|
P R O D U
C T
B R E A K D O W N |
|
|
|
|
AMMUNITION FOR THE SELF-DEFENSE
FIREARM |
Opinion by
Anonymous
Thomas Pugh
Exxcess Quality Products
I decided to reproduce this
rather long piece here partly
because it is clearly the
author's desire that it be
widely disseminated. Another
part is that it makes
interesting reading, and I enjoy
a good read as much as anyone.
Although the author has some
strong opinions, they are
informed opinions, and worthy of
careful consideration. Actually,
I have an idea about the
identity of "Anonymous," which
is another reason this piece
appears here, but it is the
author's desire to remain
anonymous, and in any case I
could be wrong, so I have made
no attempt to confirm my
suspicion. Enjoy Ammunition For
The Self-Defense Firearm
INTRODUCTION
This is a guide to help you
select the best ammunition for
your defensive firearm. Most of
these opinions are based upon
the work of Massad Ayoob, Evan
Marshall and Ed Sanow, police
officers who have extensively
studied the issue of firearms,
ammunition and stopping power. I
refer all interested parties to
the excellent series by Ayoob
('In the Gravest
Extreme,''Stressfire,' 'The
Semi-Automatic Pistol in Police
Service and Self-Defense', 'Stressfire
II: Advanced Combat Shotgun')
and the comprehensive book
'Stopping Power' by Marshall and
Sanow.
In particular, it cannot be
stressed too heavily that all
gun owners should own a copy of
'In the Gravest Extreme' and
re-read it periodically. Once
you have read it you will
understand why. Buy it. (The
Ayoob titles - and other items
like Cor-Bon ammunition and
Spyderco 'Clipit' folding knives
- are available mail order
($9.95@ and $3.95 shipping and
handling) from "Police
Bookshelf," P.O. Box 122,
Concord NH 03302; telephone #
1-800-624-9049. American
Express, VISA, Mastercard, and
Discover cards gladly accepted.
Order today - you will be
grateful.)
These three policemen are the
world's foremost authorities on
choosing ammunition for
real-world defensive use. Their
views are based on exhaustive
review of thousands of police
and civilian shooting incidents,
autopsies, and ballistic tests.
Some other authorities rely
entirely on the latter (e.g. Dr.
Martin Fackler, the FBI Wound
Ballistics Lab, the National
Institute of Justice Ballistic
Research Laboratory) which is
insufficient to make reliable
predictions. Human beings react
differently to being shot than
gelatin, goats, or other test
media, and bullets that perform
spectacular feats in the
laboratory sometimes give
mediocre results on the street.
A perfect example of this are
the silly 1989-90 FBI tests
which resulted in the FBI
choosing the mediocre 10mm S&W
Model 1076 and the 180 grain JHP
round. For this reason, I have
chosen to rely on Ayoob,
Marshall, and Sanow when it
comes to selecting my ammunition
and strongly advise you do the
same. What follows is
essentially a distillation of
their opinions. I urge you to
research the sources listed for
a more detailed discussion than
is possible here.
I cannot stress too heavily that
the primary determinant of
stopping power is BULLET
PLACEMENT. A cool, deliberate
marksman with a little .32
Walther PPK will beat a panicky,
inaccurate man with a .357
Magnum or $1200 customized .45
auto every time. Whatever
firearm and caliber you select,
you must practice firing
hundreds - thousands - of rounds
in realistic defensive scenarios
until you can confidently make
disabling hits on your target.
Tactics and marksmanship win
gunfights - not having the
latest 'wonder bullet' in your
gun.
Unfortunately, I cannot teach
you tactics in this short essay,
only recommend proven
ammunition. You MUST seek out
competent training in tactics
and marksmanship from a
qualified instructor in your
area. In the meanwhile, studying
Ayoob's great book 'Stressfire'
will get you off to an excellent
start.
Self Defense Ammunition
Generally
American ammunition is the best
in the world. Stick to Federal,
Cor-Bon, Remington, Winchester
or CCI (the Big Five)
ammunition. Some foreign stuff
is pretty good (PMC, IMI-Samson,
Fiocci), some foreign stuff is
great (Dynamit-Nobel, Norma,
GECO), some foreign stuff is
practice-only junk (e.g. CDM -
Mexico, military surplus), but
no foreign stuff is anywhere
near as good as domestic
ammunition when it comes to
vanquishing hostile attackers.
Buy American.
Never use hand-loaded or
re-loaded ammunition for
self-defense! You may encounter
some joker who says he can
hand-load ammunition so powerful
it will knock anything on two
legs down for the count, but
don't buy it. This junk will
either misfire or ruin your gun.
