Okay, would like some input/opinions on what you think is the very best home defense ammo for my S & W model 59. I live alone in my house. What would you chose and why? My main goal would be to STOP the intruder, obviously. What do you think of "Extreme Shock Tactical Defense Rounds" or the "Strike Three Home Security Rounds" why or why not these?
Very best home defense ammo for 9mm?
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George S.
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First, your choice has to absolutely work every time you pull the trigger. You should test, at the very minimum, 200 or more rounds of examples to insure that there are no failures of any kind. Some pistols like different bullet profiles and even loads.
There are lots of opinions on which round is best for personal protection. My personal choice for my Ruger P89 is Remington Golden Saber in 147gr JHP. It's heavier and slower, but the pics of bullet expansion I had seen convinced me that it is better than the Federal Hydra-Shok in 135gr. FWIW, a lot of the pics I had seen in testing showed that the Federal HS round did not expand anywhere near as well as the Golden Saber or Gold Dot bullets in most calibers.
There are others that should be good candidates including the Cor-Bon and Speer Gold Dots. One thing that you probably need to consider is missed shots. High velocity rounds can fly thru sheetrock and siding and can pass thru the neighbor's walls. That may not be a good thing to have happen.
Some folks believe that a shotgun is the best form of in-house protection. Less chance of misses going outside and if you hit a BG at the COM, he will be stopped.
There are lots of opinions on which round is best for personal protection. My personal choice for my Ruger P89 is Remington Golden Saber in 147gr JHP. It's heavier and slower, but the pics of bullet expansion I had seen convinced me that it is better than the Federal Hydra-Shok in 135gr. FWIW, a lot of the pics I had seen in testing showed that the Federal HS round did not expand anywhere near as well as the Golden Saber or Gold Dot bullets in most calibers.
There are others that should be good candidates including the Cor-Bon and Speer Gold Dots. One thing that you probably need to consider is missed shots. High velocity rounds can fly thru sheetrock and siding and can pass thru the neighbor's walls. That may not be a good thing to have happen.
Some folks believe that a shotgun is the best form of in-house protection. Less chance of misses going outside and if you hit a BG at the COM, he will be stopped.
Ala Dan
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In comparison, and on the subject of Federal's Hyra-Shok's if you can
get ahold of some of the old 9m/m Secret Service Loads I would advise
you too do so. I have about 12 rounds that was given to me by our PD
rangemaster; and I use them for home D' in my Smith N' Wesson 6906.
The standard Hydra-Shok in the 124 grain +P loading is a very good
round its-self; as is its rival the Speer Gold Dot. Sorry, but I have NO
experience with those particular makes you mentioned.
get ahold of some of the old 9m/m Secret Service Loads I would advise
you too do so. I have about 12 rounds that was given to me by our PD
rangemaster; and I use them for home D' in my Smith N' Wesson 6906.
The standard Hydra-Shok in the 124 grain +P loading is a very good
round its-self; as is its rival the Speer Gold Dot. Sorry, but I have NO
experience with those particular makes you mentioned.
Chupacabra
Member
Most of the premium brands should be fine for home defense. Golden Sabers, Gold Dots, Hydrashoks, Ranger SXTs...They are all good. Just find which one feeds 100% in your handgun and you are good to go.
Personally, I avoid anything that has "X-Treme! or Extreme!" in the brand name, but that's just me.
Right now I'm carrying 180grain Federal Hydrashoks in my USP40c, for no other reason than that's all the range had for sale at the time. It functions perfectly in my pistol and goes bang every time. I've also carried Remington Golden Sabers.
Personally, I avoid anything that has "X-Treme! or Extreme!" in the brand name, but that's just me.
Right now I'm carrying 180grain Federal Hydrashoks in my USP40c, for no other reason than that's all the range had for sale at the time. It functions perfectly in my pistol and goes bang every time. I've also carried Remington Golden Sabers.
Tony Mig
Member
I just picked up a box of Federal Premium Expanding Full Metal Jacket, they're a 124 Gr. 9mm+P with a flat nose tip on the bullet. I got these because where I live, hollow points are considered "Excessive Force" buy the state AG...... :banghead:
LoadedDrum
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I would like to second Tony's suggestion of Federal EFMJ's because of the reasons he stated and the fact that they are offered in standard bullet weights for optimal penetration and reliabilty. If you have a gun with a really short barrel something to consider would be the Corbon PowR Ball which is 100gr to keep the velocity up. It would be my thought for a Taurus 905 snubbie.
texagun
Member
If you are worried about penetration thru thin walls and protecting those in other rooms in the house, you might consider MagSafe or Glaser Safety Slugs. They have excellent stopping power (except thru heavy clothing) and shouldn't penetrate normal wall material.
Ohen Cepel
Member
I don't have experience with either of the rounds you mention.
However, I think they are hype and way too expensive to shoot hundreds of round of to be sure it works well in your pistol.
I like the 147hp in 9mm in the flavor of your choice. Buy a box from a couple of the big names, if it works well go back and buy several more boxes of it and keep shooting it to be sure that it's reliable. After 200 rds or so without an issue I would sleep better knowing that it will work. Some people would want more rds fired, personal preferance.
