Posted: 11/3/2013 5:41:52 PM EDT
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Home defense or carry, do you trust your hand loads or do you prefer factory loads?
Full metal jacket, lead or hollow point? If rolling your own, what loads do you like best? I have been rolling my own for a while, mostly just lead for plinking. Just curious what other hand loaders are using when it comes to their more serious ammo. |
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Quoted:
Home defense or carry, do you trust your hand loads or do you prefer factory loads? Full metal jacket, lead or hollow point? If rolling you own, what loads do you like best? I have been rolling my own for a while, mostly just lead for plinking. Just curious what other hand loaders are using when it comes to their more serious ammo. I've got several recipes, many of which shoot well and all of which use bullets with good histories. But I've got factory stuff in all my guns tonight. I dont have a great reason why other than a bit of humility. |
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200 grain XTP over a stout load of VV N350 for 1000+ ft/sec. For normal practice, 200 grain lead SWC over 5.3 grains of VV N320. Now, for hog busting? Same XTP bullet in a Super case with enough Blue Dot to get 1200 ft/sec  . From a .45 Super converted pistol sporting a fully supported, ramped barrel. Can you say "flame thrower"? Barks like a .44 Magnum. |
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Factory ammo because I bluntly don't have the time to keep messing with changing powders and trying different bullets.
I live pretty much hand to chamber on reloading now. 1 week I'll run 9mm and it will last 3 weeks to a month. Then I'll run 45... Then 223. Repeat. Down side of shooting 1200+ rounds a month. Edit: 230gr gold sabers or hornady customs I have about 1800 of golden sabers right now. |
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for hunting I've used handloads exclusively for decades.
for carry I reload thousands of rounds every year for practice. but I carry factory high performance ammo. I bought a lot of it long ago, and it lasts. I would trust ammo I loaded in my carry gun, but don't feel the need, and I have some concern about the use of handloads if I end up in court. if it happens with factory loads, I can say that I was using the same, or similar, ammo as the cops. I can get better accuracy and performance out of handloads in my rifles. in my carry gun the factory rounds are as good as anything I could load. |
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I thought hand loads were a bad idea in a personal defense gun. Kind of a horse shit thing. If you were okay to shoot someone, it doesn't matter what kind of bullets you had. But... if you happen to be in a situation like Zimmerman? Yeah, probably best to buy factory stuff and keep the box. |
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Kind of a horse shit thing. If you were okay to shoot someone, it doesn't matter what kind of bullets you had. But... if you happen to be in a situation like Zimmerman? Yeah, probably best to buy factory stuff and keep the box. Quoted:
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I thought hand loads were a bad idea in a personal defense gun. Kind of a horse shit thing. If you were okay to shoot someone, it doesn't matter what kind of bullets you had. But... if you happen to be in a situation like Zimmerman? Yeah, probably best to buy factory stuff and keep the box. I have heard from a few different people that if you did shoot somebody with your own loads a prosecutor could call it Pre meditated murder. I think that is 100% horse shit also. If a prosecutor could call it pre meditated using hand loads what is to stop them from calling it premeditated when using factory ammo? |
| I reload for every caliber I own (about 40 different) with the exception of 7.62x39 and rimfires. For some reason I have never had great luck with 45 auto due to the bulge created when the bullet is seated in the case. My Colt will usually handle it but the tight chamber in my Kimber will cause them to jam often. Both guns shoot factory ammo just fine. |
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I've shot many thousands of .45acp handloads in practice and in competition. Shit happens and every once in a while you'll get one that is substandard.
There's no fucking way in hell I would carry handloads for self defense. Is your life not worth the extra 20 bucks for decent ammo? |
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I have heard from a few different people that if you did shoot somebody with your own loads a prosecutor could call it Pre meditated murder. I think that is 100% horse shit also. If a prosecutor could call it pre meditated using hand loads what is to stop them from calling it premeditated when using factory ammo? Quoted:
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I thought hand loads were a bad idea in a personal defense gun. Kind of a horse shit thing. If you were okay to shoot someone, it doesn't matter what kind of bullets you had. But... if you happen to be in a situation like Zimmerman? Yeah, probably best to buy factory stuff and keep the box. I have heard from a few different people that if you did shoot somebody with your own loads a prosecutor could call it Pre meditated murder. I think that is 100% horse shit also. If a prosecutor could call it pre meditated using hand loads what is to stop them from calling it premeditated when using factory ammo? It should be pretty clear to everyone that the Prosecutor will use any and every kind of bullshit possible to hang your ass. |
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I reload and I've carried my reloads, but lately, I'm keeping Golden Sabers in the G22 and Winnie SiilverTips in the Seecamp 32, mostly because the gun was designed around that cartridge, way back in the 90s.