Use only fresh factory-loaded
cartridges, period. There are NO
EXCEPTIONS to this rule: use
factory-loaded cartridges only.
Handguns
One should carry only
hollowpoint ammunition in a
defensive handgun. Hollowpoint
ammunition has much better
stopping power than full metal
jacket or round-nose lead, and
stopping power is what you need
when being assaulted.
The point is not to wound or
kill the adversary: the point is
to stop him in his tracks and
make him cease attacking you.
"Stopping power" (sometimes
called "knock-down power")
refers to a particular bullet's
ability to incapacitate an
attacker - the greater that
ability, the less chance that
your attacker will be able to
continue shooting, stabbing, or
beating you after you have shot
him.
Handguns are not death-rays;
despite what you see in the
movies, the vast majority of
people shot with handguns
survive (over 80%). Handguns are
weak compared to rifles and
shotguns, and thus you want
every edge you can get. Great
ammunition is no more expensive
than mediocre ammunition, so
carry the best. Rifles and
shotguns have stopping power to
spare; handguns do not. Thus you
must select your handgun load
very carefully, and the detail
of the handgun ammunition
section reflects this.
Hollowpoint ammunition is NOT
more lethal than ball (full
metal jacket) ammunition. You
may have seen media hype about
"killer dum-dum bullets" but
this is nonsense. Hollowpoint
bullets usually expand and stop
in the human body, and thus the
attacker absorbs much more of
the bullet's kinetic energy than
if the bullet had merely zipped
through him and left two small
holes. Hollowpoint ammunition is
also safer for all parties
concerned.
* You are safer because your
attacker is more likely to be
incapacitated after one or two
shots and thus unable to fire
back, stab you, or whatever. The
decreased likelihood of your
attacker dying from hollowpoint
bullets saves you the moral and
legal complications and expense
you will experience from killing
a man.
* Innocent bystanders are safer
because hollowpoint bullets are
less likely to exit the
attacker's body and go on to
injure anyone else. The ricochet
danger is also much lower than
that of ball ammunition, and
hollowpoint bullets are less
likely to penetrate walls or
doors and strike uninvolved
third parties. Furthermore, if
your foe is incapacitated
quickly he won't be spraying
wild bullets around, endangering
uninvolved third parties.
* Lastly, your attacker is safer
because he is far less likely to
die from one or two hollowpoint
bullets than the five or six
round-nose slugs you would have
had to fire to put him down.
Most gunshot deaths occur from
shock and loss of blood, and
ball rounds tend to make entry
and exit wounds, whereas
hollowpoints go in and stay put.
An attacker shot twice with ball
ammo will probably have four
holes in him rather than two,
and is thus in far greater
danger of death from blood loss.
If you can avoid killing your
attacker you should, for both
moral and legal reasons.
There are some exceptions to the
"carry only hollowpoints in a
handgun" rule. Some older or
cheaper automatic pistols, will
jam with hollowpoint rounds.
With these guns one must use
ball rounds (or "full metal
jacket" rounds - the terms are
synonymous), and I specify
"reliable with ball only" models
by caliber. It is crucial for
you to test your pistol to make
certain it is reliable with
specific loads - don't rely on
my advice. My life will never
depend on the reliability of
your handgun. Your life may.
Rifles
Generally speaking, hollowpoint
bullets are the best choice for
rifles. Some soft-point designs
are recommended, and these will
be specified.
Shotguns
Use buckshot. Slugs and birdshot
are useful in some limited and
uncommon situations.
A Note On Exotic Ammunition
There are several exotic
ammunition designs on the market
today, such as the Glaser Safety
Slug, Mag-Safe, GECO BAT 9mm,
Thunderzap, et cetera. Generally
speaking, I recommend that you
avoid them. Exotic ammunition is
expensive, inaccurate, and often
unreliable. These rounds cost so
much ($2-$4 each) that you will
never practice with them and
thus will not be certain of
their reliability and accuracy
in your gun. This is a big
mistake: you should not carry a
particular type of ammunition
until you have fired at least
150 rounds through your
semi-automatic gun to ensure
reliable feeding (this doesn't
really apply to revolvers, but
you should still fire the
ammunition you intend to carry
to assure yourself of its
accuracy).
'Glaser Safety Slugs' are one
exotic round I can fully
recommend, but only for
revolvers in a few scenarios.
