Best Carry ammo

[onedash]

So the FBI periodically tests ammo and picks a "winner" then buys a gazillion rounds over the next number of years. I realize they are "duty" weapons and us civilians carry a mix of weapons but The difference in barrel length isn't a very huge spread from the biggest competition pistols to the smallest of butt crack backup micro pistols. Is there any criteria you think they would change if evaluating for home defense and/or carry ammo and do you think the winner would be different?
Or in other words, just buy what the FBI picks and you know you have the best, but if you want to spend less you get pretty good ammo if you pick one of the runner ups?

 

[Blaster229]

Buy any quality brand hollow point. The best ammo out there is first shot placement. Learn to make a first shot count.
Being "FBI" simply doesn't make their agents more deadly or accurate.
You have to remember that the FBI consists of accountants and lawyers who overthink things.

Get some Speer or Hornady stuff (flavor of the day), and make sure 1. Your pistol reliably feeds it and 2. That you can land a first shot in different scenarios/positions. Teach yourself to shoot off hand.
Don't get caught up in the ballistics ********.

Good luck.

 

[TheOriginalMexicanBob]

Police agencies and many civilians follow the FBI's lead...but the criteria the FBI goes by doesn't necessarily translate to what is needed for any particular civilian or police agency. The Feebs have also been wrong at times...remember their 10mm fiasco?

I agree with the above. There's no silver bullet that can do all in every circumstance. Bullet technology is always evolving as well...what's top of the effectiveness list this year will be passed by someone's else's new bullet and loading next year. Most tests show very little difference between equivalent loadings between brands. Whatever caliber and pistol you decide on try several brands and loads. You want the most reliable feeding round you can find and afford to buy in quantities to practice with. Everything else is secondary to reliability...accuracy is usually similar between brands and loads though individual handguns might show a difference. You want the most reliable feeding, most powerful round you can handle for the designated defense handgun and shoot accurately...under stress.

Then practice, practice, practice.

 

[BlueHeeler]

+1 on what Blaster229 said

The most important factor is whether the ammo will function flawlessly in the gun. Every time I go to the range I practice with my carry gun shooting carry ammo. If it does not work, I change the ammo brand.

The second factor is affordability. I want to be able to practice extensively with the same ammo I would use in a self defense situation.

The third factor is expansion. Most modern defense ammo is pretty good. For me Hornady critical defense meets all of my needs.

 

[onedash]

I don't plan on practicing with the carry ammo much. It shoots about identical to my plinking ammo. I have some remington golden saber but switched over to Federal HST. I suspect the only thing I would notice if I ever had to use it defensively is my ears ringing.

 

[Swearengen]

I generally run either Speer Gold Dots or Federal HST in either 124gr +P or 147gr.

Anything off Dr. Roberts list is usually a safe choice:

9 mm:
Barnes XPB 115 gr JHP (copper bullet)
Federal Tactical 124 gr JHP (LE9T1)
Federal HST 124 gr +P JHP (P9HST3)
Remington Golden Saber bonded 124 gr +P JHP (GSB9MMD)
Speer Gold Dot 124 gr +P JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 124 gr +P JHP (RA9124TP)
Winchester 124 gr +P bonded JHP (RA9BA)
Winchester Ranger-T 127 gr +P+ JHP (RA9TA)
Federal Tactical 135 gr +P JHP (LE9T5)
Hornady Critical Duty 135 gr +P PT
Federal HST 147 gr JHP (P9HST2)
Remington Golden Saber 147 gr JHP (GS9MMC)
Speer Gold Dot 147 gr JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 147 gr JHP (RA9T)
Winchester 147 gr bonded JHP (RA9B/Q4364)

.40 S&W:
Barnes XPB 140 & 155 gr JHP (copper bullet)
Speer Gold Dot 155 gr JHP
Federal Tactical 165 gr JHP (LE40T3)
Speer Gold Dot 165 gr JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 165 gr JHP (RA40TA)
Federal HST 180 gr JHP (P40HST1)
Federal Tactical 180 gr JHP (LE40T1)
Remington Golden Saber 180 gr JHP (GS40SWB)
Speer Gold Dot 180 gr JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 180 gr JHP (RA40T)
Winchester 180 gr bonded JHP (RA40B/Q4355/S40SWPDB1)

.45 ACP:
Barnes XPB 185 gr JHP (copper bullet)
Hornady Critical Duty 220 gr +P JHP
Federal HST 230 gr JHP (P45HST2)
Federal HST 230 gr +P JHP (P45HST1)
Federal Tactical 230 gr JHP (LE45T1)
Speer Gold Dot 230 gr JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 230 gr JHP (RA45T)
Winchester Ranger-T 230 gr +P JHP (RA45TP)

 

[Blaster229]

I don't plan on practicing with the carry ammo much. It shoots about identical to my plinking ammo. I have some remington golden saber but switched over to Federal HST. I suspect the only thing I would notice if I ever had to use it defensively is my ears ringing.

If it shoots identical to your "plinking ammo", then why query the brain trust here?

Just make sure the golden sabre feeds.

 

[Biggfoot44]

The main difference between the absolute latest, greatest LE ammo and " normal Premium- ish SD ammo" is improved penetration through car windshields . That's significant for some LE Agencies , but not often for HD and Joe Public SD .

*****************************

FBI ammo recommendations usually don't suck ( but not the same as never ) . At the Federal level USSS and USBP also do extensive testing and research , and sometimes have different conclusions . Also look at trends from large State/ Local PDs across the country that have a reputation of historically carefully chosen duty ammo .

