AMMUNITION SELECTION

Priorities in the Selection of Defensive Handgun Ammunition

1. Reliability

• If you are faced with an immediate, unavoidable threat to your continued physical well being and your response is to fire, it is imperative that your ammunition launch its bullet downrange now!
• If you have chosen to use an autoloading pistol, it is not only critical that the bullet be launched reliably, but also that the action of the gun be cycled in response to each shot or you may not be able to take a subsequent shot. This makes the autoloader more demanding of an acceptable range of power, cartridge length and bullet shape.
• Even the best factory can make mistakes. Inspect every round you load into your guns and their loading devices. If you are concerned with the velocity of the bullet, chronograph some samples from each lot that you use (in the gun that you use) to ensure that they are up to your expectations.

2. Ability to control

• While the ergonomics of the handgun may be the most critical mechanical component of hitting with the first shot, the degree to which you recover from the recoil will at least affect the timing of any follow-up shots.
• To the extent that you are troubled by the recoil of the combination of your ammunition in your handgun, you risk jerking your shot by anticipating it. An unpleasant combination is not conducive to productive training.
• Remember that even within the same caliber, differences in bullet weight and powder charge (velocity) can affect recoil and your perception of it.

• Terminal performance is what happens when the bullet reaches its target. Directly or indirectly, it is probably the most debated topic in the world of defensive handguns.
• Terminal performance is of concern for three reasons:
  1. The bullet must create damage to your assailant in order to incapacitate him.
  2. The bullet must penetrate far enough to do that damage.
  3. The bullet should spend its energy and remain within its intended target to minimize any risk to other innocents who may be present. This will generally require some degree of deformation, such as mushrooming or fragmentation.
• Since the early 70's, most people have relied on hollowpoint bullets to maximize terminal performance from handguns. In a few jurisdictions there are restrictions on the use of hollowpoints. Federal has produced a line of ammunition for the autoloading-pistol calibers of 9x19mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP, which are marketed as expanding full-metal-jacket (EFMJ). At this time, EFMJ's are probably still a second-place choice if you can use hollowpoints.
• A somewhat similar concept is offered by Cor-Bon under the name of Pow'RBall. Those who favor it like the fact that the ball embedded in the hollow cavity will prevent the cavity from plugging with material such as clothing, which might prevent expansion. Unlike Federal's EFMJ line, Pow'R Ball is offered in several other autoloadinjg-pistol calibers and two revolver calibers, +P .38 Special and .357 Magnum.
• Some people are willing to risk the deeper penetration of Cor-Bon's DPX loads, whose copper bullets tend to expand even after traversing a few layers of heavy clothing. Early reports suggest that the DPX bullets do not get diverted from their point of aim even if fired through auto glass at oblique angles.
• There are also a few rounds that use pre-fragmented or partially pre-fragmented bullets. Most of these are significantly lighter than the customary bullets for their calibers. Most of these rounds are also significantly more costly than conventional ammunition. They may have special applications in environments where there is an abnormally high risk of overpenetraion. The flip side is that they may not always give enough pentration to do their job.
• Hollowpoints within the usual weight range for caliber will generally be the best choice for all-around self-defense.
• Evan Marshall has compiled what is probably the world's largest collection of reports of actual shootings with a view to rating the effectiveness of the various calibers and loadings within each caliber. Whether or not you completely accept his data, his observations or his partner's attempts to correlate the street results with gelatin performance, not to avail yourself of the data is to close your eyes to a useful body of knowledge.
• If you read the books by Marshall and Sanow:
  1. Try to distinguish between street results and the predictions based on performance in gelatin.
  2. Look at how many shootings actually were reported for each particular load. A rating of 80% one-shot stops based on 200 reports is more meaningful than a rating of 80% based on 20 reports.
  3. Do the math yourself - a few typos have sneaked into the tables.
  4. Don't worry about a few percentage point's difference. It is impossible to conduct a scientifically rigorous study involving shooting assaultive human beings. Therefore, small differences in percentages are probably not significant.
  5. Analyze the advantages of different types of loads relative to the scenarios where you envision the defensive use of your handgun, then try to pick a load which seems to meet your requirements from the better performers in your chosen caliber.

