Self defense round recommendations?

[Trogdor]

My .45 that I ordered just came in at Bill's. Currently, my nightstand gun has Federal Hydra-shocks. I've done some reading about how these have a tendency to clog at close range. At home I don't feel like this is would be a problem since I'd be shooting down a 12 foot long hallway to my bedroom.

However, with a carry gun I think this might be something I should consider. So gun nuts, what are your thoughts on defense rounds?

[1999Gst]

hollow point, you don't want the bullets going through the target and hitting bye standers.

[Trogdor]

Right, I would never use FMJ for self defense rounds, lol. But different JHP's are more/less likely to clog/over penetrate.

[blackawdtsi]

I used Winchestet PDX1 in all of my carry guns when I carried.

[goodhart]

12ga buckshot

[Trogdor]

Somehow I doubt I could get away with carrying that in my pants, Goodhart. I am Asian after all - people would know it's obviously not my junk.

[1G_DSM]

I like the Federal HST rounds. They open consistantly in different calibers and through different mediums. You can look on YouTube at ammunition reviews and judge for yourself.

[tpunx99GSX]

Originally Posted by 1999Gst

hollow point, you don't want the bullets going through the target and hitting bye standers.

But what if the intruder is holding your wife as a shield, how are you supposed to kill the intruder unless you have a round that goes through the wife.
LOL

[Trogdor]

Originally Posted by tpunx99GSX

But what if the "intruder" is holding your wife as a shield, how are you supposed to kill the intruder unless you have a round that goes through the wife.
LOL

Why would I want to hurt someone doing me a favor?

[goodhart]

Judge, .410 buckshot?

[JET]

I wish the .17 worked better in a semi-auto application. That would be a great home defense round. Totally disintegrates on impact to there is not chance of hitting someone in another room, but does a decent amount of damage and little recoil so you can shoot multiple rounds quickly. Even with hollow points in a .45 you are going through multiple walls.

[bramagedained]

AR with Varmint Grenades...

A .223 Frangible round.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=sYigC49tnh8

[CVD]

You don't know me, so I'm sure you'll take my advice with a big grain of salt, which is good.

When it comes to my .45 handguns I exclusively use FMJ rounds. Why? Several reasons.

1. Cost. I like to train with the ammunition I'm actually going to use. So why buy expensive JHP rounds? This is more important than it seems as some .45 handguns have a tendency to have fail to feed issues with hollow points. Especially 1911's. So if my gun carry *might* experience a FTF I'm going to want to put hundreds and hundreds of rounds of my carry ammo thru it to make sure it's not going to happen.

2. Penetration through drywall etc. A FMJ round and JHP round of the same power are going to be nearly equal here because a standard JHP round generally isn't going to expand in drywall. So pretty much a moot point there. Don't ever think that JHP wont over-penetrate indoors.

3. Penetration through flesh. .45 is a big slow round and this means 2 things: first know that the biggest factor in whether or not a JHP round expands inside a target is velocity. I've seen tests where very high priced .45 JHP rounds only expanded about half the time, and extremely cheap 7.62x25 rounds (a very fast pistol caliber) expanded every single time. So the question is, is that JHP even going to expand? Maybe. Does it matter? well, if the FMJ round doesn't come out the other side of the target either, then no, it didn't really matter.

That's my opinion anyway. That said when I carry a 9mm I carry exclusively with JHP rounds. This is because 9mm is faster, which means the HP is more likely to open up AND a FMJ is more likely to over-penetrate the target.

[4seasons69]

I carry Hornady zombie max or critical defense In my Glock 36. There is a rubber plug in the tip that is supposed to keep it from getting clogged and force it to expand. The two rounds are the same thing just a different color plug in the tip