tcecil88 said:
nitesite, what do you think of Hornady Critical Defense 115gr vs. Federal HST 115 gr. out of a 3 1/2 in. barrel?
I have 100 of the 115 gr. HCD. I was thinking of getting 2 boxes of Federal HST @ $35 a box/50. The limited research I have done shows them to be pretty equal in expansion, weight retention. Just wanted your opinion.
tcecil88~
Honestly, I think that
premium 9mm self-defense ammo is basically all GTG. The Hornady Critical Defense is still rather untested in real world shootings based on FBI and police shooting statistics, but I wouldn't let that stop me from carrying that exact round which pretty much expands no matter the intermediate barriers. You have 100 rounds and I would feel very good being in your shoes.
My "suggestion" for you, if you want to get more 115-gr 9mm premium ammo to try, is to get the Federal 9mm +P+ BPLE round, and the Federal HST. Both would do an excellent job but the BPLE has hundreds of recorded stopping (and non-stopping) incidents to sort through, mostly
very positive. And everything I see about the HST ammo, whether 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 Auto looks like it does a superb job as well. I lobbied for (and won) a changeover to the HST bullet in our dept .40 GLOCKs.
It's not that the Critical Defense bullet and load isn't a good contender. I'm sure that it is, and over time the forthcoming results will bear that out.
My only bitch about Hornady Critical Defense pistol ammo is their packaging and pricing. I am resistant to buying 20-rd boxes of ANYBODY's ammo when that box costs $25.
So I mentioned the Federal 115-gr +P+ BPLE and the Federal HST as another option. Why?
Because it isn't that hard to find Federal (or Winchester) 50-rd LE packaged ammo of the same stuff that might cost only around $32 per box.
Keep what you've got and I'd be your wingman any day and not worry about what you're carrying. If you change, that's OK too!