The Glaser is a proven
man-stopper and has very good
quality control, but may not
feed or cycle reliably in your
automatic pistol. Because you
cannot afford to fire enough
Glasers to establish that it
feeds reliably in your pistol
(i.e. 100 test-fire rounds will
cost $300), I cannot recommend
them for pistol owners (if you
insist on Glasers, carry one in
the chamber and load the
magazine with a proven
hollowpoint. Be aware, however,
that the Glaser may not have the
power to cycle your slide, and
thus you may be carrying a
single-shot gun. You can always
cycle the slide manually, of
course, but this takes time and
both hands; two things you may
not be able to spare when
fighting for your life. The
Walther PPK, H&K P7 series and
SIG P230 are notorious for this
failure-to-cycle problem with
Glaser Safety Slugs).
With revolvers feeding is not an
issue, of course, but there are
other factors to consider. The
Glaser is designed for easy
break-up and minimal
penetration, which is great for
cutting down ricochet and
over-penetration dangers but
drastically limits its ability
to penetrate light cover between
you and your foe. A car window,
hollow-core door, or even thick
winter clothing between you and
your assailant can cause the
Glaser to disintegrate and leave
him unharmed. Bad news for
you....great news for him.
There are some situations where
the Glaser is a good choice,
however. I keep my bedside .357
revolver loaded with .38
Special+P Glasers because I live
in a thin-walled apartment
building and want to be able to
put down an intruder rapidly
without worrying about injuring
my neighbors. I chose .38 over
.357 Magnums because I am likely
to be in a just-awakened daze
and would rather not be blinded
and disoriented by the flash,
kick and blast of firing a .357
Magnum in a (probably darkened)
room. You may have a similar
situation (e.g. retail store
defense) where injury to third
parties is of concern, and
you'll likely be facing an
assailant at extremely close
range where the Glaser's
inaccuracy and inability to
penetrate cover will not be
drawbacks. In these narrowly
defined scenarios, the Glaser is
a good choice, but keep a couple
of speedloaders of hollowpoints
handy, just in case. I do.
Glaser Safety Slugs are
available in "Blue" or "Silver"
versions. The latter are a
little heavier for better
penetration, but performance is
similar. I would be happy with
either, but Sanow prefers the
Silver. It's up to you.
Mag-Safes are imitations of
Glasers, and I cannot recommend
them due to poor quality
control. Reliability is the
number one requirement of a
self-defense handgun, and Mag-Safes
don't make the grade.
GECO "Blitz Action Trauma" or
BAT 9mm rounds from Germany are
a proven design. Called the "GECO
Action Safety" in Europe, this
is a high velocity (1400 feet
per second) lightweight (86
grain) hollow bullet that has
proven itself to be very
reliable and successful on the
street. I recommend them, but
they are very tough to find.
Save yourself the trouble and
use a good American-made
hollowpoint.
Thunderzaps are
ultra-lightweight bullets made
of aluminum. They are made in
.38 Special caliber only, as of
this writing, and have not yet
been proven on the street.
Other exotics are best avoided.
You may occasionally encounter
"Omni-Shocks," "Terminators,"
"Annihilators," "Kaswer Law
Grabbers," and other such
marginalia in gun shops. Stay
away. If you want to gamble, go
to an Indian reservation. Don't
gamble with your life, or the
lives of others. Glasers and
GECO 9mm BATs are the only
proven exotics.
Terminology
I have tried to keep specialized
technical jargon to a minimum,
but it will be helpful for you
to understand a few terms and
acronyms:
- 'Ball' is round-nosed metal
jacketed ammunition. It is used
for self-loading firearms like
pistols. All military pistol and
rifle ammunition uses full metal
jacket bullets. Synonyms for
ball include FMJ ("full metal
jacket"), MC ("metal case") and
TMJ ("totally metal jacketed," a
term used only by the ammunition
maker CCI). Ball rounds do not
expand and are always the worst
choice in a defensive round. The
military uses ball because it
feeds well (i.e. rarely jams),
penetrates far, and the military
is required to use ball under
the Geneva Convention.
Fortunately, you are free to
choose better ammunition, and
should use ball for practice
only.
- 'Wadcutters' and 'semi-wadcutters'
are sharp-shouldered revolver
bullets with an odd cylindrical
appearance. True wadcutters are
very weak rounds used for target
shooting only. Unless you own a
.38 or .357 revolver, forget
about these.
- 'Jacketed soft-points' are
jacketed bullets with exposed
lead at the tip. These make poor
defensive rounds for handguns
but may be effective for rifles,
due to the latter's high
velocity. Never use JSP rounds
in a handgun for self-defense.
