Guys, I got so much great advice here. I recently bought the Glock 42 and absolutely love it! But been told .380 is not a good self defense round and the lowest I should go is a 9mm. Well OK, I went out and bought the Shield but now I don't know what I should go with. Do I do Speer Gold Dot 115gr or 124gr? I do not like Critical Defense after it would not chamber in my G42. It works fine in my 9c but not G42. The shield is only slightly larger

I like the Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel 124 gr +P round. But any of the modern defense rounds should work fine. Find the one you shoot well that feeds consistently and you're good to go.

Just about any SD round will do. I like to go heavy - 147's Golden Sabers.
124's is about as low as I want to go. But that's just my preference. 115, 124, 147, Gold Dot, Golden Saber, Critical Duty....I wouldn't want to get shot with any of them!

What is most important is what will your Shield feed without fail? I've had good luck with mine, but I have a few autoloaders that are picky about specific SD rounds.

For any new gun I buy a box of SD ammo and a box or two of plinking ammo. After an initial cleaning I shoot each mag with SD ammo. If they all feed reliably then I go through a box of plinking ammo (usually FMJ). Then maybe one more mag each of the SD stuff and if no jams it's good to go after a cleaning. May cause you to bun a box of SD ammo but it's worth it if your life depends on it.

(Or, you just buy a nice little j-frame revolver and call it good!)

Mine eats 124gr Federal HS JHP best, also 124gr Speer Gold Dot JHP.

Ammo selection is part of the concealed carry package. Don't agonize or over think it. Find one that is reliable and accurate in your gun.

Some notables would be:

Federal HST
Winchester Ranger T
Gold Dot
Corbon DPX
Barnes X Tac
Hornady Critical Duty

Most premium self defense ammo will do it's part if you do yours. And while opinions may abound, it all comes down to personal preference.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

Service Caliber Handgun Duty and Self-Defense Ammo

Dr. Roberts is by far the premier expert on terminal ballistics today. Pick one of these rounds, buy a case of it for function testing, and as long as it feeds every time and you can shoot it worth a hoot, you're good to go. Invest in good training and support gear (holster, belt, mag pouch; flashlight, etc).

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NHI, 10-8.

I have Critical Defense in mine. Shoots Golden Saber just as good...everything feeds fine. I would not want a brand of a caliber that only works or does not work in a particular gun. Which I probably would sell that particular gun.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...DMgd-w4Yozc27i


Shooting thebull ammo quest specifically looks at results from a 3" barrel.

For 9mm Shield, I use either Speer Golddot 124gr +P of Federal HST 124gr standard P

I have standardized on Federal HST 124 (non +P) as a carry load for all my 9mms, but I do have several Browning High Powers, for which I avoid +P ammo, and prefer to stock up on one load. Feeds and shoots just fine.

My vote is whatever feeds and is accurate in your pistol. I think people tend to get a little in their own head when it comes to choices like this. I shot about 100 rounds each of Federal Hydra shok, Hst, Speer Gold Dots, Golden Sabers, PDX1 and Hornady critical duty/defense in 165 and 180 gr and settled on the Gold dots only because I can find them with more frequency where I live. It was an expensive yet fun way to break it in and test what rounds did best in my shield. If you can afford to do the same I would suggest trying that. Would make a good range day also .

To sort of echo a theme ( for all the larger than .380 popular service and SD ctgs ).any of the major-ish brand service/ SD ammo will work fine. A few are kind of specialized for a whole lot or very little penetration on purpose for specialized purposes. But for all around civilian SD it's all *plenty good enough* .

Test in your guns , in your hands for 100% reliability , more or less aceptable accuracy , and reasonably close POA/POI .

Additionaly , in a subcompact polymer frame gun , std vel may be more controlable than +P. Test for yourself , YMMV.

And just to throw another Opinion- While I recognize current state of the art 147gr sucks less that it used to , I would still prefer a decent 124/7 , or even a good 115 over any 147. Particulary from a subcompact.

I shoot .40 cal but I think reliability in rounds should be about the same regardless of caliber. I use Gold Dots, HST & Critical Duty in my 40C with absolutely no problems.

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Former USN, Retired US Army

Those 'Shooting The Bull' YouTube videos were very compelling and further convinced me that Federal HST 124 grain standard pressure ammo was the way to go. They also perform flawlessly in my 9mm Shield.

SGAMMO has 9mm Gold Dots, Golden Sabers, and Critical Duty in 50 round boxes for under 30.00 + shipping. If you buy 2 boxes, your around 62-70 cents a round, shipped.

9mm / 9x19 | SGAmmo.com

I like the CorBon 115. Whatever you use, it has to work 100%.

+1. Don't go out and buy just any SD hollowpoint until you've watched this youtube channel. Federal HST 124 seems to be the best round that is available (get the 50 round box, not the 20 round).

ANY 124/5 gr or 147gr hollow point, standard pressure, which will reliably cycle through your gun. It doesn't need to be one of the high priced self defense loads. It DOES need to feed 100% and be a load you can hit what you're aiming at with. Both Remington and Winchester offer these in 100 round boxes. They are also cheap enough to practice with. No need for the $1.00+/ round ammo. Accuracy and reliability are far more important than designer ammo.

I use 115 gr Critical Defense and I've never had a cycling problem in my Shield. Not that I've gone through thousands of rounds of the stuff due to the cost, but I have fired about 100 rounds with no issues.

Try Winchester RA9B. If you cannot find any, try the equivalent from Speer Gold Dot or Federal HST (not Hydra-Shok).

I am lucky to have stocked up when I could get them for under $20 for a 50rnd box. Also still have a few of the 250 rnd boxes of Golddots labeled "target only" from when they had a huge run that Speer could not verify had primer compound in the primer. So far everyone has gone bang and good way to check that it functions in a given pistol.

My choice is at least a 9mm but bullets have improved a LOT and the .380 isn't laughed at as much as it used to be. Of course the technology applies to all calibers, so any gun with new ammo is better than one with the old stuff. I prefer the 125 grain bullets for 9mm as a good compromise between mass and velocity. Like others mentioned, the defense ammo from any of the main manufacturers are good. I like the gold dot but can't find any. The Hornady FTXs and FTPs are good and I've found some of those.

Corbon DPX in my M&P 9, 40 and RI 1911.

Reliable and I shoot it well...


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