Best .40 ammo

[G22]

What do you think is the best .40 hollow point ammo considering quality and price?

 

[sig_man]

I prefer Hornady Critical Defense or TAP

 

[SGB]

Link Removed
.40 S&W

• Barnes all-copper bullets (140 & 155gr) loaded by: Cor-Bon (DPX40140)
• Winchester Ranger 180gr JHP (RA40T)
• Winchester Ranger 165gr JHP (RA40TA)
• Winchester Partition Gold 165gr JHP (RA401P)
• Winchester Bonded 180gr JHP (Q4355)
• Speer Gold Dot 155gr JHP (53961)
• Speer Gold Dot 180gr JHP (53962)
• Federal Tactical 165gr JHP (LE40T3)
• Federal Tactical 180gr JHP (LE40T1)
• Federal HST 180gr JHP (P40HST1)
• Remington Golden Saber 180 gr JHP (GS40SWB)

 

[Terry 2]

Federal hydra shok's. hands down.

 

[no sheep]

I like speer gold dot 165's . And double tap 180's.

 

[~OtisM~]

9mm. Make the switch. Cheaper and same ballistics at 7yrds.

 

[no sheep]

9mm. Make the switch. Cheaper and same ballistics at 7yrds.

what grain 9mm what grain 40 do you get that from?

 

[aldens]

What do you think is the best .40 hollow point ammo considering quality and price?

I appreciate everyone's opinions, I'd love to hear more on the "why" we've subscribed to the given favorite ammo. What makes it better? American made? Is it better ballistics, greater concussion wave, cooler/fancier packaging etc...?

What's the best and why do you think so? Thanks!

 

[no sheep]

I Like the speer due to test I have seen, double tap is american made and loaded a tad hot. Any modern HP ammo will do the job fine for you. I have watched a few test videos and the golden saber fragmented in every video I bet it would work fine on a body I just stay away due to what i have seen.

 

[whitney1207]

Federal hydra shok's. hands down.

I agree with the hydra shok. It has the unique center-post design delivers controlled expansion and the notched jacket provides efficient energy transfer to penetrate barriers while retaining stopping power.

 

[Timothy Bryant]

Winchester Ranger T-Series 180 Grain or Federal HST 180 Grain. Both of these are Law Enforcement rounds but can be purchased through online retailers. On a plus side they tend to be cheaper than the "premium" hollowpoints you would purchase from the major retailers.

 

[the real diehl]

I load my own, with Berrys plated bullets. Cheaper than jacketed, not much more that cast lead and perform well.
165 gr. hollow pt. with 8.5 gr. of blue dot behind it.

 

[G22]

I appreciate everyone's opinions, I'd love to hear more on the "why" we've subscribed to the given favorite ammo. What makes it better? American made? Is it better ballistics, greater concussion wave, cooler/fancier packaging etc...?

What's the best and why do you think so? Thanks!

I don't have a favorite...I'm kinda new to handguns and I was wondering what a good brand would be...

 

[jwalker3181]

I stand by Hydra-Shok

 

[howard7946]

I prefer Gold Dot 165's. I've been using this round for over 3 years. They're a good powerful, reliable load.

 

[dakotaracing]

Critical Defense. Proven expansion in test after test after test.

 

[CharlesMorrison]

Either Winchester Silvertip 155 grain @ 1205 (4inch barrel) for 500 FPE.

OR.....

Corbon 135 grain @ 1325fps (4inch barrel) for 526 FPE.

Love them both and would bet my life on them! As long as I do my part with proper shot placement!

 

[SGB]

This thread shows a severe lack of knowledge and understanding of terminal ballistics.

Bullets incapacitate by destroying soft tissues (blood vessels and organs) which leads to massive loss of blood lowering blood pressure to the point the individual can no longer function or by destroying the Central Nervous System (C7 or above). To do this a bullets primary job is penetration as without sufficient penetration none of the above will be accomplished.

With penetration being equal diameter becomes important in that a larger diameter bullet destroys more than does a smaller diameter bullet. The advent of bullet designs that offer reliable/consistent expansion while maintaining adequate penetration allow a bullet to effectively increase the amount of tissue it's able to destroy, increasing it's effectiveness.

So while expansion with adequate penetration increases a bullets effectiveness, expansion that results in sacrificing adequate penetration decreases the bullets effectiveness. In the '80's the current thinking was all about expansion and energy dump to induce incapacitation and the hot JHP loads of the time reflected this. The Winchester 9mm 115gr silvertip fired by Agent Dove in the Miami shootout did exactly as it was designed to do yet failed to end the fight. The FBI shootout with Platt and Matix set in motion research into terminal ballistics that has changed how we look at tactics, advanced realistic training and lead to today's development of several excellent self defense ammunition choices.

Ammunition such as the Winchester silvertip and Federal hydrashock are older (inferior) tech and are not today's premium choices. Hornady's critical defense ammunition lacks adequate penetration due to a premise by Hornady that self defense for private citizens is somehow different than self defense for LEO's (critical duty). While there is no magic caliber or magic bullet there are good choices and poor choices, it behooves one to put aside urban myth, brand loyalties and preconceptions to research and educate ones self as to what it takes for a bullet to effectively do it's job.

 

[~OtisM~]

This thread shows a severe lack of knowledge and understanding of terminal ballistics.

Bullets incapacitate by destroying soft tissues (blood vessels and organs) which leads to massive loss of blood lowering blood pressure to the point the individual can no longer function or by destroying the Central Nervous System (C7 or above). To do this a bullets primary job is penetration as without sufficient penetration none of the above will be accomplished.

With penetration being equal diameter becomes important in that a larger diameter bullet destroys more than does a smaller diameter bullet. The advent of bullet designs that offer reliable/consistent expansion while maintaining adequate penetration allow a bullet to effectively increase the amount of tissue it's able to destroy, increasing it's effectiveness.

So while expansion with adequate penetration increases a bullets effectiveness, expansion that results in sacrificing adequate penetration decreases the bullets effectiveness. In the '80's the current thinking was all about expansion and energy dump to induce incapacitation and the hot JHP loads of the time reflected this. The Winchester 9mm 115gr silvertip fired by Agent Dove in the Miami shootout did exactly as it was designed to do yet failed to end the fight. The FBI shootout with Platt and Matix set in motion research into terminal ballistics that has changed how we look at tactics, advanced realistic training and lead to today's development of several excellent self defense ammunition choices.

Ammunition such as the Winchester silvertip and Federal hydrashock are older (inferior) tech and are not today's premium choices. Hornady's critical defense ammunition lacks adequate penetration due to a premise by Hornady that self defense for private citizens is somehow different than self defense for LEO's (critical duty). While there is no magic caliber or magic bullet there are good choices and poor choices, it behooves one to put aside urban myth, brand loyalties and preconceptions to research and educate ones self as to what it takes for a bullet to effectively do it's job.

You used a lot of words (copy and paste I'm sure), but you really didn't say anything.

 

[kerb]

Check out tnoutdoors9's channel on youtube. He does ballistics testing with gel.
Great resource for things like this.