There are so many things we need to be thinking about when it comes to self defense. Have I trained enough, is my gear ready am I paying attention to my surroundings so testing defensive ammunition is easily lost in the commotion.

The Nuts & Bolts Of Performance

Over the years I have fired thousands of rounds testing defensive ammunition. These typically are of the hollow point design. The idea behind their design is pretty simple, the hollow point cavity expands through soft tissue. This expansion serves two purposes; creating a larger surface area for more damage as well as helping to slow down and limit penetration. When watching the various defeinsive ammunition review videos this will always be a metric that is collected and evaluated. The other metric commonly collected and of greater importance is the depth to which the projectile will penetrate. While the general understanding is a minimum of 12″ to a maximum of 18″ where did these figures come from.

The Ballistic Testing Origins

The FBI has long been the custodian of all things terminal performance. Dating back to shootout involving some harden suspects it was believed their ammunition failed them and thus began the caliber wars. Truthfully, ever since there has been mulitple calibers, there have been caliber wars. However, this was a watershed moment since it started to standarized how the industry develops and tests the terminal performance of projectiles. Decades ago, this information wasn’t as readily available as it is today so many were left to fend for themselves. There were a variety of test mediums that were believed could replicate or at least provide good feedback. Sadly, they were less than ideal. I used some of these tests myself, the half gallon milk carton test. My family would be forced feed milk and orange juice so I could collect enough cartons to conduct multiple tests. Believe me, you have no idea how good you got these days.

The Dreaded Curve Ball

As a consumer, I want a quality product for self defense. As a professional, I want to squeeze every ouce of performance I can from the available options. Everything was going well until the subcompact pistols with 3″ barrels or less entered the market. While I was quickly enamored with these little pocket rockets the problem wasn’t well known. These micro, short barrel pistols had a difficult time meeting typical ballistic performance standars we have all come to accept. Penetration and expansion were all suspect or at best inconsistent. As the popularity of these subcompact pistols grew so to did the available self defensive ammunition options. Now, the consumer and professional have some great choies to consider. Many well known ammunition brands have started producing “micro” or “short barrel” choices. After such a positive experience with a particular brand, I decided testing defensive ammunition to update my current subcompact ammunition choice.

Streamlinging To A Couple Choices

Like many others, I can be lazy or maybe I’m too busy to really put the time into research. Plus, with so many different carry pistols it was a pain to have a specific load for this pistol and a different load for that pistol. It would be nice if I could find one that does it all. At the very least for all my 4″ barrel or shoorter the Federal Personal Defense HST Micro 150gr JHP is a great choice. The real question is how does one go about “testing” this load for themselves. You start by reviewing all available resources online when it comes to terminal performance in gelatin. Ballistic gelatin has become the standards for penetration and expansion purposes. But, do you need the projectile to meet all the FBI standards? In my opinion, you do not. Bare and demin covered are more than adequate for the average consumer. Once you have watched several videos and reviewed the data you probably will come up with a couple of loads you might want to try. These loads have at least been through independent testing to meet the minimum requirements for penetration and expansion. Now what?

The Two Tests You Should Use

Testing defensive ammunition is pretty simple. I want to see how well they will perform at close range under rapid fire conditions. Then I want to see how well they will perform at extended ranges under slow fire conditions. The two tests I use are pretty simple and total 20 rounds, the typical single box quantity. Both of these tests are shot in our pistol classes so I have plenty of big picture data for comparison. The first test, the “TC Test”  is a modified version of the excellent “Test” from my good friend Larry Vickers. You will need a magazine of 9 rounds with a reload magazine of 1 round. Starting from the ready position at the 10 yard line at the signal the shooter will fire all 9 rounds, reload and fire the last round. The target to be used is the excellent TCT MK4 or NRA B8 target. The par time is 12 seconds; which is pretty generous and just enough to push the envelope. If you are scoring 80 points or above the take away is the recoil control with this load in a subcompact pistol is managable and appropiate for self defensive situation. The second test, is the “TC Bullseye Qual”. You will need two magazines of 5 rounds and repeat the drill twice. Starting from the holster at the 25 yard line at the signal the shooter will fire all 5 rounds. The target to be used is the TCT MK4 or NRA B8 target. The par time is 10 seconds; which again is generous. If you are scoring 40 points or above the take away is your ability to be accurate enough within a modest time constraint using a subcompact pistol with a short barrel for the extreme range of self defense use.

These two test are great not just for evaluating self defense ammunition, but your skill. While there are many others out there, these two are almost always shot during my own professional development and so should you.

