introduction

For self-defense use around town, it’s recommended to use whatever your local police department uses, for legal purposes.

For me, this is Hornady Critical Duty (though I run Hornady Critical Defense, as all of my pistols have a barrel that’s less than 4″, in which the Critical Defense ammo performs better with. I assume these can be viewed as essentially the same types of ammo, due to being the same manufacturer, and nearly the same by design).

If you plan to use defensive ammo in protection against four-legged animals (for running / hiking / hunting in the wilderness), a round with better performance is fine, like the 9mm Speer Gold Dot 147gr JHP, for example.

I am hesitant to recommend +P loads, since extended use of overpowered rounds can damage your gun. Also, many experts (including Navy SEAL’s) recommend practicing with the same type of ammo you’d use in a real life situation.

Remember that each gun will give different performance out of each type of ammunition. What works for one pistol, might not work for another.

So while this list is a good starting point, make sure to test the ammo in your gun first. Researching the best defense ammunition for your particular gun on forums, YouTube, etc., is also a good idea.

does caliber even matter?

• Greg Ellifritz study of 1800 shootings with various calibers, from .22 to .44 magnum, found that though bigger calibers have slightly better performance, all pistol calibers will do the job to a similar degree.
  
  If you anticipate needing to shoot through barriers (glass, car doors, etc.), or need better stopping power against a very motivated (or drugged up) attacker, perhaps avoid the “mouse-gun” calibers (.22, .25, .32).
  
  If you want best performance against an attacker, shotguns and rifles are in a totally different league.
  
  (link to article)
  
• Ammoland researched over 100 bear attacks, and found a 97% success rate, with pistols ranging from .22 to .44 magnum.
  
  While .22’s still worked, most cases were against black bears.
  
  As of 2024, out of 104 reported cases of pistols used for defense against bears, out of three failures, one was against a polar bear (using a .22), one was against a black bear (using a .38), and one was against a grizzly bear (using .357 Magnum).
  
  (link to article)

best 9mm rounds for self defense

In general, you can’t go wrong with either of these top choices:

Speer Gold Dot, 147 grain

• Consistently touted as the best. This one gets the most praise as having the most consistent expansion and overall the best defense load. The defense load most commonly used by law enforcement. Great results with shorter CCW barrels of sub-compacts and micro pistols.

Federal HST, 147 grain

• Contested by some as the best and just as good, if not better, than Speer Gold Dots. They rarely fail to expand, and thus are extremely reliable. Often used by law enforcement. Great consistent expansion, even with shorter CCW barrels of sub-compacts and micro pistols.

Hornady Critical Defense

• Good reviews, don’t seem to be as loved as Gold Dot or HST, but still a great round. The Critical Defense round is better suited for shorter CCW barrels such around 3″, to ensure hollow point expansion.
• An interesting real-world case of a man who survived being shot 15 times with .45ACP, of what was most likely Hornady Critical Duty or Critical Defense, that had been sitting in a gun for a while.

Hornady Critical Duty

• Often used by law enforcement, like above, but don’t seem to have as much stellar reviews. Note: Critical Duty is designed for barrels 4″ or longer. Not for sub-compact or micro pistols.

115 vs 124 vs 135 vs 147 grain, for short barrels?

Which grain bullet should you get, for a shorter barreled CCW 9mm? (around 3″)

I recommend going as heavy grain as you can for whatever caliber you run. This is because in a defensive situation, heavier bullets equate to better penetration and expansion on impact.

Plus, their heavier mass means their more likely to go through glass and other obstacles, to hit your target.

(For home defense, you can run 124gr or 115gr 9mm, if you are worried about shooting through walls. These lighter grains will not penetrate as much.)

