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The field of Defense Ammo is a continuously developing field. Every manufacturer is looking for that magic combination. A round that feeds and fires reliably in a wide range of firearms, from the best to the worst, properly maintained, or totally ignored for years. Uncounted dollars are spent on developing a round that will penetrate, but not too much, and do so even after passing through various materials.
Some go for the "Big Bullet as fast as we can get it going" philosophy and others go for small bullets that go really really fast.
Here are a couple of my favorites from recent years.
Speer Gold Dot Hollow Points. Here is a bullet that has a cavity in it almost big enough to take a drink with. The jacket is bonded to the core so jacket separation through the notorious "jacket stripping windshield" is a thing of the past. A 9mm GDHP will expand to almost 3/4" and do so reliably after passing through various materials. Doesn't fragment and is recognized as one of the most reliable hollow points today.
Federal Expanding Full Metal Jacket (EFMJ). A lighter bullet (105gr in 9mm) but both penetrates through plywood, etc, but reliably expands, every time. It has a soft polymer inside a metal jacket so the bullet looks like a Flat Tip but when it comes in contact with the target the tip is forced back, yielding on internal score lines, and ends up going into the target looking like a rivet or button mushroom. Feeds reliably in those weapons that hate HP's. When first introduced Federal offered it in a heavier round but found that it performed better when going fast. Now sold in the 105 gr weight for 9mm. Recoil is low and follow-up shots are a piece of cake.
As for personal selection of a good Self Defense ammo, the most important factor is to carry an ammo that you can hit something with. That means practice. To practice with boxes of cheap Wally World ammo and then load up with some "exotic" can sometimes yield varying results.
My choice is to practice with 124 gr Montana Golds and then carry 124 gr Sierra Gold Dot Hollow Points loaded to the same speed (as measured with chronograph). This gives me the same feel with both.
To close, I also hope and pray I'll never have to test my choice in real time.
Some go for the "Big Bullet as fast as we can get it going" philosophy and others go for small bullets that go really really fast.
Here are a couple of my favorites from recent years.
Speer Gold Dot Hollow Points. Here is a bullet that has a cavity in it almost big enough to take a drink with. The jacket is bonded to the core so jacket separation through the notorious "jacket stripping windshield" is a thing of the past. A 9mm GDHP will expand to almost 3/4" and do so reliably after passing through various materials. Doesn't fragment and is recognized as one of the most reliable hollow points today.
Federal Expanding Full Metal Jacket (EFMJ). A lighter bullet (105gr in 9mm) but both penetrates through plywood, etc, but reliably expands, every time. It has a soft polymer inside a metal jacket so the bullet looks like a Flat Tip but when it comes in contact with the target the tip is forced back, yielding on internal score lines, and ends up going into the target looking like a rivet or button mushroom. Feeds reliably in those weapons that hate HP's. When first introduced Federal offered it in a heavier round but found that it performed better when going fast. Now sold in the 105 gr weight for 9mm. Recoil is low and follow-up shots are a piece of cake.
As for personal selection of a good Self Defense ammo, the most important factor is to carry an ammo that you can hit something with. That means practice. To practice with boxes of cheap Wally World ammo and then load up with some "exotic" can sometimes yield varying results.
My choice is to practice with 124 gr Montana Golds and then carry 124 gr Sierra Gold Dot Hollow Points loaded to the same speed (as measured with chronograph). This gives me the same feel with both.
To close, I also hope and pray I'll never have to test my choice in real time.
