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Ammo Question???

Jerecole
I am curious if there is a big difference between Hornady TAP, Winchester Supreme PDX1, and Federal Hydro shok ammo? Also What is the best grain size for a self defense rund in a .40cal handgun?
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Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • perry shooter
    what or who if hit in the right place will never be able to tell the difference in any of the three.
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  • Gashauler
    my personal preference is for the low recoil federal hydra shok. The recoil seems to be noticably less. But like I said that is personal preference. I couldn't tell how well they work though. Lucky for me haven't had to use them other than for practice.


    "Nothing wrong with that, and I think objectively 9mm+P is actually a pretty good load, but IMO if you are going to shoot 9mm-like loads, you might as well just carry a 9mm gun, which will give you both higher capacity and cheaper practice ammo. If you are going to carry a .40, you might as well try to take advantage of what it has to offer."

    See this is what happens when I play with people smarter than me. I get ideas that I hadn't thought of and now its going to hurt my brain and cost me money. Oh well more fun for me trying out different loads.[:D][:D]
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  • Nwcid
    Corbon PowRball 135gr [^]

    http://www.dakotaammo.net/products/glaser/powrball.htm
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  • RCrosby
    +1 PerryShooter,
    With the one addition that one of the 3 may prove more reliable in your handgun. Considering the cost of these premium loads that may be an expensive test, but inconsequential should the day come when you have to fire in anger.
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:I am curious if there is a big difference between Hornady TAP, Winchester Supreme PDX1, and Federal Hydro shok ammo? Also What is the best grain size for a self defense rund in a .40cal handgun?

    There is probably "a" difference, though probably not a "big" difference.

    All marketing and internet BS aside (and there is plenty of it), if you're talking similar weight bullets in the same caliber, being launched at reasonably similar velocities, you're going to see roughly similar results. Plus or minus another 5-10% energy/momentum/velocity between loads isn't going to make a big difference.

    There may be some differences based on bullet design, but with most manufacturers "premium" bullets being pretty good nowadays, they're probably NOT dramatic.

    As mentioned, the MOST important thing is shot placement, which is more important than EVERYTHING else. A .22 to the right place is likely going to be more effective than six .44 magnums to the wrong places.

    The problem in saying which load is the "best" is that while there are various ways to test/predict the probable effectiveness of defensive ammo (eg ballistic gelatin, penetration testing, etc), nobody has come up with a PROVEN way to measure "real world" effectiveness of defensive ammo. All the test and/or mathematical models are somewhat speculative.

    The "best" way would be empiric testing, but for obvious reasons you can't shoot a few thousand "volunteers" and see what happens! Its also hard to draw meaningful conclusions from collections of individual shooting incidents since the circumstances in each one are so different, that it isn't fair to compare them.

    In terms of best bullet weight, again, there is probably isn't an absolutely definitive answer here, and there never will be.

    As to bullet weight, as a generalization, I'd say avoid the 185 grain or heavier bullets as those can be more prone to feeding and overpressure issues.

    *Probably* the best are 165 grain bullets, but that isn't to say that others (eg 155 grain) can't work really well too.

    For example, if you use lightweight bullet ordinary pressure (not "low recoil") ammo from a .40SW, you start to approach 357 SIG ballistics, and many seem to think thats a good thing.

    My personal take on the 135 grain "low recoil" Federal JHP loads, is while those are certainly adequate, if you look at the ballistics numbers, you're only getting 1190 fps from them. In other words, ballistically, these light loads are only *slightly* more powerful than 9mm luger +P.

    Nothing wrong with that, and I think objectively 9mm+P is actually a pretty good load, but IMO if you are going to shoot 9mm-like loads, you might as well just carry a 9mm gun, which will give you both higher capacity and cheaper practice ammo. If you are going to carry a .40, you might as well try to take advantage of what it has to offer.
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