What type of ammo do you carry and why

I usually carry .45 ACP 185-Grain JHP in my Revolver. (Yes, They made Revolvers in .45 ACP)

They work pretty well, and they shoot good!

FMJ 911 said:

I usually carry .45 ACP 185-Grain JHP in my Revolver. (Yes, They made Revolvers in .45 ACP)

They work pretty well, and they shoot good!

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And for the life of me , Im still trying to get my hands on one..may end up going with a Governor, since it's the only kind Ive been able to find locally..

AAriondo said:

Gold Dot HP nuff said .40cal

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what does "nuff said" mean? is that like spelling period? or an all caps BOOM?

buy whatever hollowpoint is in the store. just make sure it feeds well in your gun. even some of the federal agencies are dumping the Gold Dots. not because they suck or anything but because it just doesn't matter.

When I concealed carry, I either take my Ruger LCR, or my Kimber Super Carry Pro .45. When I open carry I get to have my favorite pistol with me, a Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan 45 Long Colt / .454 Cassul. I normally keep hornady FTX 225 grain ammo in the cylinder. Unless I'm in grizzly country.

* Carthago delenda est *

All of my carry weapons are loaded with Federal Ranger BJHP +P rounds.

I carry a Ruger KLCR 357/38, loaded with the famous/infamous Federal 125gr.357mag. JHP with a stopping power of 98%. ( per M.Ayoob, Sandow, Marshall, et al). Backup a HKR Speedloader full of Speer Gold Dot 125gr. 38spl.+P, just for accuracy's sake. If that doesn't do it, I pray for another armed citizen.
Take care and be safe.

I carry a Sig P-250 9mm. I use only Hydrashock 9mm ammo! I keep an extended 17rnd mag in the gun, and a spare 15rnd mag in the holster mag pouch. I also carry a little leather pouch in my pocket that holds 9 "emergency bullets"... all Hydrashock, of course!

Why? I've done actual ballastic tests with this ammo compared against other types. It simply outperforms them by a WIDE margin. Even in simple "backyard ballistics" experiments. One such example:

I layered (in the following order) a pack of printer paper, a 1/2" block of wood and a solid block of concrete. So that it went in this order: paper, wood, concrete... First I fired a regular FMJ round. It went through the paper, but only a few fragments pierced the wood: the bullet shattered at some point before it could pass through the block of wood. A regular JHP round had similar results, some definite fragmentation, but it held together a bit better, had some decent expansion and stopped just short of exiting the wood (there was a lump in the back of it). Now for the Hydrashock... The HS round obliterated the paper, making a huge hole in it, smashed straight through the wood and buried itself into the concrete block! I was able to pull it out of the concrete with a pair of pliers to examine it. It had barely any fragmentation (just a couple small pieces of the jacket came off). It unfolded into a neat mushroom shape, and more than doubled in diameter. And the penetration was excellent!

I then tested the same types of ammo against 1gal milk jugs filled with water (water is a good ballistics medium). The regular FMJ and JHP rounds did a good bit of damage. They tore a big hole on entrace, and they blasted a big tear in the jug when they exited. A good bit of water sprayed out on impact. Now for the Hydrashock... I fired the HS round and saw nothing but a cloud of water vapor, lol! I went over to examine the damage, and I found the milk jug had actually been split clean in two!

Against ballistics gelatin, the results are also crystal clear: the Hydrashocks are clear winners. They're expensive as hell (approx. $35 for 20), but they are worth it. There are other high-end self-defense rounds on the market comparable to HS, but I've only tested a few. But AFAIK, Hydrashocks are simply the best.

My everyday carry is a Glock23 gen 4 3 mags (13rds) first mag 13+1 JHP 180gr winchester PP, 2nd mag same, 3rd mag 180gr FMJ. If I am needing to go for my 3rd mag I am in a gunfight at that point and am probably shooting from behind cover and will need maximum penetration at that point. If that 40 rounds isn't enough, I too pray I have help at that point.

Glock214

Right now I'm carrying Hornady 147 gr XTP's for my XD9sc. It's about time to change out my carry ammo though, so I'll be looking around for any new options.

I use the 165gr Hornady FTX in my Ruger SR40C. I haven't done a lot of ballistic tests on them but I do know they penetrate like no other.

Hornady Critical Duty

fire suppressor said:

Hydroshock, silver tip, +P.... ok guys help me out I am not a ballistics expert and I get lost in a lot of this stuff I have a simple question for all of you, what do you carry for self defense and why. I am going through all of my ammo right now and am trying to figure out what is the right bullet for me. I have always been a big fan of shooting heavier grain bullets with the philosophy of hit em with the biggest round possible you feel comfortable with to put them down fast, but after a recent trip to the range and shooting some lower grain "self defense ammo" I am thinking about changing my way of thinking. I shot better groups and got back on target faster with the lower grain they really impressed me and I do not think your average want to be slim shady is going to notice a difference between 165 grains and 180. So my question is what grain and type of ammo do you carry for self defense and why. I understand the difference between FMJ and HP and will be carrying HP for self defense

Thanks gang

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It's the closest thing I've read about in the last 20 years to what you could call the 'magic bullet.' I haven't shot it. I'm not a shill for Hornady. If what I've read holds true, it negates all the impassioned debates and designs I've been interested in.

Having said that, the best round is the one you can put on your enemy firstest and fastest; let your detractors respond if they may...

MAC702 said:

For a .45? Why not? Probably less risk of overpenetration than some hollowpoints out of a .357 Sig, 10mm, or .357 Magnum, etc.

Ultra-reliable.

I carry FMJ in my everyday-carry .45 as well. RELOADS, at that!