Here are some more references to help you decide:

Hornady HST 124 vs 147 grain Shootout (Tools&Targets)

• Nearly identical performance, out of a 3.1″ Taurus GX4 barrel

9mm HST standard pressure 124 gr vs 147 gr (NorthwoodsTesting)

• Nearly identical performance, out of a 3.1″ Ruger LC9S barrel

Speer Gold Dot 124 vs 147gr (Pantera Mike)

• 147gr best expansion, with less penetration

147 grain – Anecdotes from law enforcement favor heavier bullets:

“Great no-nonsense and to the point video! HST is today’s KING for police/defense use. My ex-employer (retired 34 years in LE for one of the largest agencies in the U.S.) has issued the standard 147gr for about the past 10 years now. They tested both 124 vs 147 standard and +P versions. They found with actual “street” shootings over a two year period, that there really was no difference on 2-legged zombies as far as performance between the two weight classes. They all worked equally well, so my former department stuck with the 147 grainers. They found that in gel/barrier testing, the only real difference and slight advantage went to the 147 gr when it came to penetrating car windshields, car doors and hitting the target deep enough beyond the glass. The 147’s tended to penetrate slightly deeper on soft tissue after passing through windshield glass or car doors, whereas the 124gr penetrated slightly less. I’d be happy with either or…. It doesn’t really matter. However I had to make a personal decision for what I wanted stocked up at home ended up investing heavily with the 147 non- +P’s. The +p’s in my own humble and worthless opinion, just adds extra wear & tear “beatings” on a pistol, that’s simply not needed.”

@Colt10mmSecurity

More arguments for the heaviest grain bullet, for any caliber defensive load, from LE:

Nyeti:
“I have pretty extensive experience with the .45 Colt in anti-personnel shootings because a majority of officers at my agency used it for a duty load for most of my early years in L/E (we still issue it, so I get ammo for free… don’t hate me).

Here is my take on ammunition based on 18 years of first hand investigation of over 75 officer involved shootings and tons of assault and homicide cases. Against people, use a heavy bullet driven at a moderate velocity in a modern hollow-point. I only hunt people, so this is really my area of expertise, and I am keenly aware that soft humans are very different from the four leggers. As a compromise in a general purpose gun, there are some moderate velocity very heavy rounds that can be utilized for both animals and people that are less than ideal for both, but will work. – nyeti

When I say heavy, I usually tell folks the heaviest bullet available in that particular caliber in a good, modern hollowpoint. For example in semi auto’s (sorry, I know its a bad word), 147 gr. in 9mm, 180 gr. in .40, 230 gr. in .45 ACP. As far as the .45 Colt, we used 220 gr. Silvertips, and at one point we had a similar load from Federal. The STHP’s were awesome on humans, and for some weird reason performed better than similar loads in .45 ACP. Moderate velocity in my world is somewhere in the 800-900fps range.

There is a big difference in trying to drive a bullet through a human (worst case scenario-through a punch of bones before getting to the big blood pumping organs or the central nervous system), and driving them through a four legged animal who has much bigger bone structure, and tend to be much bigger with tougher skin. Like I said on heavy…..if they make it, its all good. If there was a 300 plus grain hollowpoint out there in .45 Colt at about 800-900 fps in .45 Colt, I would carry it.

The problem with alot of the non-expanding bullets against humans is that the don’t expand and tend to blow right through. This is fine if its going through “good stuff”, but it tends to keep going. Ideally (and I’ve seen this a couple of times) is rounds that fully penetrate a bad guy, and we find a fully expended round in the bad guys clothing on the backside……perfect, full expansion, full pentration (a big hole with fluid coming out both ends), and nobody getting hurt on the other end. Hope this all helps. For some reason, you folks tend to have a much better grasp of common sense than some of the other forums where I get lambasted by some 17 year old kid who reads the gun rags and earned all their experience playing with airsoft guns and the all knowing internet.”

https://thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-249109.html

https://thefiringline.com/forums/search.php?searchid=12567915

best 9mm ammo for home defense

Hornady Critical Defense FTX 115gr

This round is best for home defense because the lighter 115 grain bullet is less likely to penetrate through walls (which you don’t want in a home defense situation), and the Critical Defense has very good consistent performance, even through shorter barrels (~3″).

Speer Gold Dot 115gr is also a good option, with similar performance.

Federal HST does not come in a lower grain weight, only 124gr and 147gr.

best shotgun rounds for home defense

best .40 ammo for self defense

165gr or 180gr grain?

• 180 grain will have less snappy recoil, vs 165gr

Federal HST in 180gr generally gives the best penetration for a given level of expansion. Overall gives the best performance, in real-world scenarios.

