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How do you choose your SD/Carry ammo?

4K views 33 replies 25 participants last post by  Rifter 
#1 ·
Im writing a paper for research purposes because im very interested in firearms studies so i would like to know what factors help you guys decide on which ammo you would carry for SD....

Price?
Brand Preference?
Other people's reviews?
Hearsay?

** Thanks in advance for everyone who will give me input so i can write my paper**
 
#2 ·
Guess I will start this off in hopes that it will get rolling....

In my Glock 23 I use 135Gr Corbon PowRball ammo because i have had good results with it

In my Rock Island 1911 I carry 230 Gr +P Tap FPD ammo.... I was going to use Corbon DPX at the referral of a good friend but my uncle was sold out so i went with Hornady because of their proven track record for having good ammo and also because my Uncle who is a gun shop owner recommended it because its great ammo
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the input fellas... Hope i get more input so i can try to write an extensive paper :)
 
#7 ·
Function, performance, and availability. If any of those three are lacking I will find a new ammo.

I use 230 grain so my POA/POI is the same as with ball ammo. It's a bonus if it's bonded.
 
#10 ·
Thanks guys... Im gathering lots of great info... Keep the info coming because i hope to get enough input to build a decently generalized oversight of all the info
 
#12 ·
Which member might that be??? I have seen more than one moderator here?
 
#13 ·
This may sound silly, but, my choice for carry is Ball Ammo. 100+ years of service cant be too wrong. Beyond that There are only a few Factory ammo's that I buy because they work best in my set up.
 
#14 ·
There is no wrong answer in my opinion... I know several people that carry ball ammo as well because that is what the 1911's were built to be able to feed reliably :)
 
#15 ·
I originally chose Federal Hydra-Shock 230gr because it was reputed to feed well in GI guns, it is easily available, and not terribly expensive.

I am now going to try Federal HST because it is allegedly a better bullet design and I can mail-order it for a lot less than Hydra-Shock sells for, retail.

How it feeds will remain to be seen.

Tom
 
#16 ·
The HST's fed beautifully in my Rock Island Gov't frame but right now I am running Hornady TAP FPD's
 
#18 ·
I look at performance that has been used in real shooting's. I researched alott and I use the service and self defense sticky as a reference that DK posted. I look at what Dr.Robert's recommend and try a few different brand's for reliable feeding and accuracy. My wife and my life is worth more than quality proven SD ammo. Price is my last concern.
 
#19 ·
Hey Lt. Smoke,
I've carried the .45ACP for more years than I'd like to remember, and initially had to carry ball. Didn't have a choice back then....it was ball or nothing. Later in life, though, I choose any bullet that allowed me to hand craft the load....yes, the factories do make mistakes and yes, they use whatever powder will get the pressure velocities where they want them. Not so with hand crafted loads. I always test my ammo on medium game....either deer or hogs in the area that I live now. I observe the performance of the bullet, as in how fast the game drops and how quickly it expires. Also, I can look at the bullet path, the entrance and exit wounds, etc, etc, etc. If I can retrieve the bullet, I look for any signs of bullet failure.....and no, seperation of the jacket isn't always bad.....some of the most lethal bullets that I've tried had jacket seperation quite often. It simply becomes a secondary missile inside the animal. For testing, the tougher the animal, the better. Anyway, if it works out well in the field, I'll carefully hand load small lots for carry, and off I go. By the way, and I'll probably catch grief for this, but over the years my field weapon has almost always been a 1911 (usually a five inch Government) in .45ACP. You'd have to see how it performs in the field to make a judgement, but believe me, it'll do the job and then some if you can shoot. Right now, I'm carrying the 200 grain Hornady XTP and sometimes the Hornady 230 grain XTP....they both do an incredible job in the field, and I know that they'll knock the snot out of any BG that's dumb enough to threaten me or those that I love. Anyway, best of luck to you.
 
#21 ·
Man i REALLY am loving the answers i am getting... I appreciate the fact that people are being serious about this... and Not trying to make fun of me for asking about this for research purposes
 
#23 · (Edited)
I go by whatever feeds well and will get me the best group. For me that's Federal Hydrashok. Maybe my round selection process might seem odd to some but the way I look at it is this, if the gun jams or I don't hit what I'm aiming at, stopping power seems like an afterthought. I would rather get hits on target with a round that feeds well and groups good with my gun than misses with a bullet that has superior data on paper.

What do you guys think?
 
#24 ·
This is incredibly easy thanks to the contribution of Gary Roberts and our own DeltaKilo.

  1. Go here and select a few options from Gary Roberts' list that you can purchase in quantity.
  2. Go here to find sources of ammunition.
  3. Test a few of them, selecting the one that functions reliably in your pistol, and is the most accurate, lowest muzzle flash, etc.
  4. Buy a supply of the selected load.
  5. Stop thinking about ammo and focus on training. Do not distract yourself changing to the flavor of the month.

Enjoy.
 
#28 ·
Just a different opinion, but I say carry whatever your local Police Department or Sheriff's Office is carrying. If you end up using it "for real" there WILL be an investigation. At some point you may very well be asked why you chose whatever ammo you used, the implication being you intentionally picked particularly lethal ammo. You may be best off by just saying something along the line of "Well gee, I don't know a lot about that stuff, I just figured if its good enough for the cops, it must be okay."

For what its worth, I run 230-grain Speer Gold Dot. My agency mandates this load in policy.
 
#30 ·
Once again this old myth surfaces. What you use doesn't matter a bit if it is a righteous shoot. Nobody has ever been dinged for using handloads or any of the commercial "extra deadly" loads like Black Talon that get hyped by the media in a true, legit self defense incident.

Been looking for a case like that for 40 years and haven't seen one yet. I carry 230 gr. FMJ-FP Hornady handloaded to 950 fps. I'm setting up to do some testing with the Hornady 230 gr. XTP HP at the same speed.

Gold Dots are good, Federal HST is good, Remington Golden Saber bonded is good, Winchester Ranger T is good, and the new Hornady Critical Duty looks to be good as well (has passed all the FBI tests for retained weight and penetration). Pick one that feeds reliably and that you can get, and practice enough to be sure you can hit the target the first two shots under duress.
 
#31 ·
My preference is FMJ ball ammo and after that most anything that is a hollow point and on sale - after I fire a box of it and it feeds reliably, I have no qualms about it being in my carry handgun of the day.

I am of the strong belief that bullet caliber/weight/make/style will always be trumped by shot placement and in keeping with that belief I don't fret much over my ammo choice beyond reliability.

I appreciate that many folks have a deep and abiding interest in the topic.
 
#32 ·
my choice was easy to make, I have an in-law that just retired from the FHP, and years ago he gave me several boxes of their duty ammo Speer Gold Dot JHP in several different calibers. After trying out the ammo I found it to feed 100% reliable in my pistols so I continue to use it. And after seeing Deltkilo's sticky I feel even better about using it for my S.D. ammo.
 
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