TexasCHLforum.com

I think this will be my next poll:

The Boss wrote:1)Speer Gold Dot
2) Federal HST
3) Hornady Critical Duty
4) Hornady Critical Defense
5) Hornady Zombie Max
6) Winchester Ranger
7) Winchester PD-1 Defender
8) Federal Hydra-Shock
9) Corbon DXP
10) Barnes Tax-XP
11) Remington Golden Saber
12) R.I.P. (Yes, that ammo)
13) Glaser PowR'Ball
14) Hornady Custom
15) DRT (Dynamic Research Technologies, aka: Dead Right There)
16) Winchester Train & Defend (Defend)
17) Winchester Whit Box
18) Ball Ammunition (Non-Specific)
19) Custom Reloads
20) Combination/Varies/Mixed/Other

Anybody think I should change anything on here? I may reset the poll with this month is over, after saving the current poll statistics on the original post. I started this poll on the first, so maybe on the first of every month I reset it, to catch any changing tides... Or should I just reset it now, and keep it as a permanent statistic with approved options from everybody. Since you can change your options, maybe save a snapshot of it every month or something, so I can track any changes in statistics. And add commentaries for each option above from what members have said about that ammunition. I think those are two good options as opposed to creating new threads. This way maybe new people can come to this thread and see a complied list of peoples thoughts on popular carry ammunition.

SRO1911 wrote:I guess I am another odd duck.
I carry my handloads in .45 and 10mm - hornady XTP in the .45 and hardcast in the 10mm
The only factory defensive ammo I use is DRT - selected by the very scientific method of finding a ton of it for an outstanding price, testing a box for function and finding it grouped well, then buying all I could get at under 15 dollars a box.
Its a bit gimmicky but it functions well in both my almost never carried .380 and my wifes p238. Some informal testing on a hanging coyote (already leaking from under its ears thanks to a propper 10mm hunting round) showed a nice ragged exit wound with plenty of damage to both sternum and internals.

Please note - hanging a fresh shot coyote in the summer to test defensive ammo will result in fleas regardless of the half a can of cutter you bathed in just before attempting something so foolish.

I am very surprised that you are the only one hear using it. What was once to be called Dead Right There, had been changed apparently for legal reasons. Hard to justify in court, such as RIP may encounter. I know what DRT stands for, and I think it can be a useful Self Defense round, depending on your platform and preference. I particularly don't care too much for such a light grain bullet, I like some weight, but each direction has it's plus' and minus'. That little bullet coming out of that 10mm ought to be booking it, I cannot recall that the box fps said for 10mm, but I do remember that it was quite notable on .40cal.

No worries about being the oddball, it's a good thing sometimes.

drjoker wrote:

Charlies.Contingency wrote:Thanks guys for the extra info on here. I'd like to see one done every few months, so as to keep track of any trends within' this test group.

Who answered RIP? Defend yourself! If that was a serious answer, than I would like to hear your educated reasoning. There will be no personal bashing, but I can't guarantee others won't pounce. If you are using it, tell me why please.

I thought you were referring to RIP brand ammo:
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/0 ... phase-one/

I was wondering why you would list a brand of ammo hardly anybody ever uses and fail to list a type of ammo that the vast majority of new shooters and novices use: ball.

We came to an agreement on here that Ball Ammunition is not a safe Self Defense round, as suggested by the them of "carry" ammunition. The only exception is when it is used in low power handguns, like the 32. Caliber for example.

Editing the poll to include it, would in fact restart the entire poll. I, or somebody else perhaps, will eventually host a new poll in this topic. I certainly will when I see it as appropriate, to see what kind of trends this small pool of seemingly well educated firearm enthusiasts are leaning towards as far as ammunition.

RIP was a serious option, though barely an option in my opinion, I had to be fair. Being this was a serious poll about serious self defense, I narrowed it down to the most likely candidates that I could come up with for self defense ammunition. As over hyped as RIP is, it is still an option with a lot of publicity that I expected at least a few people to pick. Putting up something like Winchester White Box, aka government surplus hollow points, because they cannot perform as well as a more expensive round like Speer Gold Dot or Hornady Critical Defense. My next poll will have what was not put on this one, such as ball ammunition and some quality defense ammo that was not listed.

