Best Defense .40 Ammo

[alpha0486]

Own a G22 and G27. Looking for some good ammo to put into them for defense.

 

[Ineverfollow]

I was issued Speeder Gold Dots. But there are a lot of great bullets out there. Hitting your target is much more important the the bullets in the gun. That is my opinion at least.

 

[JB75]

So many to choose from I like speer gold dot.

 

[JB75]

I was issued Speeder Gold Dots. But there are a lot of great bullets out there. Hitting your target is much more important the the bullets in the gun. That is my opinion at least.

Massad Ayoob disagrees/ His words are the gun is a tool but the bullet does the work and bullet placment and selection is most important.

 

[buzzined]

I have a G22 and I have 2 mags loaded with 180gr Hornaday XTP. Shoot good groupings and have had no issues with that ammo. I would like to get some critical defense but I have yet to see a box on the shelf in any store near me.

 

[Ineverfollow]

Massad Ayoob disagrees/ His words are the gun is a tool but the bullet does the work and bullet placment and selection is most important.

You could have the magic bullet that killed Kennedy but if you can't hit your target it's worthless. You can argue about it all day long. A hollow point will do way more damage than a full metal jacket but you still have to hit what you are aiming at.

 

[lawrra]

Get a few boxes and run a mag through to see how they function. I prefer Hornady Critical Defense for any caliber. Winchester PDX1 is good, too.

 

[IndyGunner]

Hornady Manufacturing Company :: Ammunition :: Handgun :: Choose by Caliber :: 40 S&W :: 40 S&W 165 gr Critical Defense®

Keep in mind thats from the mfg website, they are obviously biased... but their product backs up their claims.

 

[Davis0023]

I think there are several good bullets it just depends on the gun and caliber.. These are my favorites Federal Hydra shoks are a classic, Federal HST are good, as well as Speer Gold Dots... Not saying that there aren't others , but these are my choices.

 

[VERT]

I feel that the .40 is an overall good defense cartridge. No not a magic bullet but any quality load marketed for self defense will compare well to many of the other calibers being carried. I went to the store and found those products that were well stocked and more affordable. I purchased a few boxes and shot them in the gun testing reliability. For me this happens to be Speer Gold Dot. As long as they are reliable and shoot well I would not hesitate to trust any of the hollow point loads from a reputable manufacturer.

 

[ZombieApocolypse]

I use Winchester PDX1

http://www.winchester.com/Products/handgun-ammunition/supreme-elite/bonded-pdx1/Pages/S40SWPDB.aspx

 

[alpha0486]

Appreciate the responses. I have to agree, if you cannot hit something your shooting at, the type of bullet does not matter. I will have to purchase some of the recommendations and try them out.

 

[Amattern]

Get a few boxes and run a mag through to see how they function. I prefer Hornady Critical Defense for any caliber. Winchester PDX1 is good, too.

This. I carry hornaday critical defense in my glock 22, and PDX1 in my glock 27. Can't go wrong with either.

 

[ISHOOTHST'S]

Winchester 40 S&W 180 Grain Bonded Jacketed Hollow Point Ammo Q4369

This stuff. And its the same stuff for the most part and same category as the pdx-1 but comes in 50 round boxes for 20 round pdx-1 price.

I found cases of this stuff for dirt cheap a year ago.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...and_w_180_grain_jhp_1000_rounds_171_49_a.html


Random JHP on the left. PDX1 in the middle. The Q4369 on the right.

40 S&W Winchester Q4369 vs. PDX1 180 gr Bonded JHP - Glock Talk

 

[youngda9]

For .40 I used to load 165gr Golden Saber(bonded ones only)...I've since switched to 180grain PDX1 after further research.

 

[tacmedic]

I use Corbon DPX 140gr ammunition in my Browning HP and Glock.

 

[led4thehed2]

From what I've seen the 180 grain Remington Golden Sabers expand really well and penetrate nicely. In the end though, as long as your weapon feeds the load reliably I'd say from there it's personal preference.

We can talk about penetration in ballistics gel, over-penetration, (huh-huh) bullet weight, velocity, expansion, and the like until the end of time. However, I doubt many people have lined up several different brands of ammo and shot a human being in the torso to see how the expand, penetrate, and how quickly they die. Since we can't do that, a comparison on a hunted animal might be close, but most people don' hunt with their CCW, I'd guess, and a deer is not a human being.

In the end, we basically make choices based on what WE think is important and what WE think is right with very little to no actual evidence based practices. Some will say you need at least 12" of penetration in ballistics gel, some say over 16" is too much. I tend to go slow and heavy. The larger rounds tend to not penetrate as much and expand more. To me, that sounds good. I don't want to be liable for a through-and-through that may strike something or someone else and a bigger hole doesn't seem all that bad either. However, plenty of people go the opposite route (esp. in 9mm) opting for 115 gr or 124 +P.

IMO, shot placement will be a HELL of a lot more important that your cartridge. I feel performance from the cartridge will have a minimal effect and shot placement will be huge.

 

[Plinkuh]

The best .40 ammo for SD purposes has a "5" after the "4".

 

[Haycoxjason]

I've got a G22 and I love my Hornaday TAPs...It's cheap(compared to other PP rounds) and it shoots right on with my plinker rounds

 

[45fan]

Hornady makes a fine bullet, but for defense use, I stick with Federal (ATK), Winchester, or Ramington bullets, leaving the XTP and its evolutions to hunting and .380 use. XTPs in my experience do not open up as well as the others, wich isnt all bad when hunting, and looking for through and through shots, but for self defense, I want the most violent expansion I can get with 10-14" penetration.