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Care and maintenance of your defensive ammunition becomes a necessity when you carry on a daily basis. There are several problems you can avoid if you have a good system of inspecting and rotating when necessary.

Defensive Ammunition Demands

As more and more people enter the concealed carry world we will continue to see ammunition in high demand. Defensive ammunition complicates the situation even more since it is typically made in smaller quantities. On the flip side, you generally do not need a substantial surplus. How much defensive ammunition is a matter of opinion, but my recommendation is two full loadouts. If you normally carry 30 rounds, two 15 round magazines then you are looking at a total of 60 rounds. The reason for two full loadouts is to accommodate for rounds that you must survey due to use and abuse. Carrying on your body daily is taxing on your gear, ammunition included.

Negative Effects of Weather on Ammunition

Your gear is exposed to the elements such as heat and cold. In modest climates the temperature shifts are negligible. In the extreme climates they can have more serious consequences. Moving from extreme hot to cold or extreme cold to hot stresses your equipment. Moisture and humidity can also wreak havoc. While most defensive ammunition have coated primers, not all do and constant exposure to moisture can have a negative effect on the components. Body secretions such as oils and sweat tend to follow the same negative effect of moisture. There are other contaminates to be aware of, but these represent the most popular. They don’t include foreign objects or debris. With such close contact to the human body, dead skin cells and fabric remnants or lint can insert themselves into the firearm’s mechanisms causing problems.

Avoid Loading the Same Defensive Round

Probably one of the most important reasons to care for your defensive ammunition is to ensure it functions properly. Even if extreme weather is not an issue you can still run into problems. In this case where you run the risk of problems is when you reload the same round numerous times. Each time the round is chambered it is forced up the feed ramp. It hits the feed ramp under pressure generated from the recoil spring. The same round hitting the feed ramp can experience bullet set back over time. Bullet set back occurs when the projectile itself is forced deeper into the casing.

Defensive Ammunition Rotation Cycle

Care and maintenance means I have to periodically examine my defensive ammunition. At a certain interval I will inspect, clean and replace my defensive ammunition for all my carry guns. The interval is based on the frequency of carry along with the exposure to the elements. The more the firearm is carried through various environmental conditions the sooner I will rotate my ammunition. I start by unloading the gun, then downloading all the magazines. I will then inspect each of the rounds for what I call a strike. When I eject a live defensive round I will mark the casing on the head stamp, what I call a strike. If a round accumulates more than three strikes then it is surveyed or shot at my next range session. This helps avoid bullet set back along with possible damage caused when the round makes contact with the ground.

Care and Maintenance Procedure

Once the ammunition inspection is completed I will replace the current magazines with fresh magazines. Then starting with the two strikes rounds, I load them into my fresh magazines designated as my reload magazine. This puts these rounds at the furthers point of use. Then I load the remaining rounds into the magazines. However many rounds need to replaced are pulled from the box. They go into the top of the carry magazine since they are the freshest available. Once I have completed this rotation I reload my carry gun. Store the box of surplus defensive ammunition in a cool and dry place. Then add the three strike rounds to my range bag for the next trip to the range. However, in these difficult times I have chosen to hold on to them for just a little bit longer. Storing them separately, but in a cool and dry place.

With 60 defensive rounds being the average two boxes of defensive ammunition will give me several years of service using this procedure. It is worth the peace of mind to know your loadout is fresh and ready to go.

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The Never Ending Cycle Of Change

We are in a constant state of flux, forever changing. Maybe things are cyclical, maybe we are just seeing a lot of crazy happening at one time. Maybe there is a subversive movement to remove a democratically elected government. The truth is it doesn’t matter. As our world changes, so too must we change. Or maybe a better word is adapt. We need to adapt to our new surroundings and that includes our gear, methods and choices. I didn’t really put much thought into this idea at first. The idea of adapting to my new surroundings fresh out of the Navy was my first experience. I was looking at a job in Arizona while I was currently living in California. The two states could not be more different on guns. Having been brainwashed by California I was freaked out by the freedoms and liberties of Arizona. It took some adjusting, but that is exactly what was necessary. Taking stock of my new situation and environment then adjusting accordingly.

Don’t be Lazy

We need to do this somewhat regularly, but definitely anytime there is a major life change. Whether that is the addition of a spouse, children, new job, new home or new city do not assume things will remain the same. I’m speaking about your self-defense plan and emergency action plans. You have to resist the urge to keep doing the same thing because that is how you always did them. While it is possible the outcome would be tactically sound, it is laziness. Take a moment and address the newness in your life and ask yourself does this alter my plans. If so, then take a moment to address how. Then come up with new solutions. Practice and rehearse your new plans until they replace your old ones.