Never.
- 'Jacketed hollowpoints' are
the best choice for handguns and
most rifles. JHP rounds have a
hollow cavity in the nose and
usually expand (and stop) in the
body of your attacker,
transferring all their kinetic
energy for maximum stopping
power. They are the safest and
best bullets available. JHP
bullets are always best for
self-defense.
-'Round-nose lead' (or RNL) are
generally revolver bullets
without any metal jacket around
the bullet. These are worthless
for self-defense, and I don't
even use them at the range. If
you come upon a bargain lot of
RNL ammo, feel free to buy it
for target practice. You will be
scrubbing out your barel until
the wee hours, however, as
all-lead bullets scum up barrels
something fierce. Use 'Flitz'
metal polish to scour out the
grimy residue.
HANDGUN AMMUNITION BY CALIBER
(Note: for an excellent and
comprehensive look at the best
handgun rounds by caliber, see
the article 'What Are The Best
Loads For Defense?' by Ed Sanow
in the July, 1995 issue of
Petersen's 'HANDGUNS' magazine)
.22 Long Rifle
You should really be using
something bigger than a .22 for
self-defense, but even a .22
beats nothing. There are some
really nice .22 pocket autos,
and they make a lot of sense for
women reluctant to tote a bigger
gun around. Choose any Federal,
Remington, Winchester or CCI
metal-plated 37 grain (or
lighter) high velocity
hollowpoint round. I recommend
CCI "Stinger" 32-gr. or
Remington "Yellow Jacket" 33-gr.
hollowpoints, as they have been
very reliable in my Beretta 21A
and Walther TPH pistols.
Shoot a lot of rounds through
your self-defense .22, the ammo
is cheap and you want to be sure
to pick a reliable round. If
high-velocity solids don't cycle
reliably try standard-velocity.
There is little difference in
power but it may improve your
gun's reliability (e.g. Jennings
J-22 pistols are more reliable
with standard-velocity solids).
Marksmanship is crucial with
such a tiny gun, so practice
drawing your .22 and firing it
rapidly into a melon at ten feet
or so. Also keep your .22
autoloader meticulously clean -
these tiny guns cannot function
reliably with much gunk in them.
If you carry your .22 in a
pocket, purse or ankle holster
inspect it daily and brush off
any dust or grit with an old
toothbrush. Lubricate it
properly, too. This is very
important.
.25 ACP (6.35mm)
The best .25 load is the Hornady
35-gr. XTP-HP round. If it jams,
use any Federal, Remington, or
Winchester 50 grain ball round.
Winchester has an odd 45 gr.
"Expanding Point" round that
should be OK if it is reliable
in your gun (it seems to work
fine in Beretta 950 pistols, for
example), but don't expect any
improvement in performance over
the 50 grain ball rounds. The
excellent Walther TPH .25 should
be loaded with ball.
The Hornady 35 grain JHP should
be considered only if it is 100%
reliable in your pistol - fire
200 rounds through your gun to
see. Ed Sanow recommends the
MagSafe 22 grain "Defender" and
Glaser 40 grain Safety Slug.
.32 ACP (7.65 mm Browning,
7.65x17mm)
Use the Winchester 60 gr.
Silvertip Jacketed Hollow Point
(X32ASHP) if it is reliable in
your gun. I personally would
only carry Silvertips in a
Seecamp LWS .32. Most of the
common .32 autos on the market
are only reliable with 71 grain
ball: Llama, Walther PP and PPK,
Czech CZ-24 and CZ-70, Davis
P-32, Colt Pocket Model, Mauser
HSc, etc.
.32 Smith & Wesson Long
The best defense load for this
obsolescent revolver caliber is
the Federal 98 gr. lead
wadcutter (32LA). Shoot
carefully.
.32 H&R Magnum
Federal 85 gr. Jacketed Hollow
Point (32HRB). Stock up; this
ammunition won't be available
for long. Federal will drop it
soon due to lack of demand.
7.62x25mm (a.k.a. 7.63mm Mauser)
If you're using this obsolescent
communist caliber I can only
assume that you have an old
CZ-52 or Chinese Tokarev. Only
87 gr. ball ammo is available,
so leave the cheap Chinese
military stuff for practice and
carry Fiocchi 7.63 Mauser ball
in your gun.
.380 ACP (9mm Short, 9x17mm, 9mm
Kurz)
Now we're getting into some
decent stopping power. The three
or four best .380 JHP rounds
have better stopping power than
ANY bullet fired out of 2"
barrel .38 Special snub-nose.
