Sig Sauer 124gr V-crown Review Vs Hornady Critical Defense

While I volition focus on 9mm self defense ammo in this article, you volition also find that the brands listed also include .380, .xl S&W, .45 ACP, .357, and even 10mm. Choosing the best concealed carry ammo is important, then utilise this guide to narrow downward your choices.

If you lot oasis't followed the news recently, concealed comport is on the ascension with 2 states recently passing laws assuasive concealed carry without a formal licensing process. Since this could lead to an influx of new concealed carriers, information technology is probably time to talk about proper ammo selection.

Not all armament is created equal. Just like with daddy's shotgun, sometimes you desire bird-shot and sometimes yous want a slug. Each type of ammo is designed to do a specific task with very specific criteria.

Self Defence force Ammo Criteria

You want concealed conduct ammunition to stop an attacker as quickly and safely as possible. To exercise this, hither are a few points to consider:

Expansion

This is the foremost criteria that nearly people desire out of their ammo. Everybody wants that big wound aqueduct. This comes from FBI guidelines and should be a stiff consideration. This is precisely the reason your range ammo is not appropriate for carry.

In 1986 a One thousand iami shootout occurred between the FBI and ii armed assailants. The FBI used a mix of firearms including .357, .38, and 9mm. All of their ammo was standard ball ammo and proved to be completely ineffective at stopping the assailants. One was shot 5 times before taking a lethal shot to the spine. The other was shot 12 times and survived for some time later on the shootout.

This is why we deport specific ammo designed to expand on impact.

Penetration

This is the double-edged sword. You desire acceptable penetration to finish an assailant. No matter how big a wound channel, y'all demand at least eight inches of penetration into flesh to effectively neutralize an attack. The FBI standard is 12 inches in soft tissue to be able to reach lethal areas no thing the bending of penetration.

Considering most people don't go around naked, you may have to get through wear, windshields, and even large amounts of body fat to get to that lethal level. This is perfectly illustrated by Federal's Hydra-Shock ammo. While information technology did penetrate and lethally expand against ballistic gelatin, it was not constructive against heavy clothing. Even heavy jackets prevented proper expansion and sometimes stopped the bullet altogether.

The opposite side of penetration is over penetration. You want a bullet that meets the standards used past the FBI of 12 inches of tissue penetration. Whatsoever more than this is a liability every bit the bullet will retain too much energy when it exits the body and could cause injury to bystanders. Likely, your range ammo would penetrate far more than 12 inches.

Call up, each bullet yous burn down has a lawyer attached, and you don't desire to get into a legal battle when you were merely attempting to do the right thing. Curtained carry insruance is very important!If yous need to learn more check out our article B est Concealed Carry Insurance Compared .

Bullet Weight

Permit's exist clear on this, we are not concerned with calibers. Oftentimes, our option of bullet weight will not be directly related to lethality. Instead, we choose bullet weight for its performance and recoil. Every bit a standard for this article, nosotros will utilize 9mm, but the ratios for other calibers should work out similarly.We are not palliating 9mm over your favorite caliber.

So with grain weight, 9mm is generally 115 grains, but curtained carry ammo can be purchased as light equally 90 grains and as heavy every bit 165 grains. Both the lightest and heaviest are calibrated to office close to the aforementioned, but there are some clear advantages to each.

Lighter bullets volition accept less felt recoil equally long equally the powder load they are using is the same. Lighter bullets are often more afflicted past environmental factors and obstructions. For shooting through a hard barrier like a windshield, a lighter bullet is not the best option.

Heavier bullets take more felt recoil but pack more than punch against hard barriers. When all else is equal, they often accept a greater accurateness, just this is not a universal rule.

When selecting concealed bear ammo, you lot need to test its operation out of your carry pistol. Performing a few shots with your ammo should tell you everything yous need to know. If you lot have trouble staying on target consistently, try changing weight.

Whatever you do, don't merely stick with ammo that performs badly. Too many people become set in their ways or fall in love with a brand with no justification. When your life is on the line, you desire to know yous have the all-time possible equipment to go on yourself safe.

Best Self Defence force Ammo

Federal HST
Hornady Critical Defense
Speer Golden Dot
Winchester PDX1 Defender
Winchester Ranger T
Sig Sauer Elite Five-Crown

With a greater number of ammunition manufacturers than we have seen since World War 2, you are spoiled for selection when it comes to concealed carry ammo. This doesn't mean that all of them are created equal, just that there are dozens of choices that will serve you well.

