Choosing the right kind of ammo for your gun is absolutely paramount. Most people however, learn this the hard way. You don’t want to be in a situation using a gun that malfunctions when you need it most. Especially if it malfunctions because you didn’t have the right factory ammunition.
Choosing ammunition for self defense is a little different than when you are just firing rounds at the range.
Use Quality Ammunition
Your gun is useless without good ammunition, so avoid the common mistakes that people make while buying ammunition. Never buy lacquer coated ammo for your gun.The lacquer coating is notorious for its tendency to slough off the bullet as the gun chamber heats up and clog up the insides. This can make the gun malfunction by ruining the trigger mechanism. It can even cause an increase in pressure, resulting in the gun bursting in your hand.
Cheap foreign manufactured ammunition floods the ammunition market. This ammo has no quality control and inferior components. You want a trusted brand like Hornady ammunition, Remington or Winchester which will fire when you want it.
Choose for Incapacitation
You want firepower strong enough that when fired is strong enough to require only one shot. This is what is referred to as a one stop shot. It basically means that an assailant will be injured/scared sufficiently after you fire the first round itself. While this varies from person to person, knowledge collected over the years has given us a good idea of what kind of ammunition is strong enough for a one stop shot.
Handgun cartridges should have a minimum penetration of about 10-12 inches. This will allow it to penetrate deep enough to hit the vital structures and cause blood loss. Law enforcement officers advise that anything more might be overkill and actually pose a danger to bystanders.
The Hornady critical defense uses a patented Flex Tip technology that the company claims helps remove the reliability issue from hollow point cartridges. These pack enough punch in them to stop an attacker, while are built with efficient burning propulsion systems that reduce the recoil.
The Remington Ultimate Home Defense hollow point cartridges and the Winchester Ranger series are also reliable high quality ammunition built specifically for self defense purposes.
It’s Your Life
If you bought a gun to keep yourself safe then you want to make sure that it has high quality ammo, like Hornady ammunition, to bring out optimum performance. After all its your life that is on the line.