What's your factory carry ammo, and why?

Hi everybody. For those of you who carry factory self defense ammo, what are you carrying, and why did you decide on it? I currently have regular Remington 115 gr jhp because it's affordable and offers reliable expansion, and also because I haven't been able to find golden sabres anywhere. The Golden sabers, either bonded or not bonded, really are the ammo I want to try, but the regular Remington suffices just fine. I also have a small box of Sierra 115 gr jhp I picked up on a whim.
SGAMMO has Golden Saber in stock. They also have A LOT of name brand JHP in stock. I buy about 90% of my ammo from them.
 
22lr: cci stingers or minimags solid point.
32acp: fmj ball.
38sp: fmj ball or wadcutter.
in other words, so-called target ammo. a target is a target, whether it’s a cardboard cutout or a feral/rabid biped or quadraped that i just might encounter in my boring, diurnal life. i carry what i practice with, and alot of practice is most important (a miss with a boutique round is more dangerous to innocent bystanders that a solid hit with a humble target round). no feeding issues with fmj ball ammo in a semiauto pistol. some states impose restrictions on boutique ammo by law, too many district attorneys do so by political bent. uncle sam addicted me to plenty of free fmj ball centerfire ammo first in 1972 and i never kicked the habit.
Interesting post - I travel often with a revolver in .22 WMR and get mocked for it.
I don’t care - it’s cheap enough to shoot where I stay accurate with fast Hornady rounds …
My next step up is .44 mag - and that stays at home with just some Remington HTP
Got my wife and daughter S&W snubs with .38+P Hornady CD rounds
 
After watching ballistic gel barrier tests and reading lots of information on the FBI evaluation protocols, in my EDC carry pistol, a Glock 43, I carry 8 Federal 147gr HST standard (not +P) 9mm rounds. In tests, out of the 43's 3.44" barrel, it penetrates 15-17" in the tests and expands into the .65" range with perfectly symmetrical petals. I use the Glockstore +2 magazine extensions. As the pistol has functioned flawlessly thru 2000+ rounds, I have a high degree of confidence in this combination. Recoil is less than the 124gr HST (my 2nd choice) therefore control is enhanced.
 
SGAMMO has Golden Saber in stock. They also have A LOT of name brand JHP in stock. I buy about 90% of my ammo from them.
Hey thanks for the heads up. I'm pretty sure I haven't checked sgammo
 
SGAMMO has Golden Saber in stock. They also have A LOT of name brand JHP in stock. I buy about 90% of my ammo from them.
20 rounds for $30 ... ouch !! Glad I bought all by defensive ammo years ago .
 
Underwood Ammo, solid copper bullet 9mm Luger 90gr. Xtreme Defender.

Great for a short barrel sub compact, great for shooting someone though glass, where a jhp will have issues.
9mm-luger-90-grain-xtreme-defender-underwood-ammo.jpeg
 
20 rounds for $30 ... ouch !! Glad I bought all by defensive ammo years ago .
I just bought some. I can't do anything about the price of things now, but at least I found some of what I was looking for. From what I've read, the Remington"ultimate Defense" probably isn't any different than the Golden Saber Bonded, but I haven't found any GSB... anywhere. At best, I got what I was looking for, at worst, I paid more for the spiffy box. Oh well. One of these days, today's prices could be considered cheap. 😬
 
One of these days, today's prices could be considered cheap. 😬
Most likely ... some people think ammo will be as cheap as it was 2~3 years ago. I say no way as long as people keep buying it at the prices it's at. And prices will never go down if the production rate stays low. Supply and demand 101.
 
Lately I have been CCW one of my 9mm's. Critical Duty +P 135 gr. FlexLock and Ranger T-Series 147 gr. RASXTC. They are the new Black Talons that are Gold Talons. The C stands for CANADA. The RMCP had Winchester revive the Black Talon, but now Gold without the black Lubalox. SGAMMO bought several pallets from the RMCP about 2 years ago. I stocked up with BOO KOO cases.
SD1.jpg
 
Most likely ... some people think ammo will be as cheap as it was 2~3 years ago. I say no way as long as people keep buying it at the prices it's at. And prices will never go down if the production rate stays low. Supply and demand 101.
In my case, I'm getting into 9mm firearms late in life, and after all the pandemic shutdowns and low production rate. If I want practice, I have to buy ammo, and I have to pay the prices I find. It won't do me any good to wait, hoping for a return to pre-pandemic supply and demand. But I completely agree with you. Ideally there'd be plenty of it, and we'd be paying low prices. Unfortunately we're living in times that are anything but.
 
My wife used to shoot my .44 mag - so she does good. The daughter needs more target practice but hangs on to the little wheel gun just fine …
An SP101?
I read your earlier post . A snub nose .38 S&W.
My friend's wife has a Colt Detective Special. She really likes it a lot and does very well with it at target practice.
 
Last edited:
Winchester Ranger 45 ACP +P 230 grain T series in my G21 and 1911's.

In the 9mm's I carry:

124 grain Golden Sabre +P
Hornady 135 grain +P Critical Duty
Federal 115 grain JHP 9BPLE
 
The only thing I carry regularly is my Glock 43 or my Sig P365 . I have a couple of different flavors of JHP . Whichever one I grab first .
 
Back
Top