4. Secondary Considerations

• Accuracy: Most gunfights are won by mental awareness, mental attitude and tactics, not by fine marksmanship. Unless you are expecting to engage at long ranges or anticipate hostage-rescue shots, accuracy is probably not one of your first concerns. If you are selecting between two brands of a similar loading and one is noticeably more accurate, it might be reasonable to pick that brand.
• Muzzle Flash: Muzzle flash can disclose your position. If you're not behind cover, you probably need to move immediately anyway. If you are behind cover, you probably need to move soon anyway. Muzzle flash can also cause you one or more seconds of night blindness. Sensitivity to this may vary from user to user. Like accuracy, if it's a choice between two otherwise similar loads, this might help you make the choice.
• Muzzle Blast: Muzzle blast may leave you with hearing impairment. If you're no longer alive it's a moot point. If your most likely scenarios are inside confined areas, such as inside a vehicle, it might be wiser to go with one of the better .38 Special loads instead of the .357 Magnum, for example. A related issue with revolvers is the gas that exits the barrel-cylinder gap; firing from a protected-gun position will direct some of that gas against the shooter's body (see comment below). Shot placement is still the most crucial component of what the bullet will do to your assailant.
• Police Ammunition: If the police in your area use a trustworthy round in a caliber you like and you can purchase it legitimately, it might be a good choice as a hedge against having your choice of ammunition second-guessed in court by a hostile attorney.
• Nickel-Plated Cases: Most law-enforcement contracts these days specify that cartridge cases be nickel plated. The primary advantage of nickel-plating is resistance to corrosion. With very high-pressure rounds, the nickel plating actually helps strengthen the case. An additional factor, which is particularly important with revolvers, is that nickel has a higer lubricity ("slickness") than brass, meaning that nickel-plated cases can be ejected more reliably from a revolver cylinder, under less than ideal conditions, than unplated ones.

5. Miscellaneous Comments

• Standards for most American ammunition are set by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI). In some cases, manufacturers have enahnced the performance of older cartridges by increasing the pressure generated beyond the original limits set by SAAMI. In some cases, such as .38 Special, 9x19mm (9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger) and .45 ACP, SAAMI has set a higher range of "+P" pressures, which will normally deliver higher velocities for bullets of the same weight. Such loads are only intended for use in modern handguns in good condition. Occasionally, one may also encounter a "+P+" round, sometimes in a .38 Special case. These are loaded to pressures higher than any SAAMI specification, usually on special contract to law-enforcement agencies. The .38 Special +P+ loads were intended only for use in .357 Magnum revolvers. There are also +P+ law-enforcement loads in 9x19mm.
• When a round is chamberd in an autoloading pistol, the bullet experiences a significant impact as it encounters the feed ramp. Repeated impacts of this nature can cause problems. On the one hand, the bullet can be driven deeper into the case ("set back"). This can increase the chamber pressure and with some modern cartridges, such as .40 S&W and .357 SIG, can do so beyond safe limits. On the other hand, such repeated impacts could loosen the crimp which holds the bullet at the neck of the cartridge case. This could conceivably result in lower chamber pressures and decreased velocity. Those people who must load and unload their autoloading pistol routinely are best served by rotating the newly ejected round to the bottom of the magazine. I would be suspicious of any round that has made more than three trips up the feed ramp and would use a precision measuring device (e.g., a vernier or dial caliper or a micrometer) to compare its overall length to that of a new cartridge of the same lot. Arguably, a thin line of nail polish at the junction of the bullet and the case should show cracking if the bullet has shifted. I would also check to ensure that the bullet cannot be moved or rotated within the case.
• This photograph shows the effect of firing about two dozen rounds of standard-pressure .38 Special rounds from the protected-gun position. Note that the garment damaged by the gas venting from the barrel-cylinder gap of the revolver is made of perforated polyester and that it was melted, not ignited. No damage, other than soiling, was done to the cotton undershirt worn under the polyester garment on the day the training took place. Magnum loads, however, would have vented not only more but much hotter gases, with a great deal more concussion. Similar effects are likely if ported barrels can vent gases toward the bodies or faces of shooters or their companions.
  
  

6. An Extra Measure of Insurance

• Ammunition manufacturers may vary their components from lot to lot, especially the powder used to produce the desired velocity within acceptable pressures. Because this may affect the "signature" produced by tattooing or stippling from unburned powder granules, something which may be used to help determine how far an assailant was when you fired, it is important that the firearms examiners use as close a load to yours as possible for such testing.
• Author, instructor and legal consultant, Massad Ayoob, makes a very useful suggestion:
  
  Whenever you load your gun(s) with defensive ammo, always keep at least five rounds
  in the box as a sample from that lot in the event that you are forced to use it.

The Defensive Firearms Tripod

• If you recall my priorities for the defensive use of firearms, the five priorities can be condensed into three categories: mind set, skills and equipment.
• Equipment is the lowest on the list. When you choose it, don't settle for the training that comes in the box!

The Defensive Handgun Tripod

• Don't forget that the ammunition is only one leg of a tripod which also includes the handgun and the holster (with its support).

First the website, now the book - DEFENSIVE USE OF FIREARMS Click image for further details