Light for caliber self defense rounds

[xtratoy]

Has anyone tried out the light bullet, high speed, self defense rounds available. I like the fact that light bullets creates less recoil and shoot flatter. In the micro compact type guns it seems like this would be a big plus not to mention the overall weight of the carry gun is lighter. Does anyone locally sell the component bullets such as the Polycase ARX bullets. The only place that seems to have any is online at Midwayusa and they only have the .355/9mm in stock.

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[Roundball58]

If you're worried about "shooting flatter" it's probably not self defense.

 

[xtratoy]

All my guns are used for all types of shooting. I don't restrict myself to just carrying for self defense. In fact, I rarely carry concealed. But thanks for your input.

 

[Longbeard]

Has anyone tried out the light bullet, high speed, self defense rounds available. I like the fact that light bullets creates less recoil and shoot flatter. In the micro compact type guns it seems like this would be a big plus not to mention the overall weight of the carry gun is lighter. Does anyone locally sell the component bullets such as the Polycase ARX bullets. The only place that seems to have any is online at Midwayusa and they only have the .355/9mm in stock.

A thing to consider is: "Does it shoot to point of aim?" In a life & death situation its doubtful that you'll remember to hold "high & to the right..." I'd rather have a load that shoots exactly to point of aim. I also use Winchester white box ammo or the equivalent.

I'd never want to be hauled into court, in a justified shooting, and have an attorney hold up an ammo box that said: "Skull splitter" "Widow maker" "Extreme terminator" etc. you might eventually win in court but it would be expensive. Never expect a Jury or Judge to be knowledgeable in firearms.

 

[papersoldier]

The only light for caliber round I ever bought and tested was the Liberty Ammunition Civil Defense 9mm loads. Shooting into gel (with a layer of denim over the front) was underwhelming with the max penetration observed being ~12" and most rounds falling into the 5" to 8" range. The reduced recoil was nice for follow-up shots, but the penetration was too poor for the round to be considered for defensive ammunition in my opinion.

That being said, I believe that the Liberty ammo was some of the first light for caliber rounds to hit the market, so things might have improved since then.

 

[Longbeard]

The only light for caliber round I ever bought and tested was the Liberty Ammunition Civil Defense 9mm loads. Shooting into gel (with a layer of denim over the front) was underwhelming with the max penetration observed being ~12" and most rounds falling into the 5" to 8" range. The reduced recoil was nice for follow-up shots, but the penetration was too poor for the round to be considered for defensive ammunition in my opinion.

That being said, I believe that the Liberty ammo was some of the first light for caliber rounds to hit the market, so things might have improved since then.

I'm old enough that I remember some of the Super Vel loads by Lee Juris (?) and others in the early 80's, I may still have a box or two around somewhere ...

 

[No_Regerts]

If you're worried about "shooting flatter" it's probably not self defense.

I think he means muzzle rise during the shot. The gun shoots flat, basically. Not the trajectory.

 

[titsonritz]

I think he means muzzle rise during the shot. The gun shoots flat, basically. Not the trajectory.

I think you might be on to something there.

 

[DizzyJ]

I think he means muzzle rise during the shot. The gun shoots flat, basically. Not the trajectory.

Could be. When I think of flatter shooting, I think of trajectory.

Reduced recoil is what I'd consider reduced muzzle rise.

 

[xtratoy]

I think he means muzzle rise during the shot. The gun shoots flat, basically. Not the trajectory.

Exactly what I originally meant to convey in my original post. Thank you for clarifying!! My point being that smaller guns tend to have for lack of a better term, snappier recoil.

 

[surevaliance]

If you're worried about "shooting flatter" it's probably not self defense.

All El-Slavadorians who were killed with FNH 5.7x28 by MS-13 do not agree.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Some of the 130 grain .38 Specials that I have shot , had a vastly different point of impact , when compared to the 158 grain loads that I was used to shooting.
If I remember right I was about 6 inches high at 12 yards...
That being said...it could have been shooter error or just that my revolver didn't "like" that loading.

Again with the oft quoted story of a grizzly bear that was killed with a .22 Long...
Any bullet placed in the right spot will indeed kill...
Just because it was done once...does not mean that it should be tried again.
Bella Twin was very close to the bear , shot the bear several times after the bear was down and was extremely lucky.

Would I curl up and wait to die if all I had was a .22 to defend myself...Nope.
I have no issue with the caliber or bullet...its the cartridge itself...
I have experienced too many failures to feed , fire or extract , with various .22 firearms of many different action types , to suggest that the .22 rimfire cartridge be used for self defense.

With that said...lots of people have used and will continue to use the .22LR for self defense.
If you have to use a .22LR for self defense , I would suggest that after trying various brands to see what works the best out of your gun , to stock up on as much of that ammo as you can.
We had a .22 shortage once , not that long ago ...nothing to keep that from happening again.
Andy

 

[KKG]

Might I suggest the Liberty Ammunition Brand???

 

[gmerkt]

Some of the 130 grain .38 Specials that I have shot , had a vastly different point of impact , when compared to the 158 grain loads that I was used to shooting.
If I remember right I was about 6 inches high at 12 yards...

The following may or may not pertain to the condition you describe.

Barrel length and age of revolver are factors when shooting .38 Special. And other revolvers but .38 was and is common so a good example. Lots of older revolvers have longer barrels, six inch being common. When most of those were made, the sights were regulated to take into account muzzle rise that had occurred due to a longer in-bore bullet time. And the fact that .38 Special ammo was nearly all heavier lead bullet until the late 1960's or so. Contemporary, typically jacketed, typically lighter, higher velocity ammo will not print to point of aim when fired in these older revolvers.

This is also why some of the later editions of reloading manuals do not show 158 gr. jacketed bullet data for .38 Special. People have gotten 158 gr. jacketed bullets stuck in the barrels of older revolvers with longer barrels.

I shoot .32-20 in revolver. The principles rendered above also apply to it.

 

[gmerkt]

I'm old enough that I remember some of the Super Vel loads by Lee Juris (?) and others in the early 80's, I may still have a box or two around somewhere ...

Super Vel ammo came out longer ago than the 1980's, like late 1960's or early 1970's. I had some of the original yellow box 9mm's in 1972. Lee Jurras was the guy who helped kill the old, slow, round nose lead bullet ammo that the police were still carrying in the 1960's, which I mentioned in my post #14, above.

Super Vel ammo is again being made in a legacy form. But the +P market is so firmly established now that I don't know that it's anything special.