What type of ammo to CHL?

[mclovin]

Just wondering what type of ammo do the majority of CHLer's have loaded in their daily carry? JHP, FMJ, etc......

I just purchased my daily carry once my plastic gets in, glock 27. any recommendations of what type of ammo to load up on? I see a lot of using 180grain Federal or speer gold dots. TIA!

[txfireguy2003]

I generally carry Glaser Safety Slugs with blue tips in my G-27 for less chances of overpenetration/ricochet. I think overall, any quality HP round will get the job done, it's a matter of personal preference, but I am always concerned about the innocent bystander and would be devastated if I injured someone due to overpenetration. And before anyone says something about making sure there is nobody behind your target....that's a given, but it's been proven that bullets don't always travel in straight lines. Just my humble oppinion, YMMV, IANAL, etc. Take it with a grain of salt if you wish.

[JackRR]

Glock 27 here also, I use Speer 180g GDHP's. I have shot over 200 thru my G27. No problems. I WAS paying $25 per 50 rds at Ammunition To Go but they are out and would be $35 if they had them. Cabela's has them for $25 for 20.

I use Federal HST 124g and Corbon 115g +P in my G17. Both JHP's

[kalipsocs]

It would be dangerous and IMO reckless to carry FMJs for CC. Lost energy, over penetration, ricochet...the list continues. So HP ALWAYS to the first part of the question.

To the second part, Speer Gold Dots seem to be a quite the safe bet across most calibers. Federal HST seem to be all the rage. To me, you really just need to make sure you are buying quality stuff. I shot a Remington 115 grain HP into a bucket of dirt and a Speer 147 grain in the same bucket. The Speer opened up quite well considering the harsh medium and the Reminton...well...all I found was a shredded jacket. So while not all HPs are made equal, I think if you buy quality stuff made and marked for "personal protection" or "self defense" then make sure it feeds in what you shoot and go with it.

Let the disagreements begin

[ghostrider]

>Just wondering what type of ammo do the majority of CHLer's have loaded in their daily carry?

JHP only.
I generally don't even use FMJ for practice.

[RobinBradbery]

I carry Glazer saftey rounds.

[Frost]

Any of these would be fine:

Barnes all-copper bullets (140 & 155gr) loaded by: Cor-Bon (DPX40140)
Winchester Ranger 180gr JHP (RA40T)
Winchester Ranger 165gr JHP (RA40TA)
Winchester Partition Gold 165gr JHP (RA401P)
Winchester Bonded 180gr JHP (Q4355)
Speer Gold Dot 155gr JHP (53961)
Speer Gold Dot 180gr JHP (53962)
Federal Tactical 165gr JHP (LE40T3)
Federal Tactical 180gr JHP (LE40T1)
Federal HST 180gr JHP (P40HST1)
Remington Golden Saber 180 gr JHP (GS40SWB)

I strongly recommend against glassers or other prefragmented or exotic ammo.

[The Annoyed Man]

Having seen gunshot patients probably numbering in the hundreds over a 5 year period working in an ER, I can safely say that I've only ever seen ONE wound caused by a hollowpoint in which the bullet exited the torso - and that guy was shot with a .41 magnum. Other than that, every single hollowpoint bullet, and even most FMJ bullet wounds I saw were not through and through.

Honestly, while overpenetration is a legitimate concern and should be a consideration in your calculations, unless you're carrying a high velocity magnum load, I would feel comfortable with almost any hollowpoint from a safety standpoint, and given slower calibers like the .45 ACP, even FMJs are not really that big of an overpenetration risk at any distance over a few feet. My bullet choices would be more centered more on how terminally effective (and incapacitating) the bullet design would likely be on the bad guy.

All of this assumes that you're hitting the guy dead on in the torso. If you hit him in the arm or neck or head, or miss entirely, all bets are off anyway.

[OverEasy]

For a G27 (3.46" barrel) the Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel ammo might be best. Speer part # 23974. It's designed to expand at the slower velocities that are produced by short barrels.
Speer thinks it is important enough, they make TWO different loads, the standard ones and the Short Barrel ones.
Regards, OE

[bdickens]

What do you Glaser Safety Slugs people plan on doing if you have a run-in with an assailant wearing a heavy jacket?

[Mithras61]

I use Federal 230g HST Tactical rounds (that I bought from Ammunition to Go before they stopped having anything but Glazers for .45 ACP) for the most part. When I can't get those, the Federal 230g HST (non-tactical) works reliably as well.

I generally prefer the 230g because I practice with 230g FMJ (I know some folks say you can't tell the difference in the recoil from a bullet that is a few grains lighter, but it makes me happy to believe I can). I shot a bunch (several hundred rounds) through both of my pistols, and haven't had any issues with feeding or firing. I did had a couple of the DPX rounds that I tried that didn't feel satisfactory (no stoppage, just didn't feel right when it shot), so I decided to stick with the HSTs. Lots of folks like Speer Gold Dots or Wincester Rangers, but I can't comment on them because I haven't tried them.

Generally, I think that having any reliable round (FMJ, JHP, or other) in a pistol that is with you is better than the perfect works-every-time round in the safe, so the #1 criteria has to be "Does it work EVERY time in MY pistol?" After that, it's all just "pizza vs. hamburgers - which is better?"

If you're looking for a suggestion for what to carry in your own piece, I'd suggest asking around with your local LEOs and seeing what they carry. It may not work for you, but it's generally a reasonable place to start.

[mclovin]

For a G27 (3.46" barrel) the Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel ammo might be best. Speer part # 23974. It's designed to expand at the slower velocities that are produced by short barrels.
Speer thinks it is important enough, they make TWO different loads, the standard ones and the Short Barrel ones.
Regards, OE

I saw online where they were selling some of the short barrel gold dot, weren't too sure on them so I went with the 180 grain gold dots instead. I think they were going for 33 a box or so. Weren't sure if that was a reasonable price for those but I did get the regular gold dots for 24 a box.

If you're looking for a suggestion for what to carry in your own piece, I'd suggest asking around with your local LEOs and seeing what they carry. It may not work for you, but it's generally a reasonable place to start.

I didn't see any threads about types of ammo to use for carry and figured us newbies would evenutally ask this when we get our plastic. Thanks everyone on their recommendations

[Samurai Blur]

Well, I don't have my License yet either but, if it helps, I keep 165 grain Fiocchi JHP in my Taurus .40 caliber. The houses I live to are pretty close and all around, so I'm always worried if someone breaks in that my bullet would end up in a neighbor's bedroom. Where I live, there is no way I would use FMJ, and I'll probably stick to my current formula when I start carrying. Last think you want is a bullet in the wrong place at the wrong time. I know some people will say that you just need to make sure nothing in your line of fire (if you miss) before you shoot, but man, I shot some metal cans with a 9mm once and they slung bullets out the right and left side that came in straight from the front. It's just hard to keep them moving in straight line once they hit a wall or something sometimes.

[Frost]

I keep 165 grain Fiocchi JHP in my Taurus .40 caliber. The houses I live to are pretty close and all around, so I'm always worried if someone breaks in that my bullet would end up in a neighbor's bedroom. Where I live, there is no way I would use FMJ...

JHP act just like FMJ going through wallboard FYI.

[Samurai Blur]

That's true, but it's more likely to splatter if it hits something hard or goes through the person invading my house than FMJ, and it's the only thing I can get my hands on other than FMJ since the ammo buy up, so I have to make do with what I can get.