It would exist impossible to dig up every good selection in a curtailed commodity so I will betoken out just a few. The rounds I am pointing out may not fifty-fifty be the very all-time. The choices below are the most trusted, most toll-effective, and most readily available choices.

ane. Federal HST

Federal HST Ammo

Particularly designed hollow point expands reliably through a variety of barriers
Expanded bore and weight retention produce the desired penetration for personal defense situations without over penetrating
Superior performance in FBI test protocol used by law enforcement officials to assess and select duty armament

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Federal HST is a part of their defensive lineup designed to overcome the previous shortcomings of the Hydra-Stupor developed for the FBI. It is available in a 230gr .45, 200gr 10mm, 180gr .40, and two 9mm 147gr and 124gr. For 9mm notice out what your pistol likes. The 124gr is probably more popular, but the heavier circular is a personal favorite and it is what I use in my deport guns.

The core principle of the older Hydra-Shock is still here. The idea is a consistent expansion, or what Federal calls Predictable Expansion. These are very trusted rounds for their tendency to always go blindside when they should. Expansion and penetration both pass FBI protocol.

Tests show 13.6 inches of penetration and expansion of most 200% upward to .63" with a 147gr 9mm.

two. Hornady Critical Defence force

Hornady Critical Defense Ammo

Optimized propellants burn down quickly to reduce recoil and limit muzzle flash
Nickel-plated cartridge cases ease chamber checks in reduced calorie-free, and depression-flash propellants preserve nighttime vision.
Expands reliably while avoiding the clogging that can plague other hollow bespeak bullets when passing through heavy wearable and other barriers.

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Critical Defence is easily the defensive ammunition available in the most calibers. Everything from .22 WMR upwardly to .44mag with several rifle variants and even 410 and 12ga. If you don't use the standard deport calibers, this may be the place to look. Generally, bullet weights are fairly close to the standard, for example 9mm is 115gr.

The core principle of Disquisitional Defense force is their Flex Tip Technology that avoids expansion in fabrics and saves the impact for denser, more fluid materials. This ammunition was not developed for law or FBI, merely for personal protection. This isn't an industry start, merely it does mean they put more than than just caliber considerations into their pattern.

This does laissez passer FBI protocol with an average of 13.62 inches of penetration and expansion of .52" for 115gr 9mm.

three. Speer Gold Dot

Speer Gold Dot Ammo

CCI primers for highly sensitive and reliable performance
Nickel-plated brass cases for polish functioning and durability
Uni-Cor electrochemical process virtually eliminates cadre/jacket separation

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Speer Gilt Dots are i of the classic concealed carry rounds from a time when options were few. After more than 20 years of production, it still stands up to the rest and is a solid performer. It is also available in a number of handgun calibers. You lot tin can also get it in various weights and occasional specialty configurations like +P and rounds designed for shorter barrels.

Speer has been a leading choice among law enforcement for a long time. Information technology has proven effective around the world in stopping assailants fast. Ane of the most novel things about the Gold Dot is that Speer makes a preparation counterpart to near calibers. This allows you to train with ammo very like to what you lot comport.

For 147gr 9mm y'all get about 15.4 inches of penetration and expansion .56" passing the FBI tests.

4. Winchester PDX1 Defender

Winchester PDX1 Defender Ammo

Expands upward to one.5x the original diameter resulting in maximum stopping power
Preprogrammed to expand into six uniform segments for consequent tactical performance
Welds jacket to lead resulting in improved penetration and retained weight

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While the Winchester PDX1 Defender ammo rates consistently lower among noncombatant shooters, it did win an FBI contract last year so yous know it performs well. On a personal observation from thousands of rounds fired, Winchester has always seemed to exist very reliable. The reason for the lower rating eludes me.

The Defender series is available in most commonly carried calibers, just is all over the board when it comes to weights. The 10mm is very light, the 9mm is very heavy, and in that location is the occasional +P thrown in. All of them feature the same welded core that prevents fragmentation for a large, consistent wound channel.

For penetration, the average is virtually 14.75 inches and the expansion is well-nigh .58". Since the FBI uses this, of course information technology passes their test.

v. Winchester Ranger T-Series

The T-serial by Winchester is another older competitor, but ane that has evolved a piddling more with the times. It may not exist significantly more effective, only one hopes they changed something worthwhile. For calibers, this is just as all over the board as the Defender. Yous get a single .357 sig and .380. For .40 quotient you lot go a light and heavy option. The old .45 gets a heavy round and then a +P Variant. The 9mm has three options; a standard pressure 147gr, and lighter rounds in both +P and +P+.

While this amalgamation? Obviously, Winchester was gearing their armament for specific operation. This was a previous FBI round and 1 used past a number of police departments. Its method of deployment is non dissimilar to the Federal HST and it seems to exist at to the lowest degree as constructive.

Penetration runs near fifteen.8 inches with an expansion of .54" for the standard. The +P variant ups that 23 inches of penetration, only expansion drops to .44 inches. These are both for a 147gr 9mm.

vi. Sig Sauer Elite V-Crown

Sig Sauer Elite 5-Crown Ammo

Stacked hollow point crenel, to deliver infrequent on-target energy with maximum weight memory and optimal expansion for ultimate stopping power.
Low flash propellant
Sig 5-Crown mushroom creates a consistent 5-shaped master cavity on tiptop of a deep narrow trail

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The final brand I recommend is the Sig Sauer Elite V-Crown. Coming in with many calibers and weights, the 5-Crown is not only a great round for Sig Sauer firearms, only any concealed carry gun. However, I do tend to see it being used more than past my friends in their Sigs…especially the P365.

