So what type of ammo do you trust in your pistol for self defense? I personally would carry ball ammo since with the 9mm it would produce good penetration with a fully clothed person.
Why not carry the Hornady critical defense if you are worried about clothing penetration. I would be more concerned with over penetraion with ball ammo. Hitting a bystander because it went through and then some could cause legal trouble. Not to mention you would have to live with yourself injurying or killing someone you didn't intend too. I carry the Hornady critical defense ammo myself.
I'll look into that. I think they are pretty expensive to test for reliability in my pistol...but it does look like great ammo from what I've read/seen online.
You life is worth more then a couple boxes of ammo. Hornady Critical Defense in my wifes 9mm, Remington Golden Sabers in mine. I might switch soon though.
I like the winchester sxt they make a practice load that supposed to be balistically identical so you can practice for a bit less money, Maybe practice and hitting are a bit more important than the exact mythical perfect expansion,
I bet if you really look into it all the major brands are putting out a good product
Why can't people understand that you are accountable for every round that is fired? using 9mm ball is a horrible idea. That bullet will penetrate the intended target and then carry on down the street. You are going to jail if you use your weapon for SD or for any reason and the bullets hits an innocent bystander. This is a risk that we all take. But we try to minimize it by training and using proven HP bullets.
Most people dont understand how much legal work is involved in a SD shooting. Let alone a shooting in which your bullet penetrated the intended target and hit someone else. Trust me on this, I know first hand. I was arrested and charged with a D felony for pointing a handgun at my roomate who was high on oxycontin and threating me with a baseball bat. Several thousand dollars later I was cleared of all charges after the prosecuter decided I was within my rights to defend myself. And I didnt even pull the trigger. I beg everyone here to think abouth the consequenses of your actions and remember you are accountable for every round you send down range.
I stray away from carrying ball ammo, especialy in 9mm. With that velocity, and depending where you hit your target. There is a chance of over penetration. I carry 180 grain Magtech hp's in my Xd .40. I have other brands though. Winchester Ranger, Federal Hydrashoks, Remington UMC, and a box of Speers. I do not buy the expensive stuff. I think $1
+ per round is crazy. In my honest opinion, you do not need to spend that much. The most I have spend recently, is $28 for 50 rounds.
Good advice Hemi...but i have known of HPs that dont expand and act like ball and ball that has mushroomed, this is not the norm but it happens often enough as an aquaintance of mine who is a pathologist in the coroner's office has seen first hand.
Ol'Bluesmoke, all I'm trying to say is minimize your risk. A FMJ will never expand on a soft target. A HP has a good chance of expanding and staying within the body. The choice is yours. We have so many Keyboard Commandos who have never been on the receiving end of a Marion County prosecutor who think nothing will happen to them even if they are in the right. Sure, I got out of the charges, but it wasn't untill I spend a night in jail, $3000 on an attorney and many trips to 50 S. Alabama to talk to investigators. This was from the prosecutors mouth "if you shoot someone and the bullet hits an innocent bystander, you will be charged". If FMjs are so good, why don't the police carry them?
I have done a lot of research as well my own penetration testing on phone books, lumber e.c.t. and CorBond Power Ball has consistently out preformed all the others. My testing was not scientific, but it did confirm the manufactures claims and that makes me comfortable carrying it.