9mm Defense ammo of choice

[navyguy]

What are you 9mm guys and gals loading up as a defense round? I lean towards the Federal HST and Hydro Shok in 147 Gr. I've not done any expansion or penetration testing of my own, but what I have read is impressive.

What say you

 

[DrBart2]

I typically use the Federal also, but have a few CorBon self-defense rounds mixed in.

 

[biglucky]

Speer Gold Dot Hollow Points are my self-defense round of choice regardless of the caliber that I am dealing with..

Only thing I have wanted to try but haven't gotten a chance to test them properly are the CorBon Powerball.

 

[DirtyD]

147 golden sabers or 124 HST...

 

[M. Sage]

Whatever cycles reliably and won't blow the gun to pieces.

JHPs are all good these days, make sure you use at least 100 rounds of the stuff through your pistol so you know it feeds properly.

 

[jgedmond]

Speer Gold Dot Hollow Points are my self-defense round of choice regardless of the caliber that I am dealing with..

Only thing I have wanted to try but haven't gotten a chance to test them properly are the CorBon Powerball.

+1 on the GDHP's

in 9mm, I use 124gr +P, they have a very high energy level and good, reliable expansion

 

[Vellcrow]

Remington Golden Saber 124gr +P

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Hydrashok's are old school, and there is much better stuff out there now so I wouldn't use them unless you don't have a choice. They are not quite as consistent at expansion as some of the newer stuff. When penetrating through certain heavier barriers (like the FBI four layer denim test) they tend to over penetrate like an FMJ after the JHP nose gets plugged up (at least that's what I've seen on several ballistic tests). Here's my short list of good self defense rounds:

-Federal HST
-Winchester Ranger SXT
-Corbon DPX (this is what I use currently)
-Corbon Pow'RBall (not as good as some of the others, still decent and tends to feed better)
-Speer Gold Dots
-Winchester Bonded JHP's (forget the exact name, PDX1 maybe?)
-Remington Golden Sabers

My top 3 would be:

-Corbon DPX (what I use currently as it's one of the most consistent expanding rounds I've seen)
-Federal HST
-Winchester Ranger SXT

Out of all the professional ballistics test I've seen and all the recommendations I've seen from knowledgeable sources, those 3 seem to be some of the better and more consistent rounds out there. The SXT's and HST's get used by many LE departments too I believe.

 

[Texas1911]

I like DPX, but currently can't afford them. I have some cheap Federal Classic 115 gr. HP rounds that should still work just fine. I'll just make up with volume.

 

[lsmith103]

Home cast 125 gr soft lead HP's. Enough penetration, great expansion and minimal chance of collateral damage.

 

[Texas42]

i just got some of the new Winchester bonded ones (PXD1 or something? ? ???)

The nice thing about them is that they might be more avalable than some of the others.

Next time I go hunting and get a hog or a deer, I'd like to test the couple brands I have. Scientific or not, it sounds like fun.

 

[Skip]

I only carry with the Corbon DPX.

 

[juwaba98]

124gr HST's in the 229. 147gr HST's in the XD9.

 

[hk boy]

check out this site
[url]http://frag.110mb.com/[/URL]

 

[DrBart2]

check out this site
[url]http://frag.110mb.com/[/URL]

They all look like they expanded well.

 

[hk boy]

[url]http://frag.110mb.com/[/URL]
good info in the above link

 

[hk boy]

sorry, sent same link twice

 

[navyguy]

Thanks for the link HK Boy. Those HST's really expand. Too bad they are so hard to find.

 

[hk boy]

i used 124 gr +P Golden Sabers in my 9mm and
125 gr +P Gold Dots in my 38 sp revolver

 

[M. Sage]

Water is a bit misleading. It shows the extreme end of expansion, if it expands at all, it's going to expand very well in water. For example, the EFMJ ammo apparently isn't so consistent with expansion. Many gel tests I've seen, the stuff fails to expand about 10% of the time.

Brass Fetcher Ballistic Testing has actual gelatin tests, which give better info on performance.

Thanks for the link HK Boy. Those HST's really expand. Too bad they are so hard to find.

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