Choosing Handgun Ammo for Personal Self-defense

by TNOUTDOORS9

How do you choose self-defense ammo with so many options?

If you are reading this blog there’s a good chance that you’re one of the millions of people who purchased their first handgun between 2020 and 2023.  Your decision may have been driven by increased civil unrest, failure of the criminal justice system (which leads to people creating civil unrest), reaching the age to legally purchase a firearm, or a documented threat against your life.  The choice to be armed is attached to enhanced moral and legal accountability.  Those are topics for another discussion narrated by experts in those domains, but another important decision is what type of self-defense ammo is carried in your chosen firearm.  To be clear, we are discussing jacketed hollow-points (JHP) or a new wave of non-lead solid or expanding copper products.  The use of full metal jacket (FMJ) ammo should be avoided at all costs, although a societal crap-hit-the-fan scenario may alter that protocol for some people. 

Legacy old-school lead and jacketed bullets are proven in a variety of scenarios-9mm Hornady XTP

EDC, or every day carry, is a big business of choices that includes firearms, holsters, clothing, ammo, training, etc.  As for ammo, there are ample street-proven options regardless of your preferred caliber that are designed to stop the threat, if deployed effectively.  Purposed self-defense ammunition is engineered to avoid exiting the aggressor(s) and affect innocents who could be in the vicinity of where this violent transgression against your health and very existence has taken place.  The technology supporting ammo production today provides you with options that are more likely to sufficiently penetrate and expand….across all bullet weights and calibers.  But keep in mind that nothing is guaranteed; circumstance and fate also get a vote.

Extensive ammunition testing has already performed most of the work for you.

Some disclosures are warranted as we begin here so you get a sense of my background on this topic.  I’ve been shooting an extensive variety of firearms on a regular basis since the late 80’s.  Beginning in 2009 I’ve tested a wide variety of self-defense ammunition (primarily for handguns) as an independent reviewer.  My work is posted online via YouTube on the TNOUTDOORS9 channel.  During that first year or so most of the ammo was provided by viewers, including many in law enforcement who were interested in a “controlled environment” performance of their issued ammo.  Since 2011 the channel has been self-funded out of pocket with no corporate sponsorship (so it’s unbiased), much unlike other endeavors of this nature.

I am also personally connected to numerous people in the law enforcement community across the United States at the Federal, State, and local levels.  This occurred due to these first responders viewing the YouTube channel and expressing interest in making connections.  Many are firearms instructors and all have various degrees of expert ballistics insight.  Some have deployed their firearm in the line of duty; as in “officer involved shooting”.  These relationships and conversations have provided incredible, unsolicited first-person accounts on this topic.  Above all of that I have consumed literally thousands of articles and videos, which is a learning process that never stops.

Most of my personal handgun experience has been with semiautomatics; .22 long rifle, .380 ACP, 9mm, 357 SIG, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, and the hearty 10mm.  As for revolvers my domain has primarily been .38 Special and .357 Magnum.  Among other lessons I can share, buy quality ammo from premium manufacturers.  I get it, people are on a budget, prices are increasing, and you have groceries to buy and bills to pay.  When you buy cheap, what happens?  Something typically goes wrong at some point, and you don’t want to replicate that experience when a trio of armed and determined convicted felons corner you in a parking lot or dark corner of your home.  Reloads….I don’t reload due to time and space, and there are schools of thought on using reloads for self-defense.  If it helps, I have access to ammo reloaded by friends and I’ll never ever use it for self-defense.  I trust them and their technical process, but I’m not going there.  In your research you may come across an article or two indicating no issue with EDC reloads, but I’m not on board with it. 

