How Many Grains?


Dr. Dillner

Dr. Dillner

New member
I am a new Concealed Carrier and have a question about what size of slug to use.
There is a dizzying array of slug sizes in the .40 caliber ammo market. There are heavy-slow ones and light-fast ones. What is the best (most useful for protection) to use? Maybe I am over simplifying the situation with this question, but I thought it worthwhile to ask.
 

I also carry .40. To me honestly it's not a huge difference. I generally will buy whatever I can find in a particular caliber without thinking about grains. It's all down to personal preference. I suggest buying maybe a box of each weight bullet and trying them out seeing what you like best! Hope thy helped ya out
 
Now for the long answer, the goal reach 12-18 inches of penetration to per the FBI testing for law enforcement. Medium to Heavy weight bullets in your selected caliber usually preform the best, stay away from specialty bullets such as glaser's and others that are designed to fragment on impact. Read the manufacture's information to find out if your selected round has been subjected to the FBI tests and read the results. If you have any more questions you can post them or contact me directly Hope this helps.
Matt
 
I agree that the heavier is usually better. You can find ballistic info. online and videos on YouTube. But, different ammo (brand, weight) can perform (run) better in one gun than another. Find what works best in your gun. Which give you a reason to shoot. I prefer 180 gr. but I will buy 175 and 165 gr. hollow point for .40. Remember that weight does not make up for shot placement. FMJ are good for practice but can be used for carry. They are not made to expand and will or can go completely through and hit something or someone else.
 
If it helps, our Sheriff's Department uses 180 gr, Speer Gold Dot hollow points for their duty ammo. This is what they run their qualifications with as well.

When practicing I will never use anything but 180 gr ammo, but for practice I use FMJ.

I would not get different weight bullets for practice and carry. Whatever you do decide on, make sure your carry ammo and your training ammo are the same weight.
 
Because of the ammo shortage. My range ammo because a mishmash of brands and weights (100 roundTul 180 & 300 rounds Winchester White Box 165 grain. I tried to keep it as close to 180 grains as possible. My defense ammo is Hornady Critical Duty 175 grain. As the .40 is becoming more available I'm going to try to replace my Winchester target ammo with 175-180 grain

Sent from my SGH-M919 using USA Carry mobile app
 
I don't notice any perceptible difference in recoil between 165gr and 180. I carry 180 grain and train with 165 to save money. I've already ran plenty of the 180 PDX1 through my gun to know its reliable so I'm not worried about it.
 
My personal recommendation for the .40 S&W is the Speer Gold Dot 165gr or 180gr and for practice they make the Speer practice ammo in both weights with similar trajectory and recoil. Nothing against Hornady but hundreds of police agencies and actual shooting results are hard to argue with.
 
I suggest that you carry the round that you know- in order of importance- to be 100% reliable through your gun and is the most accurate out of what shoot reliably without a failure. What brand it is really doesn't matter. If you end up with a FTF or FTE with the 'best' load available it's not gonna do you any good.
 
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