Gun Sam's Personal Carry Ammo Choices - Ballistic Test 

Way back in the late 1960's , the "meter maids" in Macon Georgia carried Smith and Wesson revolvers in .32 S&W long. I recently gave my mom's 4 inch barrel Smith, to my son, so that he and his girlfriend would have a house gun for self defense. When you need a gun, anything is better than a sharp stick.

That 44 special round open up a lot and penetrated deep enough would be an excellent choice for any 44 mag

You sir are becoming one of the best RU-vidrs for ballistics testing filling the gap that TNoutdoors9 left when he stopped uploading videos on a regular basis. My personal favorite across the board for personal protection has to be Federal HST with an honorable mention for Hornady critical duty in full size handguns 👍

The .44 special was the most impressiv!

Excellent demonstration with real world application. You and Paul Harrel are the top two most trustworthy tubers regarding ammunition testing and comparison. I really like the fact that the revolvers out performed the semis in essentially all categories and the most effective semi was the .380 ACP. All of this is very satisfying information. Well done!

Remington’s 125 gr SJHP 357 Magnum is a load I’ve found shootable in a Ruger SP 101 with LOTS of power. It’s a combination Masad Ayoob favors.

Great video (as always). I carried the REM 125 grains in my 586 when I started out in LE 27 years ago and still carry it today in a Ruger Wiley Clapp GP100 7 shot (retired from LE). Perfect 357 round after all these years.

Your choices in the snub 357 and the 44 are a great example of why Buffalo Bore is such a great company. They give us a lot of flexibility in our choices. I’ve found that going down to the lighter ammo but using the Buffalo bore “heavy” version gives a great medium load that is very useful for self defense. I like their heavy 38, heavy 44 special, and heavy 32 H&R mag a lot because they give a great balance between power and recoil.

I agree with your mind set of rounds that are user friendly that work well Vs Balls to the wall ... no matter what . More is not always better .

One of your better presentations - in other words, EXCELLENT. I was very impressed with the 44 special round in particular, looks like something that could make my model 29 a viable option for home defense. Well done Sir!

Let me start off by saying that I LOVE your channel. There is a massive amount of great information among your videos. The issue I’m having, and what I could only imagine a fair amount of other people (I’d be willing to bet most) have is that a lot of your ammo tests involve long slide hand guns. Which are great, but again, a lot of people don’t carry full size hand guns. I’d love to see you put out a video of your ammo tests on compact and subcompact guns which is what a vast majority of folks carry or use for self defense. Again though, love the channel, keep up the great work!

I appreciate you making this video for us Sam. As you said, this is all about you and YOUR guns. Something might function well in someone else's gun or might shoot well in their experience, but that doesn't make it good for you, or vise versa. All seem like solid performers to me anyway.

You know what works best for you. I like that you have tested your ammo choices. Too many people don’t and they just pick what someone else recommends. I’m a big believer that a snubby .357 is going to be more effective with a .38+P. Thank you for all you do and your efforts. All hail the HST. 🤣😂🤣

Excellent episode, your channel is my go to when I’m looking for ammunition performance. My carry ammo is all based on your testing. Great job and thanks for the information!

Thanks for giving us this overview. With the ammo shortage this gives me more ammo to look for. I'll forward this video along to others.

I learn a lot about rounds and the way they perform in real world shooting , I carry an sp101 357 mag for EDC so watch with great interest what different rounds do from different barrel lengths. Keep up the good work

I learned something from you again & that’s saying a lot for this 74 year old retiree. It’s particularly interesting that you mentioned recoil/follow up shots as a consideration in round selection, something my street experience taught me too. Have you stopped carrying the 342 PD? I only ask b/c recoil control is a BIG consideration w/my 340PD.

Great video, I watched it twice. I love the 327, but really liked that 44 special. That of course Elmer Keith's favorite round for year's. He used to hunt with it, but I do find with my 454 Casual that it doesn't matter what round any of them will stop someone on the first shot. ( lol ). Buffalo Bore really has some awsome ammunition. Have a great day!!

Good one Sam you deserve a lot more subs.

Thanks for the work you put in, for the stash of resource and knowledge. I hope you back up all of these videos in case Google goes more ape crap than they already have.

These Ballistic Tests are as exciting as The Price as Right Wheel Spin!

Thanks Sam, I appreciate the video and all the time and effort you put into it.

