Best Concealed Carry Ammo
When it comes to handgun ammo, the first thing to understand is that there are different types. What you shoot at the range for practice will not be the same as what you keep in your magazine while you carry or in your home defense pistol.
Hollow-Point versus Full Metal Jacket (FMJ)
Hollow-Point
Hollow-point ammunition is what you want to keep in your home defense and carry guns.
It has a divot in the tip of the round. When it comes in contact with soft materials such as flesh, the material fills the divot, causing the surrounding rim to expand and mushroom out. Typically, the rim expands to 1.7x the original diameter, but some can expand to almost twice the size.
This expansion causes two important effects.
A larger diameter round creates a bigger wound channel, which causes increased blood loss and lower blood pressure, effectively ending the threat more quickly.
The mushroom effect causes the round to lose velocity, which helps prevent over-penetration. In other words, it tends to get stuck in the threat and not go through and hit bystanders.
Full Metal Jacket
FMJ ammunition is what you want to use at the range for practice. If you’re buying ammo, the first thing you’ll notice is the price difference. FMJ is much cheaper. It also looks different and doesn’t have a divot in the tip.
Because FMJ doesn’t expand, it tends to over-penetrate, making it dangerous in self-defense situations. Unlike hollow-point, it can continue through a threat, risking the safety of bystanders, neighbors’ homes, etc.
Which Should You Use?
Hollow-point is your best bet if you carry daily and/or have a home defense pistol. Like anything, there are some downsides—heavy clothing may get caught up and impede the performance—but overall, it’s the right choice for self-defense.
What’s The Best Brand
There’s no single best brand, but a few companies put out consistent, reliable products. Personally, I carry Speer Gold Dot, Norma MHP, and Hornady Critical Defense.
It’s important to choose a brand of hollow-point that works for your pistol. Some can be picky about this type of ammo, and you don’t want to find out in the middle of a self-defense situation. Take a box to the range and shoot it.
Yes, it’s expensive, but it can also save your life.
