According to the "FBI" they feel that 12-18" is the "ideal" range. Critical defense came up short of that. It also doesn't expand very much at all. Critical duty 135+P works well for barrier penetration similar to gold dot 124+P. I am not LEO so that criteria isn't as important to me. Most of these are designed around a full size duty weapon. The most consistent round that penetrates and expands from short, medium and long barrels is the 124 HST standard pressure. At least in my tests and everyone else. The 147 gr HST is great out of a "long" barrel. I have had a couple usually 2 out of 5 that will fail to expand using a short barrel.
I was giving these guys a close look, but whenever I run across an operation that makes me go through the entire checkout routine, before giving me a shipping cost, I just empty my cart and go somewhere else.
Thanks much for the link.
As mentioned already, nearly any one of several modern,popular brands (including Hornady) will suffice just fine.
The critical thing is that it cycles properly in your weapon, and there's only one way to determine that (and it ain't by asking strangers on the internet).
These days, Federal's HST's are pretty widely considered the best-of-the-very-best, but the top-of-the-line stuff from Winchester,Hornady,Remington,Speer, and others, are very reliable and solid performers.
Personally, I'd go with whichever one was most readily available to you, and that you could most easily afford to shoot a box or two of, and then put a few boxes away. Hornady and Remignton Golder Sabres often seem to be more economical than the others, but the HST's can sometimes be found reasonably.