Seems you've got a good selection all around. This video also reminded me of why I like the 380 ACP. People sure underestimate that mouse caliber. I'm quite impressed with the 327 Federal Mag. That's a nice platform. For carry, I like to go with small and light. For home defense, a long gun (so long as it isn't too long) seems to me to be the way to go. There are lighter loads for 12ga shotgun. That still has some recoil though. Although it is more likely you will be moving onto the next target rather than doing a fast followup. Carbine length rifles are also good. If you don't want too much blast, there are a lot of pistol caliber carbines to choose from. If only the NFA didn't exist so you could run the barrels at reasonable length.

My favorite carry gun is my 4 inch Ruger SP101 with that semi jacketed Remington 357 load you did at the end being my carry load. It is ideal in my opinion. Big enough to get full power out of magnums and be controlled yet small enough to be easily carried. That being said, I love my Beretta Tomcat and probably carry it more often than most loaded with Underwood Xtreme Defenders or just FMJ if I can't find the XDs, but my most carried gun is definitely my NAA Black Widow in 22magnum. That thing is awesome! As long as I have clothes on or am out of bed, I've got my pop gun on me.

That .44 Special round was impressive, for sure.

Thanks again Sam for turning me onto the Remington UMC 357 Mag SJHP ammunition. I have stocked up on it and that is what I keep loaded in my 357's. I have plenty of Buffalo Bore, Underwood. Hornady and other great self defense rounds, but the Remington UMC is what I keep loaded. Helps me sleep better at night.

That .44 special is intriguing.

Great testing as always. I’ll give some of these a try. You’ve already turned me into a Buffalo Bore fanatic over the last few months.

Great video! Nice to know what the Pro carries! 😊 Some the rounds were real thumpers like the .40, 44 special, .327 and .357 mag. Recoil and follow up shots are just as important. Who cares if you have the hottest load if you are flinching before you even fire it.

The only thing that would improve upon the content of this vid, is a list of these cartridges in the description. This has been remarkably informative. Thank you, for taking the time to create the video, and especially, for the collective experience that you've gathered over the months, and months of testing various calibers. This is very useful stuff.

Great video. Nice choices. In the 327, you didn't mention the bullet weight- 85 or 100 gr? Is it an XTP? Nice to see the Win USA doing well in 380. Great penetration and a touch of expansion. That 44 Spl load is dynamite. I am not familiar with it- i gravitate toward the 190 gr LSWCHP. I was expecting the BB 158 gr +p LSWCHP in the 357 snubby- the 125 is an interesting choice. I have seen good performance in tests of the Rem 125 gr +p SJHP. And of course in the 357, what else is there? Been getting it done since the 70's. My favorite load. No surprise on the 9 and 40- HST looks like great stuff. I have always favored Gold Dot and still have some, but i will have to try the HST.

That 44 Spl was fantastic! 👏

Based on my accuracy and reliability handgun range tests, my soft-target modeling clay penetration tests and/or my hard-target pine wood board penetration tests, here are my favorite personal protection ammunition selections for my handguns. By personal defense, I include home defense, vehicle defense, wilderness defense, SHTF defense, concealed carry, and open carry. 25acp Remington 50 grain FMJ in Beretta model 21A with 2 1/2 inch barrel 380acp Fort Scott 95 grain solid copper in Hungarian Walther with 4 inch barrel 38 special 158 grain flat-nose lead in Smith & Wesson revolver with 5 inch barrel 9mm in Heckler and Koch USP with 4 inch barrel Federal Premium Personal Defense 147 grain JHP Remington bonded 147 grain JHP Speer Gold Dot 147 grain JHP Hornaday XTP 147 grain JHP 357 magnum 180 grain hard cast lead in Smith & Wesson revolver with 6 inch barrel 45acp in Heckler and Koch USP with 6 inch barrel Remington bonded 230 grain JHP MagTech 230 grain FMJ Note: other ammunition I wish I could try include Buffalo Bore and Underwood but I only evaluate what I can buy locally.

This is probably the BEST video you have made. I follow and check your channel daily for your vids...😎 I carry the 125gr Remington's in my Taurus 627 Tracker. Seven shots. A VERY good self defense choice..! Keep the videos coming..!!

