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Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:02 pm
by Moby
My ammo arrived today.
A box of 25 rounds of .30 FTX was $37 with shipping.
Expensive if you look at cost per round but I won't be
shooting this stuff at the range.
The "hollow point" of the bullet has a small rubber plug in it.
It supposed to keep the round from clogging on clothing.
I've just gotten my CHL and only been carrying for two days and already it feels comfortable.
Let's hope I never need it.
Re: Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:09 pm
by Sangiovese
Congratulations on the new CHL! It's always nice to know there is another armed citizen on the streets.
Unsolicited advice incoming - That's great ammo... and you're absolutely right that it's too pricey to shoot regularly. But you will probably want to bite the bullet (pun intended) and shoot a box or two of that high dollar ammo through your carry pistol to make sure that it operates reliably. Some guns just don't like some brands of ammo, and no matter how good the ammo is, it won't do you any good if your pistol refuses to run it.
Re: Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:35 pm
by RPB
I ordered 10 more boxes of it today myself
I use it in 9mm an .45 ... really like it; seems to feed well in everything I own
I researched ballistics a lot, saw tests and I pretty much carry it or the 115 grain 9mm Gold Dots when I can't find critical defense.... but I prefer the critical defense.
In my Glock, the stuff is so accurate, a buddy got 2" from center on an 8" target at about 50 yards with my Glock 26
I don't do distance shooting, but it gets where I aim it and with less recoil than many others so the follow up shots are faster than the heavy loads
Re: Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:37 pm
by Jumping Frog
Moby wrote:My ammo arrived today.
....
I've just gotten my CHL and only been carrying for two days and already it feels comfortable.
Let me be blunt with you, not because I want to be rude but because I care enough to give it to you straight.
It is extraordinarily important to know that your ammo will run in your gun without any failures. Even though it is expensive, you absolutely must shoot enough of this ammo to prove its performance. Anyone who carries ammo that they have not proven in their gun is simply acting irresponsibly.
Personally, I will not switch to a new brand of carry ammo without running at least 100 rounds of the new brand through my gun, error-free.
Re: Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 12:50 am
by JeepGuy79
Congrats on the CHL!
Was that supposed to be .380? Cause if so I bought a few boxes the other day at 17.99 a box. I would shop around. I think you can find it cheaper. Then make sure it will run in your gun. That ammo has issues in some guns. What you packin?
Re: Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 7:44 pm
by Moby
Jumping Frog wrote:Moby wrote:My ammo arrived today.
....
I've just gotten my CHL and only been carrying for two days and already it feels comfortable.
Let me be blunt with you, not because I want to be rude but because I care enough to give it to you straight.
It is extraordinarily important to know that your ammo will run in your gun without any failures. Even though it is expensive, you absolutely must shoot enough of this ammo to prove its performance. Anyone who carries ammo that they have not proven in their gun is simply acting irresponsibly.
Personally, I will not switch to a new brand of carry ammo without running at least 100 rounds of the new brand through my gun, error-free.
It's a .38 revolver and the ammo is not +P
I agree on testing the ammo but in this case I don't think I'll have any issues.
Semi-auto may not like some ammo but revolvers are pretty reliable.
Re: Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 7:45 pm
by Moby
JeepGuy79 wrote:Congrats on the CHL!
Was that supposed to be .380? Cause if so I bought a few boxes the other day at 17.99 a box. I would shop around. I think you can find it cheaper. Then make sure it will run in your gun. That ammo has issues in some guns. What you packin?
Negitive Jeepguy, a .38 revolver.
Re: Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 7:47 pm
by WildBill
Moby wrote:Jumping Frog wrote:Moby wrote:My ammo arrived today.
....
I've just gotten my CHL and only been carrying for two days and already it feels comfortable.
Let me be blunt with you, not because I want to be rude but because I care enough to give it to you straight.
It is extraordinarily important to know that your ammo will run in your gun without any failures. Even though it is expensive, you absolutely must shoot enough of this ammo to prove its performance. Anyone who carries ammo that they have not proven in their gun is simply acting irresponsibly.
Personally, I will not switch to a new brand of carry ammo without running at least 100 rounds of the new brand through my gun, error-free.
It's a .38 revolver and the ammo is not +P
I agree on testing the ammo but in this case I don't think I'll have any issues.
Semi-auto may not like some ammo but revolvers are pretty reliable.

I haven't had many FTF with my "wheelguns".
Re: Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 8:58 pm
by JeepGuy79
Moby wrote:JeepGuy79 wrote:Congrats on the CHL!
Was that supposed to be .380? Cause if so I bought a few boxes the other day at 17.99 a box. I would shop around. I think you can find it cheaper. Then make sure it will run in your gun. That ammo has issues in some guns. What you packin?
Negitive Jeepguy, a .38 revolver.
LOL that was my second guess. I couldn't tell from your post if ".30 FTX" had a 8 left out or a zero instead of an 8.
Anyway, it still should be $16-18 a box from what I have seen.
Re: Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 9:53 pm
by The Annoyed Man
I've been carrying the 125 grain .357 load in my scandium snubby. It's good stuff. Not too hard to shoot in a light gun, and plenty of horsepower (400 ft lb, 1200 fps) even out of a 2" barrel.
Re: Hornady Critical Defense rounds.
Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2012 11:37 am
by Jumping Frog
Moby wrote:It's a .38 revolver and the ammo is not +P
Then I agree. Your OP left that ambiguous, and I assumed semi-auto.