# Better home defense ammo?



## vulrath (Jun 10, 2010)

I know I should try to go with all hollow points for my defense ammo, but in an effort to cut costs, I have been loading an 18rd magazine with 15 115gr FMJ rounds from my practice ammo and 3 Speer Gold Dot 124gr+P hollow points (this is stored in the range bag, within arm's reach of both my safe (and thus its contents) and its keys; the logic behind this is that by the time I get to the FMJ bullets, at least one the threats will be neutralized, and if there are more, they'll be either gone or pissing themselves in a corner somewhere). While I would prefer to keep costs low (hence this practice), I would also like to do anything in my power keep myself and my family safe, and I also don't feel that this is enough. What can I do differently that will delay the depletion of my precious JHP supply, and thus the amount I have to spend on ammo each month? What would you suggest as a good inexpensive defensive round?

I use a Sig P226 in 9mm. Thanks in advance for your help.


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## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

I load all Gold Dots in the pistols I carry, and for home defense. I am not worried about a couple of dollars if I have to use my pistols. :smt033


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## vulrath (Jun 10, 2010)

I guess, thinking about it, I don't really have all that much of an issue (nor should I have one) loading my coveted Gold Dots for defense (hey, right now $30 is a lot to blow on anything, let alone a single mag's worth of ammo). What I do have a problem with is wasting them at the range, which brings me to my next question: what do you use to train with? I'm just looking for something that mimics the Gold Dots' recoil and trajectory, but doesn't cost an arm, leg and left nut to shoot at the range.


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

If you know your pistol functions 100% with your chosen SD ammo, just 'stretch it out' further.

When I am trying a new kind of SD ammo, I buy enough so that I can test it for function and have enough left to load my pistol and spare mag, and replace that ammo, at least once. To test for function, I will load about 3 rounds in each magazine, and shoot and switch magazines repeatedly, until I'm convinced that it won't malfunction. If it does malfunction, I shoot it all up and try something else...a very expensive proposition. Also, I hand load ammo, so I can save by making ammo of exactly the same size and shape, and approximate power of my SD load, which allows me more rounds for function testing.

The only concern I have about my SD ammo getting old, is that repeated cycling in a semi-auto, caused by loading and unloading, may eventually cause a bullet to break the seal on its crimp, and it could possibly compress deeper into the cartridge. This could result in higher pressure, which is not a good thing for a cartridge that is already loaded to high pressure. You can keep rotating the cartridges so that the same one is not getting slammed into the chamber every time, but you do lose track after a while, so it's a good thing to shoot up all your carry rounds, occasionally.

Since you have a Sig, it has probably fed everything you have put in it, right out of the box, so you may be able to get by with less function testing. There is really no solution to the problem of high price, other than to stretch out the SD ammo as much as you safely can.

I am not a fan of mixing ammo in a magazine, nor of using FMJ ammo for defense. But if it's truly the best you can do...good luck with the plan...it's better than no plan.


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## vulrath (Jun 10, 2010)

I'm not too keen on doing this myself (especially since FMJ bullets, in the words of my boss (who has carried a 9mm Ruger since the day I met him), "just piss the bad guy off"). Since I just bought enough practice ammo to last me the next several weeks (gotta love the Wally-World specials), I think its time I stocked up on more SD ammo. While I'm not too keen on potentially wasting money (I already know that Gold Dots work perfectly, since I have already fired off 20 of them, and because as has already been pointed out my gun has eaten everything I've thrown at it and then asked for more without a single hiccup), I have been thinking about trying some Remington Golden Sabers since they're $18 a box at the gun shop. I guess at this point all I can really do is try'em out and hope for the best (since they have the Remington name, I'm hopeful though).

Slightly off topic, I have given serious thought to reloading in the past, and I think that is the most compelling reason I've found to go ahead with it. [/derail]


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## crash972 (Mar 14, 2010)

I practice with Win wht box. 
And carry CorBon. (45acp 10rds. every other week)

My son & I don't have any problems switching between the 2.
It's more important to PRACTICE your draw thru your 2nd shot correctly.


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## BULLMACK45 (Mar 12, 2010)

*diversify*

I have a 45 for low penetration, 357 mag for high penetration, 9mm for high capacity, 38 snub nose for conceal, 22 old & ugly revolver cause it looked lonesome & was cheap ($90.00)


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## vulrath (Jun 10, 2010)

I've given up on trying to find a good cheap (I'm sorry - "inexpensive") hollow point. Instead, I've been building up a small stockpile of Gold Dots (I'm hoping to work up to having around 200 rounds before I start cycling through them - I don't think I should have to do that for a while because the gun's kept unloaded with no rounds in the chamber, and the loaded mag within arm's reach of the gun [not ideal for the situation, but unfortunately the best I can manage, considering the gun is kept at my parents' house while I stay at the dorms at school during the week - I go to school at the local university]), one box at a time (I've been buying them a box or two per pay check, so as to not impact my wallet _too_ much). It's my understanding that they're some of the best out there (well, among the stuff we civilians can get, anyway), so it all works out.
</confusingly frequent use of parentheses and brackets in paragraphs>

Thanks guys for all of your suggestions. They really helped a lot.


