Glaser safety slugs?

[Shackleton]

I have been looking into the Glaser safety "slugs" for my .45 ACP. They seem to be a good round, and I really like the thought of not only the seemingly excellent stopping power but also the reduced chance of collateral damage.

Currently I am using 185 grain silver tip hollow points.

Thoughts? Any input is greatly appreciated!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[medicineball]

I used them for years and they fed flawlessly. I stopped using them because of price - you got to able to practice with your SD rounds! Switched to cordon dpx and all has been good.

[tacman605]

I carried Glaser's for years and they worked as promised. I changed them out every six months or so and fired up the older ones into some sort of test medium like water, windshields, gelatin and so one.
They never failed to feed or function.

[Cuda66]

Not good choices. They may look great blowing up water jugs or watermelons, but the tend not to penetrate deeply enough to be effective in actual use.

As far as collateral damage...if you're referring to a pass-through round, a good, modern JHP will tend not to do that; if you're talking about a miss...well, any round that misses is dangerous, and Glasers will also go through walls on occasion.

You're better off with a quality JHP; your WSTHP's are decent rounds but are of an older, dated design; you may want to consider moving up to Gold Dots, Ranger, or HST.

I recommend this as a decent read...

Best Choices for Self Defense Ammo

[Ring]

think of it as a varmit round... low penatration, but massive area damage..

is it a good all around load?... no...

is it a good round to use in your house? well if over penatration is a issue, then yes..

when i use them, i would only load the 1st 2 rounds as glasers, the rest were normal HP.

this covers you no matter what.

when in dought, keep pulling till they stop twitching...

[sigmanluke]

In the testing I've seen done with the Glaser's, I've been thoroughly disappointed. They feed and fire fine, but are unreliable at best for stopping a threat. (We shot them at pigs)

EDIT: They're great on prairie dogs though.

[MitchellCT]

I wouldn't use them if you paid me.

I'd rather carry military ball ammo from Chad or Kenya than roll with Glazer.

[CCWFlaRuger]

The issue is that they disperse all of their energy too quickly, you want the round to stay in one piece to continue bleeding off energy in a concentrated place, if the round fragments, now that energy is going in all different directions... like they said, small animals that is good, a 6' 220 human, not near the effect. And if I remember correctly, the Galzers tout being able to penetrate hard surfaces and then fragmenting upon impact to soft tissue, so, not the best idea if you are worried about slicing one into the wall... is still gonna penetrate. Stick with your hollow points for self defense, get the frangible stuff to impress your friends with jugs and watermellons.

[Majorlk]

You are more than welcome to trust YOUR life to them; I would never trust mine to them.

[Shackleton]

Thanks for the input!

As far as HD goes, I do live in an apartment complex and I absolutely need the least penetration possible because where I live the walls might as well be paper, which is why I load my shotgun with #6 bird shot.

Outside the home I am more concerned about stopping power as well as over penetration. @Cuda66, you think gold tips would work well for that scenario?

[Sleipnir]

Thanks for the input!

As far as HD goes, I do live in an apartment complex and I absolutely need the least penetration possible because where I live the walls might as well be paper, which is why I load my shotgun with #6 bird shot.

Outside the home I am more concerned about stopping power as well as over penetration. @Cuda66, you think gold tips would work well for that scenario?

Honestly, worry less about penetration and more about your accuracy with a tried and true SD round. Practice, practice, practice!

[Cuda66]

Thanks for the input!

As far as HD goes, I do live in an apartment complex and I absolutely need the least penetration possible because where I live the walls might as well be paper, which is why I load my shotgun with #6 bird shot.

Outside the home I am more concerned about stopping power as well as over penetration. @Cuda66, you think gold tips would work well for that scenario?

Gold tips--I assume you mean Gold Dots? If so, yes, they will do their job admirably if you do yours and put them on target. And if you do put them on target, the chances of overpenetration--particularly the possibility of penetrating a wall--will be minimal.

I'd recommend the 230gr.

And I'd recommend you get rid of the #6 and go to at least #4 buckshot (#1 or 00 being your best choices). Scroll down on that link I sent you for information on shotgun loads...but in short, any round that penetrates deep enough to be at effective at stopping an assailant will also go through walls. TANSTAAFL.

[peckman28]

No way I would use the Glasers. I also agree with the advice about moving up to #4 buck. Birdshot and glasers may stop someone who is not determined at all, but do you really want to take that chance on someone who was willing to break into your home in the first place?

[C Bennett]

I guess in your scenario I may use them but thats about the only one I could think of where I would..for the most part they are shallow penetrating junk.

[Old School]

When they first came out in the 70's they were touted as the round to use by the then new air marshall service since they were not suppose to penetrate aircraft cabins or go through the BG to injure passengers. They were made in the blue tip and then the silver tip came out with suppose larger shot and deeper penetration. A good quality HP will serve you much better than this type of pre-fragmented ammo.