However, I think they are hype and way too expensive to shoot hundreds of round of to be sure it works well in your pistol.
I like the 147hp in 9mm in the flavor of your choice. Buy a box from a couple of the big names, if it works well go back and buy several more boxes of it and keep shooting it to be sure that it's reliable. After 200 rds or so without an issue I would sleep better knowing that it will work. Some people would want more rds fired, personal preferance.
jonnyc
Member
Ditto on the wall penetration issue. I have home mags loaded with 124 gr Nyclad HPs, but carry 124 gr +P Gold Dots. I guess the EMF thinggies would be good for the home also. Sure wish Federal hadn't discontinued the Nyclads, very hard to find now.
I keep my S&W model 910S loaded with Winchester Personal Defense 115gr JHP. Keep several additional S&W 15 round magazines loaded with the same at home for the 910 and my KEL-TEC P-11. It costs less than half the price of what I used to buy, and I can afford to practice a lot with it. I pay about $10.00 for a box of 50 at Walmart. I have found it to be accurate and reliable in all of my guns.
I've also found the White Box "Personal Defense" 115 grain JHP to be very accurate and completely reliable (several thousand rounds through a Glock 19 and a Walther P99 without any kind of failure).
It also appears to work pretty well:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_8_48/ai_87564357
Use the search feature here, too, and you'll find a fair amount of discussion on WWB 115g JHP and self defense ammo in general.
I used to worry a lot about having the very "best" ammunition money could buy. In my old age, I just want something reasonably accurate, that always goes bang, and is cheap enough to practice with. Even the best .45 ACP load is underpowered for the job - folks tend to spend a lot of time worrying about things that can only change a handgun's effectiveness from "marginal" to "slightly less marginal." Your best bet is to make lots of good hits quickly (or use a 12 gauge). Don't fret about too much about whether to use 124g +P Gold Dots or 147g Rangers. Just practice a bunch so you can make good COM hits with whatever modern JHP load you decide on.
Just my humble opinion.
It also appears to work pretty well:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_8_48/ai_87564357
Use the search feature here, too, and you'll find a fair amount of discussion on WWB 115g JHP and self defense ammo in general.
I used to worry a lot about having the very "best" ammunition money could buy. In my old age, I just want something reasonably accurate, that always goes bang, and is cheap enough to practice with. Even the best .45 ACP load is underpowered for the job - folks tend to spend a lot of time worrying about things that can only change a handgun's effectiveness from "marginal" to "slightly less marginal." Your best bet is to make lots of good hits quickly (or use a 12 gauge). Don't fret about too much about whether to use 124g +P Gold Dots or 147g Rangers. Just practice a bunch so you can make good COM hits with whatever modern JHP load you decide on.
Just my humble opinion.
What is important is how the ammo performs after it has passed through clothing. Many brands of ammo expand wonderfully in bare gelatin. Many fail when shot through clothes.
Two that come to mind that perform well after passing through clothes are the 127 gr +P+ Ranger Talon and the 147 gr RT. The 147 gr load is much easier to shoot and very effective.
Two that come to mind that perform well after passing through clothes are the 127 gr +P+ Ranger Talon and the 147 gr RT. The 147 gr load is much easier to shoot and very effective.
LeonCarr
Member
Another vote for 127 grain +P+ Ranger Talon, the 115 grain +P Cor-Bon would be another good one.
Just my .02,
LeonCarr
Just my .02,
LeonCarr
Marshall
Member
I'm loaded with 147gr Federal Hydroshoks. But I like many others, Gold Dots, Rangers and even Speer Lawman believe it or not.
BushyGuy
Member
no one mentioned Hornady Tap 124 gr ,i currently carry them in my 9mm i trust them th emost cuz they are hand inspected and they look promising to me i also have a box of 147 gr hydrashok and a box of 115 gr gdhp and a box of the 147 gr too i decide to put the hornady 124gr TAP cq i my gu and in my extra mag.
Hostile Amish
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I use TAP, used to use Hydrashocks but I prefer the TAP.
Straight Shooter
Member
In no particular order:
Federal HST
Speer Gold Dot (what I currently use)
Winchester Ranger SXT
Federal HST
Speer Gold Dot (what I currently use)
Winchester Ranger SXT
gmh1013
Member
124 grain Speer Gold Dots in SIGpro
and 147 grain Federal's in Taurus PT917
and 147 grain Federal's in Taurus PT917
arcticap
Member
Decisions, decisions!
What should I do?
I only have the unlucky number of 13 of these and not 200+ to test them out and to practice with.
Should I still use them, or should I give them to someone else who only has ~187 of them?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:One_round_of_9mm_Black_Talon_Ammunition.jpg
What should I do?
I only have the unlucky number of 13 of these and not 200+ to test them out and to practice with.
Should I still use them, or should I give them to someone else who only has ~187 of them?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:One_round_of_9mm_Black_Talon_Ammunition.jpg
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Carbon Helix
Member
13 will fit my little sub-compact's magazine perfectly! You should give them to me.
HorseSoldier
Member
Most any JHP from major manufacturers.
A good light for your gun or good flashlight and some practice using it (ideally a low-light shooting course) is more important.
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