Best PP Ammo

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I've seen pages and pages of ballistic tables with rants and raves about different types of personal protection rounds for handguns, but I'd still like more personal-preference type opinions on this topic. I can look at ballistics tables all day, but we've all seen the articles about cops pumping 10 or 20 rounds of good, "powerful" ammo into an assailant before taking them down.

So here's the Q - what's the round you trust YOUR life to, and how did you come by that choice?

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i carry a glock 31 in 357 sig loaded with 110 grain corbon power ball.

the reason why i carry the caliber and load that i do is because I have read that the 357 sig round has great stopping power. as for the corbon powerball ammo. I read that it is designed to defeat barriers such as heavy clothing while mushrooming.

another load i carry is 124 grain speer gold dots.. I have always been a fan of speer ammo.

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I carry a Ruger SP-101 chambered for .357 magnum. I load it with Remington Golden Sabers, 125 Gr hollow points, low flash at night, water proof coating.

First I did a lot of reading and picked out about 5 or 6 kinds of ammunition. Then I spent some good money running about 100 rounds of each through my gun. The Golden Sabers "felt" right and were easiest for me to shoot and control.

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I base my choices on the results from the Strasbourg tests. The best performers in ths test were Glaser Saftey slugs and Magsafe slugs. If you can find a copy of the test, it makes for very interesting reading.

Brian

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The first test I give PP ammo is will it function in my gun reliably. I would rather shoot fmj that functions every time, than gamble with functionality. If you know your gun will feed HP than I look at a bullet as a drill. The only things that matter are how deep and how big around. Hydrostatic shock is generally not sufficiently present in a handgun to actually tear soft tissue and will only temporarily displace tissue. This effect can be done by merely poking someone, and shouldn't be relied on to put an assailant out of commission. Energy might stop someone, and might not. Just as a punch may or may not. Only true injury to vital components of the body are guarantied to stop someone, and only a spinal or brain pan injury is guarantied to be instant. My apologizes if that sounds gruesome, but I am referencing stopping a sociopath. I am intrigued by the Strasbourg tests as it appears their wound cavities emulate hydrostatic shock. Such effect would lead to a much higher likelihood of having the shock knock out effect and would also lead to rapid loss of blood. My personal verdict is still out on how much to rely on such an effect.

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I go with Speer Gold Dot 155gr HP. They shoot at about 1200fps, with 490ft-lbs of energy. I made sure a box would feed without issue in my Springfield XD Sub 40. I have used Remington and Winchester HP but in 165 or 180 and thought the Speer shot the best and was most best for follow up shots. Looking to try something else, something in winter when the BG's have winter jackets on and I know rounds will penetrate when needed. Sometimes it came down to what was in stock and was I willing to change it up some.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM_USFY45xs

I also am a fan of frangible ammo..

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Hiredgun30 wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM_USFY45xs

I also am a fan of frangible ammo..

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which brand do you use?

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Imo...the kind you can find for sale.

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NightOwl wrote:

Imo...the kind you can find for sale.

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too true, these days.

((--- just a side note, if you need .40,(federal brand FMJ's), the 12th ave walmart in nampa has close to 10 boxes or so left for about 13.00 a box. ))

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Over the last few months, I've purchased Hydra-Shok's, Gold Dots and Winchester JHP simply because they were what was available at the time. I think they'' all get the job done.

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Thelukaskezik wrote:

NightOwl wrote:

Imo...the kind you can find for sale.

Click to expand...

too true, these days.

((--- just a side note, if you need .40,(federal brand FMJ's), the 12th ave walmart in nampa has close to 10 boxes or so left for about 13.00 a box. ))

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My wife and I were just there last night around 9pm. I bought the last two. And I encountered no probs there.

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Oh another sidenote.

If anyone is tight on ammo, drive up to Ponderosa on 55. He was well-stocked with 9, .40, .45 FMJ as well as defensive loads last time I was up there.

I'm thinking of heading up there this afternoon.

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Thelukaskezik wrote:

I've seen pages and pages of ballistic tables with rants and raves about different types of personal protection rounds for handguns, but I'd still like more personal-preference type opinions on this topic. I can look at ballistics tables all day, but we've all seen the articles about cops pumping 10 or 20 rounds of good, "powerful" ammo into an assailant before taking them down.

So here's the Q - what's the round you trust YOUR life to, and how did you come by that choice?

Click to expand...

For my .45 ACP I chose the 230 gr Speer Gold Dot
For my .357 Mag I chose the 158 gr Speer Gold Dot

For my .380 ACP I currently carry Winchester SXT but I want to get Hornady Critical Defense.

The reason I chose the Gold Dot for the .45 and the .357 is because it's the only commercially available personal defense load that is identical to the Law Enforcement version of the same name. It's also one of two self-defense loads using a bonded core/jacket technology. The other is the Federal Hydra-Shock, but the LEO version is the HST which is not available to civilians right now.

The reason I carry the Winchester SXTs for my .380 is because they function well and they were available at the time. The reason I want the Critical Defense is because the Critical Defense ammunition was optimized for the best terminal ballistics (expansion and penetration) for civilian defense carry against attackers wearing light clothing. It fails miserably at penetrating barriers and other FBI test criteria, but for hot-weather summer carry, it's the best thing out there for the baby-gun calibers.