Posted: 3/4/2015 9:53:55 AM EDT
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My 2 primary defensive pistols are the S&W Shield for carry and the Glock 17 for home defense. Both are 9mm.
I have yet to feed them any type of round that is marketed as "defensive" and would like to feed them the proper ammo for their intended task. Can I have your top 3 suggestions regarding defensive ammo for these pistols? Having 3 suggestions will give me a great place to start the overall testing process to see which round my S&W and Glock prefer. Thanks everyone. |
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Any modern hollow point design will be pretty close in performance for civilian purposes - do not get caught up in the hype over esoteric things like windshield penetration etc. Speer gold dot , federal hxt, Winchester ranger Remington golden saber are all good choices
Be sure to test your round of choice for reliability and frankly finding a hp to run reliably in the auto is far more important than some theoretical ballistic gel test stat. Luckily I have not found the glock to be at all fussy in feeding hp. |
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You really can't go wrong with any of the Speer, Federal, Winchester, Hornady, etc. defensive rounds. I prefer 147 grain 9mm bullets. POA/POI is very similar to what my reloads are with that bullet weight. Hornday makes a specific load for short barrels (Critical Defense) that shoots really well, and they have a ballistic tip so that expansion isn't limited by clothing. I liked the ones I bought, but they were 115 grain. One day I'll go chrono some of them and see if the faster powder really makes that much of a difference. |
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So many good options but I just keep it simple either the Winchester Defend or the Hornady XTP both 147 standard pressure. Low recoil, excellent penetration, and relatively easy to find.
We can beat this topic to death for years but the great fact of the matter is none of us shoot people on a regular basis to know how every round will real life perform. We all rely on ballistic testing in gel or an animal caracas. I can sit here al day telling you how the hollowpoint is prettier on one pistol than another but at the end of the day pick a good load that does well in gel test and go. |
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Shield: Hornady Critical Defense 115 Works perfectly and no great amount of recoil in light gun.
>>>>>note>>>>>>(When tested in the first 200 rounds, mine did not feed Critical Duty 135) Glock: Speer Gold Dot 147 or Hornady Critical Duty 135 The Glock always works. |
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Another vote for the Hornaday Critical Defense.
Tested it out of a 938. Now this is not highly scientific test. I shot a 1 gallon milk jug full of water at about 6 feet with a steel plate behind it to stop projectile. First there was a lot more splash of water than the ball rounds gave when used. Second the exit hole on the milk jug was just over half an inch. The recovered projectile was smashed out to about 3/4". So after it had penetrated about 7-8" of water (milk jug on angle) it had enough energy left over to smash the projectile against the steel back plate hard enough to flatten out the projectile a little more. So it does not plug with clothing. Hits hard and has good terminal performance and does not break up into little pieces. I like that in a projectile. |
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Quoted:
So many good options but I just keep it simple either the Winchester Defend or the Hornady XTP both 147 standard pressure. Low recoil, excellent penetration, and relatively easy to find. We can beat this topic to death for years but the great fact of the matter is none of us shoot people on a regular basis to know how every round will real life perform. We all rely on ballistic testing in gel or an animal caracas. I can sit here al day telling you how the hollowpoint is prettier on one pistol than another but at the end of the day pick a good load that does well in gel test and go. Agree. I still have a stock of 147 GD's, but may very well start restocking with XTP's for much the same reasoning. |
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Another vote for the Hornaday Critical Defense. Tested it out of a 938. Now this is not highly scientific test. I shot a 1 gallon milk jug full of water at about 6 feet with a steel plate behind it to stop projectile. First there was a lot more splash of water than the ball rounds gave when used. Second the exit hole on the milk jug was just over half an inch. The recovered projectile was smashed out to about 3/4". So after it had penetrated about 7-8" of water (milk jug on angle) it had enough energy left over to smash the projectile against the steel back plate hard enough to flatten out the projectile a little more. So it does not plug with clothing. Hits hard and has good terminal performance and does not break up into little pieces. I like that in a projectile. The Critical Duty loads seem to do slightly better than the Defense loads from gel tests I have seen in the 9mm. |
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In my "backyard ballistic" testing, the .40 cal 165 gr Critical Defense failed to expand. The .40 cal 155 gr HST presumably failed as well (went through cloth and 6 jugs and wasn't found). In my 9mm testing, the 124 gr HST did quite well. I haven't yet tested heavier loads in either caliber.
