When I first got my concealed carry permit years ago, I ran right out and bought a Kel Tec P3AT and a box of Winchester Supreme jacketed hollowpoints. Why hollowpoints? Well, because they’re the ultimate in self-defense ammunition, right? It said so right there on the box! It took me a few months before realizing that I had made a simple mistake that could have proven disastrous if I’d had to use my weapon.
Failure to feed
Now this isn’t true of many new weapons on the market, and isn’t meant to lambast hollowpoint ammunition, but in some cases (and in the case of that Kel Tec), those hollowpoint rounds just don’t get along well with the semi-automatic platform. Much of this can be attributed to the design of the hollowpoint bullet and the way it feeds; it can hang up on the feed ramp or tumble as it’s pushed toward the chamber, leading to dramatic failure to feed issues—one of the worst things a concealed carry holder can encounter.
Not the advantage I was looking for…
Up in the north country where I live, most people wear heavy coats 75 percent of the year. In the case of firing on a heavily-clothed attacker, the advantage of hollowpoints is lost as the round fills with fabric, preventing proper expansion and causing the bullet to behave like a conventional round—defeating the point. The addition of ballistic tips like those found on Hornady’s Critical Defense (left, bottom) are meant to overcome this, but those proprietary rounds come with a steep price tag (often as much or more than a dollar per round). “But isn’t your life worth a few extra dollars in ammo?” you may ask. Yes. But read on.
Carry what you shoot
Here is the crux of my argument and the reason my buying a specially designated box of hollowpoints for my carry gun was a mistake: If you make a habit of practicing with standard ammunition as I do, and then swap out for a magazine filled with hollowpoints or expensive proprietary self-defense rounds (even ones that really do work as advertised), you’re offsetting the effectiveness of that practice by introducing a series of new variables. Many self-defense rounds are loaded hotter and may have a heavier or lighter bullet than your practice ammo. This can alter your weapon’s function, recoil, and accuracy. If you insist on carrying your weapon loaded with this kind of ammunition, do yourself an enormous favor and spend the money on two boxes of the stuff. Burn the first box up at the range using your carry gun. This will, at the very least, let you know if the gun will feed and fire them without issue.
For years, experts have attempted to identify the “ultimate self-defense caliber”. Their findings are always inconclusive beyond the following: Shot placement with any caliber is key. With that in mind, are you sure you want to trade out ammunition you’re confident you can shoot accurately and consistently just because another promises superior defense characteristics?
Great advice. I’ve seen enough ballistic tests on hollow point ammo to make me feel somewhat cautious about carrying it but the marketing keeps sucking me back in. If Hornady Critical Defense wasn’t so danged expensive (even before this ammo crunch), I’d experiment with it more. I also live in a northern area of the country. I suppose I should reconsider what I carry and perhaps stick with FMJ rounds. I sure wouldn’t want to get hit with one.
JoeFabeetz I hear FMJ will over penetrate and pass through a bad guy 1) possibly not creating the ripped wound channel that would cause him to physically shut down and 2) possibly hit something or someone that doesn’t need hit. I have kept a mag of 135gr JHP for SD because I worry about over penetration and hope the light fast bullet hits and stops.
SavageHenry JoeFabeetz Valid concerns, Henry. And again, I’m not against hollowpoint ammunition so long as you make a point to ensure it works in your gun and you can shoot it as well as your practice ammo.
SavageHenry JoeFabeetz Valid concerns, Henry. And again, I’m not against hollowpoint ammunition so long as you make a point to ensure it works in your gun and you can shoot it as well as your practice ammo.
SavageHenry JoeFabeetz Agreed. Thanks for reminding me about the over penetration issue.
Great advice, well worth heeding.
Muskrat Thank you!
when I shoot, I try to change up because I don’t want to get too “used to” a certain load. right now I have 1 mag of 135gr Ranger T and 1 mag of 180gr Prvi Partisan both JHP. my main concerns are over penetration inside a house so the first mag is the 135gr. I really don’t look at ammo past bullet weight, shape, and brand. I can go from one brands load to another brands load and it doesn’t really change anything for me. but then again I am not exclusively looking for 10 rings and my motivation has not been tight groups. I look at it as SD and as SD I try to land them in about a 5 inch circle where center of mass should be at 50 feet or less.
there is a school of thought that any modern load of any major brand will give the penetration you need so I am trying to not get caught up in marketing and gimmicks. I will say I do like the Euro manufactured ammo but if I cant find it I would be confident in carrying whatever I find.
SavageHenry Well you’ve got to do what feels most comfortable for you first and foremost. If you’re most comfortable shooting a diverse range of ammo, I say go for it.
Right now I’d be happy to be able to buy ANY ammunition!
Right now I’d be happy to be able to buy ANY ammunition!
ecs5298 Ain’t that the truth.
Like most I have had issues with the occasional failure using HP’s on some guns I never have on others some, and if you’re using a gun for self defense then one is too many. When I examine the differences in the weapons I see mag design and feed ramp design can play a part in this along with the bullet design. I take your advice and run 100+ rounds through the gun using all the mags and the intended load if it performs flawlessly then I’m good if not I try different combo or more usually confine that gun to a ball ammo range gun or move it on. I like Gold dot and Critical Duty.
OUTSTANDING ARTICLE!!!
Great points about training with what you use and the best point of all (and probably overlooked by most) “Shot placement with any caliber is key.”
OUTSTANDING ARTICLE!!!
Great points about training with what you use and the best point of all (and probably overlooked by most) “Shot placement with any caliber is key.”
jshjr Made my morning. Thank you for the compliment!
Good reminder! It’s amazing that people still think any ammo they buy will work flawlessly. Hollow points work best in wheel-guns, which they were originally designed for.
It’s so easy to overlook how important testing out your carry ammo is.
It’s certainly pricier than shooting the standard FMJ, but I it’s worth
it to put a box or two of the self defense ammo downrange now and then, just to learn how it feels to shoot it (perceived recoil, potential feeding issues, etc.).
FateofDestinee Shooting FMJ you can shoot less espensive rounds then that……hard cast or cast and gaschecked is the way to go to keep expence down.