Self defense ammo

I personally like the Hornady XTP's for my 10mm and that's what I stick with. At 180gr. and superior expanding capabilities I don't think I could find a better self defense round than that. Plus they are the most accurate that I've found out of my Glock 20

I faver the Hornady XTP , I have these in 44 mag 38 special and
45 acp. I chose these in factory loadings simply beause the debate
concerning liability is so broad, and unsettled. However the negative,
side is any and all these are very expensive. But the fact these particular
bullets have a positive reputation, for exspansion.Makes them worth the
money you have to pay, And hopefully I will not HAVE,, to buy many.

I agree though for a factory projectile I use hornady XTP or XTP MAG....

That's another good reason to use them John, how could they prove they weren't factory loads when Hornady makes factory ammo loaded with the XTP's. Not that I would be worried about it anyway.
If it ever came right down to it I would grab whatever I happen to have handy and wouldn't give my ammo a second thought. Even if it was a meat clever or a butcher knife. When the judge asks why there's 10 punture wounds in the perp I'd just reply, "Because I got tired"

Like the woman who shot a purse snatcher for stealing her weeks worth of tips 6 times. The judge asked why she shot him 6 times and she replied that's all the clip holds.

Mohunter, that's a good attitude to have when it comes to protecting yourself/family.... I like it.

I am a fan of everything about the XTPs except their price. I bought some loaded ammo at a gun show with the 240 grain XTPs and a charge to produce 1650 fps. The seller said "these are +P loads and are definitely effective." He named that variety of load he was offering "Emancipators." Rightly so. I put one of those right through a 5 gallon propane tank @ 100 yards. It made a hole 1" in diameter... good expansion- at least adequate for personal protection- unless the perp is hiding behind a bigger propane tank

The only downside to those XTPs is you can't practice with 'em that much unless you're made of money. However, shooting a lead projectile of the same weight... at the same velocity... with the same powder... should yield a similar amount of drop/recoil and "should" be adequate for extensive practice (no?)

Oh yeah, they are a bit pricey and I don't shoot that much so a box will last me a good while, but I think a soft lead hollow point would be extremely effective because of the expansion factor. Ask Daywalker to show you some of the mushrooms some of his home brewed bullets produced. He's got pics, just ask him to post some. I must say they are quite impressive, and if that won't stop the gorilla standing at the foot of your bed......then you better start praying.

You hear that Tommy? That's your queue to do what you have to do... Hint hint
:worthless-with

As far as expansion of lead slugs, I haven't experienced it for myself yet. My ballistic tests have yet to be completed on my new 310 grain types. First I need to drill them- fire them- and collect "data"

That's the ones! That thing looks like a pancake, wow talk about a hole that dude would leave!

Bill shot and recovered those in balistic gel. He did not get to weigh them to see what the weight retention was. However, by looking at them, seems like it should be enough LOL....

I am trying to remember what grain that bullet was when i swaged them... I want to say around 200 grain bullet. He shot those out of his Taurus 24/7 in 45 acp...

Impressive DW! Were those in a trimmed off 40 cal jacket?

BigAgitator wrote:Mohunter, that's a good attitude to have when it comes to protecting yourself/family.... I like it.



The only downside to those XTPs is you can't practice with 'em that much unless you're made of money. However, shooting a lead projectile of the same weight... at the same velocity... with the same powder... should yield a similar amount of drop/recoil and "should" be adequate for extensive practice (no?)

XTPs are jacketed projectiles you cant push solid lead as fast. You will have excessive leading. you can up your speed some if you are gas checked but you still cant go as fast as jacketed bullets.

Well not 1600 but 1400 should be attainable with a hard cast. I guess I wrote that message in haste. However, I have heard that people push hard cast slugs up to 1800 out of their .44 Rem Mag and .444 marlin lever guns. In many postings, people have said that jacketed bullets have a lot more friction than lead- and therefore cannot be pushed as fast. Though they may exaggerate, I didn't think 14-15 hundred fps was out of the question with a hard cast lead bullet. It's all speculation at this point anyway.

eagle60 wrote:Impressive DW! Were those in a trimmed off 40 cal jacket?

Yes. I trimmed those way back. I may make some more of those. As far as defense,, would be interesting to see the ME when they pull that out of someone.. But then again, around here, might not be too hard to find who is making those lol...

those are great looking bullets! it looks like the whole round was shot out of the firearm. 40cal cases are great for swaging, eh? the pictures seem to suggest that

Hawcer, this reminds me, have you recovered any that you have shot of your home swaged bullets using reloading dies? Would be interesting to see them. I know I prob asked a few times but my memory keeps disappearing...

Would be nice to see how they would hold up in a defensive situation. Then again a 450 bushy won't matter how the bullets open up LOL

Best Self defense ammo is the kind that ALWAYS goes "bang" when that trigger is pulled! Personally, my vote is stick to what you fire from that gun..... Will factory hollow points cause more damage over normal plinker range ammo? Yeah, most likely however, if that gun jams because you bought pricey "self defense" ammo and never took the effort to fully test that ammo in your gun; Those reloads and range ammo you shoot 500 at a time with no problems wont sounds like a bad idea in a time of desperation when you pull the trigger and get a "click" over that "bang.

