What is your favorite Personal Defense Bullet?

Regardless of caliber, what is the favorite bullet used by the members here? Technology in the industry has grown tremendously and new bullet designs pop up. What do you like?

I thought it would be interesting to post a poll to see what is the most widely used of them all. This is simply a sampling of the top designs out in the market. It is not by any means all inclusive or meant to be scientific.

If you use a different loading using the same bullet as one above such as Double-Tap Gold Dot then please choose the gold dot above. Feel free to post any experiences or comments on what you prefer.

Can you add an "any" option? All of the modern premium HPs work very well, to the point where there is an almost negligible practical difference between them. I would be pleased to use any of the rounds listed.

I currently have Gold Dots and Golden Sabers around, but that's just because they were available when I last went shopping. If Winchester or Federal or whatever had been available instead, I'd have bought them without a second thought.

To paraphrase the guys at Front Sight: any good round will do - if you will.

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Originally Posted by Mike Barham

Can you add an "any" option? All of the modern premium HPs work very well, to the point where there is an almost negligible practical difference between them. I would be pleased to use any of the rounds listed.

I currently have Gold Dots and Golden Sabers around, but that's just because they were available when I last went shopping. If Winchester or Federal or whatever had been available instead, I'd have bought them without a second thought.

To paraphrase the guys at Front Sight: any good round will do - if you will.

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Right, but most everyone has a favorite bullet. Maybe they read about problems at their local agency with one or heard a good story about one from an LEO and decided to use it. Some of the new designs are supposed to have better ballistics when it comes to jacket separation and hitting barriers etc.

edit: How would I edit the poll once it's posted? I can't find the option.

I fixed it for you. :mrgreen:

My main point is just that people get way too wrapped up with the hardware end of things. This bullet versus that bullet, Glock versus XD, IWB versus OWB, whatever. But hardware selection is almost irrelevant compared to the "software" part of self-defense.

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Originally Posted by Mike Barham

I fixed it for you. :mrgreen:

My main point is just that people get way too wrapped up with the hardware end of things. This bullet versus that bullet, Glock versus XD, IWB versus OWB, whatever. But hardware selection is almost irrelevant compared to the "software" part of self-defense.

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Yeah, but I kind of want to know what people use. You know, there's people who buy what the other guy recommends, what looks good, what sounds good on paper, what the local LEO uses. Stuff like that. I just wanted to get a sampling of what members of this forum would use.

I voted for Gold Dots, although I'm with Mike- any quality HP round is fine with me. I have Gold Dots in my G19, CorBon +P in my HK USPc, and the cheapo Wally World Remington JHP in our Kahr PM9, because that's the only HP round I've tested so far (gun's new to us). In my Beretta 96FS, which is my nightstand gun, I have the cheapo Wally World Winchester JHP in it...again, it's the only JHP round I've tested in it and I don't mind using it in a home defense gun. ;)

DPX outside the house. House gun is Hydra-Shok. But, I don't feel unarmed with any good hollow point, with my preference being 230 (in .45). For that matter, my spare mags are all loaded with Hornady 230 FMJ Flat Point. (I stocked up when I heard they were being discontinued.)

I don't have a preference either, especially since I have real world experience with an actual shooting and can't say, "The Gold Dots did ____, but the Hydra Shoks did _____."

I know the Hydra Shoks feed well in my XD so that's what I currently use and how I voted. But I'd switch without much concern as long as I knew my gun ate the ammo without a problem.

My "preference" is Winchester Ranger SXT

I will however use any name brand HP for carry.

I currently have Ranger 155 Gr. HP's for my .40 (not SXT) and Win White Box SJSP's for my .357

Preference and what I will search out and pay for are often 2 different things.

It's like the Chevy vs. Cadillac question. My primary objective is to get from point A to point B. Either will accomplish that task.

:smt1099

My favorite SD bullet is Hollow Point.

Now if you want to know my favorite cartridge by brand...

That would be Winchester Ranger...

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Originally Posted by bruce333

My favorite SD bullet is Hollow Point.

Now if you want to know my favorite cartridge by brand...

That would be Winchester Ranger...

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There's different bullet types not just loaded ammo manufacturers. For instance, Hornday TAP can be used by companies doing their own loading. Gold Dot too. For example Double Tap uses Speer Gold Dot bullets but loads them up hotter than speer does.

Kind of what I was getting at, more than just the cartridge manufacturer.

so...you are looking for brand of bullet?? or ?? I'm confused as to what you are looking for...


You have "any premium HP load" as one of the choices. load indicates to me that you were asking about cartridge, not a specific type/brand of bullet. Now if you had posted this in the reloading forum...I would have made the correct assumption...

