Would say .40sw ( winchester white box or equivalent) target ammo be at least as effective as your favorite/best 9mm defense ammo in a ccw scenario?

 

Would anyone who feels 9mm with the right ammo is sufficient for self defense feel .40sw with any old ammo is not sufficient?( assuming reliability is not an issue.) strictly from a ballistic perspective?

 

I recently carried my G27 with a mixed bag of quality range ammo. Just wondering if others would have felt Under protected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not legal expert but in a defense situation I think choosing a round that will not overpenetrate is a good idea. Regular ball ammo penetrates a target and keeps going while defense ammo is made to send its energy into a target and then stop. Below is a test on 9mm Hollow Points vrs 9mm ball and the results are quite different based upon these rounds. If I had to choose between carrying a 9mm defense round or a 40 ball round I would choose the 9mm defense every time since its a lot safer for those around you. However, if I had the choice to carry a 9mm defense round or a 40 s&w with defensive ammo I would choose the smith since its more mass in the bullet and that is one reason why the police carry this round today instead of the 9mm. Below is also is a video on .45ball vrs 45 hp. One thing to note is that using a hp in NJ is an extreme liability. If you ever have to use your gun in defense I would go with the EFMJ since its not a hollow point but sort of acts like one by not over penetrating. I hope this helps!

 

 

Depends on bullet design... if you are carrying for defense... use defensive ammo.

 

Any ball ammo can over penetrate. 40 S&W would have more energy... but any defensive round, like an expanding hollow point, or a regular hollow point would cause more damage, and should penetrate less... ie, not going to go through 5 walls.

One thing to note is that using a hp in NJ is an extreme liability.

 

Let's put this myth to bed right here. Unless you are one of the annointed few, who actually have a NJ CCW, the only place you would have cause to use your firearm in a defensive scenario is in your home. Absolutely no problem using JHP's in your home for SD - perfectly legal.

.40s&w is almost always a truncated cone and its a slightly larger diameter so .40 ball vs. 9mm ball, the .40 will have a higher coefficient of drag and deposit more energy. But if the 9mm is allowed to expand all of a sudden it has a higher Cd and it's suddenly more efficient at energy transfer.

 

The mechanism of expansion (hollowpoint, EFMJ, really tiny warhead...) is secondary.

A well designed 9mm hp at a good velocity will perform much better than .40 plinking ammo. The cheap bulk stuff not only isn't designed with expansion in mind, it's also likely less than max velocity for the bullet weight.

 

All pistol ammo can over penetrate.

I would take quality 9mm defensive ammo over .45 fmj.

Noob question: What do the acronyms "EFMJ" and "JHP" mean?

 

My guess is Expanding Full Metal Jacket and Jacketed Hollow Point

Noob question: What do the acronyms "EFMJ" and "JHP" mean?

 

My guess is Expanding Full Metal Jacket and Jacketed Hollow Point

 

You are correct, sir!

JHP is always best for SD but shot placement and tactics is what wins. If I feel the need for a bigger bulet I skip the 40 and go to a 45.

Plus, regardless of caliber, you're more likely to have a one shot stop with JHP due to expansion in the target. FMJ rounds that go in and out mean it is more likely that you will require multiple follow up shots to stop the threat and pose risk to object or people beyond the threat. With HP, if one hit a target once and the threat stops, then the target has one hole. FMJ could need say three or four shots to stop threat and the target has now six or eight holes. Plus, the more shots necessary to end the encounter, the more likely of a miss.

 

I would agree with what jon said, I think. Clearly, I say this purely as a layman.

Save target ammo for targets, See how Hornady CD works in your gun and use that if it works well, and in NJ it's not HP ammo so even if you can carry you get past that technicality also. It's what I use in my carry gun for when I am out of the PR of NJ.