All of the Big Five make good
hollowpoints for this caliber.
The Remington 88 grain JHP is
the most reliably-feeding
hollowpoint but slightly less
effective than the Hydra-shok or
Cor-Bon. Reliability is crucial,
and thus you must test the
rounds before carrying.
I recommend the following two
cartridges above all others:
-Federal 90 gr. Hydra-shok
(P380HS1) - the best
standard-pressure .380 JHP load,
period.
-Cor-Bon 90 gr. JHP - the most
powerful .380 hollowpoint, bar
none.
These are the two best .380
loads, and I recommend them for
these guns:
SIG/Sauer P230, Beretta 84/85,
Browning BDA, CZ-83, H&K P7K3,
Walther PPK and PPK/s. The
Russian, East German, Chinese
and Bulgarian Makarov pistols
are apparently perfectly
reliable with the hot Cor-Bon,
and the strong all-steel
construction of these guns
should stand up to an infinite
amount of these potent rounds. I
have heard that the Colt does
also well with the hot Cor-Bon
JHP, which you should definitely
look into if you own a Colt
.380. You have better stopping
power than any .38 snub-nose
revolver (the long-time favorite
concealment sidearm) when you
load your .380 with these two
rounds.
Other good .380 ACP jacketed
hollowpoints:
- Remington 102 gr. Golden Saber
BJHP (GS380M) - Another
excellent .380 load (the BJHP
stands for "Brass Jacketed
Hollow Point"), the heaviest one
available. I prefer the Cor-Bon
and Hydra-shok, but many
(including Sanow) like this new
Remington round for its deeper
penetration. I'll stick with the
Cor-Bon and Hydra-shok, but the
choice is yours.
- CCI-Speer 90 gr. Gold Dot JHP
A good all-around hollowpoint.
- Remington 88 gr. JHP (R380AI):
A good high-velocity hollowpoint
that feeds well in: Colt
Government Model .380, H&K HK4,
Taurus PT-58, older PP and PPK,
Bersa .380, Beretta 70s, Makarov
and Hungarian FEG. These are all
good guns that might choke on
other hollowpoints but they will
probably feed the Remington
fine. This hollowpoint was
redesigned in 1993 and gives
excellent performance while
retaining its rounded shape for
positive feeding. If your .380
chokes on other JHP loads, try
fifty rounds of the Remington 88
gr. through your gun and see if
it improves.
.380 ACP hollowpoints to avoid:
-Winchester 85 gr Silvertip
(X380ASHP) I really cannot
recommend this weak and
jam-prone round. It works
reliably in a few modern
European guns (e.g. SIG 230,
Beretta 84F), but every load
named above offers better
performance. The Silvertip will
likely jam in any American-made
.380 automatic. Russian .380
Makarovs and PPK series guns may
jam with the Silvertip, as well.
The .380 Silvertip was once
state-of-the-art, but has since
been superceded by superior
designs. It is also quite
expensive. Look elsewhere.
- PMC-Eldorado Starfire 95 gr.
JHP This round is similarly weak
and jam-prone.
- Federal 90 gr. JHP (380BP)
(see below)
- Hornady 90 gr. XTP-HP (9010)
Both the Federal 380BP and the
Hornady XTP-HP never expand and
may jam many guns due to their
truncated-cone bullet nose
profiles. Pass by these two.
95 gr ball:
Davis P-380, Accu-Tek, EAA .380,
Tanarmi, AMT/OMC/TDE "Back-Up,"
Heritage, FIE, Jennings, Bryco,
Lorcin, Llama, or "other."
Hollowpoints should never be
used in these low-priced guns.
9mm Makarov (9x18mm)
Cor-Bon makes the only 9mm Mak
hollowpoint on the market, an
excellent 95 grain JHP that is
totally reliable in all East
Bloc pistols. Go buy it. If you
cannot find it, order it by
mail. Use ball only as a last
resort, or for practice.
.38 Special
Loads for Full-Sized .38
Revolvers With 4" or Longer
Barrels: The Numero Uno .38
Special defense load for your 4"
barrel revolver is the Cor-Bon
.38 Special+P 115 grain JHP. It
is very high-pressure load and
should be used only in modern
six-shot revolvers. It has less
felt recoil and muzzle flip than
the #2 choice, which follows.
When I carry a 4" .38, I want it
loaded with this cartridge.