I really don't pay any attention to what brand of bullet is in the cartridges I buy. Just the brand of the manufacturer of the ammo.

I edited the poll, so I'll take the blame for any lack of clarity. I changed the wording slightly.

No preference.

I carry TAP in my 45, and Hydra Shock in my 9mm.

They are boh XDs, so they'll feed anything... Got the TAP on sale, had expereience with the Hydra Shocks in 9mm, and knew they shot to POA.

In my 45, 230gr, is 230gr... Everything I've fed it tore ragged holes at 7mm, to POA. At 25yds??? I only shoot UMC Hardball at 25yds, so I don't know.

JW

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Originally Posted by bruce333

I'm confused as to what you are looking for...
load indicates to me that you were asking about cartridge, not a specific type/brand of bullet.

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Originally Posted by Mike Barham

I edited the poll, so I'll take the blame for any lack of clarity. I changed the wording slightly.

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Just look at his avatar, you'll understand why he used "load"

Man just back from 'Stan's gotta be thinking about getting a little "loaded." :anim_lol:

WM

My tolerance may have dipped a wee bit over the last fifteen months, but fortunately I am half Irish, so the skill never disappears completely. :mrgreen:

I buy any good HP that they. So far everything I have bought from soup to nuts has worked just fine in my pistols. If I find one that doesn't you'll see it heae frist.:smt1099

Hornady TAP is the ammunition line, the bullet is the XTP.

Sxt

9MM: Speer Gold Dot JHP 124gr +P.

.357 Magnum: Federal Hydra-Shok JHP 158gr.

I honestly do not know. They are federal HP and they were on sale. I buy decent quality and shoot a mag of them every time I shoot. When I run low, I buy more.

Answer: The one that I will never have to fire!

But... Gold Dots make great mag fillers....

I haven't done any testing with different brands, so I can't personally attest to this, but I've heard different brands/loads will fire differently in the same gun. Now, you should always use a brand/load that will cycle reliably in your choice of weapon, but I've heard some brands do better than others in a particular handgun. For example, a Hydra-shok may shoot POA, while a DPX shoots low and left, and a Gold Dot shoots high and right. I would choose the one that shoots closest to POA, assuming it was available, cycled reliably, and was a premium defense round. It's similar with shotguns...I may have a Remington 870 that patterns the best with Winchester while Mike may have a Remington 870 that patterns best with Federal, and Todd may have a Remington 870 that patterns best with Remington. So once you've found the premium brands/loads that won't give you FTF/FTE problems, if you're that particular about it, find out which one shoots the most accurately, given your sight alignment (if you have fixed sights like most of us). If you have adjustable sights, just pick the one you feel most comfortable carrying, and adjust your sights accordingly.

I probably have a little bit of everything on that list in the safe, but I'm with several others in saying that any quality JHP will get the job done as long as they are reliable in your chosen weapon. I can say that all my .45 mags are currently loaded with 230gr Hydra Shocks, because I bought a pile of them on sale awhile ago, and they feed well. I have some of the lighter (135gr?) Golden Saber +P for both the .45 and .40, as well as a few CorBon's kick around for some of my revolvers.

It's been awhile since I actually looked at what's sitting at home(kind of hard since I'm deployed right now), but I can tell you that my Beretta (on my side as I type this) and Sig (both issue) are loaded with 115gr FMJ, which is ineffective on anything more than a paper target. We procured some of the new "blended metal" APLP rounds for our 5.56mm and 6.8SPC weapons, but we're still waiting on the 9mm and .45ACP rounds to arrive.

Federal Hydra-Shok

135grn JHP 9mm for the XD9sc & Beretta 92FS
90grn JHP .380Auto for the BERSA T380

More for the local availabilty than anything else. Never ordered ammo on-line and don't reload.....yet
Regardless of brand or balistic stats....my overall plan when it comes to personal/home/zombie defense......read my signature and you'll get the idea......that's why each gun has at least 2 fully loaded mags of defensive ammo at the ready.
Not to mention the WWB target rounds loaded up in each of the remaining spare mags between my trips to the range. (each gun has 4 mags total...XD 2X16+2X10=52...92FS 4X15=60....T380 4X7=28...for a grand total of : 140rnds of combined zombie......err....badguy stopping persuasion.:smt033

Did read recently in May issue of DEFENSIVE HANDGUNS though that the JHP bullet doesn't expand properly due to low (800-950 FPS) velocity from the 3" barrel on my XD and I assume my wife's BERSA. The Beretta maintains a good FPS for JHP expansion with it's 5".

Things to ponder....