[woodrowNC]

i know back in the early 2000's clint smith said he didn't bother with hp's to eliminate any chance of a malf. said that big bullet would do the trick. in my opinion all the big name ammo manufacturers make quality hp's, and i'm really confident carrying any of them, but i myself sometimes carry speer lawman. same powder charge for the identical fps and good termimal energy to give officers and identical practice round. it's obviously not gonna do the same internal damage but unless it's a head or heart shot the bg ain't gonna stop and drop instantly anyway. i've got a crapload of 230 lawman i got at a good price, but i've also a crapload of goldots, golden saber and hst's. what do yall think of this. keep in mind there's a bunch of coffins filled with ball recipeints. what do yall think?

[rsxr22]

I would carry ball if I couldnt have JHP's, thats about it. If I couldnt get my gun to function properly by trying different ammunition, I would probably get rid of the gun before I carried ball ammo. You are correct, fmj's do indeed kill, but there are enough defense ammo loads out there to try from. If your gun has problems cycling JHP's, try critical defense, pow'r'ball, and/ or Wilson's custom. I know my TRP does not like GD's, GS's, or HS so i wont even attempt running them through anymore. The Winchester PDX-1 and Wilson Combat has never failed me through a 150 round test of the Win and 100 of the WC

[Foxtrotx1]

That Clint Smith guy sounds pretty dumb if he actually said that.

[samuse]

Ball will work just fine if you hit a good spot.

[Bowtie]

My only concern with ball is over penetration.

[HAIL CAESAR]

I've carried ball and SWC's. In fact I still do at times.

[rsxr22]

Originally Posted by Foxtrotx1

That Clint Smith guy sounds pretty dumb if he actually said that.

LOL why dont you do a google search on who Clint Smith is....

[woodrowNC]

Originally Posted by Bowtie

My only concern with ball is over penetration.

yes, thought about that.

[Bowtie]

Originally Posted by Foxtrotx1

That Clint Smith guy sounds pretty dumb if he actually said that.

Ball ammo has put alot of people in the ground for alot of years..

[woodrowNC]

Originally Posted by Foxtrotx1

That Clint Smith guy sounds pretty dumb if he actually said that.

you are obviously not familiar with clint smith. spend a litttle time on google and educate yourself.

[woodrowNC]

Originally Posted by Bowtie

My only concern with ball is over penetration.

like i said, i've thought about that, but as far as terminal ballistics, i'm confident it would do the job. and at 17 dollars for 50, it's tempting, compared to a dollar a round of highend sd ammo.

thanks for the opinions.

[woodrowNC]

Originally Posted by rsxr22

I would carry ball if I couldnt have JHP's, thats about it. If I couldnt get my gun to function properly by trying different ammunition, I would probably get rid of the gun before I carried ball ammo. You are correct, fmj's do indeed kill, but there are enough defense ammo loads out there to try from. If your gun has problems cycling JHP's, try critical defense, pow'r'ball, and/ or Wilson's custom. I know my TRP does not like GD's, GS's, or HS so i wont even attempt running them through anymore. The Winchester PDX-1 and Wilson Combat has never failed me through a 150 round test of the Win and 100 of the WC

i agree on the pdx1 and also the goldensaber. the rems seem to have a slightly rounder ogive than other hp's and always have. and when i've had finicky 1911s, the gs's always solved the prob. plus at ammotogo they run about 15 for 25.

[Foxtrotx1]

Why would I run Ball when there are so many viable Bullet choices that won't over penetrate the target and will deliver more KE and a bigger wound channel? If you don't want a malfunction choose and test your ammo carefully and carry a clean reliable gun.

[Cobra64]

Originally Posted by Foxtrotx1

That Clint Smith guy sounds pretty dumb if he actually said that.

Take a Clint Smith class and you'll come back with your tail tucked between your legs.

[Bowtie]

Originally Posted by woodrowNC

like i said, i've thought about that, but as far as terminal ballistics, i'm confident it would do the job. and at 17 dollars for 50, it's tempting, compared to a dollar a round of highend sd ammo.

thanks for the opinions.

The good thing about that is you're only going to spend the bigger $$$ testing for a reliable SD ammo. Once you find what your gun likes you're golden. Its not like you're going to be burning up the good ammo every weekend.

[Bowtie]

Originally Posted by Cobra64

Take a Clint Smith class and you'll come back with your tail tucked between your legs.

Yeah no kidding.

[Nestor]

I wouldn't mind at all in 45 ACP.
Over penetration with 45 may not be an issue.
I can remember that I was reading ballistic post mortem reports on 45 ball somewhere - those bullets under standard pressure are not over penetrating.

[faawrenchbndr]

Originally Posted by Foxtrotx1

That Clint Smith guy sounds pretty dumb if he actually said that.

.......

[MadMonkey]

I carry it in my LCP... would probably carry it in a 1911 too.

[polizei1]

I would also be concerned with over penetration. Chances are, using FMJ you are much more likely for the round to go through the target completely. Instead, JHP's will do more internal damage as well as usually stopping inside the body. This is the best choice for these reasons. Especially for civilians, you have to think...chances are, if you have to use your weapon, it's probably going to be in public, around other people. You do NOT want over penetration. Think about it.

Companies today that make high-end JHP's are reliable and trustable. Shoot a couple hundred rounds through your gun with the JHP's of your choice (I like Speer Gold Dot's), and once you deem them reliable, carry it.

FMJ ball ammo has specific advantages for the military and civilians who compete or target shoot. However for self defense, no way. To give you an idea I believe some Special Operations units use JHP's, most likely because they are within close proximately of the enemy.

Besides, you're not going to shoot that stuff like target ammo anyway. Once you have enough rounds to deem it reliable, just keep a few boxes on hand and rotate the ammo every month or so.

Oh and something I left out...it depends also where you will be traveling. If you have any chances of encountering a large animal with thick hide (bear), JHP's will be essentially useless, so I've heard.

[R0CKETMAN]

Originally Posted by Foxtrotx1

That Clint Smith guy sounds pretty dumb if he actually said that.

Originally Posted by samuse

Ball will work just fine if you hit a good spot.

Originally Posted by rsxr22

LOL why dont you do a google search on who Clint Smith is....

Originally Posted by woodrowNC

you are obviously not familiar with clint smith. spend a litttle time on google and educate yourself.

I'm quite familiar with Clint Smith and although he is not a dumb person by any means, recommending ball as self defense ammo in an urban environment is not smart.

The potential of over penetration is great.

[FLIPPER 348]

I use 236g ball in my 1911s for all situations.

[GeorgiaRedfish]

I am using it currently, I am on a college budget and do not have enough money to buy the amount of Hp's I would need to shoot to feel comfortable carring them. Plus Ball .45acp has been killing people for a while so....

[knedrgr]

Ed Brown carries ball ammo in his EDC.

[lawdog734]

Ball ammo would be better than carrying a sharp stick but I'll stay with hp's. I have been running ranger talons thru the no name with 0 problems.