Personal Defense Ammo

[Keith B]

what about BARNES BULLETS TAC-XP? Anyone used or heard about this stuff looks pretty impressive never messed with it myself....and no I don't sell Barnes either.

Better look closer. The Barnes TAC-XP is a BULLET only. The bullets are used in various ammunition like DoubleTap, Black Hills/Cor-BON and even Federal.

[CC Italian]

Keith- Barnes did just start selling loaded ammo but they JUST started this a few months ago and I don't think they have it for many calibers yet. Keith is right Corbon is the one to make this bullet famous! Here is a link to the new Barnes loaded ammo http://www.midwayusa.com/product/968681 ... -box-of-20

They also sell it in 44 mag and 45 LC it seems.

Opps. Thats the xPB not TAC.

http://www.barnesbullets.com/products/b ... mmunition/ Yeah, XPB only scroll down to bottom. My bad only hunting loads for the magnums!

[Keith B]

Keith- Barnes did just start selling loaded ammo but they JUST started this a few months ago and I don't think they have it for many calibers yet. Keith is right Corbon is the one to make this bullet famous! Here is a link to the new Barnes loaded ammo http://www.midwayusa.com/product/968681 ... -box-of-20

They also sell it in 44 mag and 45 LC it seems.

Opps. Thats the xPB not TAC.

Yeah, they have the xPB, but think they reserve their TAC-XP bullets for other manufactures or reloaders. And, I would almost bet that they don't manufacture their own ammunition, but it is loaded by another manufacturer and then branded as Barnes.

[blackopstx]

.40 S&W 125gr. Barnes TAC-XP Lead Free 50rds-$67.47 a box....is the high cost because there using a barnes tac-xp? is it worth it?

[Keith B]

.40 S&W 125gr. Barnes TAC-XP Lead Free 50rds-$67.47 a box....is the high cost because there using a barnes tac-xp? is it worth it?

Don't know that much about the ballistics on the Barnes TAC-XP bullets, but the company is well known and used by a LOT of manufacturers, so would think they must be pretty decent. I use Cor-Bon myself, but only DPX (XPB bullet) or Pow'rBall round.

And, TAC-XP bullets are close to a buck a piece for just the projectile, so yeah, that drives the price up on a finished round.

[CC Italian]

Here is what it does. I don't see the need unless you have a really short barrel. I don't see the need. But it's your money.

http://www.shootingillustrated.com/inde ... es-tac-xp/

I would go with these. Better for the money, if you want Barnes.

http://www.shootingillustrated.com/inde ... es-tac-xp/

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/product_i ... point-ammo

[CC Italian]

Never shot them in .40 S&W but what I can tell you is that I have shot these in 10mm and they are wicked!http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalo ... cts_id=435 Ran slower then advertised at 1580fps (I have found that the load data and what all the high performance guys run in barnes are the most consistently inflated, I assume they are not accounting for less powder space because there is no way this will do 1600 from my stock barrel.) over my 6in barrel but complete expansion with every round. They supposedly penetrate around 15 inch from what DT says. I just wanted to see if the hollowpoint would actually stay together at those velocities. Yes, it does! I only loaded a 10 round mag and every time I shot it I said "buck 50" because that is how much it cost per shot after shipping. I still have 40 of them in my safe.

[rcasady]

buffalo has a barnes too just sayin
http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l= ... tail&p=251" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

i think they only offer +p in .38 .380 and .45 but offer all other calibers in standard pressure .....gonna try these next
maybe ill have a summer ammo (barnes ) and winter ammo for heavier clothing (flatnose )
id have to actually field test a .380 hollow point before i got excited about it but the 375 grain s&w 500 barnes hollowpoint sounds nasty

and no i dont work for buffalo bore but im happy about .380 with some extra pop so i like these fellas

[TxDoubleAgent]

Win. PDX1 and Rem. Golden Saber Bonded

[DallasSVT]

PDX1 and Ranger-T from Winchester are both excellent - I'd happily carry either.

You a fan of the +P and +P+ loads or are the standard loads enough?

[Wysiwyg101]

Winchester PDX1 124 grain +P's right now. I'm looking to switch out, as I've heard that they have issues with the hollow point clogging and thus not properly expanding.

Not sure what I want to switch to though. I'm thinking something in 147 grain since they'll probably play nicely out of my 17's barrel.

Haven't heard that about PDX. I carry that in my 9mms if I can't find good deal on Gold Dots. I tested some 9mm PDX in milk jugs covered in fabric a few years ago out of 3.5-inch barrel Walther PPS and it performed very well.

There's a guy on youtube that has done some testing of various rounds. In the test involving the Winchester PDX1 124 grain +P he did two different types of tests. First, he had 5 one gallon jugs filled with newspaper that had also been filled with water taped together. He also taped four layers of denim over the first jug. The hollowpoint actually filled up with denim and since it didn't expand it actually went thru all five jugs into his backstop which was five more jugs filled just with water. It ended up in the 2nd jug. Here's a link to that: " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Since this has been my self defense round, I am now looking for another alternative. He also did a test on this, Winchester 9mm +P+ 127 gr SXT (RA9TA). The results were pretty nice. I especially like the barbs on the tips of the folded back hollowpoint. Here's a look at that video: " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Peter Sevani]

i have this and im a fan of Tipped TSX features a 100% copper body with rings cut into the shank. A polymer tip boosts BC, improves long-range ballistics and provides even faster expansions. Exceptional accuracy and penetration.

[skeathley]

.380 : Hornady Critical Defense. Not a fan of regular HP in a .380. These are a little hotter than standard cartridges, although not as hot as Buffalo Bore. Hmmm. Maybe I should try those again.

[VMI77]

What ammo do you guys use for Personal Defense/ CC?

I carry RBCD Total Fragmenting Soft Point rounds and love them!

Thanks,

D

If these are the kinds of rounds you're talking about....or something similar....penetration testing indicates that they don't meet the standard of 12 inches of penetration into ballistic gelatin that is required by the FBI tests for effective ammunition.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-t ... x-o-truth/

Edited to add:

Wow, wish I'd read the entire thread before posting. One thing is for sure, some people believe in Hollywood movie concepts like "knockdown" power and magic bullets that, while less than 1/2 inch in diameter leave 9" wide wound tracks, and some people, notably AndyC and snatchel, are actually grounded in the real world and understand the concepts of physics that Issac Newton figured out over 300 years ago.

Why do people in the shooting community persist in believing ridiculous and physically impossible myths? Is it the dismal state of instruction in the basic sciences in our school system --general scientific illiteracy? That may be part of the answer but I know people in technical fields that are very smart people that repeat these myths like energy dumps, one-shot stops, and knockdown power. I have to wonder if a large part of it are the visual lies repeated over and over again by Hollywood in movies and television. Some of my favorite movies, like "Open Range," have ridiculous cringe-worth scenes of bad guys flying through walls or windows after being hit by a shotgun blast. Physics 101: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you don't get knocked down by recoil while shooting that rifle, pistol, or shotgun, the person getting shot isn't going to get knocked down either, much less thrown 6' into a wall or through a plate glass window.

And solid objects the size of 9mm or 45 acp, or even 12 ga slugs, can't produce 9" wound channels no matter how they fragment or expand. What they can do is produce a number of less penetrating smaller than 9mm, 45 acp, or 12 ga wound channels ---like a shotgun loaded with birdshot.....just like snatchel said.

HT to AndyC and snatchel for introducing the real world to the discussion.