I trust my reloads, no doubt, but I have a bunch of older boutique ammo that I feel that I need to get my money's worth out of. Chris |
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I have heard from a few different people that if you did shoot somebody with your own loads a prosecutor could call it Pre meditated murder. I think that is 100% horse shit also. If a prosecutor could call it pre meditated using hand loads what is to stop them from calling it premeditated when using factory ammo? Quoted:
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I thought hand loads were a bad idea in a personal defense gun. Kind of a horse shit thing. If you were okay to shoot someone, it doesn't matter what kind of bullets you had. But... if you happen to be in a situation like Zimmerman? Yeah, probably best to buy factory stuff and keep the box. I have heard from a few different people that if you did shoot somebody with your own loads a prosecutor could call it Pre meditated murder. I think that is 100% horse shit also. If a prosecutor could call it pre meditated using hand loads what is to stop them from calling it premeditated when using factory ammo? "I reload my ammunition purely for financial reasons. My ammunition is the functional equivalent of (commercial self defense ammo brand)." Asked and answered. |
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Quoted: I've shot many thousands of .45acp handloads in practice and in competition. Shit happens and every once in a while you'll get one that is substandard. There's no fucking way in hell I would carry handloads for self defense. Is your life not worth the extra 20 bucks for decent ammo? Then I switched to AA #5 and plated bullets. For some strange reason, the measure didn't like it and the last lot were undercharged. Those stuck in the bore, condemning the entire 500 count lot. I pulled each one with a kinetic puller. And cussed myself all the way. Average charge was 3.2 grains, definitely NOT enough. Now the difference? AA#5 needs pressure to fully ignite, VV N320 doesn't. #5 is a dense, spherical double base while N320 is a faster extruded single base that is very bulky. The moral? #5 is a poor choice for .45 ACP. Load in lots and keep them boxed individually. And always test each lot before using them for serious business. Even match shoots are serious, the first mistake was EMBARRASSING  . The second mistake too, only one person witnessed that one. |
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Quoted:
I have heard from a few different people that if you did shoot somebody with your own loads a prosecutor could call it Pre meditated murder. I think that is 100% horse shit also. If a prosecutor could call it pre meditated using hand loads what is to stop them from calling it premeditated when using factory ammo? Quoted:
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I thought hand loads were a bad idea in a personal defense gun. Kind of a horse shit thing. If you were okay to shoot someone, it doesn't matter what kind of bullets you had. But... if you happen to be in a situation like Zimmerman? Yeah, probably best to buy factory stuff and keep the box. I have heard from a few different people that if you did shoot somebody with your own loads a prosecutor could call it Pre meditated murder. I think that is 100% horse shit also. If a prosecutor could call it pre meditated using hand loads what is to stop them from calling it premeditated when using factory ammo? There are some court cases where it was an issue, but there was so much else going on in them that it just became a sticking point because most jurors don't understand ballistics half as well as AR15.com does, and we don't know a hell of a lot collectively either. 
Massad Ayoob thinks it is a bad idea, and he has two points that are pretty good. 1) Why not use factory loads? The money you save on reloading ammo for self defense is much cheaper than fighting in court for a decade. 2) Your reloads are now evidence if your self defense situation ends up going to court as murder or manslaughter, so they can't "destroy your evidence", even though I'm sure you took copious loading notes, it is more difficult to make a statement in court about how far you may have been from the shooter because that is basically done with GSR tests if they can find any residue. Using factory loads means they can go to the gun store and buy the same ammo and shoot it through your gun for testing. So, I carry factory +p hollow points, but if I happened to be holding the gun I use at the range with my reloads and need to use it to defend myself? I'm pulling the trigger. If the situation is clear, the reloads won't be an issue, if it isn't, at least I'm in court and not dead. |
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had an issue with .45 ACP was when I lost a box of LSWCs in the trunk of my car, leaving them bake in Texas sun for a summer. That fall, I found them and thought they would be fine. The lube melted and contaminated the powder. Yet all went bang and the bullets all left the barrel. VV N320. Then I switched to AA #5 and plated bullets. For some strange reason, the measure didn't like it and the last lot were undercharged. Those stuck in the bore, condemning the entire 500 count lot. I pulled each one with a kinetic puller. And cussed myself all the way. Average charge was 3.2 grains, definitely NOT enough. Now the difference? AA#5 needs pressure to fully ignite, VV N320 doesn't. #5 is a dense, spherical double base while N320 is a faster extruded single base that is very bulky. The moral? #5 is a poor choice for .45 ACP. Load in lots and keep them boxed individually. And always test each lot before using them for serious business. Even match shoots are serious, the first mistake was EMBARRASSING . The second mistake too, only one person witnessed that one.
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I've shot many thousands of .45acp handloads in practice and in competition. Shit happens and every once in a while you'll get one that is substandard. There's no fucking way in hell I would carry handloads for self defense. Is your life not worth the extra 20 bucks for decent ammo? Then I switched to AA #5 and plated bullets. For some strange reason, the measure didn't like it and the last lot were undercharged. Those stuck in the bore, condemning the entire 500 count lot. I pulled each one with a kinetic puller. And cussed myself all the way. Average charge was 3.2 grains, definitely NOT enough. Now the difference? AA#5 needs pressure to fully ignite, VV N320 doesn't. #5 is a dense, spherical double base while N320 is a faster extruded single base that is very bulky. The moral? #5 is a poor choice for .45 ACP. Load in lots and keep them boxed individually. And always test each lot before using them for serious business. Even match shoots are serious, the first mistake was EMBARRASSING . The second mistake too, only one person witnessed that one.
That's really odd. I've ran about 24 pounds of AA5 in my .45 pistols over the years. Loading with a Dillon Square Deal and stock measure. IIRC load is like 8.5 grs under a 200gr SWC. Before that was Unique.  I'd hate to guess how many pounds of that I went through.
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