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## Degrata (Aug 31, 2010)

*How much is your life worth?*

I understand budget concerns. We all have them. However, if you carry or have a pistol that, when needed, is going to be put into use to save your life or another person's, you need to ask yourself how much is that life worth?

First, the reality of the matter is that in "most" gunfights, you can only expect about two hits on your target. Yep, two. Those aren't my stats, they'd be the FBI's.

Now, a little about the human body as a target. A lot of things affect how the human body reacts to being impacted by a piece of hot lead moving at a high velocity. A lot of it is psychological. Some of it is physiological. On the physiological side, the human body is really durable. Less than 3% of people shot, who receive medical attention within 20 minutes, die (Once again, not my stat's - the FBI's). Your "hits" have to be good ones! BUT, they probably won't be. Think about the amount of stress involved in shooting a moving target, that is shooting at you. Hence, the only two (2) hits. Since you can only expect two hits and statistics say that they, probably will not be good ones, they have to cause as much blood loss as possible. In order to get as much blood loss as possible, you need big holes that do not seal (the human body is very durable and holes usually seal up fairly well).

SO, you need BIG, mushrooming, hollowpoints that penetrate 14-16 inches in order to reach the vitals and leave a jagged path that will not seal up. We need blood loss to make people fall down, unless you destroy part of the central nervous system or break a serious bone.

Yes, there is always the "Golden BB" and people have been killed by .22 bullets, but I would NOT want to bet my life on them, which is what you are doing.

I'm not saying practice with your Home Defense or Duty Ammo. Practice with something of equal weight and velocity, then rotate your Home Defense or Duty Ammo once a year.


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## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

crash972 said:


> I practice with Win wht box.
> And carry CorBon. (45acp 10rds. every other week)
> 
> My son & I don't have any problems switching between the 2.
> *It's more important to PRACTICE your draw thru your 2nd shot correctly*.


You're only going to shoot twice? How about shoot until the threat is neutralized instead.:mrgreen:

Weather with practice ammo or spendy stuff, people should really try not to get tied down to a "fire two" routine. Sometimes it may take more, sometimes less. Mix up your shooting drills and focus on fundamentals... draw stroke, picking up the front site, trigger press, follow thru and finding that front sight again, wash rinse repeat in random counts.

As far as practicing with what you carry, I think it's very important, but practice ammo is more practical and gets a person to the range more, and that is probably most important as long as the time spent shooting is for a well defined purpose, not just slinging lead down range.


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## vulrath (Jun 10, 2010)

Degrata said:


> I understand budget concerns. We all have them. However, if you carry or have a pistol that, when needed, is going to be put into use to save your life or another person's, you need to ask yourself how much is that life worth?
> 
> First, the reality of the matter is that in "most" gunfights, you can only expect about two hits on your target. Yep, two. Those aren't my stats, they'd be the FBI's.
> 
> ...


Some good info there. I have started to alleviate the budget issue by not buying as much practice ammo and buying SD ammo instead with the money that I saved that way. My next step will happen when I switch jobs in the next six months or so and get the better pay and benefits that go with that (gotta get my bad shoulder taken care of first, though). I appreciate the wealth of information provided here, and I'll add that from what I've seen and experienced, good training is much more important than good ammo (still extremely important, though).


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## sig225 (Aug 30, 2010)

Range ammo :target: is usually Winchester White box or Federal American Eagle in 9mm and .45 ACP.

Defense ammo :smt071 is Hornady Critical Defense FTX, Remington Golden Saber or Speer Gold Dots .. .38 special , 9mm and .45


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## Couch Potato (Jun 3, 2010)

*No time to be cheap.*



Degrata said:


> *I understand budget concerns. We all have them. However, if you carry or have a pistol that, when needed, is going to be put into use to save your life or another person's, you need to ask yourself how much is that life worth?*
> 
> First, the reality of the matter is that in "most" gunfights, you can only expect about two hits on your target. Yep, two. Those aren't my stats, they'd be the FBI's.
> 
> ...


It's one thing to be concerned about cost when shooting for fun or sport, and quite another when shooting for your life. :smt160


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## ghettogunfighter (Sep 15, 2010)

One thing to keep in mind, even the expensive premium JHP or EFMJ’s are not fail proof. You could dump 18 rounds of the best ammo money could buy in to your threat, and the threat could still continue. Don’t get too hung up on specialty ammo, FMJ 9mm beats a rock and a stick any day.


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## recoilguy (Apr 30, 2009)

Practice with you gun. Feel comfortable shooting it. Draw it and shoot it, shoot it from a few positions. 
When the gun is being used for practice ..use practice ammo. When you know a defensive anmmo cycles you know it cycles. When loading your gun for SD, please spend the money. Good bullets cost more because they are worth more in SD situations. 

Be comfortable with your weapon and confident in your ammo!

RCG


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## cougartex (Jan 2, 2010)

^^ I agree.


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