Heavy for caliber rounds are easier to control, get back on target faster, penetrate more, and cause less wear on the gun. So 180gr I’d say is preferable over a lighter weight option.

“I work for the 8th largest department in the country and have some crazy amount of research on ballistics when I was in the ATF Task Force. Along with my on duty shootings I was involved in and testing I’ve done, 180 just seemed to be the best for what we need as a department. From what I’m hearing, we are transitioning back to the Glock 17 after 15 years of the G22. I’ve been pushing for that change for a long time. When I came on the job in 2000, we carried the 17 and our hit ratio was much higher.” – Audiman77

https://www.glocktalk.com/threads/40-cal-what-is-the-best-bullet-weight-for-self-defense-jhp.1597501/post-22594307

Lucky Gunner ran some extremely extensive tests on almost every defensive load in .40 S&W, check it out here.

best 357 sig ammo for self defense

best 380 ACP ammo for self defense

Lucky Gunner Tests on 380ACP

Hornady 90gr FTX Critical Defense

As with smaller calibers (.22 LR, .25 ACP, and .32 ACP), it’s often noted that .380 ACP ammo will either expand well, or penetrate well, but you typically can’t have both.

The only ammo that had good penetration and expansion (per Lucky Gunners tests) was the Hornady 90gr FTX Critical Defense.

Otherwise, choose a high-quality FMJ cartridge, if you want good penetration.

I’ve yet to see a .380 that will both expand and penetrate sufficiently, they do one or the other. Ball will break an adult’s femur handily and will completely penetrate a fat guy’s torso assuming no large bone strikes.

FMJ works, but it tends to be cheaply constructed and sheds the jacket through glass or hard bone and shatters. If you’re going to run ball, run quality ball and not bulk target ammo if possible. Larger/slower bullets hold together better. Ball also skips off round bone easier, deflecting off skulls, riding ribs, etc.

Detective with over 10 years experience; https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?60369-Real-World-Penetration-Critical-Duty-how-often-Real-World-does-it-fail-to-expand&p=1572094&viewfull=1#post1572094

best .22 LR, .25 ACP, and .32 ACP ammo for self defense

We like to think of small automatics chambered in .22 LR, .25 ACP and .32 ACP as “shoot and scoot” guns. They’re best used as a means to escape deadly danger. They’re not gunfight guns.

If you’re contemplating .22 LR as a personal defense cartridge, we advise you to consider a revolver instead of an automatic pistol. Rimfire ammunition has a higher incidence of misfire failures than centerfire ammunition. With a revolver, when a misfire is encountered, the problem is solved immediately by pressing the trigger again.

https://web.archive.org/web/20110202171333/http://firearmstactical.com/briefs27.htm#Sectional%20Density

With the lower calibers, such as .22 LR, .25 ACP, and .32 ACP, you’re generally giving up penetration for expansion. You can typically have decent results of one, but not the other. So better to just get FMJ bullets.

best defensive ammo by gun

Sig P239

9mm P239

Barnes XPB 115 gr JHP (copper bullet)
Federal Tactical 124 gr JHP (LE9T1)
Federal HST 124 gr +P JHP (P9HST3)
Speer G2 147 gr PT
Winchester Ranger-T 147 gr JHP (RA9T)
Winchester 147 gr bonded JHP (RA9B/Q4364)
Federal HST 147 gr JHP (P9HST2)
Remington Golden Saber 147 gr JHP (GS9MMC)
Speer Gold Dot 147 gr JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 127 gr +P+ JHP (RA9TA)
Federal Tactical 135 gr +P JHP (LE9T5)
Hornady Critical Duty 135 gr +P PT
Remington Golden Saber bonded 124 gr +P JHP (GSB9MMD)
Speer Gold Dot 124 gr +P JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 124 gr +P JHP (RA9124TP)
Winchester 124 gr +P bonded JHP (RA9BA)

Sig P365

P365 and Ammo Choices (SigTalk)

• Federal HST in either 124 or 147 grain is often reported as having great performance and reliability. Many people’s go-to.

bullet overpenetration: a valid concern?