Daywalker wrote:Hawcer, this reminds me, have you recovered any that you have shot of your home swaged bullets using reloading dies? Would be interesting to see them. I know I prob asked a few times but my memory keeps disappearing...

Would be nice to see how they would hold up in a defensive situation. Then again a 450 bushy won't matter how the bullets open up LOL

As soon as the weather breaks....I have alot of testing to do.

I tend to use what the local police use. After all its ammo thats been in court already. San Antonio Police use Gold Dot around here. What I have is usually a duplicate load on my reloads. In my old job we had a class on what to expect during a court case if we were involved in a shooting. What questions we might encounter and what kind of traps that liberal lawyers will take in questioning your choice of ammo that you shot the assailant for whatever.

However the world is not perfect and I will use whatever means to protect my family. If in the dead of night at 3:00 in the morning I have to open my gunsafe and grab a mag for my 1911 or my XD, I am not going to waste time checking to see if the mag was reloads or factory.

Hi, new to this post but couldn't help getting involved. Here is a good one i think is important.
In the past 5 years gun laws have changed & been made popular by the general public due to the scare on gun rights. why all of the sudden has carrying guns become cool? I have always felt strong about our freedoms and defending ourselves in our own homes, but out on the streets its a new ball game. When Defending our own homes & families i feel that once the intruder has invaded your families domain they need 2 be put down by any means necessary. Whether it be hand loaded hollows or factory combat ball, it doesn't matter because the intruder has rapped your civil rights by entering your home uninvited. As for the streets where innocent by standers are present
use rounds that are not going to go through the attacker & wound others but thats not always the case.

As someone who has been on the wrong end of the muzzle of someone's gun, it does not matter if it is a .22, when you are on the wrong end it looks like a damn howitzer!!!

I've been pretty impressed with the fancy new Hornady Critical Defense ammo. I have shot a bit of it in 9mm but can't wait to get my hands on some of the new .44 Special they just started making.

My Glock 19 which is my carry rig, shoots the Hornady fodder OK, I am still better with my old stand by 140 gr Hydro Shocks, but I have been shooting them for years and keep like 4 mags stuffed with them JIC.

My wife's little GP-101 shoots the .357 Hornady ammo OK but I think the bullet is a tad light for the gun because it patterns a bit larger than the 158 gr Gold Dot and Hydro Shocks she usually carries. Maybe it is just practice, but at 7 yards she can keep all 5 in the X, but has a few strays with the Hornady fodder with some vertical stringing.

Since the wife's little pistol is stainless and ported, eye ball flash from usual ammo is murder in the dark but the Critical Defense stuff does not flash as much as the usual stuff which is nice.

Like most what I grab is what is going to get shot - I am not going to waste time digging around for the "right" ammo.

I have talked with some friends who are now PD or Sheriff's Depts, and all agree a liberal lawyer will have a field day with me since I am former SF, was rated Expert in pistol and have several courses of pistol training completed both civilian and military including Gun Site.

I got to meet the late Col Cooper many years ago when my company was there prior to deploying to Iraq for our first tour for Gulf War Deuce. He spoke quitely to us for a few minutes, but we hung on every word. Many of us felt that was the highlight of the trip.

Steve

Now that’s interesting, I’ve never considered muzzle flash in low light conditions from a pistol. That would be a bad thing.

Muzzle flash in the dark for short barrel pistols like my wife's little .357 are horrid, made worse by the ports.

The folks at my local indoor range are real nice and one evening just before closing under close supervision of myself and the range master, we were allowed to dim the lights to near dark so that the wife could see what it be about like to shoot her little pistol in a dark house.

Holy blinking hell!! My ported 9mm 17L was a real blinder and her little .357 shot a fireball that was very impressive and left little stars in your vision that floated around when you blinked.

The Hornady Critical Defense fodder has some kind of flash suppression material in it so that it does fire ball so bad.

Not sure how they did it but would be neat if they offered the powder for reloaders like they are doing with the Superperformance powder.

Even my beloved 147 gr 9mm +P Hydro Shocks out of my little Glock 19 flash something awful, and it is not ported.

Steve

I didn't read all the replies to your original post but have a bit of information that may help. I was a police officer for 25 yrs. The problem with reloads for self defense is not in liability but judicial. Anyone using a firearm for defense is put before a Grand Jury hearing. Grand Juries are made up of ordinary citizens both liberal and conservative. The problem comes when people on the Jury have no idea of firearms and reloading. All they can think of is "Why you had to load a more powerful round". My suggestion is to spend $20.00 and buy a box of 20 hydra shock rounds for defense. That way you avoid the issue if, heaven forbid, you are ever placed in front of a Grand Jury.