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Personal defense ammo question

8K views 81 replies 23 participants last post by  diesel lover 
#1 ·
So...I've always purchased Speer Gold Dot ammo for my CCW and HD gun. Getting ready to switch over the HD gun from a 3.8 compact 40 XDm to a Glock 17 Gen 4. I called up the local gun shop to see if he had any 147 gr Speer in 9mm. He said he didn't have Speer in any caliber.

He then said he had loads of Remington Golden Saber and in 147 gr. Boxes of 25 rounds were $30.99 and that Remington was offering a $10 rebate per box through 11/30 up to $100 per single customer. Essentially buy 3 get one free....

I'm fully aware about running the ammo rather it be Speer, Golden Saber, etc. through several mags before betting my life on it. Its a Glock.....I would assume Remington or Speer would feed fine but I still know to shoot many mags of it first. I'm not new here and have common sense. However, I still value opinions on this site.

Is the Golden Saber on par with Speer.....I'm kind of thinking it is from reading on this site some time ago. Just wanted to verify. Also....is that a good price/rebate deal? Or is it marked up and the rebate is giving it to you at regular price? Should I call around for Speer since that's what I've always had? Just wondering what your thoughts are fellas...
 
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#3 ·
#6 ·
#7 ·
Whatever you buy check out Tactical Defense Solutions first. They get in law enforcement ammo and sell boxes of 50 very reasonably.

I buy and carry Federal LE ammo almost exclusively at this point.
 
#8 ·
Whatever you buy check out Tactical Defense Solutions first. They get in law enforcement ammo and sell boxes of 50 very reasonably.

I buy and carry Federal LE ammo almost exclusively at this point.
 
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#10 ·
If you go with the Golden Saber check online prices first. I grabbed 10 boxes at $12.50 each at Ammunition Depot, which is a good deal before the rebate (if Remington makes good on the rebate it will be a steal).

That said, I've never bought GS before. Typically use Gold Dot or Ranger T.
 
#12 ·
As has been said here before, don't go buying a bunch of anything because of sale prices.

Buy a box of two or three proven rounds and fire them all for reliability. My XDS digests just about everything including Gold Dots, HSTs, and Ranger Ts.

The difference being that last one has a funny feel to it when feeding the next round. That "sluggishness" bothered me, so I stuck with GDs because of lower perceived recoil.

As always, YMMV. Try before you really "buy".
 
#17 ·
if you haven't already placed an order,SGAmmo gets ALL of my self defense ammo orders.... best pricing AND availability that I have found.

www.sgammo.com

I primarily use the Speer Gold Dots, but also will mix in the Winchester Ranger-T when I can get 'em...... The Golden Saber I have a stock of because of price, and they would be better than fmj.

SGAmmo also gets over-runs of military & government contract ammo which has a different name than what we buy at the local gun shop, but is same stuff......
 
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#18 ·
if you haven't already placed an order,SGAmmo gets ALL of my self defense ammo orders.... best pricing AND availability that I have found.

www.sgammo.com

I primarily use the Speer Gold Dots, but also will mix in the Winchester Ranger-T when I can get 'em...... The Golden Saber I have a stock of because of price, and they would be better than fmj.

SGAmmo also gets over-runs of military & government contract ammo which has a different name than what we buy at the local gun shop, but is same stuff......
Awesome, thanks for that. I knew there was a website I've seen mentioned on here several times and I couldn't think of it...that's the one.

**edit** looks like they're out of all 9mm in Speer and Winchester Ranger's......
 
#20 ·
The place i go does t carry speef anymore either. Not a prob for foseeable future.

They now carry sig hollow points. Dude said it is basically same bullet.

Nodded my head and left. Not knowledgeable enough to know if hes bsing and Im okay for now.
 
#25 ·
An analogy: Among the finest telescope eyepiece manufacturers is TeleVue. They're also very expensive.