“Marshall and Sanow have documented several shootings over the years where a JHP from a handgun did actually overpenetrate human torsos. Granted they had little energy left and didnt hit uninvolved parties to my knowledge. They also reference a study conducted by the US Army in which they found that 15 inches of gel penetration correlated with through and through torso shots on the street at a rate of 70%. They also determined 58 ft lbs of residual energy after 15 inches is enough to cause casualties.” – reference to book “Street Stoppers“

@funwithballistics1016

conclusion

What is the best defense round?

For “street” CCW defense, in any caliber, I’d say Speer Gold Dot or Federal HST. These two are both great rounds, give the best consistent results in various barrel lengths, and are often used by law enforcement.

If I had to choose one, I’d choose Federal HST, but both are a great choice.

velocity and energy: is it that imporant?

Why Ballistics Gel Works and Caliber Arguments are Dumb (Lucky Gunner Ammo)

• The FBI discovered that above 2200 fps, bullets cause much more damage, regardless of weight, and is when velocity starts to matter. This is why rifle rounds cause so much more damage than pistol rounds, even though their bullet weights can be lower (eg. 50 grain 556 bullet).
• So velocity and energy doesn’t matter as much as getting 14-16 inches of penetration, and getting the projectile to expand as much as possible. Extra velocity and energy does not correlate to increased “stopping power” (i.e. performance) for pistol rounds, which are below 2200 fps. Bullet velocity and energy doesn’t matter until a bullet is moving over 2200 fps. (ref)
• (My note: The above being said, anecdotal evidence has shown that more powerful .357Sig and .40 rounds have more stopping power than 9mm, in police use cases. However what type of ammunition they were using in those calibers is what I’d like to see. Maybe the 9mm JHP bullet that didn’t stop the perp would have if it was a Federal HST).

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An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power (Buckeye Firearms)

An interesting study that shows shot placement is most important, and that all calibers roughly have similar incapacitation rates.

It also shows if you really want to stop someone, rifles and shotguns are significantly more effective over pistols (of all calibers).

Image: Buckeye Firearms

psychological “shock” factor vs ballistic gel and paper results

Nyeti on 357 Magnum close range:

“Wanna know why 125 gr. JHP .357 mag works so well on people? Noise and Flash. Several years ago I was talking about this load with some of the foremost experts in ballistic testing (and they don’t write articles in gun rags). These are folks who use real labs, and have excellent access to L/E shootings.

Their initial findings were that 125 JHP .357 mag is an “above average” performing round in gelatim testing, but nothing like its reputation. They began looking at L/E street shootings with the round and found an interesting set of similar circumstances existed during shootings with dramatic success. The shootings took place at night, at less than 6 FEET, with barrels 4″ or less… anybody want to raise their hand who wants to be in front of that.

125 gr. .357 mag’s will throw a 15 yard ball of flame down range. Can you imagine what its like at 6 feet or less. The conclusion was that the blast and noise was a significant factor in making this round very successful in shooting people at very close range.

nyeti
I carried a Ruger SP101 for many years as a counter carjacking gun and a back up. My load of choice was the 180 gr. Winchester Black Talons which I understand is normally a Javelina hunting load. Many of the 145-158 gr. JHP’s are excellent as well. All of them tend to be blasty out of the snubs.

During many discussions with true experts, the agreement was that typical human beings do not react well to having a grenade going off in their face. At these close ranges, that big blast going off will generally cause most folks to hit the ground out of normal reaction (similar to what we see when deploying flash bang grenades during SWAT operations), then realizing they have been shot as well helps in performance. Keep in mind that physically a human can remain in a fight for a minimum of 4-5 seconds (a lifetime in a gunfight) with any of the major arteries totally destroyed (aorta, brachial, femoral, etc..). This is why psychological reaction is important. Animals haven’t watched enough TV to know that they are supposed to fall over and die when they get shot. The only way to be assured of a BG going down like a sack of potatoes is with a Central Nervous System shot. CNS shots need good penetration to make that happen, which is why I dislike the “gimmick” ammo so much.”

https://thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-249109.html

resources

• https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/
• https://web.archive.org/web/20110202170907/http://firearmstactical.com/tacticalbriefs/volume4/number1/toc.htm
• https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?60369-Real-World-Penetration-Critical-Duty-how-often-Real-World-does-it-fail-to-expand