.40 cal ammo

[countryhog]

What is the consensus on .40 cal target AND .40 cal defense ammo. Lots of info online; too much to wade through

 

[full chizel]

Responses are gonna be like an oil thread....everyone has their own opinion and preference and none are really wrong. FMJ i buy Blazer. They’re fair priced and shoot well.

I usually buy Speer Gold Dot but last box of JHP i picked up were these on clearance for $6 and what is currently in my M&P Shield 2.0

 

[Dub11]

I was using some Walmart 165gr for target but a new shop opened up and is selling reloads by the pound made just 40 minutes down the road from me. The are really clean burn too.

I have some Hornaday critical defense in 165 for carry. I like the idea of the low flash powder in a night time scenario. But after getting my .357 LCR I started going with 180gr fmj. I had a few situations where I was just outside city limits and coming across an aggressive methhead dumping trash I felt the 180gr would go through a car door or windshield better.

 

[ucm931]

180 grain Federal HST for carry. Whatever is cheapest for the range.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I use nothing but reloads in the .40. My usual load is the Lee 401-175-TC over 4.2 grains Bullseye or 3.5 grains Clays. According to my chronograph it clocks around 900 fps in my Glock 22, so basically a .38-40 or .44 Special.

 

[Vice]

Responses are gonna be like an oil thread....everyone has their own opinion and preference and none are really wrong. FMJ i buy Blazer. They’re fair priced and shoot well.

I usually buy Speer Gold Dot but last box of JHP i picked up were these on clearance for $6 and what is currently in my M&P Shield 2.0
View attachment 270577 View attachment 270578

Where are you buying those babies? PM is fine

 

[PissRev]

I was Patrol Deputy for 9 years and we carried the Glock model 22 and 165gr Winchester Ranger bonded ammo. I was involved in one shooting and I saw the aftermath of another shooting from a Deputy and I was impressed with the terminal performance. I also was able to dispatch probably 15 deer that had been hit by cars. It's flat out effective at close quarters with central nervous system hits and center mass torso hits. But I'll tell you from experience unless you hit somebody in the brain pan they can be fatally wounded and still get off all six rounds of a wheel gun, but are able to function for a short time until the oxygen is gone from the brain.

As far as practice ammo, just get the cheapest FMJ that you can find especially during these days where ammo is so hard to come by. Some ammo is better than no ammo.

FYI if I knew I was going into a really hot situation I always carried the AR-15.

 

[exSW]

Fort Scott Munitions solids for carry.
Reload practice ammo.

 

[FergusonTO35]

FYI if I knew I was going into a really hot situation I always carried the AR-15.

What do you think of the AR for close quarters use? I would rather have a bigger bullet, even a pistol bullet, when the fighting is up close and personal. Something like a .45 Auto carbine would seem perfect to me.

 

[PissRev]

What do you think of the AR for close quarters use? I would rather have a bigger bullet, even a pistol bullet, when the fighting is up close and personal. Something like a .45 Auto carbine would seem perfect to me.

Rifle bullets are rifle bullets and pistol bullets are pistol bullets, even shot out of carbine. The M193 55 grain full metal jacket 5.56 round is devastating at close range even out to about 300 yd because whenever it hits soft tissue it starts yawing base first then it breaks apart at the cannure and fragments. If you watch that shooting in Kenosha Wisconsin that happened a few months back, the skateboard guy went down like a sack of potatoes DRT (dead right there) when he was hit center mass with a 5.56. There are other rounds that are even more effective like the 77 grain open tip match and the 75 grain Hornady TAP, but I have the most experience with the M193. And yes I've seen the first hand effects of it and it's really devastating. I've also seen the aftermath of dope boys shooting one another with a SKS 7.62x39, and it was really nasty too. I went to several suicides with large centerfire caliber rifle calibers and a couple of shotguns and I can say without a doubt they were all closed casket. I've seen a few suicides with handguns and yes they can be pretty bad but nothing like a centerfire rifle bullet.

The last deer I shot was with my AR-15 using 55 grain Remington core lokt. I hit it right behind the shoulder and it had a full pass through and the deer ran maybe 25 yards and piled up.

Just remember I hit with a 22 rifle is better than a miss from a 50 BMG.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks, I have no experience in combat of any sort so real life experiences are welcomed. I have one of those Ruger carbines in layaway jail right now. I'm probably going to feed it the same load I feed my pistols: 4 grains HP-38 under a 134 grain lead flat point. it clocks 1050 fps out of my Glock 19, should be good for 200 more out of the carbine.