The saying among amateur astronomers: If you buy TeleVue, you'll only cry once.
 
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#28 ·
I have been testing SD ammo for almost 20 years, and would choose the Gold Dots over the Golden Sabers,as they do suffer from jacket separation quite frequently. If using the Sabers try and find the Bonded, if all you can get is the regular I would not feel undergunned.

I personally prefer HST's,Ranger T's, Gold Dots, then Golden Sabers in that order, but they all make a hole, just put em in the right place and you should be alright. Make sure to check for function and accuracy.

I would not pay those prices , check out Sgammo.com for better prices.
 
#30 ·
I wouldn't bother with those ammo makers like underwood. There's no need to push the 9mm to plus p plus to achieve desired results. Stick to brand names, winchester pdx, speer gold dots, federal hst, remington gs.
 
#32 ·
I always appreciate your knowledge, @agalindo , so correct me where I'm wrong. It was my understanding that in short-barrelled pistols (like the XD9SC), GDHPs often would not expand fully, and the extra velocity of a +p or +p+ loading made a difference in getting reliable expansion? I can't look for the link now, but I read it on the interwebz, so it must be true.
 
#42 ·
For the glock it would be a personal choice, which ever you are most comfortable shooting. Both are good loads. FYI a non barrier blind .223 penetrates less walls than a 9mm. My beside "gun" is a AR carbine.
 
#45 ·
Glad to help.

I wanted to mention--

A good metric to determine the balance of practical accuracy and control is the "Bill Drill"--put the target at 20', and, as rapidly as you can--put six rounds into the "A" zone of a silhouette (a 6" paper plate will work as well, if getting good silhouettes is a problem...).
 
#51 ·
Well....what a PITA! Can only find 2 places locally with Gold Dot in stock. Only 20 round boxes for $25-26 each! Finally found a place online that someone recommended in this thread. They only had 2 50 round boxes of 147gr gold dot in stock so I bought them. $32 each with $13 UPS shipping. Not great but at least they're on the way.
 
#53 · (Edited)
My problem in Indiana exactly!! Gold dots here are $27 to 37$ per 50 in 9mm. Found them before I bought the gun but not after! Great....

Ended up getting American gunner 124 xtp +P. It's definately noticeably hotter in the cm9 without grip extention. 112 rounds through this gun. Not one failure.

I am still keeping in mind cost. after all i am still balancing bills. Why get the gold dot if the gun isn't broken in yet? I am thinking I will find 50 round boxes of something online but in my area it's tough to find 9mm hollowpoints of top name brands. The American gunner hornady was $19.99 for 25. Did not have 147.

Critical duty? It was $28 per 25 for 135 grain.
 
#55 ·
Generally, do the 147 grain 9mm have more or less recoil than the 124 grain in a small gun?
Both standard pressures or +P. Want to compare apples to apples. I imagine recoil could be just different or hard to say due to the different loadings of both grain weights.

I am new to the 9mm caliber.
 
#57 ·
Cuda, have you ever done any personal research regarding the same bullet make/model in different weights, to compare perceived recoil?

One day I'll try that with HSTs or GDs in two different .45 weights. 185 v. 230, etc.

True, it'd be subjective but might be fun.
 
#58 ·
Here's my entirely subjective take, with a little science thrown in.

Newton's third law says for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Which means, hotter loads will have more recoil.

And I've found that to be pretty much true.

However...to me, if you have two bullets with comparable energy levels...heavier bullets seem to me to have less perceived recoil. It's a slower push vs a quick snap.

Other people say they feel otherwise. So...it all comes down to what works for you.
 
#60 ·
got a glock 43 and figure i'd try some ammo in it - my loads (125 gold ********, 1100ish fps out of an xdm/mp full size) and I have some federal self defense and got a box of hornady.
the hornady is much hotter (feeling) than the others.

the hornady critical duty, $20 for 20 rounds at dunhams.
 
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