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Federal Personal Defense Ammo - Your opinions please

34K views 51 replies 31 participants last post by  LongRider 
#1 ·
Hi Folks,

I'm curious about what you (experts) think of Federal Premium Personal Defense ammo (Hydra-Shok JHP). Years ago I started buying a LOT of this stuff... for my .40 caliber Glocks (G23, G27) and for my Rugers (P85 MII - 9mm, P90 - .45 ACP). The Glocks and the Rugers feed this ammo flawlessly. The 9mm ammo is 135 grains, the .40 ammo is 135 grains, and the .45 ammo is 165 grains. (I don't have the velocities for each in front of me. Federal advertises this ammo as "high energy, low recoil."

I guess the reason I want your opinions is that I rarely read about the Fed Personal Defense ammo.... relative to the comments regarding Golden Sabre, Gold Dot, Hornady, Corbon, etc......

I must confess..... I'm not an expert on ballistics. Also, I will admit I've never shot a bad guy with a handgun, so I really don't know just how my Fed Prem Personal Defense ammo would perform in "stopping the threat" in the real world. (For what it's worth, I am a vet of 'Nam and did effectively fire the black rifle in combat.)

I prefer not to go to the expense of testing and replacing all of my carry ammo with another brand........ unless someone can convince me that ammo in inadequate.

I appreciate all the comments and opinions you can throw my way.

Please help....... Thanks much!!
 
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#8 ·
The ammunition marketplace has gone through an amazing evolution in the past few years, and all of the major manufacturers are competing for our money. Finally the shooting industry has begun to recognize the self defense market and for the most part has reacted in their manufacture of guns and ammo. Stick with major manufacturer, modern self defense ammo and you should be well served. Read the fine print and see if it is rated to expand through various barriers and don't trust just one source for ammo data.

There have been many upgrades in both guns and ammo recently, and ammo makers have finally realized that some hollow point ammo clogs and doesn't expand reliably. (I've personally seen that in several autopsies.) Ammo makers have reacted by developing reliably expanding pistol ammo. As with many things in the gun market, many of us are slow to adapt to changing technology. The older hollow point technology where bigger cavities were considered best, has been shown to be not so reliable, but old comfortable ideas are slow to change with some folks. Many still cling to the older traditional ammo.

My personal preference is Hornaday Critical Defense in .40 S&W, and Federal EFMJ in .45 acp (mainly because EFMJ was hard to find for quite some time and I could only buy in bulk, so I have a bunch left.) I've conducted my own unscientific tests of both, and get 100% expansion through all barriers and mediums.

That's my experience and opinion, your mileage may vary.
 
#11 ·
Just finished going over ballistics testing with a government employee that stopped in the shop. I asked this very question and this is what I was told. The only ammo they tested this year that sh#t the bed was the Hornady Critical defense. HydraShok is still used widely and has a 92% one shot stopage rating.
 
#36 ·
Just finished going over ballistics testing with a government employee that stopped in the shop. I asked this very question and this is what I was told. The only ammo they tested this year that sh#t the bed was the Hornady Critical defense. HydraShok is still used widely and has a 92% one shot stopage rating.
Are you saying this ammo failed miserably?^^^^^^^^^
 
#13 ·
Federal's ammo lineup can be confusing...... at least to this old senior citizen..... So here's a specific question:

Does Federal make a "HydraShok" that is different than the Fed. Personal Defense HydraShok? And is "HydraShok" itself old technology? Sorry if my questions seem confusing.......
 
#14 ·
Yes federal makes HydraShok and yes it is older technology, but it is very affective at what it does. There is some new stuff out there that is "better" because it expands a little more or easier or retains more bullet weight. Still as I stated earlier the HydraShok's data shows a 92% one shot fatality rate with Law enforcment, and government bodys.
 
#15 ·
a bullet made in the 1800's kills humans and a bullet today kills humans, both do the job new or old techonogly use what your firearm likes. what i use in my 45 acp are winchster silvertips (old) and gold saber bonded and non-bonded. i have some around 200 round of ammo of gold in 45 acp that i do not for edc because they just do not run as smoothly in my firearm as the golden saber and winchester.

in my 38 super i have winchester silvertips as my edc but i also have some corbon dpx and double tap ammo.

my s&w 642 i have 38 spec +p horandy CD

my 40 cal xdm i have pxd1 winchester.

i have a mixture of both old and new but i mostly carry firearms that use old tech i really like the golden saber and silver tips becuase my firearms really like them,
 
#16 ·
The Federal Personal Defense line is biased toward lighter bullets at moderately higher velocities. My preference is toward heavier bullets, 200-235 grain in .45 ACP, and 165-180 grain in .40 S+W. Those loadings have been around a lot longer and have generally good track records.

