User Panel
Posted: 2/5/2023 8:03:55 PM EDT
Glock G19. What’s a good self defense round?
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Speer Gold Dot or G2
Federal HST Winchester Ranger or Ranger One Hornady Duty Pick one and go. |
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Whatever the cheapest reloads at your local gunshow are. Those.
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Check this out:
https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/#9mm I'm not a huge fan of 9mm, but my wife's bedside handgun is a 4.25" M&P, so it's loaded with the 147 Ranger T's, which were very hard to get a hold of. I have a tiny Kahr CM9 (3" barrel) which is loaded with the Federal 150 HST Micros, which were developed exactly for short barreled 9mms. |
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I like Hornaday custom 147 gr. It's got more penetration but a little less expansion but for me that's what I like.
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I mainly use standard pressure Hornady Duty 135 gr or 124 gr HST.
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147gr HSTs for me. Any good, modern JHP in 124gr or 147gr is going to do the job.
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I’ve carried Gold Dots for a long time. Got a smoking good deal on 2 cases of it from a former deputy sheriff local to me. Said he was given a box or 2 every now and again to practice with. He just kept putting it away in his closet.
A bunch of us were shooting at a coworkers place of my wife’s. He said he had 40 50rd boxes of Gold Dots he would sell me for $2 per box. He was keeping 4 or 5 boxes, said it would last him a long time. Gave him $80 and stuck it all in my truck and said thank you very much. |
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I like Gold Dot 124+P personally. I found them to be QUITE hot. So I've had those since forever.
I'd not feel undergunned with HST though. |
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I got a bunch of HSTs on sale before prices got stupid. They are gtg, as are gold dots and probably a few others mentioned I assume. Don’t overthink it op, the difference between the top ones is negligible.
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I bought 500 rounds of 147gr. HST from SGAmmo back in 2017 when they were selling for $20.95 for a box of 50. 500 cost me $225 shipped.
I still have plenty and expect them to last for a long time. |
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Federal HST, either 124gr or 147gr. Best on the market. Great for penetrating heavy clothing and hard barriers.
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Quoted: What does what you’re shooting it out of matter? View Quote Barrel length. OP is running a four-inch barrel, so he can shoot just about any JHP and get good expansion. I've seen gel tests done where some 147gr loads didn't want to expand after being shot out of a micro like, say, a P365. ETA that as one user said, certain guns don't play nice with certain ammo. Remember how older 1911s didn't like hollow-point ammo? |
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Federal HST in 124
whatever you do decide to run, shoot an entire box of it from your carry gun. ZERO malfunctions allowed. if it goes through the box, carry it. some guns don't play nice with certain ammo so you want to ensure YOUR pistol can consistently run the ammo. |
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Quoted: Speer Gold Dot or G2 Federal HST Winchester Ranger or Ranger One Hornady Duty Pick one and go. View Quote Attached File |
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I guess I’ll come back and add some real-world anecdotes, if only on whitetail. I’ve used the Gold Dot 124gr once, and the 147 HST and 230 (.45) HST a few times now. Mostly head and neck shots at around 25, which yeah no shit, when you dome something it tends to go down no matter what you hit it with, but both the Gold Dot and HST did fine. I did do a few chest shots with .45 and 9mm HST though. They either cracked a shoulder and dropped there or ran 30 or so and piled up. No different than a rifle really in terms of final result, though obviously less destructive internally. I have been able to recover the bullet in the offside hide before. Despite hitting ribs it penetrated fully, stuck in the hide, and looked just like the pretty flower it resembles in publication materials.
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Black Talons or Hydroshocks have been my carry ammo for a long time.
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HST, Ranger T-series, Gold Dot, you cannot go wrong with any of those.
GD is bonded, which is why you see a lot of LE using it. Ranger you have a choice bonded or non-bonded. HST isn't bonded either... If you have the overwhelming belief that you may need bonded. |
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Right now,i have Sig V-Crown 124 gr. in my pistol.
It has been very accurate. Lucky Gunner Labs has some good tests online. |
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Everything I have is loaded up with HST's but I have a ton of Fed 9bple+P+ and I wouldn't feel under armed with them either. While they have been succeeded by newer designs, they were [and still are] a damn good round.
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Quoted: I carry (and hand load) 147gr HST. Period. View Quote Even at 1275fps 147gr HST from a .357 magnum |
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From DocGKR, who used to post here until the retardation in the tech subforums ran him off:
The following loads all demonstrate outstanding terminal performance and can be considered acceptable for duty/self-defense use: 9 mm: Barnes XPB 115 gr JHP (copper bullet) Federal Tactical 124 gr JHP (LE9T1) Federal HST 124 gr +P JHP (P9HST3) Remington Golden Saber bonded 124 gr +P JHP (GSB9MMD) Speer Gold Dot 124 gr +P JHP Winchester Ranger-T 124 gr +P JHP (RA9124TP) Winchester 124 gr +P bonded JHP (RA9BA) Winchester Ranger-T 127 gr +P+ JHP (RA9TA) Federal Tactical 135 gr +P JHP (LE9T5) Hornady Critical Duty 135 gr +P PT Federal HST 147 gr JHP (P9HST2) Remington Golden Saber 147 gr JHP (GS9MMC) Speer Gold Dot 147 gr JHP Speer G2 147 gr PT Winchester Ranger-T 147 gr JHP (RA9T) Winchester 147 gr bonded JHP (RA9B/Q4364) .40 S&W: Barnes XPB 140 & 155 gr JHP (copper bullet) Speer Gold Dot 155 gr JHP Federal Tactical 165 gr JHP (LE40T3) Speer Gold Dot 165 gr JHP Winchester Ranger-T 165 gr JHP (RA40TA) Federal HST 180 gr JHP (P40HST1) Federal Tactical 180 gr JHP (LE40T1) Remington Golden Saber 180 gr JHP (GS40SWB) Speer Gold Dot 180 gr JHP Winchester Ranger-T 180 gr JHP (RA40T) Winchester 180 gr bonded JHP (RA40B/Q4355/S40SWPDB1) .45 ACP: Barnes XPB 185 gr JHP (copper bullet) Hornady Critical Duty 220 gr +P JHP Federal HST 230 gr JHP (P45HST2) Federal HST 230 gr +P JHP (P45HST1) Federal Tactical 230 gr JHP (LE45T1) Speer Gold Dot 230 gr JHP Winchester Ranger-T 230 gr JHP (RA45T) Winchester Ranger-T 230 gr +P JHP (RA45TP) View Quote While this list is from 2016, it really hasn't changed. I prefer HST; 147 or 124+P. |
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