9mm and 45 ACP EFMJ's??

[AfricanHunter]

I need to order a supply of Self Defense/Home Defense 9mm and 45 ammo and have been doing some research on which rounds to buy. Ended up at the Federal EFMJ ammo. For those not familiar with this type of ammo here is an article;

http://www.ammoman.com/40_EP_DESC.htm

What do you guys think? Would this be a good choice for HD ammo? Any other types I should consider? Thanks.

[rorschach]

That stuffs kinda expensive, I'd rather just buy some gold dot or Hydrashoks and make sure it cycles through my weapon. Novel idea though, I bet its pretty good for bone stock 1911's and the like.

[AfricanHunter]

The part that sold me was the fact that there is not a cavity to be plugged up by clothes/etc rather then the feeding benefits. The two pistols the ammo will be used for have never had a jam/FTF/FTE (P7M8 and USPc 45) with anything I have put through them, including various HP's.

[Josh]

there are expansion issues with this bullet design, if you google it the tests come up. Only two agencies that i know off the top of my head use this ammo. Detroit PD and NJ PD.

Hollow points are banned in NJ.

Just get a regular self defense type ammo that is in wide spread use by multiple LE agencies. This will ensure that its been field tested and in a wide variety of firearms.

[bobfried]

I just use the ammo that most LE agencies prefer:

Winchester Ranger

(SXT to proof a pistol and T's for my SHTF load)

[AfricanHunter]

So you guys think that the whole HP getting plugged thing is just a red herring argument?

[Mute]

So you guys think that the whole HP getting plugged thing is just a red herring argument?

No, but it may be overplayed a bit as a selling point for the EFMJs. Many of the better hollowpoints perform quite well even after shooting through certain types of barriers and clothing, without the problem of non-expansion due to a plugged up hollowpoint. These also perform better in testing than EFMJs. So, while the EFMJs aren't necessarily a bad choice, I think there are better choices for self defense ammo. I would use the EFMJs only if my gun proved unreliable with regular HP ammo or I'm forced to use ball for whatever reasons.

[krim]

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot10.htm

EFMJ tested, with others.

[Bongos]

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot10.htm

EFMJ tested, with others.

Great report, I'll stick with my SXT's and Hydra Shocks

[maxicon]

I've got a bunch of EFMJ in 9mm that came in a package deal some time back. It's been reliable in my CZ75B (but so has everything else), and I haven't had any opportunity to test it for expansion. My other main defense loads is +P Gold Dots, but I've been cycling the EFMJ through so I know it'll be reliable.

Last time I was shooting in the desert, we had a bunch of books to shoot up, and the plugging problem was pretty obvious with those. We recovered quite a few rounds from them that had stacks of compressed paper accordioning out of the hollow points and were otherwise perfect except for the rifling on the jacket. We were shooting 9mm, .357, and .45 acp. Didn't have the EFMJs with me, unfortunately.

While shooting at books isn't anything like shooting at clothing or flesh, it was an interesting example of the plugged hollowpoint problem. While the BoT results looked very good, I've seen a number of tests where fabric did prevent expansion.

I think the main conclusion you can reach is that terminal ballistics are somewhat unpredictable, and your best bet is to go with good quality that works well in your gun. Silvertips, Gold Dots, EFMJ, whatever - they should all work just fine.

[5968]

+1 on the Winchester Rangers.

[Bongos]

I've got a bunch of EFMJ in 9mm that came in a package deal some time back. It's been reliable in my CZ75B (but so has everything else), and I haven't had any opportunity to test it for expansion. My other main defense loads is +P Gold Dots, but I've been cycling the EFMJ through so I know it'll be reliable.

Last time I was shooting in the desert, we had a bunch of books to shoot up, and the plugging problem was pretty obvious with those. We recovered quite a few rounds from them that had stacks of compressed paper accordioning out of the hollow points and were otherwise perfect except for the rifling on the jacket. We were shooting 9mm, .357, and .45 acp. Didn't have the EFMJs with me, unfortunately.

While shooting at books isn't anything like shooting at clothing or flesh, it was an interesting example of the plugged hollowpoint problem. While the BoT results looked very good, I've seen a number of tests where fabric did prevent expansion.

I think the main conclusion you can reach is that terminal ballistics are somewhat unpredictable, and your best bet is to go with good quality that works well in your gun. Silvertips, Gold Dots, EFMJ, whatever - they should all work just fine.

If you are going to use books, soak them first in water

[saki302]

The main benefit IMO of EFMJ is it should feed in just about anything, since it has a true FMJ profile, and it will expand in slower loads (short barrels or pocket pistols).

It's a neat idea, but could use more testing and/or development. I bought a few boxes when they were cheap- still have em.
I'd like to see more 'street' results or LE results, but wouldn't feel under-armed with them either.

-Dave

[maxicon]

If you are going to use books, soak them first in water

Well, we were just on a mission to blast a bunch of stuff to pieces out in the desert, so hauling a bunch of utility water wasn't part of the plan. It was more a case of stopping by the local thrift shop and buying a bunch of cheap stuff to shoot at that wouldn't leave a big mess to clean up.

The good thing about books, wet or dry, is they really stop the handgun rounds well. Even the .357 mags didn't penetrate the thicker books. This makes it easy to check out the bullets, and we always get a surprise or two. Most of them were the Reader's Digest condensed collections - $0.05 each, and cheaper than paper targets!

Maybe Leapers needs to make a tactical vest with inserts for books!

[Sawdust]

I use them in the Kahr PM9 that I carry - they feed just fine.

Sawdust