Ammo stacking magazines

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Flechette

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Is it a common practice to stack different rounds in an automatic's magazine?

In my 9mm I currently carry Cor-Bon 115gr rounds for the first four shots, 124gr Gold Dots for the next four and ball ammo after that.

My thought is that the Cor-Bon 115gr are very good man-stoppers but if a fight lasted more than a few rounds people would be taking cover, and the ball ammo has more effective penetration to get through obstacles. Gold Dots are in between.

Is this common or am I over-thinking?
 
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Might depend on what you are. Generally, as a civilian, my thought is that if someone attacks me and then heads for cover, I'll be heading the other way. However, it is possible someone could start a threat from cover (in a car maybe) and you can't easily run. Or perhaps physically disabled in a manner that prevents flight. FMJ might be helpful in that sort of situation.
 
Is it a common practice to stack different rounds in an automatic's magazine?
No, because chances are good the round you're looking for a particular scenario is not going to be the one on the top when you need it. Pick a well respected product, that you can readily get, that reliably feeds in your gun, and just use that.
 
IMHO it'd be overly optimistic to think you'd have the "right" round in the chamber when you needed it. Choose good reliable ammo and worry about your ability to place the shot where it needs to be, instead of which bullet it happens to be.

Only time I'll "stack" ammo is to use up odd lots or to test reliability -- like after I heard about "rim lock" in .32ACP so I alternated JHP and FMJ and sure enough its a potential failure mode with this caliber.
 
Most -- based on what few databases that really try to compile and report this type of data -- civilian handgun battles seldom go much more than 3-4 rounds. There are exceptions, but they truly are exceptions.

JTQ and wally, above, suggest the most sensible way to go: get a round that seems to be effective in most ballistic tests and just use that in your mags.
 
it seems to me as if most people don't do it because they think it will cause feed issues.
the fact of the matter is that if it's a full powered round the slide will always move far enough to the rear to cycle the next round(assuming the weapon is reliable) and as long as it does not have feed issues with any of the chosen stacks of ammo, will feed them 100%. I stack for bear. I alternate mags with 185gr +p and 230GR FMJs. my reasoning is that the 230s will get superior penetration while the HPs will cause the most tissue damage. whether this is true or not I hope I never find out, but at least to my inferior brain, it sounds like solid logic.
 
Why not simply choose one round that feeds reliably AND that you can hit with consistently and not worry about anything else. There are no "magic" bullets. Whatever you have in the magazine is good enough. Forget about "shooting through cover". Place it where it needs to go and forget about bullet types. I wholeheartedly agree with 420 stainless' post - if the bad guy(s) take cover then you should exit stage left as fast as you can go. You do not want to get involved in a Mexican standoff because then the outcome will be determined by who still has rounds left after the other party has run dry. And that may be you.......
 
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On my shotgun, Ill throw a few slugs and birdshot in a side saddle or whatever extra ammo carrier I am using. That is about as far as I get to mixing ammo. Handgun ammo behaves relatively the same between FMJ and HP rounds compared to say 12ga rounds or rifle rounds. So there isn't as much benefit to mixing up rounds based on theoretical scenarios.
 
I think pre-planning which round you'll need and at which shot number you'll need it is hopeless conjecture. Load for reliability.
 
The only time I've ever staggered rounds was in a shotgun, when I kept it in the apartment. #4 for the first two, then 0 or 00.
The reasoning behind it being that, according to my reading, #4 was the smallest that would penetrate deep enough in a person, but seemed to lose a lot of energy through drywall.
If I somehow needed to actually fire more than once or twice, the target is the more immediate threat and needed me on-target enough that anything on the other side of drywall becomes a secondary concern.

I've never staggered anything in a handgun. FMJ will definitely penetrate cover better, but most acceptable rounds will pop right through thin cover and then act like a lighter FMJ.
And if someone's behind cover, that means they're not getting closer to me. Rubber is more often useful than lead.
 
I agree with overthinking.

Until the mass murders last year in Kansas and at the gay nightclub I would have argued that for a civilian a high capacity handgun was not needed and would not need to shoot through cover. I have changed my position and now believe there are situations where suppressive firepower is needed.

There is a big difference between cover and concealment. Cover is a physical barrier that may slow or block bullets from penetrating, for example hiding behind a heavy piece of furniture or car door.

Concealment is something that helps hide someone but does nothing or very little to prevent bullet penetration, for example a bush.

A heavier bullet gives better penetration. Pay a visit to YouTube and watch some of the bullet expansion tests. Shooting the Bull videos are well done. What makes his tests stand out is he shoots 5 rounds into plain gellitan and 5 rounds into gellitan covered by demin fabric. The testing is done from a 3" barrel 9mm but none the less it will give you some insight about bullet performance.

I would select a bullet that performs best in my particular gun.