Much of the testing that I have seen has the V-Crown coming in close, or equal to many of the rounds above. A couple of tests accept shown that the penetration of the 9mm round was slightly less than the Federal HST though, simply overall it performed well.

Sig as well makes practice ammo that mimics the V-Crown to allow you lot to do with similar ammo to your comport ammo…which is a great thought that I promise catches on with other manufacturers.

I will personally be testing this from my Sig P365 in the future. If you have used this in the past, drop a annotate down below and let usa know how information technology has worked.

The Takeaway

You have to make a choice at some point…but how? I recall penetration can be fix bated equally long as you become between thirteen and xvi inches of penetration. You will detect that all of the in a higher place options and nigh others will meet this criteria.

What well-nigh expansion? Well the HST by Federal wins there at nearly four hundredths of an inch. How much of a difference does this make? Probably very lilliputian in truth.

Modern ammunition is built to meet a standard and most of your quality comport ammunition meets that standard. So, if you desire to go with HST, Ranger, or Gold Dot, they volition all practise the job. The nearly important consideration is non in ballistic performance.

What matters most is the reliability of the ammunition in general and in your firearm. Some firearm models and even specific guns will have trouble feeding some ammunition. Some firearms handle some bullet weights meliorate than others. This is something you will never know until you try.

Only I get it. Carry ammo is expensive and information technology's difficult to invest in a box and just blow it. I still firmly stand by the advice that this is exactly what you should practice. Near quality bear guns volition run most ammo, just you need to be sure before you bet your life on information technology.

Function Checking your Ammo

And so, you lot need to exam your ammo, but you tin be smart about it. This is my recommendation on how best to do it and minimize the cost.

Ignore make for now, but find what weight works best for you lot. For case, I find 124gr 9mm to shoot more accurately out of an Due south&W Shield than 115gr. This is your starting point.

I nonetheless recommend getting some FMJ practice ammo of various weights and giving them a shot. Find the differences in recoil and accuracy for your particular carry gun. This will give you a amend idea of what you want. Friction match the weight of the comport ammo to the practise ammo.

Make sure your gun is broke in, clean, and well lubricated. If your gun is new, run a couple of hundred rounds of preparation ammo through it first. The purpose of this whole step is to ensure whatsoever problems yous take is the fault of your ammo and non your gun.

Load 5 rounds at a time in a mag and run them. If y'all get two malfunctions, cease. If those are in your first mag, you simply saved yourself 15 rounds of expensive ammo. Try a different weight or make of ammo and don't blow those actress bullets.

Those extra bullets can be tried in a different firearm, given to a friend, or sold at a discount to someone to compensate your losses. There is no sense beating a dead horse if they aren't working for y'all.

Range Ammo and Do Ammo

Type One Ammo

Get ammunition that functions well in your pistol and is a similar weight and load to your practise ammo. You won't demand a lot of this type, but it's dainty to practice with a round and see the performance of what you carry. This allows yous to perfect your point of aim. Mostly this is for fun, but can be educational.

Type Two Ammo

Get the cheapest quality ammo you tin. I prefer Blazer Brass for its price and reliability. This is your general practice ammo and what you should use most oft. You lot want to utilize an affordable bullet that goes blindside consistently.

Blazon Three Ammo

This is my personal, unconventional communication, simply hear me out. Purchase the cheapest ammo you can get. I like TulAmmo for this. The whole point of this ammo is to accept it fail from time to time and I find TulAmmo fits that pecker. It will run well virtually of the time, but every then often you will get a malfunction.

You need this do to become used to clearing jams, and this is the best way to replicate it. Y'all can fake all yous want with your decent ammo, but nothing will give y'all the practise for doing it at will.

Decision

Practice ammo is not acquit ammo. It penetrates too far and doesn't expand. No matter what you encounter in the movies, the FMJ is non an effective round for your personal defense. Salve it for the range. If you lot ever doubt this, await at deer hunting ammo and encounter how much of it is FMJ.

Don't fall into the trap of a 1-shot-terminate. Your pistol isn't a Star Trek phaser and even the most lethal rounds rarely accomplish that feat. Brand sure you go quality carry ammo.

My concluding piece of communication is to get a bunch of training ammo and some professional person training. It'due south fun and volition do more to aid you lot than anything else.

As the founder of Concealed Carry Lodge, Corey's vision for the site is to attain out and introduce new people to concealed carry, likewise as bring quality Articles, Reviews, and Resources to all firearm enthusiasts. His carry gun is his Glock 19 Gen five MOS or his Sig P365 depending on the weather.

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