Thanks to this video (LOL) I just ordered some Federal HST 124gr +P's for my Sig P365 which has a 3.1" barrel. These worked great coming out of your Taurus G2C 3.2" barrel..😎

I was only surprised by one round. The .22. I was sure that you were going to use the Federal Punch

I was looking at your videos to try & find a 44 Sp loaded with the same bullet you just tested in the 44 mag . I think it would work well down loaded . @2:00 great point & proof of all lead vs copper , I have never seen it stated that way in 22 Lr . I am a little surprised it was that much difference .

115gr Gold Dots in my Walther PPS. It's standard pressure but it's loaded pretty hot and even though there's not much data on them, I'm confident it's a good short barrel load and not to mention I paid out of my ass for them for 50 round box 😅

I think I anticipated most of your choices. I watch a lot lol. I didn't expect the 38's in the Taurus 605 though. You've tested a lot of 357's through that short barrel and I thought they mostly did good. Did you choose that for the reduced recoil?

Great video Sam! I’ve been a sub for a while and have learned a lot about bullet design and ballistics from your channel. I just recently got into reloading. Have you ever thought about doing a short series for beginner reloaders? I’m sure you have a lot of great tips in this regard.

Excellent as always. It's good to see different options.

Mine are 22LR: Federal Punch 38SPL: Hornady FTX 125+p 380: Precision One XTP 9MM 5" barrel: HST 147 9MM PCC: Gold Dot 124+p 40s&w: Win Ranger-T 180 45 3.3" barrel: Hydra Shock 165 low recoil 45 5" barrel: HST 230 12ga: #4 buck

yep

I may try some of that Blazer out of my LCP 2, didn't realize that it was the mini mag unplated. Thanks and take care.

You certainly did your homework Sam!

I carry Federal Punch. I used to carry Hornady Critical Defense. I still have Critical Defense, but I got Federal Punch and started carrying it.

Great video. This type of information really helps in narrowing down ammo selection

I carry a 40 and use the HST. Glad to see you picked it, maybe I made a good call. I tested much less ammo than you have and this worked best of the ones I tried.

Wow another informative video thank you for your knowledge.

my fav 357 load was a full charge of h110 with a 125gr hts doing 1674 fps from a 6 in barrel. recoil is light for the performance you get.

One of my favorite new episodes Well done 👏

Great info, thank you Sam!

I would like to see how Lawman 38 spc. semi wad-cutters stack up. You do good vids, Thank you...

Great Vid- very impressed with that 44 special

Just bought a Ruger LCR in .327 Federal. I will be trying all three Buffalo Bore rounds in .32 Long, .32 Mag, and those Heavy .32 7Federals. It will be my primary carry gun within a week.

Great testing Sam. Thank you for sharing for this video and sharing you personal picks. ☯️🎩♠️

Sam this is a video I was waiting for ! Thankyou !

Surprised you didn't have a .45 ACP there, that would more or less match the .44 Special performance. To be honest, the more I look at those tests, at ballistic charts, etc., the more I think they had it figured out for a handgun 100+ years ago - big and slow.

Glad to see you carry a .327 fed mag. What do you think of the Hornady critical defense and American eagle .327 fed mag rounds?

Always good videos. Thanks for the good work! I like the Federal HST 147 grain in my M&P 2.0 Compact 9mm

That was a very interesting video and as usual had a lot of helpful information. Can't wait to hear all the you should comments you know are about to get. You know they either didn't look at the title or they know better than you what you like. Thanks for the excellent video and keep them coming

All ammo has its own importance.

Can't go wrong with a good 357 snubbie

I’ll be honest. It’s a good selection. They all seemed to preform about the same and seem reliable. I have some of those in my handguns and some gave me pause to think about. Good video. Thanks for the cool content as always.

In 380 the Underwood XTP, in 9MM 147HST because it shoots a little softer than the 124’s. Nice video!

First of all, love that I found this channel, earned a sub from me. Secondly, after seeing your videos about Federal Punch .22 and seemingly performing well, is there a reason you still prefer the Blazer to Federal Punch?

Excellent information. Thanks

Interesting video. I load everything I have with HSTs, and it doesn't look like I'll be changing that anytime soon. However...The HSTs are getting harder to find here locally (central Arkansas), but the Punch is pretty much getable anywhere around here.

Authoritative. An excellent apples to apples demonstration.

Thank you sir. Would’ve thought the 158 gr bb lswc would be the choice for the snub. Interested to hear your reasoning.

Odd. The 180 grain HST loading penetrated to the same depth as the others, AFTER knocking the preliminary stuff off the gel block AND lifting the gel block considerably. That is a excess contribution of energy not counted. Perhaps it should be noted, even if it's unmeasurable. I'm still not convinced kinetic energy ('foot-pounds' based on velocity) is the real measure of usefulness in this question. For a handgun, I still prefer momentum.