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If anything you'll get more penetration from a FMJ round than a hollowpoint. Using a HP is sort of like a dragster throwing out the parachute at the end of a run. It's much easier for a hard, smooth round to slide through something than a round that blows up into a big umbrella on impact.

amlevin said:

The issue of overpenetration is more and more being recognized as an unnecessary concern. It's overshadowed by a much larger one. Just think how much "overpenetration" one gets with all those rounds that miss. Most handgun bullets don't have a lot of energy left after passing through the full thickness of a human body. All too often there are lots of rounds fired that miss the target and then go off to cause collateral damage. Those that do hit are rarely the cause of a problem unless they go through a hand or something as "thin". That is just about the same thing as a "miss". The bigger issue is getting ENOUGH penetration to reach vital organs. With Rifle Rounds it's a whole different story.

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Agreed 100%!!!!! Overpenetration is almost never an issue when shooting humans, center mass with most any handgun. Watch the "ER" shows. Pretty much everytime I've seen someone come in with a center mass gunshot wound, the bullet is almost always still inside them and you know after seeing this over and over again these people most assuradly were shot with a multitude of differnt guns/calibers. Nonetheless the result is the almost always the same. The bullet is still in them and didn't exit. Over penetration is something too many people worry about just like the CC crowd worrying about being the "first one shot".

SovereignAxe said:

I didn't like any of the answers to this, so I thought I'd add my own.

I think what deepdiver is saying is that some of the +P loads use more powder, but don't necessarily burn any faster-at least not fast enough to finish burning before the bullet leaves the barrel.

Think of it this way (all figures are made up, but the theory is real). Say you have a normal pressure load, we'll call it load A, that burns up completely just before the bullet leaves a 5" barrel. Take load A and put it in a handgun with a 3" barrel and you've got some sparks coming out of the barrel because the bullet is out before the powder is finished burning. No big deal, you just get decreased muzzle veloctiy, which is to be expected.

Now take load A and add more powder to the cartridge to make a +P load, which we'll call A+1. It works great out of a 5" barrel because it's still causing the bullet to accelerate as it exits the barrel
because it's still burning. But fire it out of a 3" barrel and you're wasting even more powder because a good portion is burning past the muzzle. You may have more muzzle velocity with A+1 than with A out of the 3" barrel, but the gain will be minimal, as you're wasting most of the powder.

Now take load A and instead of just shoving more powder into the cartridge and making A+1, you throw out load A and put in a faster burning powder, which we'll call load B. Load B is a +P load, but it burns faster-it burns up completely just before the bullet reaches the end of a 3" barrel. Load B will probably have a more brisk recoil than A+1, but it'll make much better use of the shorter barrel, and give much better velocity gains out of a 3" barrel than with load A+1.

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My thoughts exactly!!!!!!

22,9mm, 40 cal, 357 sig, 45,

all hollowpoints and 12 guage 00 buckshot plus 1 0z slugs in case the buck doesnt stop the threat after all thats the object of the weapon ...to stop the threat!!!

ALOC1911 said:

Agreed 100%!!!!! Overpenetration is almost never an issue when shooting humans, center mass with most any handgun. Watch the "ER" shows. Pretty much everytime I've seen someone come in with a center mass gunshot wound, the bullet is almost always still inside them and you know after seeing this over and over again these people most assuradly were shot with a multitude of differnt guns/calibers. Nonetheless the result is the almost always the same. The bullet is still in them and didn't exit. Over penetration is something too many people worry about just like the CC crowd worrying about being the "first one shot".

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Correct. From the perspective of having seen many, many GSVs in a Trauma Center, and the X-rays taken immediately after patients were brought in, I'd say, easily 98% or more of the rounds fired center-mass, or at least to the torso/head areas stayed in the body- whether hollow-point or FMJ.

Only rarely did we ever see cases of folks who were brought in with one or two rounds that had passed "through-and-through" anywhere other than an extremity hit- (side of legs, buttocks-oddly enough, inside/outside edges of upper arms, along the sides of torsos, etc.)and no matter what the caliber. One of the reasons I dont put too much faith in all the fancy hollow-point designs is based on how rarely we actually saw such rounds expand at all. Some would, of course, but when they did, they usually did so way too soon- stopping just 2-3" inside the body.
9mm. /.40 S&W almost never expanded , nor did .38 ,and when they did, they only did so partially.
Even with rifle rounds. One fellow brought in, who died on the table, took 5 hits from an AK-47 (7.62mmx39) all 5 rounds were recovered from within the torso.

sudden valley gunner said:

I just had this discussion with a guy who thinks OC is stupid the other day. He wants the element of surprise.

He thinks I'll be a target. I told him do you really think some punk is going to search me out of the hundreds of customers at Wal-mart before robbing the teller?

People also don't seem to understand the mindset of those engaged in this activity they know it has to be in and out, so if anybody is targeted it won't be people in plain clothes. With the amount of adrenaline in their system their minds are focused on the task at hand, sort of like the tunnel vision syndrome cops get when on a high speed chase, so if anybody is to be a target it would be a cop or a Security Guard but more than likely they won't attack them either unless it is a well planned heist, which most are not.

And to top it off several others I personally know and myself have seen the deterring effect of OC.

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I may be wrong,but if a bg saw someone in a store that he was intending to rob was oc,wouldnt the bg be more likly to leave and not start nothing

in my 357 mag i carry hornady critical defense 125 grain hollowpoint,and in my 45 i carry federal hydrashocks.

I carry for personnal protection Hornady 230gr +P XTP in my M&P 45. This is just a personnal choice. You can look at all the ballistic tests and data and not be able to determine what is right for you, if there is such a case. Pick a good dependable manufacturer, it will carry out it's intended purpose.

My internet is insane and double posts. Moderator please remove.

Sorry!

Jake8x7