Defense ammo question.

[BoJackUSMC]

Also, that's what my department use anyways, Federal 147 HST & Winchester Ranger 147.

[Bushwack44]

Thanks again all for the input.

One more related question regarding (home) self defense rounds. A friend suggested loading a magazine alternating between FMJ and HP with HP being the first round. Is that a common practice?

[APeter001]

Only if you're not sure if your target will be 2-legged or 4, alternate hardcast and jhp?

[Squidward]

May be "common practice" by some but I'd not recommend it. FMJ travels flat and punches nice symmetrically round holes.. in paper. Not ideal for HD due to the potential for over-penetration. True HP pistol ammo can over penetrate as well but FMJ doesn't offer any of the expansion that HP does. And expansion is what you want.

[CandG]

Thanks again all for the input.

One more related question regarding (home) self defense rounds. A friend suggested loading a magazine alternating between FMJ and HP with HP being the first round. Is that a common practice?

In the wilderness, that's exactly what I do. But in the city, it's generally a bad idea to use anything other than just JHP in a defense pistol.

If you do alternate rounds for wilderness carry, I would suggest making sure both types of rounds have roughly the same muzzle energy as each other, otherwise your recoil energy will alternate as well, really messing with your followup shots.

[floogy]

Thanks again all for the input.

One more related question regarding (home) self defense rounds. A friend suggested loading a magazine alternating between FMJ and HP with HP being the first round. Is that a common practice?

Common practice if you want half the effectiveness. No reason to use FMJ for defense. Pistol rounds won't penetrate body armor and with rifle rounds it doesn't matter.

[Experimentalist]

As one with an engineering background I appreciate the technical discussions. What has been posted here will influence what I buy for home defense.

That said.... Shot placement trumps all.


Better than buying the best ammo, spend time and money acquiring training that will enable solid hits under stress.

[punisheryayarea]

Also, that's what my department use anyways, Federal 147 HST & Winchester Ranger 147.

Is the +p in the HST 147gr not as good as the standard pressure?

[BoJackUSMC]

+p not to sure..... i just use whatever they give me lol...

[CandG]

Common practice if you want half the effectiveness. No reason to use FMJ for defense. Pistol rounds won't penetrate body armor and with rifle rounds it doesn't matter.

Unless FMJ/solid-copper is ideal for things things you might want to defend yourself from. Pretty sure nobody would recommend JHP for a bear. Yes, for HD, JHP is the only way to go. The alternating round thing might be (and is, in my opinion) a good solution for when you don't know if an attacker will have 2 or 4 legs.

[micro911]

One of the major LE agencies in so Cal is changing the issue duty ammo from Ranger RA9T to HST. RA9T is a very good ammo, but I guess the HST showed a little more penetration and expansion in a recent test.

I love RA9T ammo, because it is very accurate.

[jljen]

You might want to read the thread getting a lot of attention:
"Experience with Hornady critical defense"
In that thread they list a YouTube video I think is worth watching when you're considering HD ammo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKE4VKPRFTQ

Other advice given above is also good information. Good luck!

[Click Boom]

I like Federal Hydra Shoks. They come in 124 and 147. They seem to have excellent penetration and expansion. Nothing wrong with HST or Speer, either. Just my preference. HST is basically a HS without the "pin" that helps with both penetration and expansion.

HST>>>HS, though

[Click Boom]

Unless FMJ/solid-copper is ideal for things things you might want to defend yourself from. Pretty sure nobody would recommend JHP for a bear. Yes, for HD, JHP is the only way to go. The alternating round thing might be (and is, in my opinion) a good solution for when you don't know if an attacker will have 2 or 4 legs.

I often carry FMJ in backup mags, so that I can pop off the fwy to my secret squirrel spots and dump a quick mag cheap, lol. Got nothing to do with effectiveness haha.

[LBDamned]

You might want to read the thread getting a lot of attention:
"Experience with Hornady critical defense"
In that thread they list a YouTube video I think is worth watching when you're considering HD ammo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKE4VKPRFTQ

Other advice given above is also good information. Good luck!

Same guy as why so many recommend HST over anything else

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-lGqdMdbir0

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K3VfWkWMzOI