Personal Protection Ammo

[DRB]

I have a question with regard to personal protection ammo. I am coming to this forum to ask because so far I feel that I have received quality feedback from members on this forum... thanks.

I am still relatively new to firearms and am looking for opinions/suggestions about what to use as personal protection ammo. To date I have been practicing with 115 grain FMJ, primarily Winchester White Box. I have a Ruger SR9c and have read the ammunition section of my manual. It does not say anything about +P ammo so my first question is... can I use +P in my SR9c?

Second, does +P meet the U.S. Industry Standards that are referenced in the manual?

Third, what should I look for in personal protection ammo.

Thanks

[norahc]

I don't know the answers about the Ruger and the +P ammo, so I'll leave that for someone else to answer. As to your third question, for personal protection ammo you will want a reliable hollowpoint such as Remington Golden Sabre, Federal Hydra-shock, or Winchester Silvertip.

[CampingJosh]

+p is a designation that shows a round is above SAAMI specifications. For some rounds, SAAMI has additional +p specifications (including the 9mm). These usually are about 10% higher pressure than the "standard" specifications.

Ruger is known for building very sturdy firearms. It's almost certain that +p rounds will not damage the firearm, especially if you use it relatively infrequently (a small portion of your practice time and then carry for defense).

That said, I don't think the 9mm needs the +p ammo to be a perfectly viable self defense round. I prefer lighter, faster bullets in the 9mm (115 to 124-grain range) and the Hornady Critical Defense is my choice.

But Speer, Remington, Federal, etc. all make good self defense ammo.

[norahc]

Completely forgot about Hornady...do'h!

[ryan42]

I use hornady critical defense in my carry gun.Very reliable

[RJay]

Remember, reliability trumps everything else. It is better to use a FMJ that works every time you pull the trigger than the most modern and expensive hollow points on the market. Which ever you choose, make sure it is reliable in your firearm.

[graehaven]

Yes, I too would agree that you don't NEED +P ammo for self defense ammo. There are plenty of options in SD ammo that are not +P, and are good solutions.

Also, be sure to fire a box or 2 of that defense ammo through your gun to make SURE that it functions properly. Expensive? Yes. But, what's life worth? As long as you can still buy it, ammo is cheap.

[twobit]

As RJay said, make sure whatever you choose feeds well in your gun. Some guns and some bullet shapes just don't work well together. It is something you have to verify with each gun by shooting enough of a particular round to know it will feed reliably, even if that means buying a few expensive boxes of a particular duty round to try out in your gun.

[Old Guy]

I also use the Critical defense. They have a new heavier one called Critical Duty that I am looking at.

[terryu1]

I use Corbon DPX 140 gr. .40 S&W for CCW

[jim brady]

I use Hornady 9mm Luger ammo in my Beretta 92FS for seriuos work. If my life depends on it for two legged preditors, I stuff Hornady 115 grain JHP in the Beretta 92FS.

My personal observation is that 'pinpoint target range accuracy' doesn't happen when your heart rate is going crazy, you have a moving target and your primal fight or flight instincts engage. Be 100% postive that whatever you use feeds EVERY time. Hornady works for me but might not in yours.

[Dirtypacman]

Here is my write up from my choices out of my SR9c (already posted once in another thread but I just copied it over)

Here is my review on defensive loads for my Ruger SR9c






I preferred the Golden Saber or Federal 147grain Hydra-Shok
Could not get my hands on any Federal HST but I heard that is awesome stuff also.

[Dirtypacman]

By the way that right up was one of the first times at the range with the Ruger. Not to try and make myself look good but my groups are tighter overall now that I am proficient with it.

[Hammerslagger]

Much or the super premium self-defense ammo is kind of like exotic fishing lures at a large sporting goods store. Many such lures are much better at catching fishermen than fish.

There is little, if any, credible, empirical, "real world" data that will support the claim that any defensive handgun super premium, exotic, mega-shark mouth hollow-point cartridge actually stops a human threat any better than a major manufacturer's basic product.