The second-best choice is the
.38 Special+P 158 grain lead
semi-wadcutter hollowpoint (LSWCHP)
available from Federal, CCI,
Winchester and Remington. Ayoob
has found the latter to have the
greatest expansion, so I would
choose Remington (catalog
#R38S12). This unjacketed
all-lead round (often called the
"FBI load" or "Chicago load") is
a proven manstopper, about on
par with .45 ball, when fired
from a 4" barrel. Your
fixed-sight .38 revolver it will
shoot to point-of-aim with this
load: lighter bullets will shoot
low (some very low). All
fixed-sight .38s are regulated
at the factory to shoot
accurately with 158 grain
bullets, as this was the weight
of the long-time standard
American and Canadian police
load.
* Federal makes the FBI load in
their Nyclad line covered with a
thin Nylon jacket (#P38G). I
don't know why you would want
this over their all-lead version
(#38G), but if you like it,
fine. It works as well as the
all-lead round, and you won't
have to worry about airborne
lead particles clogging up your
lungs, or whatever.
* CCI offers the famous FBI load
in their economical
aluminum-cased Blazer line
(#3523). This is a bargain. What
I really recommend, however, is
that for practice you use the
CCI Blazer 158 grain JACKETED
hollowpoint (#3526) because it
duplicates the ballistics and
recoil of the FBI load without
fouling your barrel with
hard-to-scrub-out lead deposits.
These are a bitch to clean (I
use 'Flitz' metal polish with
good results. It will also
remove unsightly "burn rings"
from the cylinder face of your
stainless-steel revolver).
Note: .38 Special ammunition is
loaded to two pressure levels:
standard pressure and +P.
Standard pressure loads may be
used in any .38 Special
revolver, but +P loads should be
fired extensively only in
steel-frame .38 Special
revolvers. Firing a few (under
fifty) +P loads in your
aluminum-framed .38 Special
revolver will not destroy it or
cause it to explode, but will
damage your aluminum-framed
revolver if you fire more than a
hundred rounds. If I carried an
aluminum-framed .38 Special
revolver for protection, I would
not hesitate to carry +P .38
Special loads yet use mostly
standard pressure loads for
practice. The main problem with
carrying +P .38 Special loads in
an aluminum-framed .38 Special
revolver is that the kick is
nasty and slows repeat shots.
Thus I recommend standard
pressure ammunition for
aluminum-framed .38 Special
revolvers, as it is much easier
to score fast hits.
Other .38 Special Loads for Your
4" Barrel Revolver:
IMI-Samson also offers a
lightweight, very high pressure
load, the 110 gr. +P+ JHP. This
is said to be a ballistic
duplicate of the
law-enforcement-only "Treasury"
load that T-men used to carry.
Who cares? The Cor-Bon 115 gr.
+P load is superior. And never
use any 147 grain bullet in any
caliber. They are cursed.
All major manufacturers catalog
light .38+P hollowpoints, from
95-129 grains. None of these are
as successful as the Cor-Bon .38
Special +P 115 grain JHP or 158
grain +P LSWCHP, so why carry
them? Light +P loads only make
sense in a 2" barrel snub (more
on this later). The Federal
Hydra-shok and Winchester
Silvertip may look cool, but the
boring-looking Cor-Bon and FBI
loads do the job in a 4"
revolver. Stick with them.
PMC makes a bizarre 66 grain
tubular hollow bullet load. Some
enthusiastic gun-shop salesman
may try to sell it to you.
Refuse politely. Stay the hell
away from the weird and idiotic
Remington "Multi-Ball" (R38SMB)
- I have no idea what they were
thinking when they created this
worthless load. Also avoid the
Remington 95 grain +P SJHP
(R38S1) due to inadequate
penetration.
The Glaser Safety Slug is a good
choice for self-defense in a .38
revolver of any barrel length
(see caveats under "exotic
ammunition," above). It is
crucial to keep the chambers and
frame interior absolutely free
of oil or solvents when carrying
Glasers, as you don't want any
Breakfree CLP or Hoppe's #9
solvent seeping into the primer
pocket and deactivating the
round. This is important for all
rounds, of course, but the
Glaser isn't known for
particularly good sealing
against such mishaps. You may
also want to consider carrying
two Glasers as the first rounds
to be fired, and JHP loads for
the rest. This gives you a bit
of insurance if your assailant
tucks himself behind a sheet
rock wall or doorway or some
other flimsy cover that JHP
rounds can blast through.
A Special Note on Snub-Nose .38
Revolvers With 2" or 3" Barrels:
The Cor-Bon .38 Special+P 115
grain JHP and 158 grain LSWCHP
FBI load are not the best choice
for 2" or 3" barrel revolvers.