Bottom line - Currently there are so many decent choices in popular and popular- ish cals , to lead to analysis paralysis . Don't sweat it too much , for your needs any of the usual suspect top contenders will be * Plenty Good *

*******************************

Your SD ammo MIGHT have similar recoil, POI, Trajectory, etc as your generic practice ammo , or it might not .

But IF you want it too , you can use that as a factor in your selections .

 

[TheOriginalMexicanBob]

Many law enforcement agencies use only one brand..."Low Bid".

 

[Bullfrog]

The difference in barrel length isn't a very huge spread from the biggest competition pistols to the smallest of butt crack backup micro pistols.

When you're dealing with small amounts to begin with, small differences can have an impact. 3" may not be a large difference between 2 rifle barrels, but from a 3" subcompact to a 6" target barrel that's a 100% increase in length.

Hornady Critical Defense is supposed to be optimized for the shorter length barrels that you have in CC weapons. I assume that means they use a slightly faster powder, or the bullet is tested to expand at the lower muzzle velocities produced from shorter barrels.

Or maybe its a marketing gimmick, who knows.

https://www.hornady.com/support/duty-defense-differences

Tl;dr for that article:
Critical defense = optimized for CC firearms
Critical duty = optimized for full sized firearms, designed to meet LE barrier penetration requirements


I do know I have tested critical defense in every compact & subcompact I have, and critical duty in all of the full-sized ones. None have ever had a malfunction with that ammo, so that's what they are loaded with. I have had ftf with 2 handguns using other 'premium' ammo (hst, I think it was).


IMO, Pick a reputable manufacturer, view some online tests & read some reviews, test it thoroughly, and stick with it unless you have a reason to change. If you do, then go back to step 1 and start over.

 

[WildWeasel]

I use Federal AE for target and HST for carry. There's likely differences in recoil, bullet speed, accuracy, etc, but both go bang everytime. It just so happens to be what the FBI uses as well... It does well for the price point I think.

 

[Blaster229]

Bottom line - Currently there are so many decent choices in popular and popular- ish cals , to lead to analysis paralysis . Don't sweat it too much , for your needs any of the usual suspect top contenders will be * Plenty Good *

just this.

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

Did you really say anything in your post? What is your suggestion?

I heard one thing Lima Charlie. Lethal ammo that feeds well in your gun and YOU become absolutely sure you can make the first shot count.

 

[Bullfrog]

Did you really say anything in your post? What is your suggestion?

I think his first paragraph holds a useful point.

FBI/LE may choose a round based on some criteria that is important for them (ie, barrier penetration), but is not important or is even detrimental for other use.

Obviously you always want to be aware of what's behind what you are shooting at, but, if you live in an apartment for example, you probably don't want to go out of your way to pick a round for your HD pistol that's specifically designed to penetrate barriers.

 

[Blaster229]

I think his first paragraph holds a useful point.



FBI/LE may choose a round based on some criteria that is important for them (ie, barrier penetration), but is not important or is even detrimental for other use.



Obviously you always want to be aware of what's behind what you are shooting at, but, if you live in an apartment for example, you probably don't want to go out of your way to pick a round for your HD pistol that's specifically designed to penetrate barriers.

Blah. Bloviate. Land the first ****ing shot. Christ, regardless of what ammo.

 

[Bullfrog]

Blah. Bloviate. Land the first ****ing shot. Christ, regardless of what ammo.

I know arguing is fun, but I'm agreeing with you. I just used bigger words.



"Just because the FBI thinks they need this round, doesn't mean you do. Use what works 100% in your gun."

How's that?

 

[Stoveman]

Blah. Bloviate. Land the first ****ing shot. Christ, regardless of what ammo.

Agreed 100%. And practice to get that first shot off quickly.

We are seeing an uptick in active LEOs shooting Steel Challenge and for the most part the ones I have shot with in my squads are pretty accurate in their shooting but the draw is extremely slow. Like 3+ seconds until that first shot pops slow.

 

[Blaster229]

Agreed 100%. And practice to get that first shot off quickly.



We are seeing an uptick in active LEOs shooting Steel Challenge and for the most part the ones I have shot with in my squads are pretty accurate in their shooting but the draw is extremely slow. Like 3+ seconds until that first shot pops slow.

What people have to get over in this type of shooting, are small, pretty groups.
As soon as people start accepting that "somewhere in center mass" is a good shot, people get faster and more confident with their shooting.
You're not always going to get a good grip or your best trigger finger position. Just don't let your sometimes bad grip or trigger finger widen your groups outside of that huge center mass area. I'm ok with my shooting like that for a little more speed on my draw. Rob Peter to pay Paul.

Self defense shooting & aimed fire marksmanship are 2 different things.

 

[onedash]

What people have to get over in this type of shooting, are small, pretty groups.
As soon as people start accepting that "somewhere in center mass" is a good shot, people get faster and more confident with their shooting.
You're not always going to get a good grip or your best trigger finger position. Just don't let your sometimes bad grip or trigger finger widen your groups outside of that huge center mass area. I'm ok with my shooting like that for a little more speed on my draw. Rob Peter to pay Paul.

Self defense shooting & aimed fire marksmanship are 2 different things.

I agree. I don't plan to aim between their eyes.

 

[cstone]

I agree. I don't plan to aim between their eyes.

If a head is the only target presented, then head shots are recommended.

I would shoot for a leg or an arm, if that was the only body part in view.

Getting shot has been known to degrade your ability to shoot quickly and accurately. So if you find yourself in a gun fight, first one to get hits has a much higher probability of winning. Inversely, do whatever you can to not get shot. But if you do get shot, don't give up.

As for carry ammo: whatever you can afford that your gun feeds and fires accurately. Like calibers, don't over think it.

Be safe.