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Is there a fairly definitive answer as to best defensive ammo

6K views 81 replies 58 participants last post by  Railsplitter 
#1 ·
so many options.
Best 9mm ammo characteristics for home defense?
Best 40 SW ammo characteristics for home defense?
 
#46 ·
Best ammo for home defense?

Personally, 12 gauge shotgun with commercial manufactured tactical 00 buck for home defense - something that won't go through the exterior walls of the house and hit someone next door. Since you are liable for every round fired I want something that will stay on the property.

In 9mm and 40 S&W - whatever the your local LE agency - PD or Sheriff's Department carries. As noted in other responses. more a defense strategy for you should the question arise about your choice of ammo - its the same stuff local LE carries.

My two cents worth
 
#47 ·
Alternately, the ammo you are most accurate with, especially on the follow up shots. Two in the chest and one in the head is still a valid philosophy / plan of action. No ammo is 100%. Many are close but depending on bad guy motivation and physical conditioning, may take a few seconds to figure out they are dead, depending on round placement. Have seen folks get stopped when shot with a 22 LR and go down and die, other shot multiple times with a 45 ACP and keep coming.
 
#48 ·
Doesn't matter what caliber. You can even use a .380. All that matters is 1) first shot and 2) shot placement. I have seen videos of people taking multiple 9mm and 40S&W rounds and still be a threat.
This right here. My cousin told me of an incident years back where officer unloaded his revolver and hit the guy 5 times. They found the guy later, he lived. Hit 5 times at close range, all in the torso with a .357 mag. The officer was struck several times with all but 1 of the .22lr being stoped by his vest. The one that mattered, passed the vest entering through his armpit, barely grazing his heart, killing him instantly.
All about shot placement.
I use hollow point for all defense rounds for 2 reasons;
1) they are effective
2) over-penetration not as much of an issue.
 
#54 ·
so many options.
Best 9mm ammo characteristics for home defense?
Best 40 SW ammo characteristics for home defense?
The "best" defensive ammo? Involves training! That's the best defense; you can carry a cannon or the biggest, baddest caliber around. However, that won't do you any good if you're not trained or know how to use those tools when the time arises. The smallest caliber can kill you if placed in a vital critical area of the body, organs, etc. The first question that I'll be asking is, "do I know my limitations of my tools and do I know how to properly used them?" Instead of asking, "what's the best defensive ammo, etc” Seek training, education, knowledge about the defensive capabilities of your tools, after all a handgun is a tool and a caliber is a tool. Many carry upon many knives, guns, revolvers, you name it. However, they don't know how to properly execute let alone those tools for self defense or defense of others. Caliber size doesn't matter, what matters most is training~ "If the day ever comes that you have to fight for your life, the only thing that will determine the outcome is if you ever trained and prepared for that fight." -Tim Kennedy


I live by this quote~
 
#63 ·
Mine is .45 ACP flying ashtrays. Or, 10mm with hydra shocks for two legged monsters anyway. Woods carry 10mm 200 grain Gas Check, and .357 .200 grain gas check. Unless it is Griz, I will be fine whatever two legged or four legged thing that wants to bother me.
 
#66 ·
so many options.
Best 9mm ammo characteristics for home defense?
Best 40 SW ammo characteristics for home defense?
The most popular in standard ammo seem to be Gold Dot, HST and Critical Defense. In boutique ammo, it seems to be the solid copper Extreme series from Lehigh and Underwood.
But the ONLY reliable ammo for full moon nights would have to be Coonan silver bullet (or any other brand that may be out there that is silver-bullet).
 
#67 ·
The best HD/SD ammo for me are as follows:

.40S&W - 180gr Bonded Winchester Ranger T, 180gr Remington Golden Saber Bonded, 165gr Hornady Zombie Max

9mm - 124gr +p Bonded Winchester PDX1, 124gr +p Bonded Remington Golden Saber, 124gr Speer Gold Dot, 124gr Federal HST, 124gr +p MagTech First Defense Bonded, 124gr Hornady Critical Defense FTX, 124gr Hornady American Gunner FTX

.357SIG - 125gr Speer Gold Dot, 125gr Elite Performance Sig Sauer Elite V-Crown

What works best for you is an entirely different story.
 
#68 · (Edited)
so many options.
Best 9mm ammo characteristics for home defense?
Best 40 SW ammo characteristics for home defense?
The larger the bullet in conventional handgun cartridges the better. In the case with the .40 it's a hot cartridge so it's on par with 45 Auto, possibly better due to increased velocity. It's all about kinetic energy and the expansion of the projectile both static and dynamic. Temporary wound cavitation results in neurological trauma to some extent but blood loss and tissue destruction is what wins at the end of the day.

To understand the effectiveness of a cartridge and gun combo you have to factor in all of the variables. This is why the Army has a tough job of choosing a pistol and cartridges for the troops. You are the weapon, the gun and cartridge is the tool. Reliability, practical capabilities and applications.

From the time the bullet leaves the muzzle to the time it looses it's kinetic energy in or through a target is a time synchronous event of constant change. To understand a cartridge, you would need to shoot it at a similar target and collect data throughout the entire process. This is why ballistic tables are pretty singular dimensional, and why I used to shoot pork shoulders with my cartridges to determine their effectiveness. Luckily I can spare myself the tastey pork these days because there's always someone on YouTube shooting ballistic gelatin these days. But gelatin isn't always the best test method. In my opinion, you can use the Army lethality standard by shooting 3/4" marine grade plywood. Don't substitute non marine grade, it's not nearly as dense. If your cartridge can penetrate the board at your practical distance, it is lethal. Obviously expanding projectiles are a benefit if they penetrate. Velocity is also a benefit, as it increases kinetic energy.

If you're the type of guy who hates science, you're best off using what the Sheriff department uses and note their pistol configuration, caliber, barrel length.

Good luck!
 
#69 ·
so many options.
Best 9mm ammo characteristics for home defense?
Best 40 SW ammo characteristics for home defense?
Light , fast expanding hollow points moving as fast as possible . You won't be shooting through car doors or barricades . I load my own , so I have a lot of options . Make sure they function flawlessly . I shoot my carry ammo at the range and I'm quite familiar with it and my guns eat it like it's candy .
 
#70 ·
So many right answers to this question, depends on who wrote it. What I think everyone will agree with is whatever fires consistently from the handgun you are using. I've never been in a self-defense situation, thank the maker, but Hornady Critical Defense 9mm has never failed to cycle in my gun but I've never used it outside of target shooting. I can hit any paper target I put up with almost 100% consistency from 10 yards or closer so that's what I keep loaded. Other people might have better insight, from a self-defense situation but I've never missed, never had an FTE or FTF with Hornady, within 10 yards. I'm not saying bullseye but If you are attacking me, then stand still, shoulders square to mine, within 30 feet, im going to hit you.
 
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