The short barrel does not
provide enough velocity to
ensure reliable expansion with
these load, and the unpleasant
and hard-to-control recoil hurts
snub-nose accuracy (as well as
your hand). Controllability is
crucial, and I recommend lighter
+P loads, or even non +P
standard pressure loads, for the
.38 snub-nose.
Good +P choices for a
steel-frame 2" .38 snub-nose
revolver are:
* Federal 125 grain +P Nyclad
LSWHP (P38N) - my preferred .38
2" barrel snub-nose revolver
load (a.k.a. the "Chief's
Special Load").
* Federal 129 grain +P Hydra-shok
JHP (P38HS1)
* Remington 125 grain +P Golden
Saber HPJ (GS38SB)
* Cor-Bon 115 grain +P JHP - I
would recommend this
ultra-high-pressure load only
for the sturdy (and heavy) Ruger
SP101 snub-nose .38 or .357
Magnum revolver.
Standard Pressure (non +P)
Loads.
If you carry an aluminum-frame
snub nose .38 (e.g. S&W Model 38
Bodyguard, 642, 442, 37, or Colt
Cobra) I urge you to carry a
standard pressure (non +P) .38
round. Firing a few +P rounds
won't ruin your gun, but
extended +P use will cause some
damage (say, over 100 rounds).
Lightweight snubbies kick like a
mule with the FBI load or other
+P rounds, and more controllable
standard loads will enable you
to get more hits in rapid fire
(remember - only hits count).
The best standard pressure .38
load is the Federal 125 grain
Nyclad lead hollowpoint (P38M).
This P38M hollowpoint - known as
the "Chief's Special load" - was
specifically designed to expand
at lower velocities and is the
industry leader in standard
pressure .38 rounds. I
particularly recommend this
round for women who carry .38
snubs (steel- or
aluminum-framed), as women tend
to be weaker and more sensitive
to blast and kick. This may seem
sexist, but it's also true.
Another acceptable standard
pressure .38 load is the
Winchester Silvertip 110 grain
JHP (X38S9HP), but I strongly
prefer the Federal Nyclad P38M
.38 Special.
Note well: if you have a J-frame
Smith & Wesson snub-nose .38
(i.e. the five-shot Model 36/37
Chief's Special, Model 38/49/649
Bodyguard, the 640/642/442/940
Centennial) you can greatly
improve the controllability of
your gun by installing Uncle
Mike's "Boot Grip." This is a
$14 godsend. The skinny little
wooden grips that come on these
guns are worthless. Installing
good grips does wonders for your
ability to control your .38
snub-nose revolver in rapid fire
for more hits.
9mm Parabellum (9mm
Luger,9x19mm, 9mm NATO, or
simply "9mm")
This is unquestionably the
world's most popular pistol
round. For this reason it has
been the subject of a lot of
experimentation, because 9mm
ball - used by every army in the
Western world - is a mediocre
manstopper. Jacketed
hollowpoints are a must if one
wishes to rely on the 9mm as a
defense round. Use ball ammo for
practice only.
9mm ammunition is available in
two pressure levels: standard
and "+P." The latter should only
be used in newer guns (made
since 1985 or so), and is best
used sparingly. I will deal here
with only commercially available
ammunition: there are
specialized loads available only
to law enforcement personnel.
Civilians should not worry, as
there are commercial loads as
good or better than anything
restricted to law enforcement
usage.
I will now tell you the best 9mm
Luger load for self-defense: it
is the Cor-Bon 9mm 115 grain +P
Jacketed Hollowpoint. This is
the most powerful and
street-proven manstopper
available in this caliber. It is
a high velocity (1340 fps) and
high pressure round, and more
effective than any load
restricted to law enforcement
use (such as the Federal 9BPLE).
Unfortunately, it is also likely
to jam many older guns. For this
reason I add a table at the end
of the 9mm section discussing
round suitability for different
guns. Modern hollowpoints may
either (a) jam, or (b) be too
powerful for some older guns.
This load is suitable only for
First Class pistols (see table).
The best standard pressure 9mm
load is the Federal 115 grain
JHP (9BP). Its effectiveness and
accuracy make it the world
standard. Buy several boxes.
Other excellent standard
pressure 9mm loads are the
Winchester Silvertip 115 grain
(X9MMSHP), Federal 124 grain
Hydra-shok (P9HS1) and Federal
Nyclad 124 grain (P9BP) JHP. The
Nyclad may feed better (than the
metal-jacketed 9BP) in some
older guns - such as Browning
Hi-Powers - which is good enough
reason to use it in your older
pistol. It is nearly equal to
the excellence of the 9BP in
terminal performance.
