Which ammo to use P2000sk .40

[Gatts]

Hey everyone, first I am new to this forum and I finally got approval from the admins! YAY!

Ok now on to the question, I was a bit tight on budget, but read a LOT about H&K and about to buy my first gun (yeah I know H&K are expensive, but I figure I'd want a gun that'll last me a LOONG time and ALWAYS had been a fan of H&K)

I decided to buy a P2000sk .40 cal for concealment and reliability.

Now I know some people are saying "why not go with the 9mm? cheaper ammo" etc, etc. But honestly, I'm not degrading 9mm, but I feel more comfortable knowing a .40 will most likely put someone out in 1 shot rather then using a 9mm. And I KNOW people will say, "why not use federal hydrashoks 9mm..."etc. etc., but again, I just feel more safer with a .40, but I believe 9mm are good too, just again, I feel safer with a .40

So my question to all you experienced people is, which ammo is good to use for the P2000sk in terms of :

1. Range (something good and cheap, not wolf)
2. Defense
3. All around

I'm still a real newb to pistols, but have been to a range. I just hope I can get some good advice here. Hopefully ed can throw a few at me as well.

Thanks

P.S. I live in washington, if that matters

[On the Gulf]

I use .40 WWB ("Winchester White Box") for everything except CCW/home defense. Sometimes UMC "mega packs" if Bass Pro Shops has them cheap. I use 180 grain Hydra Shocks for CCW. YMMV.

[choochboost]

Originally posted by Gatts
I'm not degrading 9mm, but I feel more comfortable knowing a .40 will most likely put someone out in 1 shot rather then using a 9mm.
Completely false, and you better know this before you get in a self-defense shooting. If you were lucky enough to drop someone with one shot, chances are you could have done it with a 9mm as well.

Originally posted by Gatts
And I KNOW people will say, "why not use federal hydrashoks...
Not exactly the best choice at all, but you're right...many people will tell you it is. That bullet is 10-15 years old and Federal puts out better self-defense rounds such as the HST and Tactical line.

Originally posted by Gatts
but again, I just feel more safer with a .40, but I believe 9mm are good too, just again, I feel safer with a .40

So my question to all you experienced people is, which ammo is good to use for the P2000sk in terms of :

1. Range (something good and cheap, not wolf)
2. Defense
3. All around
Handgun wounding is all about incapacitation by disrupting vitals. Generally you need significant penetration to reach vitals. Bigger bullets crush more tissue. That's what the .40 has over the 9mm.

Taking handgun wounding factors into consideration, my choice for self-defense in .40 is Winchester Ranger T-Series other wise known as RA40T. I use it in my P2K and I would also use it in the shorter barreled P2KSK. It reliably expands and penetrates well. That cannot be said of all self-defense ammo.

My choice for the range is Winchester White Box (FMJ). Walmart's prices are good.

What does "all around" mean. There's the range and self-defense.

[Phelen_Kell]

I've been using Ultramax .40 165 gr. TMJs (hey, it's what I stock and sell) for practice, I haven't had any problems. Might have a hard primer or two in a case of 500 that will need a double strike, but other than that, pretty decent practice ammo. I get some hard primers in WWB also.

for defense, i use Winchester Ranger T and Ranger Bonded.

just practice. any bullet will do the job as long as you put it in the right spots.

[choochboost]

Originally posted by Phelen_Kell
any bullet will do the job as long as you put it in the right spots.
Not when it comes to JHP. It's supposed to expand. If it doesn't it fails in it's purpose. Then you might as well save your money and buy FMJ. Not every JHP will expand consistently.

Here is Federal HST in 2002:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d11/choochboost/Fed_HST_Bare_Denim_Tests.jpg
The second column of each round was shot through 4 layers of denim. As you can see, it didn't do too well.


Now here is Federal HST in 2005 after a re-design:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d11/choochboost/FedHST_newtest.jpg
They fixed the expansion problem and it is now considered one of the top performing JHPs.