What is your preferred self defense caliber and ammo?

[JKTex]

Another .45 230gn Golden Sabre.

Tried to get some Ranger's (new name for Black Talon, without the black coating) but missed. Seem to be hard to find.

 

[brainiac]

Another .45 230gn Golden Sabre.

Me too; the Golden Sabres seem to feed and shoot well in both of my main carry pistols.

 

[Wulfmann]

Has anyone doe any test on Golden Saber???

My gunsmith, ex special ops, ex CIA claims it is no more effective than 230 ball.

I have 100 count box of Saber but have yet to use any, sort of back up.

His point is that 45ACP does not travel at high enough velocity to expand or at least enough to matter.

Thing is, all the other calibers hope to expand to the size of, you guessed it, 45ACP!!!!

Well, a 230gr sure to load and fire ball round is already expanded by virtue of its 45 caliber size.

Wulfmann

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Has anyone doe any test on Golden Saber???

My gunsmith, ex special ops, ex CIA claims it is no more effective than 230 ball.

I have 100 count box of Saber but have yet to use any, sort of back up.

His point is that 45ACP does not travel at high enough velocity to expand or at least enough to matter.

Thing is, all the other calibers hope to expand to the size of, you guessed it, 45ACP!!!!

Well, a 230gr sure to load and fire ball round is already expanded by virtue of its 45 caliber size.

Wulfmann

Sounds like one of those "9mm only" type of guys (same as the 45acp only guys). I like both calibers.

Here's a few links to a few tests of different weight Golden Sabers:

Link
Link
Link
Link

Bottom line, any bullet, especially one that regularly seems to expand to ~.70"+ is going to ruin pretty much anyone's day! With several good center of mass shots on an attacker (judging by what I have read and studied, so take it with a grain of salt), it doesn't seem to matter a whole lot what exact grain bullet you are using, what caliber (okay well .22lr would of course be noticeably less effective ), etc etc. Shot placement is ultimately most important. Golden Saber, judging by those tests in the links above, appears to expand well enough. A few of the shots through several layers of denim seemed to show not quite as much expansion, and accordingly much deeper penetration however for the most part they seem to work well enough. If you want the best for self defense, Corbon PowRBall and DPX are about as good as it gets as far as I'm concerned, though as always take it with a grain of salt.

 

[HighVelocity]

45acp 230gr Winchester Ranger RA45T
10mm DoubleTap 180gr Gold Dot
357 Mag Speer 125gr Gold Dot
38spl Speer 135gr Gold Dot for short barrels
9mm Speer 124gr +P Gold Dot
32acp Hornady XTP
12ga Winchester Ranger 00 buck
5.56 Hornady 75gr TAP

 

[comanche]

In my bottom feeder; the magazines are loaded with alternating rounds of 45auto +P
Hornady 230gr TAP (JHP) and 230gr JRN. just in case I need more penetration than the hollow point gives. The revolver is loaded with Sierra 300gr JFP over 23grs. of H110 in 45colt. In case the bad guy is hiding behind an elephant.

 

[stockFD3S]

7.62x25 JHP.

 

[JDKRIEK]

CARRY
.45 ACP 230 GR Federal Premium Hydra-Shok JHP

RANGE
.45 ACP 230 GR Federal Premium Gold Medal Match FMJ

 

[htxred]

just because he's ex military/cia or whatever, that doesnt automatically give him credibility.


i carry winchester rangers JHP 115gr +p+, travels at a little over 1300fps.. i get told a lot of stuff about how people like the heavier bullet blah blah 147gr yada yada.

and i think to myself, "yada yada" lol. lol. j/k.

 

[j.r.flaco]

45 ACP: Taurus Hex 185 gr. copper HP. 9MM: Speer 124 gr. GDHP. 38 SPL: Speer 125 gr. +P GDHP & Win. Q4266 147 gr. JHP +P

 

[Kosh75287]

Carry/Home Defense

My carry piece is a SA M1911A1 national match. I carry a handload in it(5.4/IMR-PB/225TC), since this is also my competition piece, and the handload is my competition load. It's slightly less emphatic than the .230FMJ factory stuff, so I don't think that anyone can claim that I'm using "HOT LOADS" to inflict unusual pain and suffering on my adversary.
I KNOW about the caveat concerning handloads in a defensive pistol. So far, the personal damages creeps haven't gone there in Texas. If it starts happening, I could prolly switch to the 230grain FMJ ball and not lose much.

My home gun is a Rossi M1892 carbine in .45 Colt. It's loaded with factory loads, if not a handload approximating factory loads.

The "VehicleGun" is an L1-A1, loaded with Remington 150 grain "Core Lokt" projectiles, anlternating with Portuguese ball (147fmj?), plus 4 spare magazines. SKS and AK rifles are prevalent amongst the "bangers" where I live. I want something that'll punch through their vehicle end to end, if necessary.

I don't really have a "social shotgun". Guess I should think about it.

 

[ForneyRider]

Springfield M1911-A1 Loaded Stainless
45ACP Remington 185gr +P
Wilson Combat 47D x3

 

[Kerbouchard]

I would prefer the .577 T-Rex, but since that would be difficult to conceal, I settle for a .45 with 230 gn JHP(Win Ranger).

 

[Bodacious]

I have some winchester hps in my 9mm carry but I handload 230g Speer Gold dots for my glock 21SF.

 

[Thumper_6119]

Beretta (CCW): 9mm Federal 147gr Hydra-Shok HP's
Desert Eagle: .50AE Magnum Research/Hornady 300gr XTP HP's
AR: .223 Federal 55gr XM193

 

[HMFIC]

G21...230gr Speer GD
G22/G27/Sig 229....155gr Speer GD
G19.....124gr...you guessed it...SPeer GD

 

[BeNotAfraid]

.45ACP Hydra-Shocks

 

[300shooter]

now its a Glock 23 I use for work and for CC ,in it I use Federal LE bonded 180gr.

 

[Floyd_Droid]

40 S&W Federal LE Tactical HST 180gr