In both calibers, the Speer Gold Dots did best, so I'm sticking with those. |
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http://www.ar15.com/ammo/project/Self_Defense_Ammo_FAQ/index.htm#9mm
To sum it up, HSTs, Ranger-Ts, Gold Dots, or Golden Sabers at 124 gr or above. I'm partial to 124 +P HST or Gold Dots because my wife's pistol doesn't care for the 147s. |
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Hows the Hornady 147gr XTP stack up? Recoil is low, low flash, the videos I have seen show consistent expansion, and deep penetration well within the spec you want for a defensive load. I have never shot another human being with one so I cannot speak to real life performance as most everyone here is in the same boat we just try to pick the best load based on the info at hand. The XTP is essentially a hunting bullet that also works well as a defensive load. I have carried it for years in my 357sig only complaint is I wish they used nickel coated casing as the brass tarnishes. |
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I've been looking around for some defensive rounds locally as it is virtually impossible to get ammo shipped to Hawaii. I found one LGS that has Hornady Critical Defense 115gr ammo and Buffalo Bore ammo. I did buy the Hornady Critical Defense ammo and I hope to use it next weekend to see how it runs in my Glock 19. Damn ammo cost a buck a round! I will also try the Buffalo Bore ammo next time around.
I do have some Black Talon ammo but don't think it's worth shooting and more of a relic of days gone by. |
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Critical Duty (DO NOT GET CRITICAL DEFENSE ITS CRAP) Winchester PDX1/Ranger Speer Gold Dots Federal HST (DO NOT GET HYDRA SHOCK ITS CRAP) Remington Golden Sabre Bonded ONLY 124 gr and above Best post so far, it still amazes me that people reccommend Critical Defense, it performed very poorly in ballistics gel HST is my personal favorite, with Gold Dot being my second due to having a good balance of performance and economy |
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Quoted: Best post so far, it still amazes me that people reccommend Critical Defense, it performed very poorly in ballistics gel HST is my personal favorite, with Gold Dot being my second due to having a good balance of performance and economy Quoted: Quoted: Critical Duty (DO NOT GET CRITICAL DEFENSE ITS CRAP) Winchester PDX1/Ranger Speer Gold Dots Federal HST (DO NOT GET HYDRA SHOCK ITS CRAP) Remington Golden Sabre Bonded ONLY 124 gr and above Best post so far, it still amazes me that people reccommend Critical Defense, it performed very poorly in ballistics gel HST is my personal favorite, with Gold Dot being my second due to having a good balance of performance and economy  |
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Links? I saw some things that looked pretty good for that bullet size. I don't like 115 grain bullets, and I gave the rest of the box I bought to my dad. Look up the TNoutdoors reviews on YouTube, while it meets FBI criteria, when compared to superior loads such as Federal HST or Ranger-T the performance is not very impressive |
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Quoted: Look up the TNoutdoors reviews on YouTube, while it meets FBI criteria, when compared to superior loads such as Federal HST or Ranger-T the performance is not very impressive Quoted: Quoted: Links? I saw some things that looked pretty good for that bullet size. I don't like 115 grain bullets, and I gave the rest of the box I bought to my dad. Look up the TNoutdoors reviews on YouTube, while it meets FBI criteria, when compared to superior loads such as Federal HST or Ranger-T the performance is not very impressive That's just about what I saw in other places. Seems like it is doing just what they sell it as. It is good in little pistols where high recoil will have a large effect on accuracy. He was (my dad) carrying FMJ bullets around, so I feel a little better at least. I carry Ranger T-Series. I tried to give him a box of 124grain +p Gold Dots, but there were 50 rounds and he "didn't need that many".  |
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Quoted: http://www.ar15.com/ammo/project/Self_Defense_Ammo_FAQ/index.htm#9mm To sum it up, HSTs, Ranger-Ts, Gold Dots, or Golden Sabers at 124 gr or above. I'm partial to 124 +P HST or Gold Dots because my wife's pistol doesn't care for the 147s.  DINGDINGDING......WINNER - WINNER - CHICKEN DINNER |
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Links? I saw some things that looked pretty good for that bullet size. I don't like 115 grain bullets, and I gave the rest of the box I bought to my dad. Quoted:
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Critical Duty (DO NOT GET CRITICAL DEFENSE ITS CRAP) Winchester PDX1/Ranger Speer Gold Dots Federal HST (DO NOT GET HYDRA SHOCK ITS CRAP) Remington Golden Sabre Bonded ONLY 124 gr and above Best post so far, it still amazes me that people reccommend Critical Defense, it performed very poorly in ballistics gel HST is my personal favorite, with Gold Dot being my second due to having a good balance of performance and economy The good Doctor rigorously tested it and found it wanting. I wouldn't lose sleep over it if it was all I could get but I wouldn't buy the stuff. |
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You really can't go wrong with any of the Speer, Federal, Winchester, Hornady, etc. defensive rounds. I prefer 147 grain 9mm bullets. POA/POI is very similar to what my reloads are with that bullet weight. Hornday makes a specific load for short barrels (Critical Defense) that shoots really well, and they have a ballistic tip so that expansion isn't limited by clothing. I liked the ones I bought, but they were 115 grain. One day I'll go chrono some of them and see if the faster powder really makes that much of a difference. This...^. |