It is true that such premium ammo typically produces more tissue damage (severe injuries) and faster blood loss; but not enough more so, to reliably stop an attacker significantly faster in a gunfight, so that he/she does not injure or kill you after being shot.

More than one person has been "shot to pieces" with super premium hollow points, then killed his/her attacker with FMJ range rounds, and lived to tell the police his/her account of events.

The first and foremost thing to consider in a marriage between any handgun and a specific brand and product number and sometimes lot number of ammo is: "Is the ammo almost 100% reliable in my actual carry handgun. Almost 100% means that it works at least 999/1000. Any handgun/ammo combo that produces 2 malfunctions in 1000 shots is not reliable for personal defense, and should not be carried.

Most revolvers are not ammo sensitive. Some (especially compact) semi-auto pistols are very ammo sensitive and certain ammo products are to be shunned. In reality, most USA major manufacturer entry level FMJ ammo works well in most pistols. For hard to cycle pistols, a heavy bullet, hard recoiling ammo is often the best choice.

[jce07a]

currently i use hornady critical defense partly cuz i cant afford RBCD. you dont really need +p stuff although, having shot some critical defense +p out of a glock 19 a couple hours ago...its impressive. the thing i find interesting about critical defense is it doesnt over penetrate. a couple weeks ago we had to put down one of our ranch dogs due to an accident that left him paralyzed and it was the only humane thing we could do. it was a learning experience. at point blank with regular critical defense he was down instantly without any exit from the shot.

however, from what i understand, RBCD is the way to go in terms of personal protection and overall devastation of a round. basically hollow points "mushroom" when they hit a target and turn into a much larger diameter projectile and the RBCD rounds pretty much explode. like a hand grenade.
this has some stats for those who like to see the numbers
http://www.rbcd.net/Products/Personal%5FDefense/
this has a visual for those who want to see exactly what it can do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea2es1K7QsQ

[norahc]

I'm not a fan of the fragmenting bullets simply because they don't seem to have the penetration of other types of ammo. Also, keep in mind that frangible ammo (and hollowpoints are considered that) is illegal in some jurisdictions.

[jrprich]

You may want to take a look at Buffalo Bore products.

http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=1

[ryan42]

Originally Posted by Old Guy

I also use the Critical defense. They have a new heavier one called Critical Duty that I am looking at.

I thought that was only for law enforcement but I could be Wrong

[norahc]

Originally Posted by ryan42

I thought that was only for law enforcement but I could be Wrong

It's marketed towards law enforcement, but I don't see any restrictions on their site about it only being sold to them.

[Mosin_Nagant_Fan]

No, it's not illegal to own ammo marketed towards law enforcement.

[CCHolderinMaine]

Originally Posted by RJay

Remember, reliability trumps everything else. It is better to use a FMJ that works every time you pull the trigger than the most modern and expensive hollow points on the market. Which ever you choose, make sure it is reliable in your firearm.

Originally Posted by twobit

As RJay said, make sure whatever you choose feeds well in your gun. Some guns and some bullet shapes just don't work well together. It is something you have to verify with each gun by shooting enough of a particular round to know it will feed reliably, even if that means buying a few expensive boxes of a particular duty round to try out in your gun.

This is good advice. Whatever you plan to use as a carry ammo, buy extra boxes and take them to the range. The energy transferred to the target from a FTF is zero.

[gvw3]

You don't need +p ammo. I wouldn't use much in a polymer gun anyway. I am not sure the high cost of the so call critical defense ammo is really worth it. I have never had to use it in a fire fight but I don't think the bad guy will be deader with +p critical defense or Winchester white box.

[ryan42]

In Indiana you can use whatever ammo you want.There is now law governing uaage of ammo.Its simply not addressed.I would venture to say fmj,hollow point there both gonna get the job done.Although I do carry critical defense.

[norahc]

IIRC, Hawaii and New Jersey prohibit non-LEOs from hollowpoint ammo, but it has been awhile since I checked on this.

[Woodrow]

I use 165 grain Cor Bon Pow'R Ball

http://www.gunblast.com/PowRBall.htm

Sorry the subject was for 9mm mine is 45acp