For guns that may jam with the
Cor-Bon or Federal 115 grain
hollow-points, the Remington 115
grain +P JHP is a good choice
(R9MM6). For older guns I would
use the Remington standard
pressure 115 gr. JHP (R9MM1).
Now it is time to impart some
crucial information: NEVER use
147 grain ammo in a 9mm pistol!
There was a stupid fad for 147
grain hollowpoints a few years
ago, and many were suckered into
buying these weak, worthless and
malfunction-prone rounds. I
don't care what you've heard:
never use any 9mm hollowpoint
heavier than 125 grains. 147
grain hollowpoints often jam in
many popular 9mm guns like the
Browning Hi-Power, SIG, Beretta
92, S&W and Glock. Ignore the
gun magazine hype and stick to
what works. If you want to
gamble, go to Reno. Don't gamble
with your life. 147 grain ammo
sucks.
German GECO "Blitz Action
Trauma" or BAT 9mm rounds are a
proven man-stopping design.
Called the "GECO Action Safety"
in Europe, this is a high
velocity (1400 feet per second)
lightweight (86 grain) hollow
bullet that has proven itself to
be reliable and successful on
the street. I recommend them,
but they are very tough to find.
Save yourself the trouble and
use good 115 grain hollowpoints
like the Cor-Bon or Remington +P
or Federal 9BP.
Bad 9mm Loads to avoid (and
certainly NEVER carry). Numbers
given:
Federal Gold Medal 9mm 147 grain
JHP (9MS)
Federal Hydra-Shok 9mm 147 grain
JHP (P9HS2)
Winchester 147 grain 9mm
Silvertip Subsonic JHP
(X9MMST147)
Winchester 147 grain 9mm Black
Talon JHP (S9MM)
Winchester 147 grain 9mm Super-X
Subsonic (XSUB9MM)
Remington 147 grain 9mm JHP
(R9MM8)
Remington 147 grain 9mm Golden
Saber JHP (GS9MMC)
Remington 140 grain 9mm JHP
(R9MM7)
Remington 88 grain 9mm JHP
(R9MM5) This bullet is far too
light.
CCI Lawman 147 grain 9mm PHP
"Plated Hollow Point" (3619)
Table Of 9mm Pistols.
(Note: just because your pistol
appears in Class 3, say, doesn't
mean it is unreliable: it may
indeed feed hollowpoints. But
you must fire at least 200
rounds of your chosen JHP carry
load to determine if your pistol
will feed them properly. I have
placed pistols in each category
according to reputation and
experience. These are only meant
as guidelines - your pistol may
feed JHP rounds better - or
worse - than this table
indicates)
First Class pistols are
ultra-reliable and high-quality
new guns than can feed any
hollowpoint and tolerate +P
loads with no problems:
SIG/Sauer P220 series. Czech
CZ75 and CZ85. Walther P5, P5C,
and P88. Heckler and Koch USP
and P7 series. All Glocks. All
Ruger 9mm pistols. Taurus PT-99,
PT-92 and PT-92C. Steyr GB.
Beretta 92 series. Browning BDM
and Hi-Power (if it says
"Portugal" on the slide). All
Smith & Wessons with a
four-digit model number (e.g.
5906, 3913, 6904, 5903) and the
Smith & Wesson 900 series. Star
M28, M30, M31, and all Firestars,
Megastars, and Ultrastars.
Second Class pistols are high
quality guns that may not feed
all hollowpoints reliably.
Remington 115 gr. hollowpoints
are recommended for these guns:
Smith & Wessons with two or
three digit model numbers (e.g.
659, 39-2, 469, 59, 39). Heckler
and Koch VP70 and P9S. Beretta
"Brigadier" M1951 and the
Egyptian copy, the Interarms "Helwan."
Colt M2000 "All-American" (now
discontinued, for good reason),
Colt Series 70 Government Model,
Series 70 Commander. Astra A-70,
A-75 and A-100. AMT "On Duty."
Daewoo. Bersa 'Thunder 9'. EAA
Witness, and all other CZ-75
copies (e.g. Tanfoglio, Tanarmi,
Springfield Armory P9). Taurus
PT-908. Walther P4. Star BK, BKM,
Model B and 'Super.' Browning
Hi-Powers without the word
"Portugal" on the slide. Llama
Model 82. IMI "Jericho" and "Kareen."
| |