Are you the one using RIP?

Thanks guys for the extra info on here. I'd like to see one done every few months, so as to keep track of any trends within' this test group.

Who answered RIP? Defend yourself! If that was a serious answer, than I would like to hear your educated reasoning. There will be no personal bashing, but I can't guarantee others won't pounce. If you are using it, tell me why please.

Teamless wrote:I carry whatever SD ammo I could find when I needed to buy more. Simple as that.
I have test fired each new brand and caliber enough to know it goes BANG, but as far as a preference, not sure I see a need to prefer something, other than that it fires.

All I've got to say, is if your gun runs great with everything, all the better! My guns aren't picky about their ammo some some gun, so I'm picky for it.

mojo84 wrote:That's the one. I carry it as a backup at times in my pocket and when it is inconvenient to put my crossbreed and hi-power on. I believe fmj offers better more consistent penetration for that caliber. I may be wrong but that's my story and I'm sticking to it until I come up with a better one.

Fair enough. I don't bother touching .380's, as their grip is generally too small for my hand, and I can 't comprehend paying more for a 9x17 than a 9x19. The S&W shield is my compromise, but I also like the Barretta nano, which also has a slim full length grip in a 9mm platform.

The .380 has it's purposes, but maybe do a little ballistic testing with yours and see how much penetration difference you're getting out of it. I'd hate for you to compromise decent penetration, but you have a decent length barrel, so you may get fairly decent penetration out of a hollow point. But if you're lacking the penetration, then of course go with what you feel is best. I just can't swallow suggesting ball ammunition, but that's the way I am. It has it's advantages too, I just need to be a little less opinionated I guess.

mojo84 wrote:I carry fmj in my Colt Mustang.

You mean the little .380 that looks like a pocket 1911?

Why do you prefer ball ammunition over hollow point?

Skiprr wrote:

Charlies.Contingency wrote:

drjoker wrote:I don't see ball ammo as a choice. It is the ammo of choice for the masses; poor, misinformed, military, & mouse guns.

But I did specify preferred carry ammunition, as in for concealed carry. All of us here should know that ball ammunition is more dangerous to 3rd parties in a conflict than anything else.

Not necessarily. DRJoker did mention mouse guns. There are some very experienced folks out there who might well prefer ball ammo for a tiny .380 ACP or .32 ACP. (I will go so far as saying that I hope on one carries a .25 ACP; personally, I'd rather have a .22 WMR than a .25.) I don't know anyone who carries a 9×18mm Makarov, but that would also be a candidate for ball ammo, IMHO.

In fact, your first post to kick-off this thread linked to a post that extensively used information from Dr. Gary Roberts, and he said this about .380 ACP: "All of the .380 ACP JHP loads we have tested...exhibited inconsistent, unacceptable terminal performance for law enforcement back-up and off duty self-defense use due to inadequate penetration or inadequate expansion. Stick with FMJ for .380 ACP..."

Absolutely not starting a caliber war here. In fact, my BUG of last resort is a .32 ACP Seecamp, and I carry ball ammo in it. It certainly ain't my preferred carry, but sometimes there are situations where I'd rather have that than nothing...and it will leave a mark if I have to use it at bad-breath distance.

For 9mm Parabellum and larger, I agree a quality hollow point that shoots well in your gun is the way to go. But there are valid reasons where someone might use ball.

I see your point, and I agree that it is necessary for proper use of some firearms, but in a very limited number that most would not consider as their every day CCW. I must admit that I have forgotten that some people actually use the odd calibers or tiny caliber handguns. My point however was penetration was too much risk, but a gun like a .25 barely has any to start with. I would reset the poll with it for you, but I'd like to run it up. I just don't believe in people packing FMJ into a full size glock, it is a very scary concept to me.

The Annoyed Man wrote:Long post, I know, but people who are new to CHL may read this and be making their purchasing decisions guided in part by the contents of this thread. Let wisdom prevail, and foolishness die out.

I'm grateful to have such good info on my thread, but you ought to make your own "sticky" thread informing people about ammunition. You do a much better then I! If not just for my on informing, this post was to help others learn or refreshen on the topic of ammunition choices for concealed carry.

