Carry Ammo....
 

Ok, so, after reading all sorts of stuff on the horrid dangers of overpenetration with 185gr JHP +P Golden Sabre, and getting bullets that had no business being in a 20 pack of ammo that cost 24 bucks, I've got to find some new carry ammo...


A trip to the gun-store illustrated the current trend for lighter and faster bullets (I did'nt even KNOW they made 165grain Hydra-Shok, wtf?) I got a box of Speer Gold Dot 230gr 7 petal 'Flying Ashtray's' to tide me over...

but who carries what and why....

lets get into the down and dirty nitty gritty ballistics :D

No mention of caliber?

if you dont know what caliber I'm talking about, you havent been reading my posts.


shame on you :lol:


besides, why limit this to only discussing the ideal carry ammo for the perfect defensive round?

lets discuss em all! :D

230gr. = .45ACP or maybe .45GAP

I dont think that Remington makes a 185gr +p load for the .45 gap, at least not yet.. :laughing

Well, I don't carry, but for home defense I use Glassers.

LTC since '82 & I've carried Federal .357 125gr. JHP since the late '80s. High-velocity and low weight projectile goes in & not out plus has excellent hydrostatic effects. Recoil is light too. Cost is ~$18 for 50 if you shop smart & not so high that it precludes practicing w/ same round.

soundmotor

Man, I've spent an incredible amount of time over the last few years reading about ballistics and it seems that everyone has a different opinion regarding what's the best weight and velocity. I don't really think it matters so much to be honest with you. I'll a modern hollow point in 185+p, 230+p, or just plain old 230. I would even carry the 200's although I never had because they aren't as common. Shot placement is the biggest factor, especially if you carry a weak round like the .40 SW or 9mm.

Winter-FMJ
Summer-JHP

I haven't done it yet, but I keep meaning to call the local PD and see what their carry ammo is and modify the above accordingly.

I didn't see 230 :-P I only noticed the 165 and 185 and was thinking .40 S&W.

At an outdoor range, put a watermelon at 50 feet and shoot it with any ball ammo.
Then, put another watermelon at 50 feet and shoot it with a Hydra-Shok.

You'll see what I mean when you do it.

I like Federal Hydra-shok Premium. Not cheap, but not so expensive thatI'm unwilling to toss enough of it downrange to feel comfy with it. It also feeds and fires relaibly in everything I own.

And while I did not do the watermelon test, I did have one glorious fun trip where we took about 30 2ltr soda bottles filled with half-consistency jello to a used-up quarry ad made a huge, incredibly fun mess. Nothing like seeing a .45acp hydra-shok explode a bottle of orange jello.

It was an ugly mess to clean up, but it was worth it.

In 9mm my favorite rounds are Winchester Silvertips. They expand completely. Instead of a mushroom-shape they turn into a disk, completely flattening out. Great stopping power and energy transfer.
Second favorite are Federal Hydra-Shoks.

I'm simple, Hydra-shocks in both my 45 and 9.

Ok, so we've got a variety of opinions on .45 and 9mm with a guest appearance from a .357. Now I'm basically a complete novice as far as practical gun knowledge, but I'm assuming that the .45 and 9mm are coming out of semi's and the .357 is from a revolver, yes?
If that is so the case then what about someone who's working with say, an air weight .38 special snub-nose as a more low key conceal or ladies 'purse' gun?

For all intents & purposes yes although you can find .357 semi-autos (Coonan Arms & Desert Eagles) as well as .45ACP & 9mm revolvers (S&W 25/625 & S&W 547). All of these are somewhat rare however.

I had a S&W Model 37 Airweight and it was a terrific, forget you have it, carry gun. I carried .38 SPL, non+P HydraShoks in it and never questioned whether I had enough punch. Older S&W Airweights are not suitable for +P ammo, however the new ones are. +P ammo will kick more but also offers a ballistically excellent defensive round at close range. I am fairly certain that you can still get non+P HydraShoks if you have an older Airweight. Go here for more info to be certain what you have:

Smith & Wesson

I've always preferred revolvers for defense as they are guaranteed to fire the second & third shots when you pull the trigger. Most semi-autos require a firm grip in order for the gun to go back into battery during the recoil cycle. In other words, if you do not have a hold of it securely when you fire, the slide may not fully extract or chamber the next round requiring you to manually cycle it. This is less of an issue when you practice, practice, practice, but still the potential is there & why I've carried a revolver the for the last 23 years.

soundmotor

i have two carry guns: a S&W scandium j-frame and a glock 19. i carry speer gold dot +p in the .38 and black hills +p in the 9mm. the black hills ammo uses the xtp hollow point bullet, which gets very good marks for accuracy.

i picked both based on recommendations from American Handgunner magazine.

At home in my 32 it's glasser blue, on the range and outside the house, I use speer gold dot