A desirable outcome in your ammo selection journey is choosing a product that consistently functions reliably in your firearm.  You will have to drop some coins and that allocation can be alleviated to some degree with some research and focused trigger time.  If you didn’t pay much for your handgun, the chance it will have issues is unfortunately a greater possibility.  Deploying a revolver, while not as commonly carried these days compared to semiauto’s, is statistically more reliable unless you have a beat-up gun or using terrible ammo.  A baseline is 200 rounds of good ammo relative to the summary I’m providing in this article.  You will hear references of up to 500 rounds, and I cannot disagree with that number.  In early 2024 as I compose this article you can expect to pay upwards of $1 per round for good ammo, and $1.50 per round is not uncommon.  You see where this is going for funds allocations, but this is a necessary task to help confirm a critical element of your self-defense system.  

The more information that a manufacturer provides on the packaging and description of their product increases the probability of them being a reputable company.  Be very weary of product names that are inflammatory or even comical.  If the product packaging is overly flashy, it’s probably snake oil.  I’ve seen it all.  For me it’s a big red flag when a company, for whatever reason….does not provide velocity.  That having said, it is essential the description includes bullet weight and velocity.  Pressure ratings (standard, +P, +P+) specifically for 9mm can be critical.  Other common handgun calibers typically operate at a standard pressure that has been in place for decades, with some exceptions offered by smaller companies that are somewhat out of the mainstream.  The manufacturer of your preferred carry or home defense handgun is obligated to inform you if certain ammunition types should not be used in that firearm.  Specifically, some of the micro 9mm handguns prevalent today are not rated for +P ammo and the greatest majority of 9mm handguns are not rated for +P+ ammo.  Please be sure to follow those guidelines as they are cited with your safety in mind.  

Copper bullets are gaining market share but I’m not aware of any that are used by law enforcement agencies

As noted earlier, jacketed hollow point ammo has been around for decades.  Within the past 10 years or so there has been a growing segment of solid copper ammo.  Some of these options, such as the Lehigh Penetrator and Defender are designed to NOT expand.  The Penetrator is strictly an outdoors option for dangerous wildlife and predators.  I have tested the Defender and although it’s not on my top preferred list, there are attributes where I am comfortable using it because it seems to penetrate in the same range as commercials JHP’s.  Barnes and other companies produce copper ammo that does expand and you will hear a variety of opinions regarding their penetrating capability.  By mass, copper needs more real-estate to fill the same volume in handgun cartridges compared to lead and copper-jacketed bullets.  Many copper bullets will weigh less than their lead counterparts.  For example, 9mm 90 grain copper bullets are common, but the majority of 9mm lead copper-jacketed bullets are 115, 125, and 147 grain for self-defense; plus a growing segment of 135 grain options.  Why does this matter?  Lighter bullets in any caliber are not as likely to penetrate as deep as heavier bullets in that caliber.  Countless ballistic tests….both professional and amateur support this concept.  Other than accurate shot placement, penetration is the next most important or even equal consideration.

Which is a perfect segue to this very important concept; penetration.  Handgun ammo is weak.  I’ll say that again, with an additional reference.  Handgun ammo is weak compared to the power factors achieved from shotguns and rifles.  Shotguns and rifles are not always effective at quickly ending a threat, which is amazing to consider but it happens more frequently than we could comprehend.  Handguns are convenient to carry or store and we hope they never have to be deployed.  However, when they are, it is critical to be proficient.  People have been stopped with .22 long rifle, .25, and .32 caliber handguns.  However, there are countless tragic stories where determined aggressors have continued to fight after absorbing multiple shots from a 9mm, .357 Magnum, or .45 ACP. 

So what constitutes sufficient penetration?  The FBI has developed protocols stating for self-defense handgun ammo that 12” is minimum, and 18” is the high end before overpenetration becomes a concern.  But wait, aren’t people built differently?  Yes.  Isn’t it only a few inches through the chest wall to the thoracic cavity; heart, lungs, etc.?  Anatomically, in the real world that’s not right or wrong.  Just watch some police body cams to better understand why the FBI established this protocol.  A self-defense scenario won’t be a static range session.  Your life is being threatened, there is fear, adrenalin flowing, vision might be limited, you could be outnumbered, it’s dark, movement, etc. etc. etc.  It is critical to aim for and impact something important in the anatomy.