What Was Old, Is New Again

A good example for me was when my first kid was born. My spouse was not too keen on self defense and I was use to doing things on a team. It took some time for me to adapt to being alone in the tactical sense. Then there was another change when my new job had me traveling all over the country. Each city I visited had different rules and laws. Then as my children become old enough for their own self-defense needs to be a dinner time topic. Of course, there is this global pandemic thing, but probably the biggest change is the rioting and violence. This alone has had me rethink my daily loadout, my responses and my emergency action plans.

Evolution Is A Thing

When the pandemic was in full swing we saw some societal decay. Namely in the form of consumables being limited or not available. At the time, my daily carry firearm was a sub-compact pistol. The likelihood of having to engage multiple targets at various distance through intermediate barriers was hard to justify at the time. The sub-combat was looking more and more like a good choice even if it meant a downgrade in class and capability. It took me time to evolve to the sub-compact. I was fighting the smaller capacity, smaller frame and reduced capabilities. Truthfully, I got use to the change pretty quickly with some dedicated practice.

Thinking Worst Case

Currently, I have had to change not just my pistol, but other force options as well. I’m back to carrying a compact pistol with the larger capacity and capabilities. I returned to ammunition historically superior at intermediate barrier penetration and lethality at extended ranges. I opted to include less lethal tools both on body at within close proximity. I have modified my carry rifle to be lighter and smaller, thus easier to carry discretely. Probably the most important change has to do with my rules of engagement. I’m sure everyone has their own ROE’s or whatever they wish to call them, but taking stock of the current situation will more than likely lead to a change. I’m fine with the changes, but are you. Have you sat down to rethink a whole bunch of scenarios using negative visualization?

Times are tough, but we are tougher. We have to adapt and overcome our new situation in an effort to bring order back.

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The Shinny Object

I’m not surprised and here is why. There is a huge surge in concealed carry evidence by the rise in application submission and this platform is appealing to a new gun owner. The actual number of private citizens who carry regularly hasn’t increased with the same pace. In fact, I’d almost bet it has stayed proportionately the same. Most new gun buyers wade into the market carefully. Ask yourself the same question, if you were to venture into a new area would you look at making the smallest investment with the lowest impact to success. While I’m sure there are plenty of people who do extensive research, discuss their purchase options with experts and make informed decisions. There are still many who make impulsive decisions in an effort to check the box.

The Other Side of the Coin

This is where I see the .380Auto being so popular. I don’t necessarily think it is the best idea for many though. As they learn when putting these little guns through what we consider to be a low round count class it becomes evident. While I cannot comment on the justification behind their purchase I can comment on the difficult many face. While the recoil impulse may be less dramatic, the smaller frame makes controlling said reduced recoil impulse more challenging. Smaller hands ideally suited for the smaller framed guns make a good combination. I caveat my comment with the student having a solid understanding a good crush grip. The smaller hands around a smaller framed gun with a crushing grip will produce a great outcome. I like these smaller framed guns, they open the market up to many new shooters who otherwise might not be willing to venture into the self defense game.

Squeaky Wheel

Once you have managed the recoil impulse and grip issue these smaller framed handguns make for a great option, but do they out perform a 5-shot “snubby” revolver. A lot will depend on how you choose to define performance. At some point, terminal performance has to be brought into the conversation. With most lethal encounters having less than five rounds being fired the possibility of a reload is reduced. The argument for a faster reload does go to the auto-loader, provided a spare magazine is carried. Both of these cartridges have been around for a long time, but have they maintained the attention of premium self-defense ammunition manufactures.

Penetration & Expansion

A problem with .380Auto loads is small selection of loads that exhibit good penetration and expansion. Selecting your defense loads will be more difficult due to the smaller pool to choose from. Testing for functionality, regular replacement due to wear and checking point of impact mean you will invest in a descent stockpile. How much will depend on how serious you take carrying this as a self defense tool. Conversely, looking for self-defense loads in .38 Special will be more flexible since there is more availability.

Point of Aim/Point of Impact

As mentioned above, you will need to fire a sufficient number of rounds to test the point of impact. Many times, students are surprised to learn their defense loads will hit in a slightly different location. How slight will depend on the types of loads and types of platforms, but it is an important consideration. Using a good marksmanship centric drill to test both your accuracy as well as confirm any shifts to point of impact will go a long way towards gaining confidence in your loadout. One complication is the shorter sight radius of both platforms make this a challenging exercise. Something I find valuable is this challenge also helps for students to learn the limitations of these platforms.

Any system, loadout or platform will have limitations and it is up to you to become familiar with them. In the end, nobody wants to get shot by either.

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