If you’re a brave patriot who has decided to take responsibility for your own safety, you’ve likely added a pistol to your self-defense toolbox. That can be a wise choice, but it is only the beginning. Now you need to make sure you can get the most from it.
This involves the consideration of aftermarket sights and accessories, practical training and practice and routine maintenance. We’ll get to those things shortly, but one of the most-important choices you’ll make concerns ammunition.
It’s often said that you are what you eat. You can apply the same rationale to a self-defense pistol. Your pistol’s ability to solve a problem—whether the problem is in the form of a target or a bad guy—partly rests on the ammunition you feed your gun. When it comes to getting the most from your self-defense pistol, ammunition is a good place to start.
Ammunition Development
A self-defense pistol is just a gunpowder-fueled hole puncher. Its effectiveness is determined by where you punch the hole and the hole’s diameter and depth. Some bullets make narrow and deep holes, some make wide and shallow holes. Others offer a balanced performance with a hole that’s 12 to 16 inches deep and about 1.5 times the diameter of the unfired bullet. The FBI has determined this offers the best chance for quick incapacitation, but how did they arrive at that conclusion?
In 1986, two bank robbers killed two FBI agents and wounded five others during a shootout in Miami, Fla. The FBI partly attributed the disaster to a single 9 mm pistol bullet that failed to stop one of the felons. In the aftermath, the FBI changed its approach to ammo selection and began a rigorous testing-and-scoring protocol for self-defense pistol ammunition. Early on, this led to the introduction of the .40 S&W cartridge in 1990, but more importantly, it led to much better self-defense ammunition.
Since 1986, the terminal effectiveness of handgun ammo has substantially improved. Before the FBI began its testing, conventional jacketed hollow point (JHP) bullets were the most popular for self-defense. JHP bullets feature a lead core encased in a thin jacket of copper with a deep cavity at the front. On impact, tissues enter this cavity and force bullet upset to increase the bullet’s frontal diameter. The larger in diameter the bullet becomes, the more tissue it destroys, but the less it penetrates. Also, sometimes this cavity can clog with clothing, which can cause the bullet not to deform at all.
Bullet engineers began to counter these problems with ingenious designs that were less susceptible to impact-velocity variation and hollow-point clogging. One of the first was the Federal Hydra-Shok in 1989, which had a small post inside the hollow-point cavity to help initiate upset. Another design was the Winchester Black Talon in 1992. The Talon used a bullet with a reverse jacket and relied on the controlled deformation of the jacket to hold the bullet together and to enhance wounding. Though eventually pulled from the market due to bad publicity, the Talon was a major influence on handgun bullet construction.
Due to the need for law enforcement to routinely shoot through barriers, like walls, auto glass and car doors, manufactures began bonding bullet jackets to the core. This controlled bullet upset and helped hold bullets together better, even after impacting intermediate barriers. Speer introduced the Gold Dot in 1993, which uses a copper-plated jacket that’s electrochemically bonded to the core. Gold Dot bullets upset to about 1.5 times their original diameter, maintain their shape and weight and deliver a very balanced performance.
In 1994, the man who designed the Black Talon for Winchester went to work for Remington and created the Golden Saber bullet. The Golden Saber has a jacket made of cartridge brass instead of copper. But it also works like the Talon by using the deformed jacket to increase wounding—it just lacked the sharp talon-like points, the black color and the nefarious name. Eventually, Remington offered a bonded version of the Golden Saber that performs even better.
These legacy bullets laid the groundwork for the exceptional self-defense bullets we have today. Engineers now build bullets to meet the standards the FBI has established; for example, with Federal’s Hydra-Shok Deep load, the .380 Auto now performs on par with some older JHP 9 mm Luger ammo. Modern 9 mm loads now perform so well the FBI has—somewhat ironically—discarded the .40 S&W and returned to the easier-shooting 9 mm Luger.
Ammunition Selection
There are essentially four types of ammunition for self-defense pistols. These include practice ammo, conventional JHP ammo, premium self-defense ammo and a collection of hybrid and unusual designs.
Practice ammo is what you’ll shoot the most. It’s available with a brass (reloadable) case, an aluminum case or a steel case. Some shooters skimp on practice ammo by purchasing unpopular brands or ammo in non-reloadable cases. Over the years, I’ve had some catastrophic failures with the lesser-known brands, and steel-case ammo can be problematic in some pistols. There are also other considerations; for example, if you like to shoot steel, Federal’s Syntech ammo with poly-coated bullets makes this safer and the bullets also leave less fouling in your barrel.
Shot placement is most important when it comes to stopping an attacker, but how your ammo performs matters, too. Conventional JHP ammo is less expensive than premium self-defense ammo, and, while the bullets might work well, you’re more likely to experience performance on either side of the ideal balance. In other words, they may over-deform and not penetrate deeply enough, or under-deform and penetrate too deeply. Shallow penetration limits wounding and excessive penetration can potentially harm innocent bystanders. Most modern premium self-defense loads like the Speer Gold Dot and G2, Federal Hydra-Shok Deep and HST, Winchester PDX1 and Remington Golden Saber, perform more reliably and score well on the FBI’s testing protocol.
