Winchester white box is my range ammo of choice. Academy Sports usually has the best prices in it too.
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Golden Sabor and Federal Hydro Shocks - thatās what my hubby swears by too.
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@luke_ouellette, just had a thought for anyone with an outdoor range: About the worry of defensive ammunition going through and through as in an apartment through walls, someone should build some small sections of drywall separated by normal insulation and take them to the outdoor range to see what ammo goes through and what does not and post the results for the group. Sound like a good idea?
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@Dawn, how about putting up a poll with the varied names of self defense ammo used in this post and any others you can think of and let everyone vote for their ONE FAVORITE brand so others coming into this post can see which is most liked. Iāve been through this post and while I have heard many recommendations, I canāt tell through the many posts which is the MOST LIKED.
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Theyāre all going to go through inner walls. Even frangibles.
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@James, my main concern if I have to defend myself in my apartment from an intruder who made his or her way inside, if I had to shoot them and hit my mark, would a frangible not go through walls and that is impossible to test on any range without killing someone. Maybe if a blanket was put in front of the partial wall? I just want to know that if I am defending myself in this manner that my round wonāt go through the individual, through the wall and hit someone in the path of the bullet. I am 6ā4" tall so from my shooting point the bullets most likely would be in a somewhat downward angle but we also have a paved road out in front that it could possibly deflect off of.
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Iāve had frangibles blow up on thin plywood, so I imagine they wouldnāt stay whole going through the wall if you missed, but there would more than likely be shrapnel coming out on the other side. You cannot completely mitigate the risk of causing death or serious injury discharging a firearm anywhere. Have you looked into less than lethal home defense? Like foam OC spray, tasers, or less than lethal shotgun ammo?
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Yes, have considered all of the alternatives. Our area, as many are these days, is rampant with drug addicts/dealers and many things like tasers, OC spray and more are not reliable against those people. As for shotgun ammo of any type, I have an African Grey Parrot and if I had to use my handgun to defend our lives it would probably scare him to death and I believe that shotguns are even louder than handguns at least in my limited experience. I also have an Ascending Aortic Aneurysm that I am afraid if I were to use a shotgun, pressed up against my shoulder, might actually make that aneurysm burst so I tend to stay away from them. Thank you though for the further thoughts. I will just have to make sure that my aim is true and get our state officials to allow Hollow Points and Frangibles for self defense use at least in the home.
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My sister just had surgery to repair the same kind of aneurysm, (shes doing great) and shooting was off her list too. Happy to share any info about that process that youād find useful.
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Thank You @Zee,
Right now it isnāt large enough to take the chance at surgery so they just monitor me with CT Scanās every year. Glad to hear that your sister is doing great. If I have any questions or concerns I will remember to ask. Thanks.
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I havenāt had my handgun for very long now. I recently purchased a S&W M&P Shield 40. I really like shooting it. For right now I am using Winchester 165 grain Target ammo. For home self defense I am using Federal Premium 135 grain Hydra Shok HP. Having just acquired my handgun I only have purchased a few boxes of ammo. I live in a apartment so in the event that I would have to use my handgun I am concerned about over penetration. I have considered G2 Research RIP 40 ammo. Does anyone have any suggestions on the issue of over penetration and the right kind of ammo would be best for me since I live in a apartment? I live on the first floor of a two story apartment building. My apartment is on the end of the building so one side of my apartment doesnāt have a apartment next to it, I live by myself. Thanks for any input.
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Iāll start a new thread with the favorite Self Defense Ammo poll.
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@Dennis, my wife and I live in a ground floor apartment with a unit above us and units to the side of us. I have pondered that same question and I am looking into some sort of hollow point however our state does not allow them for self defenseā¦ only hunting, go figure. We have a graded lawn and then a road out front of our door. Iām 6ā4" so as long as I am shooting at someone shorter I think that my shots if they did go through should go into the lawn or hit the paved road. Hope that this gives you some ideas.
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Thank you, NJSraightShooter. I fortunately live in Indiana and for at least now Indiana is a gun friendly state. I hope that never changes. The G2 Research RIP has from what I have seen really good reviews. I think I may try those. Itās a interesting round but also expensive to shoot. I live just a few miles from a large city where it ranks very high for home invasions and violent crimes. Just a week or so ago a news report from the Police Department was astonished that the summer crime wave has already begun and itās not even warm outside yet. Itās unfortunate that things are the way they are today but we do not live in fear but we live prepared. Thank you for your input, I appreciate it.
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Here in New Jersey, we donāt live that close to any city, Thank God, but we still have a lot of break ins. I hear it in the news many times a week. Iām guessing it is the city punks that believe in āNot In My Backyardā so they go to other towns far away to steal and then run back to their neighborhoods. In some rich towns near us I have been hearing of a lot of car thefts from people who, believe it or not, purposely leave their key fobs in their cars! The thieves have a device that tells them if a key fob is in a car and then they go break in and take the car. SO DUMB! And they are the rich people doing this.
All that matters to me is, Self Defense ammo or not, if someone breaks in my apartment, I am ready. I do readiness planning too to make sure I know what to do.
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I agree, readiness training and planning is a priority. Since being with USCCA, for just a month now I have learned how to better secure my apartment, windows and doors, for example, making it harder for a home invasion, giving me more time to respond. I really like the training on Situational Awarness, it has helped me to be more aware of my surroundings.
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@Dennis, Being that you, and I, live on ground floors here is some advice that I learned years ago from my step-father. Take a 1" by 2" firring strip and cut it to the exact length of space from the top of your lower window to the top of the frame and wedge it in place. This will deter criminals from prying the cheap locks that apartments put on their windows. On mine, I wedge them in place along the side so no one can really even see them there and they pop right out if I need to open the window for air. Just an idea if you havenāt heard of it yet.
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Yes, that is great idea for the windows. The next thing I am going to do to help secure my apartment is to get a Security Bar for my front door (I have just the one door). It slips up under the door and wedges against the floor. If you are going to be away from home and staying in a hotel you can take it with you.
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Yup! I was going to mention that next! I have one for the one entry door and I bought another one for my bedroom door, just in case they made it inside just to slow them down for me to get a good shot on them. I almost always thinking ten steps ahead of myself. 
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