Online discussions regarding what makes the best combat handgun sights will too often devolve to arguments over sighted vs. unsighted fire. The armchair warriors and keyboard commandoes often come out in strong support of their various, yet inexperienced, views.
Unfortunately, the clamor of fools often drowns out the voices of reason and experience.
If you are looking for 9×18 Makarov ammunition for self-defense, you may have had a hard time finding a load that meets your needs. Unlike the .380 ACP or the 9mm Parabellum (aka Luger or 9×19), the Makarov round does not enjoy a wide range of commercially loaded hollow point ammo.
When it comes to choosing the right defensive handgun, there are many “right” answers and a few wrong ones. The best defensive handgun for you will likely be different than my choices. But the criteria in picking a handgun for self defense is fairly universal.
Let’s take a look at some of the things you should consider when buying a handgun for personal protection.
When picking the right handgun, many people obsess about what caliber to choose. Generally speaking, handguns are poor choices for stopping a violent attacker. Handguns launch a fairly small projectile at relatively low velocities, and bullet wounds to areas other than the central nervous system (CNS) generally take time to work.
So, two things are important when considering which caliber. First, bigger is better…to a point. A high-quality .45 hollowpoint is more likely to be effective than a .25 ACP anything. The .45 delivers more energy and momentum, and it makes a significantly larger wound channel.
Winchester Ammunition is bringing a new line of self defense ammo to the market in 2009: the Bonded PDX1 Personal Protection Ammunition.
The PDX1 Personal Protection Ammunition is “engineered to maximize terminal ballistics, as defined by the demanding FBI test protocol, which simulates real-world threats.” While I believe the protocol is a useful tool to make a side-by-side comparisons of different cartridges and bullet designs, I do not believe that it simulates “real world threats” for the vast majority of people who own firearms for self defense.
Hornady Manufacturing recently announced a new line of personal protection ammunition: Critical Defense. The Critical Defense line of ammo is specially designed for small, compact firearms frequently carried concealed for self-defense.
The Critical Defense ammunition features a hollow point bullet the same style of “Flex Tip” polymer tip that Hornady uses in the LEVERevolution line of ammunition. The tip prevents the hollowpoint from being plugged with clothing and helps ensure expansion. Because of the Flex Tip technology, Hornady claims to achieve “100% reliable expansion every single time.” Subsequent gel testing by independent parties seems to support this claim.
The new Hornady ammo is not designed to meet the FBI test protocols used by some law enforcement agencies when choosing ammunition. Rather, Critical Defense ammunition is designed to operate in small, concealed carry guns against clothed attackers–not through steel and glass as required by the FBI testing. For ammo that meets FBI protocols, scroll down this page for information on the company’s new Critical Duty line of ammo.