A better compromise would be to load the magazine in your gun with the load you like best and then load your backup magazine(s) with a heavier bullet, for example 115 gr. Cor-Bons in primary magazine and 124 gr. Gold Dots in back-up magazines.

A round that gives good penetration through cover is Hornady Critical Duty. It is designed for LEO's for shooting through barriers such as car windshields.

Arguably some will argue the best choice is to simply carry 147 gr. JHPs in all of your magazines.
 
I agree with overthinking.

Until the mass murders last year in Kansas and at the gay nightclub I would have argued that for a civilian a high capacity handgun was not needed and would not need to shoot through cover. I have changed my position and now believe there are situations where suppressive firepower is needed.

There is a big difference between cover and concealment. Cover is a physical barrier that may slow or block bullets from penetrating, for example hiding behind a heavy piece of furniture or car door.

Concealment is something that helps hide someone but does nothing or very little to prevent bullet penetration, for example a bush.

A heavier bullet gives better penetration. Pay a visit to YouTube and watch some of the bullet expansion tests. Shooting the Bull videos are well done. What makes his tests stand out is he shoots 5 rounds into plain gellitan and 5 rounds into gellitan covered by demin fabric. The testing is done from a 3" barrel 9mm but none the less it will give you some insight about bullet performance.

I would select a bullet that performs best in my particular gun.

A better compromise would be to load the magazine in your gun with the load you like best and then load your backup magazine(s) with a heavier bullet, for example 115 gr. Cor-Bons in primary magazine and 124 gr. Gold Dots in back-up magazines.

A round that gives good penetration through cover is Hornady Critical Duty. It is designed for LEO's for shooting through barriers such as car windshields.

Arguably some will argue the best choice is to simply carry 147 gr. JHPs in all of your magazines.

I agree with everything said here.

Just wanted to point out though that critical duty load is designed for service length barrels and may have issues with expansion from shorter length CCW type compacts/subcompacts due to lower velocity.
 
Overthinking. Modern premium JHP ammo is designed to penetrate AND still expand. Pick one you like and stick with it.
 
Might depend on what you are. Generally, as a civilian, my thought is that if someone attacks me and then heads for cover, I'll be heading the other way.

That's pretty much my thought as well. My CC handgun is for immediate defense. If I was worried about getting into a shootout type situation where using cover would come into play I'd carry a rifle and several loaded mags with me everywhere.
 
It's been my habit and practice to go with premium JHP out the barrel first (10) and flat point FMJ after that. My follow-up mags are FMJ. The reasoning is based in career LEO. The first 10 rounds out will likely be anti personnel, with non-combatants in the area. The over penetration consideration is covered; at least it was considered. It is likely to be done, finished, in 10 rounds.
A protracted engagement is likely to involve vehicles, buildings and glass windows that must be penetrated in a line-of -sight manner. It's important that all rounds are the same grain weight to maintain point of impact.
Having said that, Federal HST penetrated window glass and building materials in many tests that we did ( in 40 and 45acp) as well as FMJ. HST was much less of a penetrator in body armor and live animals. One raccoon that I had to put down with 40 HST (165gr) the bullet was caught under the hide on the far side after a shoulder-lung shot. About 7 inches.
 
I have never had to shoot anyone. So my experience in combat situations was limited to IPSA shooting. The one thing you do not want is a surprise in the guns functioning. This shooting is intended to increase stress. Having different loads in a string of shots is a loser.:(
 
I will occasionally have a magazine stacked with different ammo but it is done because the amount of ammo a mag carries generally doesn't divide into the number of rounds in the box evenly so I'll fill a magazine with those extra rounds and keep it as a spare for a while until I get a chance to shoot it. I always carry jhp ammo for self defense and usually use police surplus or civilian boxed ammo that is also used by law enforcement bought when found on sale. So a spare magazine may be loaded with a mix of a few +P+BPLE Federals, HydraShoks, HST's, Golden Sabers, Gold Dots, or Ranger Black Talon depending upon how the extra ammo worked out.

IMO you are over-thinking your ammo needs. Bullets, including JHP's will penetrate a lot more than most people think. Soft material like a person promotes expansion of JHP's and reduce penetration. Harder material like Gyp Board and wood will normally plug the hollow, prevent expansion making it act like a FMJ. Since you are unable to for tel the conditions and circumstances of a future gunfight I don't see any benefit to loading less effective FMJ ammo in a defensive pistol.
 
I've always heard it called "candy-striping."

Underlying premise is the "magic bullet."

I believe in marksmanship and mindset.
"Magic" is always a deception.

Develop technique that keeps your shots consistently within the 8-ring, and use quality ammo that functions reliably in your gun.
Expecting ammo to do that which marksmanship cannot do would be a mistake.
 
If I'm caught in a situation in which I have to drop the hammer in anger, I do not want the after-action forensics to have any ambiguity about what round might have come from what gun. My guns are always stocked with common commercially available ammo of a single loading.
 
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