You may also wish to incorporate Ft/lbs of energy as well. I was once a 115 grain 9mm Corbon carrier. 460 FT/lbs @ 1350 or so out of a 4.8 inch barrel. Presently I go heavy for caliber w/ranger T series 147grain @ 990fps 320 Ft/lb 4.8 inch barrel, or Federal 147 +p HST 1050 fps 360 Ft/lbs or either GD 124+p or their 147's, or Corbon 125 grain @ 1250 FPS at 434 Ft/lbs. Any of those and many many others will work fine as well.

1. I don't believe that any particular round is "perfect," for me or for you. That written, I am presently carrying Federal .45 ACP, 230-grain HPs.

2. Bullet placement trumps ballistics, every time. It kinda doesn't matter what you're sending out, if it doesn't hit something vital and disabling. If you're consistently accurate, even under panic-like pressure, your shots will be effective.

(That is: Don't bring your .357 Magnum up against Jean's .380 ACP, unless you've put in lots and lots of dry- and live-fire practice.)

Originally Posted by skullfr

I am just curious on what everyone considers as a perfect round for themselves and what the Feds and others suggest.I will put something together for all to see when I get enough data.

The perfect SD round for me is any premium grade hollow point that shoots to POA in my weapon of choice, which will normally be .45 ACP, but might occasionally be 9mm, .40 S&W, or .38 Special +P. The cheapest SD rated ammo will expand and penetrate approximately as much as a Gold Dot or Cor-Bon. It doesn't make a pretty 'flower,' but most bad guys don't demand that as a condition for terminating their attack.

On the rare occasion when I carry .380, I choose name brand ammo loaded with FMJs or hardcast lead, to aid this anemic chambering in achieving more penetration - yes, I know about all the admonitions against non-expanding ammo for SD and the wound channel arguments, but hardball type bullets have a much greater chance of penetrating to something important when fired from a .380, in a wide variety of possible scenarios. My reasoning is that a .355 hole in the right place is preferable to a 2" temporary wound channel that fails to penetrate to anything vital.

First off thank you for the info.I really appreciate the info.Secondly,I dont trust manufacturers,dr,lawyers,police or anyone for that matter.I take recommendations and form my own opinions through testing.I use gel and other items to form a decision on what I am comfortable with.Like when I purchased my 9x18.Alot of people say it is anemic.With different mediums,the hornady critical defense round penetrates avg of 10.25-10.34.more than adequate for a frontal impact and expands reliably.The silver Bear doesnt expand as well but penetration is pretty close.With 1 in the pipe and a 12 round mag it is more than enough to stop an aggression.