Originally Posted By: Astro14
Your call.
But I think it odd that you're searching for boutique ammunition, looking for the highest performance, and not caring about any sort of reliability test with that Ammo.
So, you plan to trust your life to a single box of ammunition, that you just bought...
But you don't know if it works in your gun?
What did you spend on the gun? A few hundred dollars? Several hundred? Why? Did you want a good one? Reliable one?
But verifying the ammunition performance in that gun isn't worth half the cost of a new gun?
If you're serious about defending yourself with a carry gun, be certain that your ammo choice works, in that gun, with the magazines you'll be carrying.
Further, change out your carry ammo periodically. Put fresh ammo in your magazines and carry that. Don't just load and carry the same box forever. Chamfering a single round over and over can cause reliability issues. Old carry Ammo becomes part of your practice ammo.
I've been carrying for over 3 years. I have tested every single hollowpoint that I purchase in all the weapons I'll be carrying them in. I have done extensive research on both penetration and expansion, as well as conducted my own testing in SIM media.
What boutique ammo am I asking about? All of the ones I listed can be purchased locally. I do cycle my carry ammo regularly, hence the original post. I'm not picking on you or your answer, it just seems that we have a lot of Speer and HST fans here. I'm not saying that they are not great rounds, but so are the ones listed. I make sure I trust the ammo I carry to do the job before it ever gets loaded into a magazine. I've carried the standard pressure HST 124 gr, and in all honesty, the ballistics aren't that much better than let's say the Critical Duty.
Maybe this will help let everyone know where I am coming from and my reasoning for this ammo:
9bple 115gr +p+ - HARD hitter, but not bonded. It will break apart inside the media, but I like that it is on the lower end of acceptable FBI penetration specifics.
Critical Defense 115gr - No more recoil than my range ammo. Never seen one fail to expand. Decent penetration.
Critical Duty 135gr +p - I've carried both the +p and the standard pressure. GOOD penetration. High antimony in the core to help with barrier penetration. I use this more now in my g17 home gun. However, it is heavy to carry compared to other loads. Never seen one fail to expand.
Remington HTP 115gr - Deep hollowpoint, great expansion (1.72 x), good penetration. Cheap to buy at academy, however, it is brass cased. Corrosion will eventually eat the brass if carried IWB, especially in the summer.
Hornady XTP 124gr +p - Good dual purpose hollowpoint. Cheap. XTP bullet is a pro. Downside is the lack of polymer tip that "MAY" see an issue with light cotton getting inside the cavity. However, in my tests and in tnoutdoors9's tests, never seen or had one fail to expand.
I am not new to carry ammo nor am I still green to CC. I listed the choices that I did because that is what I currently have in my 9mm collection. I don't need "stockpiling" like I do for oil LOL. I have my rifle and 12 gauge for that