hand loads for defensive/concealed carry?

[43.6N]

What are y’all’s thoughts on hand loads for defensive/concealed carry?

Here’s what I’m dealing with:
2 separate 20 round groups with my 9mm ccw: same loading and OAL. Just shot on two different days for consistency.
Both 20 rounds @ 25 yds. 1” white target pasters for reference.


My thoughts:
-I haven’t found any off the shelf defensive loads that are this consistent.
-I can practice and reload with these exact same bullets within reason.
-I’ve used about 300 so far without any feeding issues. They seem to agree with my magazines/chamber/feed ramp.

Any reason you wouldn’t feel confident carrying these on the daily?
Very interested in hearing what you all think.

 

[Matt5266]

Im all about reloading for practice but for self defense I don't. Not saying they wouldnt work but i just dont bother. I carry 124 Speer Gold Dots in all my 9mm guns. If you wanna try some ill hook you up.

 

[Jpsmith1]

My concern would be an attorney and how he plays that to a jury.

 

[Treeman_MG]

This topic comes up a lot in the ccw/defensive gun world. "They'll use it against you in court!"

Well. . . .maybe. I have never been able to find a case where a person used handloads for self defense and then had that used against them in court. While it is certainly possible that an over zealous prosecutor could try to use that, I think it's very unlikely that one would be convicted solely because they carried handloads. Probably depends a bit on the political climate of your locale.

I mostly carry factory for ccw, but my woods guns all get handloads, so I do carry handloads in my ccw from time to time. I don't lose any sleep over it when I do. I think it's far more important that they are reliable, consistent and accurate.

 

[Dave Thomas]

I would use them. I carry handloads in my carry gun. Can't comment on any legal issues because I have no experience.

 

[Formidilosus]

What are y’all’s thoughts on hand loads for defensive/concealed carry?

Here’s what I’m dealing with:
2 separate 20 round groups with my 9mm ccw: same loading and OAL. Just shot on two different days for consistency.
Both 20 rounds @ 25 yds. 1” white target pasters for reference.
View attachment 1095620View attachment 1095621

My thoughts:
-I haven’t found any off the shelf defensive loads that are this consistent.
-I can practice and reload with these exact same bullets within reason.
-I’ve used about 300 so far without any feeding issues. They seem to agree with my magazines/chamber/feed ramp.

Any reason you wouldn’t feel confident carrying these on the daily?
Very interested in hearing what you all think.

Well, the XTP’s themselves are generally poor performers to start. So no- I wouldn’t carry those.

As for handloads… ehh. All the nonsense about lawyers, etc is just that- nonsense. The real issue is absolute reliability and consistency. What legit duty ammo have you tried that doesn’t group well?

 

[43.6N]

Well, the XTP’s themselves are generally poor performers to start. So no- I wouldn’t carry those.

As for handloads… ehh. All the nonsense about lawyers, etc is just that- nonsense. The real issue is absolute reliability and consistency. What legit duty ammo have you tried that doesn’t group well?

Thanks for weighing in. Interested to see what you think of these vs the handloads posted above:
-124gr +p HST


-135gr Critical Duty:



I haven’t tried any gold dots, but could get them as components.

 

[43.6N]

Im all about reloading for practice but for self defense I don't. Not saying they wouldnt work but i just dont bother. I carry 124 Speer Gold Dots in all my 9mm guns. If you wanna try some ill hook you up.

Thanks man, haven’t tried any gold dots. Are you using standard gold dots or the new ones with a polymer cap in the hp?

 

[Formidilosus]

Thanks for weighing in. Interested to see what you think of these vs the handloads posted above:
-124gr +p HST
View attachment 1095727

-135gr Critical Duty:
View attachment 1095728


I haven’t tried any gold dots, but could get them as components.

What gun?

 

[Matt5266]

Thanks man, haven’t tried any gold dots. Are you using standard gold dots or the new ones with a polymer cap in the hp?

Standard loads. I can get you a few to shoot before you order or make some if ya want to try them out

 

[43.6N]

What gun?

5” Dan Wesson Specialist. 9mm. With a dot.

 

[Steve300xcw]

I roll my eyes whenever the "maybe some lawyer might say this" line gets brought up. And it will always get brought up, even though I have yet to see where that actually happened.


While its been quite some time since I have had an issue with any pistol reloads. I still have a bit more faith in the factory stuff. Even those larger groups you posted, would solve whatever issues you were trying to solve..

 

[43.6N]

Standard loads. I can get you a few to shoot before you order or make some if ya want to try them out

Very generous of you. Thank you. I’d love to take you up on that!

 

[43.6N]

The real issue is absolute reliability and consistency.

This quote was exactly my train of thought leading to the OP.

With the reloads, I can objectively prove out several hundred of a given projectile before carrying it. As opposed to several 20 round boxes of factory if keeping cost the same.

And at a certain point, of many hundreds of trouble free rounds, with the gun getting hot/cold/dirty/dry/dusty/wet, why not just keep the mags loaded with the same ammo?

 

[ARK_Ginger]

You should also try some HSTs. Target sports had some good prices on 50 count boxes the past couple months.

Federal Premium Law Enforcement HST 9mm Ammo 147 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point - P9HST2

Federal Premium Law Enforcement HST 9mm Luger Ammunition 147 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point - P9HST2 at Target Sports USA with free shipping available.|^||^|

www.targetsportsusa.com

Form, could you elaborate on the XTP performance? I've never seen real testing with them, but assumed they were subpar since they're not offered in the TAP lines.

 

[Steve300xcw]

You should also try some HSTs. Target sports had some good prices on 50 count boxes the past couple months.

Federal Premium Law Enforcement HST 9mm Ammo 147 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point - P9HST2

Federal Premium Law Enforcement HST 9mm Luger Ammunition 147 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point - P9HST2 at Target Sports USA with free shipping available.|^||^|

www.targetsportsusa.com

I split their membership with a buddy. $100 bucks for the year gets you a bit more discount, and free shipping on everything.

 

[RockAndSage]

Well, the XTP’s themselves are generally poor performers to start. So no- I wouldn’t carry those.

As for handloads… ehh. All the nonsense about lawyers, etc is just that- nonsense. The real issue is absolute reliability and consistency. What legit duty ammo have you tried that doesn’t group well?

@43.6N , all this, 100%.

Very good question though. If you reload long enough, you'll get a squib load. With some powders and cartridges (looking at you, .40 S&W) it's also not difficult to get a double-charge, or over pressure, or the seating or crimping dies shift ever so slightly, or the primer doesn't seat sufficiently in one dirty pocket, etc, etc, etc. Some of these just require cycling the action to get the gun working again, others shut the gun down completely, sometimes permanently. My personal take is that it's not a matter of if, but when, one or more of these things happens.

Factory loaded ammo involves optics, lasers, and scales to ensure every round is in dimension and properly charged - levels of QC we just can't match at home.

I'd have no problems taking handloaded pistol ammo on a hunt, but definitely draw the line at any kind of defensive carry.