Really good and interesting video. Thanks for sharing your rational for the various rounds. Take care.

Excellent video! Excellent rounds that I do too carry or use for self defense.

For 380, have you tried the TUI or the screwdriver tipped ones (can't remember their names)? I'm assuming you did and was wondering why you rejected them. I don't often carry a 380 but when I do I always just went with cheap ball ammo and hope for good penetration.

Super video! Thank you.

Well thought out criteria, Sam!

I used target load light bullet on 357 snub .

Great video, Sam! Just curious, have you tried the 147 grain HST out of your M&P 2.0? I wonder if you would get better performance than the 124 gr +p out of the 5 inch barrel. Very impressed by the WWB .380. That is about the best I have seen from .380. The Blazer .22 has not been 100% reliable for me, but I think mine are the 38 grain, from the big "Got Ammo" milk carton. I liked your reasoning though. Would love to see you test out the SGB.

Have you tested Underwood 380+P XTP? XTP seems to be the one round that really expands and penetrates beyond 12" in all mediums. Not many people at all have tested the +P version. Muzzle energy is right between a 9mm makarov and standard pressure 9mm parabellum. Seems like it should be the ideal choice for 380.

On your .357 snub nose have you tried Buffalo bore Barnes copper round 125 grain? It works great in water jugs and 4 layers of denim when I tested it and sp101 and S&w 640 handles it great! I’m currently carrying a new sp101 with it and have it in my 640 and 649, and even my 360 that’s supper light.

I was expecting you to choose Hornady 110g critical defense for your snubby 357

Try spear gold dot 158grain hollow point for 357mag awesome power. Shot down 2 deer deadly one shot kills.

You should also have included both .45 ACP and .45 Colt.

I know I sound like s Lehigh Defense salesmen, but I just don't have faith in a hollow point to be consistent. Extreme Defender 100g+p 38sp 120g 357 mag 90g 9 mm Extreme Penetrator 90g 380

Wow wow wow. That 44 load isn't just punching holes and making things leak. The expansion and wound channel are making it far above typical handgun results. More like a true one and done problem solver.

Sitting here on edge Wondering what will be your choice for the 686....will it be Buffalo bore ??? Glad to see it was the Remington 125 grain sjhp

I just looked in my front pocket and found a LCR .327 mag loaded with buffalo bore 100gr heavy. Good choice.....

I am impressed with the performance of the .327 Federal magnum as a everyday carry ammo, I would prefer it over any .38+P or .357 Magnum even a compact single column magazine 9mm Parabellum pistol. Of course much better tan smaller calibers and the very frequently carried .380 acp. I have at home a hunting 12 gauge shotgun because... this is Europe :-( Nothing allowed to carry outside for protection, not even a pocket knife.

I carry the same round in my taurus 357 model 66 7 shot

I second your statement on the fact that the .357-Sig round will never match the .357 magnum in a revolver. Besides that lame .357-Sig is an answer looking for a question.

I choose underwood 147gr bonded +p+. Real smackers. Why don’t u like to use super special ammo in your 9mm like buffalo bore etc?

Great video

HST+ p 9 mm is what I’m carrying.

I enjoyed this video of your personal carry rounds. However it seems like rarely chose the most powerful man stoppers because of recoil follow up shots. Why not just stick with a 9mm on its hottest load is still a 9mm recoil.

Better to get a good head shot with .32 S&W long than a miss with a .357 magnum. And it won't shatter your ear drums either.

Try federal punch 22LR 12+inches penetration.

probably overdue, subn

After watching you buffalo bore 9mm +p+ video I was thinking that was the hot ticket for a 5 inch pistol. Is there a reason that isn't your carry choice?

I know that handloads are not legal in most cases in self defense but... playing around.... I took hollow based .358 speer wadcutters.... I coated em with HT coating.. this is the thing... I loaded em in 38 spl cases upside down at around 890 or so FPS (4" barrel) Soooo in the past with soft lead 148 WC upside down? erratic if not dismal? But.... with the HT (powder coat would be the same) I get mushroom performance with 90% ? weight retention.. this is in magazines as a medium. it penetrated about like a round nose but.... WAY more expansion I get it...you won't probly do handloads but it would make a fun vid.

Good stuff