Bullets with highest weight retention generally penetrate deeper.  What affects weight retention?  Bullet engineering and construction.  The appropriate degree of velocity.  Passing through heavy clothing and of course, bone.  Deeper penetration increases the probability of reaching vitals such as key blood circulating organs and the central nervous system.  Affecting either or both of those produces a physiological condition that slows or stops function, movement, etc.  It is unpredictable how long it takes for someone to stop their actions.  

The majority of handgun ammo that I’ve tested in consistent mediums penetrated between 12” and 14”.  There were instances of less than 10” or greater than 20”.  Why?  Bullet construction.  Velocity too fast or two slow.  So-called good products failed.  Unfamiliar products coming out of left field performed well at times.  But to summarize, products from manufacturers who cater to law enforcement and meet stringent production requirements (for contracts) consistently performed as designed.  That is as good as you can expect with handgun self-defense ammo performance in controlled environments, preparing for the unpredictability of the real world.  

Another consideration is expansion.  JHP’s are designed to typically expand within the first few inches of penetration and stay that way until stopping.  A bonus is that they don’t fragment or fall apart.  Why is this important?  It’s the concept of weight retention, so another reference to penetration.  Unless you are fortunate to have a place to test your own ammo in water, ballistic gel, etc., viewing expanded bullets firsthand may not be realistic.  There are countless videos and images online so you will have to trust those and the processes used for those outcomes.  This is a fact:  the most expensive, best designed products from the most reputable manufacturers can fail.  Nothing is perfect in this domain.  Typically, people promoting ammo are paid for that opinion.  Use your critical thinking skills to wade through any perceived bias.  Go with the odds based on imagery and any research that you can consume.  

Federal HST 9mm 147 gr tested above

Once you begin shopping for ammo you may encounter the terms “bonded” and “barrier blind”.  These terms are referring to ammo that is most likely produced to law enforcement specs and the situations those folks are going to encounter, much unlike people such as myself and possibly yourself.  This type of ammo is typically legal for people like us to purchase and carry, but do check your local restrictions.  For what scenarios is this type of ammo designed to defeat?  Automotive glass.  Light metal, such as a car door.  Drywall.  It is possible that after passing through those barriers a JHP won’t expand, but it does increase the likelihood of connecting on the threat.  Do I purchase bonded ammo?  Yes, and I carry it, specifically the Speer Gold Dot or Hornady Critical Duty; in any caliber.  I do so because both consistently penetrate and expand well compared to other products.  I also like the Winchester Defender or PDX1 product line.  As for non-bonded ammo, I’m a big fan of Federal HST and to some extent Hornady XTP.  My testing experience plus law-enforcement reports lean toward heaver HST’s in caliber for better performance.  Think 147 grain 9mm, 180 grain in .40, 230 grain in .45 ACP, etc.  Winchester Ranger products (both bonded and non-bonded) have been inconsistent from my experience, but they are highly preferred in the law-enforcement community.  If due to budget or availability I was not able to carry any of these mentioned I would lean toward Federal Ammunition second-tier products due to their quality control, component integrity, consistency, etc.  

Some closing points.  Always inspect your ammo for defects.  Is the bullet setting too high and won’t feed?  Is it pushed down too far in the case?  The latter is unfortunately a common occurrence.  Inspect every round, every time you load a magazine or cylinder.   

Accuracy is final.  Be proficient.  Train like your life depends on it.  Develop a survival mindset.  Shooting firearms is fun, but there’s a serious element and you don’t have to go full tactical to achieve confidence.  I hope you will consider professional training.  Reading and watching videos is a good path but the opportunity to have a professional working at your side is invaluable.  Continue to research and experiment but when you reach that point of being comfortable with your EDC choice, STOP researching it.  Once you are there, focus on developing and maintaining the skillset.  If you are unfortunately forced into a situation of defending yourself, proficiency, and confidence, and not necessarily caliber or ammo choice, will be your saving grace.

Take care and stay safe

Thomas – TNOUTDOORS9