When it comes to buying ammunition, always prioritize by need. It would help if you always had plenty of targets, practice, hunting, and defensive rounds.
FMJ ammunition is ideal for defensive use in smaller handguns. It’s often designed to penetrate an entire block of ballistic gelatin and can reliably stop a threat at close range.
Better Accuracy
Shooting a handgun requires a lot of focus, and while nothing can make up for poor marksmanship, getting familiar with your weapon and its handling is critical to improving your accuracy. The more you practice, the more your muscle memory takes over and the less you have to think when aiming at a target.
Hollow point handgun ammunition Charlotte expands upon impact and creates a larger wound cavity that allows for faster, more effective bleeding than full metal jacket (FMJ) rounds. They also tend to penetrate deeper into a target and stop more rapidly, making them a better option for self-defense use in civilian hands.
Reloading your handgun ammo lets you tailor loads for optimum performance. You can select a lighter powder to reduce recoil significantly and experiment with different bullets, propellants, and case capacities to find the best combination for your gun. This is especially useful for hunting with your handgun or practicing plinking.
Reduced Recoil
When a pistol recoils, the shooter experiences a sudden jolt and loud noise. This can be intimidating for new shooters and those with sensitive bodies. If recoil is excessive, it can interfere with the shooter’s ability to sight the target and hit the mark.
There are many ways to reduce felt recoil. One method is to install a soft butt pad on the firearm. This cushioned pad absorbs the recoil and slows it down.
Another way to reduce recoil is to use a lower-power ammunition load. This will usually offer comparable downrange performance to a full-power bag. Hodgdon offers reduced rifle loads using their H4895 powder, contributing significantly less recoil than their full power.30-06 loads. Their reduced shotgun loads are also well-suited for women and youth shooters who may not be able to handle the impact of a standard target or hunting load’s wallop on the shoulder. These loads will still give enough velocity to break a clay target and significantly decrease the felt recoil.
More Versatility
The best handgun ammunition for self-defense depends on your needs and situation. Still, in general, if you are using a JHP (jacketed hollow point) cartridge that has been shown to perform well in ballistic testing, you can be reasonably confident that it will penetrate an attacker sufficiently to stop them. One potential downside to choosing a JHP is that if it fails to expand adequately or quickly in a person’s body, the projectile will not penetrate as deeply and may result in less effective terminal performance than a solid ball bullet.
As with rifle cartridges, reloading your handgun ammunition can save you significant money. With a simple handgun die set and appropriate handgun brass and lead bullets, you can create loads that will provide excellent accuracy, reduce recoil, and use the type of bullet you prefer. This is particularly important for recoil-sensitive shooters with limited time at the range.
Lower Cost
Buying and storing handgun ammo is integral to any marksman’s arsenal. However, it can be tricky to determine exactly how much ammunition is needed and how long it will last.
Availability and cost are often the most important factors when choosing handgun ammo. However, different calibers and bullet designs may also affect the final cost of a particular type.
Hollow-point (HP) ammunition typically offers better wound ballistics than standard FMJ ammo but can be more expensive. Some HP rounds have a cavity in their nose that expands to penetrate deeper into living targets. This effect is called hydrostatic shock and can be very effective in bringing down game animals or even humans.
It’s important to use quality HP ammo tested in your firearm to ensure it will work properly. Using cheaper, low-quality HP ammo can cause malfunctions and may damage your gun. Also, using only reloadable cartridges compatible with your firearm is essential.
