a FMJ and the performance of a HP.
I have put down many injured deer with Corbon HP ammo to feel comfortable carrying it as defensive ammo. While I have not shot anything living with the PowRball it feeds in my guns and Corbon claims it performs better then their HP ammo.
Bean gave lots of good info.0 -
I shot alot of people with 230gr FMJ and 55gr FMJ and generaly speaking, they did a sufficiant job. Atleast I'm here to tell the story. I don't think there's a nickles worth of difference in any quality grade bullets in todays market. I, myself carry Hornaday XTPs in my handloads. Where I live, there is not a jury that is going to convict anyone of anything for defending themselfs with handloads. It is indeed a sad state of affairs, when in this country a man can be prosecuted for defending hisself with handloads. I have yet so see factual proof of anyone being charged with any crime for using handloads. I carry 200gr XTPs over 5.4grs of Bullseye in my 45, and a 158gr XTP over 6.5grs of Blue Dot and a Mag primer in my J frame 38. Buy what works in your gun, learn how to shoot it, and don't worry.
W.D.0 -
Thanks for all the opinions!!!! 0 -
I also run Corbon Powrball without any issues. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by CapnMidnight
Where I live, there is not a jury that is going to convict anyone of anything for defending themselfs with handloads. It is indeed a sad state of affairs, when in this country a man can be prosecuted for defending hisself with handloads. I have yet so see factual proof of anyone being charged with any crime for using handloads.
Unfortunately, not everyone lives where you live. Move to the Northeast, shoot someone who is trying to kill you, then see what happens.
Its sad, but unless you're a cop, if you shoot ANYONE in the Northeast, you're likely to end up in front of a jury to justify your actions.
The point behind not carrying handloads for self-defense isn't that using a handload for defense is by itself illegal (its not). If the shooting is clean, its clean, regardless of what ammo you are using.
The reasoning is that if your shooting isn't absolutely perfectly clean, some zealous prosecutor could use the fact that you've loaded your own rounds to paint you as a "nut" looking for trouble.
Remember, there are generations of people in the gun-banning states who have grown up conditioned to believe that only two kinds of people carry guns, cops and criminals, and if you aren't one you have to be the other. These are your peers who might make jurors.
Imagine what happens if one of your handloads happens to miss your intended target, then goes through a wall and hits a neighbor (or their kid).
As a practical matter, its pretty unlikely that you are going to be loading rounds that really outperform the best available premium defense rounds. So there isn't really a good reason to carry handloads anyway. You can shoot 99% handloads for practice, but just reserve a few premium rounds for carry and occasional rotation.0
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