P.S. The only reason I have Zombie Max as stated before, was and is due to the availability of ammunition. But my paranoid mind is telling me I should load that XD(M) of my with regular red tips instead of green, but that's my own decision.

Again, thank you "The Annoyed Man."

ghostrider wrote:

Problem is, I have more than one carry pistol, and I use different loads in them, so I can't answer the poll.

same here, so here's a list:

38spl +P: Speer Gold Dot short barrel
9mm: Speer Gold Dot 124gr, but found the Glock prefers Black Hills 124gr XTP
40: Winchester 'govt overrun' 180gr bonded JHP (white box)
45: Speer Gold Dot, but will probably try Black Hills

XTP are now more appealing because I can buy the bullets for reloading - Gold Dots are still hard to find.

Thanks for the extra info! Even if you do use multiple loads, this thread and poll was so I could learn a little bit more about what the masses of our CHL holders prefer. I am very surprised thus far, that speer is where it's at in comparison to federal hydrashock/HST! I always thought it would be flip flopped. As of now hornady critical duty/defense/zombie is pretty dead locked with speer. I'm also very pleased to see nobody prefers RIP, but also that nobody has chosen DRT. Everybody has been crazed with the two I thought, but nobody can pull a sales epidemic like hornady with zombie max. Though "Rest In Peace" and "Dead Right There" are catchy.

drjoker wrote:I don't see ball ammo as a choice. It is the ammo of choice for the masses; poor, misinformed, military, & mouse guns.

But I did specify preferred carry ammunition, as in for concealed carry. All of us here should know that ball ammunition is more dangerous to 3rd parties in a conflict than anything else.

AlaskanInTexas wrote:

Charlies.Contingency wrote:

AlaskanInTexas wrote:Make my own.

Being that you have acquired a peculiar taste for something, is there anything even remotely close in comparison to what you make yourself?

I am not too particular at all. I just work up loads that work reliably in my various firearms - I am much more concerned about reliable feeding than I am about the minutia of terminal ballistics. That said, I am sitting on piles of Hornady XTP bullets in various calibers that I use for self-defense rounds.

Of course, I understand. I personally like the Hornady XTP projectiles as well. I've seen academy is primarily stocking Hornady now as far as projectiles go.

AlaskanInTexas wrote:Make my own.

Being that you have acquired a peculiar taste for something, is there anything even remotely close in comparison to what you make yourself?

mojo84 wrote:

gljjt wrote:

mojo84 wrote:My apologies. My post came across much more critical than I intended. My ire is directed more to the manufacturers and marketers than to you. I just think it silly for marketers to play up the zombie craze with something as serious as self defense ammunition.

Sometimes some things are just for fun. I bought 3 boxes (9mm, .380, 12 ga.) Just for fun, decorations if you will for the man cave.

I understand. I just don't think I want to try to explain to a judge and jury of my peers (actually not so peer) after I used my gun to defend myself, why I felt the need to purchase special zombie killing ammunition with extra killing power when "regular" self defense ammo should have been sufficient. I can see an attorney for the one I shot arguing I was some kind of nut job looking out for someone or zombies to shoot since a rational person would not purchase such ammo.

I know I may be over thinking it, but I just always take this stuff serious and try to look at the potential risks. Guess that has just become the way I think from the industry in which I work.

I don't think I could contain myself... "he was a zombie! I shot em" good too! I blew out his brains cause that's the only way to hill him. And the only reason I put the body on a wooden stake in the front yard, covered it diesel, and lit it ok fire, was because there's no telling if it was a vampire zombie! You are the crazy ones! I bet there's some in this room right now..."


On a serious note, that does bring a point, but I don't think that will get very far in court. Especially being that it is Identical to critical defense. However, something like a RIP round would make jurors sway-able to that kind of tactic I suppose.

mojo84 wrote:My apologies. My post came across much more critical than I intended. My ire is directed more to the manufacturers and marketers than to you. I just think it silly for marketers to play up the zombie craze with something as serious as self defense ammunition.

It's all good! You're not alone in that thinking, and I just think it's more humorous than anything now. I have specially zombie ammo, hah!