Printable View
I narrowed this to 9mm because I'm the most familiar with it - however it could apply to other calibers as well.
It seems most people practice with something like Winchester white box, then carry something else for defense.
In 9mm, for example, Winchester white box is typically 115 grain and most people carry defensive ammo in 124 or 147 grain.
Please answer the poll the best you can and chime in on your thoughts about point of impact in one weight vs another in common defensive distances.
I practice with 147gr fmj/tmj depending on vendor and carry 147 gr JHP in my Ruger SR9c with big dot express sights with factory 17 round in and factory 10 round additional backup. POI right where it's suppose to go at combat ranges i was very happy right out of the box. Love this gun shoots as well as my G-21sf in 45cal.
I am guilty of practicing with the 115g Winchester white box and then use the 124+P ammo for carry. I have noticed that the 115G shoots lower (just slightly) than the 124g, but not enough to change my point of aim. However, when I buy my carry ammo, I always shoot 50 rds to make sure it feeds OK and I can feel how it handles as well. Also, when my 124 g get about 1 year old, I do shoot that off when I buy more. I don't find much of a difference between the 115g and the 124g in practice, however, I did just purchase the critical duty 136g and have yet to go to the range with them.
you want the POA/POI to be the same for your practice ammo as you SD ammo
while this often is the same weight, if you re-load it may not be.
99% of my practice is not done with what I carry for SD. After I try a few ammo options and settle on one for carry for that specific gun I may a couple of times a year run thru a magazine or 2 of the ammo I carry for SD just to keep the stock rotated but thats about it.
On a B27 target at 15 yards or less I dont see enough of a POI change to worry over it.
9mm--no. I normally shoot 115gr for practice, and carry 147gr. FWIW, at practical distances--say, 50 feet on in--there is no appreciable difference in POA/POI between the loads.
Other--yes. 230gr .45 acp for both practice and carry (mostly).
So little weight difference between the 115 and even the 147gr bullets that the point of impact shift at self defense distances is negligible.
I have various rounds for both my 9mm and .45 firearms.
At 7 feet in a WalMart parking lot, I doubt that it will make much of a difference.
Yes - Other
While I don't believe that the difference between POA and POI is going to make a difference in a defensive shooting at 7 to 10 yards, I always practice with the same weight as my SD load because I take pride in putting a bullet right where I want it. My LC9 shoots a couple of inches higher than POA at 25 yards compared to 7 yards with 124gr loads.
in 9mm, practice with 115 grain and carry 124 grain
I practice with 147 grain ammunition, usually Speer Lawman and for carry I use 147 grain Speer Gold Dot.
I carry a .357 ruger sp101 and shoot .38 specials through it for practice mostly There is a noticeable difference in POI however I do practice with .357 when I can.
In .45 both are 230 grain. In the 9mm it depends on availability. In the revolver I have loads from softball full wadcutter up to full power magnums.
If you can hit center mass on a man size target at 21 feet with a 115 Gr ball you can hit it with anything.
Making this stuff way to complicated.