Another self-defense bullet is the all-copper or mono-metal hollow-point bullet. The Barnes TAC-XPD bullet is an excellent example. With its all-copper construction, there’s no jacket to separate from the core, and these bullets tend to provide a very balanced level of velocity. Now we’re even seeing a new type of mono-metal like the Lehigh Defense SD bullet that does not deform at all. This bullet has a scalloped nose and uses high velocity and hydraulics to inflict wounding.
Some short-barreled pistols do not generate enough velocity to ensure bullet upset on impact. That’s why you’ll often see “short-barrel” loads offered in various modern premium self-defense brands. These loads use bullets engineered to perform at the slower velocities from shorter barrels. There are also +P and +P+ loads that offer higher-than-standard velocities. Buffalo Bore loads 9 mm +P+ ammo with Barnes TAC-XPD bullets. If you can withstand the additional recoil and do not mind the additional wear on your pistol, these loads can increase terminal performance.
Regardless of the ammo you choose, priority number one is reliability. Settle for nothing less than 100% and confirm it by firing at least 50 or, better yet, 100 rounds of any carry load in your pistol before you commit.
Accessories
One particularly important element of shooter interface is the pistol’s sights. You should be able to see them clearly in any lighting condition. This is why Tritium night sights are so popular. Also, presbyopia onsets when you’re about 40, and this makes it difficult to focus on objects up close. To rectify this, some will go with a larger sight like the XS Big Dot. Others opt for a miniature reflex sight, and they have become very popular regardless of shooter vision limitations. They work well in bright and low light and can help you shoot faster and more accurately; however, those trained on traditional sights will experience a steep learning curve. These red-dot sights are also battery-powered electronic devices. They can fail. Because of this, many opt for higher traditional or night sights they can use in conjunction with a reflex sight (this is called co-witnessing). A perfect example is the brand new Ruger RXM pistol. It comes with taller sights and works with most reflex sight-mounting footprints.
Pistol-mounted lasers used to be very popular. They’re great in low light and you don’t have to bring the pistol to eye level to use them. This makes them very effective when shooting from unconventional positions. Though fantastic in low light, in bright conditions, the laser can be hard to see. If you decide to use a laser, the instant-on models like laser grips are a better option because you don’t have to flip a switch to activate them.
Gun-mounted lights help in low light. They illuminate the target and can temporarily blind an attacker; however, you should not use a gun-mounted light for searching because you’ll be pointing a loaded gun at everything you look at. The best approach is a compact handheld light for searching, and a weapon-mounted light for shooting. Firearm-mounted lights also add bulk to a pistol making it more difficult to carry concealed.
Maintenance
Your gun owner’s manual is the best source for information about cleaning, lubrication and service, but here are some things to keep an eye on. The number-one reason for pistol malfunction is a dirty gun. Carbon buildup can cause stoppages. The number two reason for stoppages is a worn, dirty or damaged magazine. Don’t expect magazines to last forever. Number them so you can identify those that are problematic and replace as needed. It’s not necessary to clean your pistol after every use, but you should establish a routine that occurs well before you begin seeing sluggish operation or stoppages.
Just like your car and your body need routine service and maintenance, so does your pistol. It is a machine, and machines need cleaning and lubrication to run effectively. Also, just as with the brakes and windshield wipers on your car, pistol parts can wear and need to be replaced. Just as you use mileage to determine when service is due for your car, round count is great for establishing a service schedule for your pistol. At a minimum, field-strip and clean your pistol after about every 250 rounds. This is also a good time to check on the status of your night sights and batteries in your reflex sight or laser grips. Don’t wait until these items are non-functional to replace the batteries. You should also replace your carry ammo at least annually.
Proficiency
Skill at arms with a self-defense pistol is the culmination of a well-maintained pistol that’s loaded with quality ammo, and that you’ve outfitted with sights—and sometimes accessories—you can effectively and efficiently interface with. How good do you need to be? If you can present your pistol to the target and put five shots into a five-inch circle at five yards in less than five-seconds, you have the requisite skills to apply a pistol in a self-defense situation. Most shooters cannot achieve that without some basic firearms training. And a good training course also grounds you in the rules of firearms safety and addresses firearms law and the parameters for use of force.
But training alone is not enough. Shooting is a perishable skill that requires frequent reinforcement. Just like with golf, if you go six months without playing, you’ll start duffing tee-shots and slicing with your six iron. Get trained and practice. Good ammo and accessories can help you get the most from your self-defense pistol, but they’re not much help if you don’t get to the range or seek training. Go to nrainstructors.org to find quality instructors near you.
