.40 S&W carry ammo opinions

[CC Italian]

Well I have been carrying 155 grain Winchester silvertips for about 2 years and they have always feed great in my Glock 27. Some informal tests that I have done showed good mushrooming and little fragmentation. Great rounds but I am wanting to carry a bonded or DPX bullet and see how they perform.

I have narrowed it down to 4 loads and wanted to see if anybody had any experience with them. I usually don't like the 180grain jhp but I have seen the Gold dot short barrel round up close and they work great! I have not tried the PDX1 and I have heard they are comparable to Gold dots? The last two are Barnes loaded and I have never bought these being that they are very expensive. The only reason I bring it up is that I have a lot of experience with Black Hills ammo and I can only say great things about it. I have also shot a lot of Double Tap in Glock 20 and it has always worked great.

I am not really worried about Gold Dots as I know they are great but I wanted some opinions on PDX1 and Barnes bullets in general. It is actually cheaper to buy 50 rounds of the Black hills with Barnes bullet then PDX1 or Gold dot? Gold dots are increasingly getting more expensive. Next to the rounds I put the cheapest price I could find. I guess my question is are Barnes better then Gold Dots?

Winchester PDX1 165 grain 20 rounds $21.87
http://www.winchester.com/Products/hand ... fault.aspx

Speer Gold Dot 180 grain short barrel 20 round $25.99
http://www.speer-ammo.com/ballistics/de ... adNo=23974

Black Hills 140 grain Tac-xp 50 round $49.99
http://www.black-hills.com/handgun_calibers.php

Double Tap 140 grain Tac-xp (same Barnes bullet as Black Hills) 50 round $59.99
http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalo ... cts_id=389

[mgood]

I've kept Federal Hydra-Shoks in my forties for almost 20 years. 155 gr for most of that time, though in the beginning I used some 180 gr Hydra-Shoks.
I've tested them against water jugs. The expansion has been good and consistent.



One shot, blew the first two (1/2 gallon) jugs apart, blew the lid off the third (1 gallon) jug and poked a hole in the fourth.






There are a couple of bonded bullets I'd like to try, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[A-R]

In a G27 the Gold Dots (especially the short barrell version) and Winchester PDX are both AMAZING, easily surpassing performance of Hydra-shocks in testing I did.


viewtopic.php?f=23&t=32400&hilit=+Ammo+test" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[texanron]

+1 on the Federal Hydra-Shocks. Can't really add anything else since mgood covered it so well.

[MoJo]

People get wrapped up over what bullet is "best". Best for what? Any JHP by an American ammo maker is going to work as advertised in a .40. The .40 is a new enough round that there aren't any really old technology bullets available for it.

I lean toward the lighter bullets for carry, at this time I'm carrying 140 gr DPX. Why? Because they work! Reliable expansion, good barrier penetration, clothing doesn't prevent mushrooming, auto glass penetration, deep penetration without over penetrating - - - all criteria I find important!

I've carried 180, 135, 155, DPX and Pow 'r Ball and have no heartburn with any of these bullets. They all will do the job if you do your job (multiple good hits in the "golden triangle")

Find a load your gun likes, that you can shoot well, and stock up - - - spend your time worrying about important things - - - like what's for lunch.

[firefighter3217]

Personally I go for the 180 grain Winchester Ranger T-Series. Love them...fantastic performance, all my guns eat them up no problem, so I keep them in my 9mm, my .40, and my .45. If I had any other handgun calibers for defensive carry, I'd put them in those as well...

EDIT: Remember, most importantly is feed reliability... if it doesn't feed right, it's not worth anything at all, so if the only thing that feeds is Hydrashok, USE IT! Just for me, I noticed that what I use works for me. So I stuck with it. I figure any hollow point hunk of lead and copper flying that fast is going to HURT...

[CC Italian]

Maybe I will pick up a couple boxes of each to try some out but of course feeding is my main concern. Honestly I have never had a round not chamber or jam in the 27 after thousands of rounds. I totally agree with you MOJO on greater things to worry about. I just wanted to get some opinions on what you guys are running and how you like them. Maybe even some of those bonded golden sabers would be a good choice? Which ever one I choose it will be 165 grain or 140 DPX. I am going for a little more penetration and 165 grain or DPX would both fit my needs. After seeing how those Barnes 140 grains penetrate as well as the 180 grain jhp I was very impressed to say the least.

[C-dub]

I kept hydrashok 155 and 165 in mine for several years. I would shoot them up each year and replace with new and it just depended on what I could get at the time. A couple of years ago I put Speer's gold dots in. Fortunately, I haven't had to use either in self defense, so I don't know about their efficacy. I don't remember why I switched. There might not have been any hydra's available when I was shooting up the old ones.

[zero4o3]

I have been using the Winchester PDX1, they feed well, its a bonded jacket and they are easy to find made the choice simple for me.

[A-R]

People get wrapped up over what bullet is "best". Best for what? Any JHP by an American ammo maker is going to work as advertised in a .40. The .40 is a new enough round that there aren't any really old technology bullets available for it.

Find a load your gun likes, that you can shoot well, and stock up - - - spend your time worrying about important things - - -

Mojo, I agree with you with one caveat .... IMHO some of the newer bonded bullet designs do add some value to any round in its ability to maintain its mass/weight even after penetrating barriers. Also some bullet designs tend to plug a bit in clothing.

That said, you're right that we're basically quibbling over "best of the best" in what is a very good cartridge for self defense.

But isn't that what gun forums are for? quibbling over minor details that the average Joe doesn't even realize exist?

[CC Italian]

Talked to my girlfriend’s boss’s husband and he has been in law enforcement for 20 years and is a firearms instructor for his department. He told me the best bang for the buck bonded bullet that he knew of was Winchester white box bonded 180jhp. This is what his department has been practicing with off and on the last year or so. He says they have had no problems with it what so ever after thousands of rounds. Here is an internet review on it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiD3nGJvxmE
Here is another from Glock talkhttp://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showthr ... ?t=1238461

He says it is the same bullet used in PDX1 line but white box brass, primer and power. It is the same powder charge as the white box 180jhp and that the ammo expands just as good as the Gold dots or PDX1 but the main difference why it is not their carry ammo is because it does not have the flash suppressant powders like PDX1. He keeps several boxes on hand for personal use all the time. The most important thing to him was not if the jhp was bonded but if it used flash suppressant powders. 1 or 2 shots at night without it in the dark and officers have problems with accurate follow up shots. This is why the Gold dots are so good in his opinion. Looks like nice range ammo at least.

[Commander Cody]

Shot placement is the answer.

[CC Italian]

I just received 200 rounds of the Winchester white box with black lettering. It is the PDX1 bullet! It only costs $23 for each box of 50 after tax and shipping from Cheaper then dirt and if it cycles well and night flash is no worse or better then silvertips then I think I will carry some of this stuff for awhile. I hope to go to the range this week and pop off a box or two. Able ammo also sells it on their website. This is quality stuff from my initial impression.

[LongHairedRedneck]

Have you looked at the Federal HST ammunition? Pleasently suprised when I tested them. I now go between the 180gr HST and the 165gr T-series Rangers in my G27.

[mgood]

Have you looked at the Federal HST ammunition?

I'm very interested in the HST but have seen very little in the way of testing on it. I'm in wait and see mode.
I've seen the expanded bullets measured and that looked very impressive. I guess what I'm looking for is how consistently it expands, after penetrating heavy clothing and other barriers, compared to other hollow point designs. I haven't searched for this in a year or two, but when I did, I couldn't find much.