From what I've seen of the Federal and Hornady "personal defense" loads, they seem to have reduced penetration, by design. I understand the philosophy behind that, and indeed one of the house guns is loaded with the Fed PD stuff, but my mind is more comfortable with the heavier stuff.
 
#17 ·
Shoot the bullets into the heart, brain or spine. They will work.

If you do not hit the heart, brain or spine, they will probably not work.

Handgun bullets suck. Period. It is up to you to make them effective by putting them into the heart, brain or spine.
 
#19 ·
Interesting comments guys... Please keep them coming.

I agree with you that shot placement is critically important. And I guess that's what I like about the Fed Personal Defense ammo...... I can shoot it well.... plus I have a bunch of it. It's comforting to know this stuff feeds without fail (for me anyway) in my Glocks and Rugers.

I don't know if you guys switch out your ammo to match the season...that is have one type of ammo for when the bad guy is most likely to be wearing running shorts.... and have another type of ammo when the bad guy will be wearing a coat. If you do...... more power to you.....

Again keep your comments coming....... It's good to know what followy gunnies are thinking........:wave::wave:
 
#31 ·
One thing to consider is will it shoot in your gun. I recently discovered HST is 1mm longer than Fed Classic Hi-Shok and will not feed into my Colt 1911. Today I looked at other defense rounds and saw 1 even longer than HST. I though all 45 ACP would be the same length but they are not.

Lesson is don't buy a bunch of something you aren't sure will work.
 
#32 ·
Taking this into consideration I just measured the OAL of random Federal HST and Winchester White Box hollowpoints. All of the HST measured 1.195" to 1.20" OAL. The Winchester sample all measured 1.20" to 1.21" OAL.

My Springfield GI 1911 had no issues with HST or the WWB.
 
#33 ·
I carry Federal 125 grain HST LE in my Glock 33 .357 Sig. I hear very good things about bullet performance in "soft" targets.

I want to carry the best performing ammo I can find because (God Forbid!), if I have to shoot a BG I want him to STAY SHOT.

Nuff said! The Duke.
 
#37 ·
Critical defense failed?

Gee. Maybe because it's designed to not pass the FBI ballistic test protocol in a misguided effort to design a civilian specific ammunition for people who "won't need" to shoot through intermediate barriers?

I like Hornady XTP...but the critical defense?

Pass.
 
#38 ·
It's funny how easily people died when hit with a 36 caliber round ball that had ballistics of a 32 long, but fret about what to feed our modern powerful hi cap guns.:rolleyes:
 
#40 ·
I have been on gun forums for quite a few years. The debates over which is the best round to carry often get very heated, and for no reason at all. Bullet placement is 100 times more critical than bullet type. I would rather place a 125 grain FMJ round through the heart or severe the spinal column than to place the latest and greatest round through a non vital part of the body. I have done my own testing with the Federal HST and I know they will open up nice and wide if needed. But I still have several boxes of Hydrashok that I wouldn't think twice about carrying. Let me let y'all in on something, if they worked 20 years ago, they will still work today. People need to worry more about their ability with their firearm than worry about the bullet they place in that firearm. How many civilians are carrying a weapon with the latest and greatest super bullet but they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn? So get out to the range and shoot , shoot and then shoot some more. Make sure that some of that shooting is with the rounds you plan on carrying.
 
#50 ·
Make sure that some of that shooting is with the rounds you plan on carrying.
Good point I missed in my previous post.

I always shoot at least 250 rounds of my intended SD/EDC ammo through my SD/EDC weapon before I start to carry it. To assure 100% reliability of that ammo in that specific gun.

One of the things I really like about HST is that it has about the same point of impact and the same recoil as my practice ammo

I thought I had seen Federal Personal Defense with HST bullets.
I believe that is inaccurate they are two different lines of ammo. HST is Federal's best premium ammo. In fact it is the best of any manufacture bar none IMO, see my previous post.

The weight of the 9mm seems to be good (I don't shoot 9mm), but the .40 and .45 seem awfully light weight.
I'm confused what ammo are you talking about? My HST are 230 grain. I am of big heavy bullet school of thought.

I have an email from Speer that confirms that the Speer Personal Defense and the Speer Law Enforcement ammo is identical. I figure that's probably my best legal defense to my ammo selection.
If I ever have to defend the type of ammo I use I'd simply say HST is what the local PD use.
 
#42 ·
My short answer to you would be for you to study the past morbidity & mortality reports plublished by our FBI and after action reports filed by those who have been forced to utilize potential and actual deadly force in the performance of their duties. What ammunition did they use? Where were the shots placed? How many rounds and in what time frame did it take to stop the action? What did the autopsy of the victim/felon reveal? Did the projectile expand? Did the projectile exit the body or did the round expend all its energy in the targeted victim/felon? Past performance is your best guide....please be wary of today's marketing techniques being utilized by those who would exploit past success for today's buck$.

tkirk
 
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