Choosing a gun for defensive purposes, whether for concealed carry or home defense, is a very important decision.
But just as the gun and its features are critical things to consider when evaluating the purchase, you should also consider the chambering of the platform.
Some cartridges make good defensive rounds, and others don’t. For instance, most would consider .22LR underpowered, and most would consider .45-70 as cost-ineffective, not to mention the fact that it would produce an overpenetration risk at close ranges and that it generates too much recoil.
So, we rounded up some of the best rounds for defensive applications and compiled them here. Keep them in mind the next time you look for .45 or 9mm bulk ammo.
How We Determined This List
There are four main determinants we used to evaluate the cartridges mentioned here for self-defense. They are:
- Stopping power: Measured primarily in muzzle energy, in ft-lbs. Greater stopping power at close ranges means more energy transferred to the target, and a greater overall ability to neutralize a threat.
- Recoil: The more powerful a cartridge, the more recoil it will produce, which makes it harder to make quick, accurate follow-up shots.
- Capacity: Larger cartridges may have more power, but they also are harder to load into a magazine. We also had to keep this in mind. Even though a cartridge might be powerful enough that one shot will neutralize a hostile target, missing or poor shot placement can require multiple follow-up shots.
- Cost: We also considered how expensive and available each cartridge here would be.
So, considering these factors, the following cartridges came out on top.
9mm Luger
The 9mm Luger cartridge has got to be the definitive self-defense cartridge. It offers an excellent balance across all of the criteria applied to it.
It offers fair stopping power (although less than the other cartridges mentioned here, like the .45 ACP and .44 Rem Mag), middle-of-the-road size, so you can pack a bunch of 9mm Luger ammo into some double-stack mags, and relatively little recoil.
This cartridge is also widely available (almost every shop in the country carries it) and it’s fairly affordable, too. Keep that in mind and stock up on 9mm bulk ammo when you get a chance.
.40 S&W
The .40 S&W offers basically everything that 9mm offers. The two cartridges produce similar accuracy and trajectory. These two cartridges are even fairly similar in size.
This means also that .40 S&W produces similar recoil (about 25% more) and many mags hold similar capacities, putting them on equal footing. That said, the .40 S&W varies in two key ways: it has slightly more stopping power and is more expensive.
.45 ACP
Side by side you can definitely see the difference between 9mm and .45 ACP. The .45 ACP has a good advantage over the 9mm. It produces better stopping power and so many consider it superior for stopping a threat. The .45 ACP also has a long history so many popular firearms, like the M1911, have been built around it.
However, there are some tradeoffs. It is larger and heavier to carry than 9mm, and produces more recoil. It is also more expensive. Moreover, many 1911s take single-stack mags with 7-round capacities, which means that some 9mm handguns hold much greater capacities.
Still, despite these considerations, the .45 ACP is an excellent defensive cartridge if you can handle the cost and the kick.
.44 Remington Magnum
The .44 Rem Mag is easily one of the most powerful cartridges on this list. A typical .44 Rem Mag bullet will leave the muzzle with a little less than 750 ft-lbs of energy, nearly double what most 9mm bullets will produce.
This makes it an excellent personal defense cartridge as far as power is concerned, but it comes at a cost. One is the literal cost; these cartridges can cost over a dollar a round.
Another is the size; they are large, heavy cartridges, so capacity can be a concern, and the other is recoil. Not everyone can handle the harsh kick of .44 Rem Mag, causing them to choose lighter alternatives.
10mm Auto
The 10mm Auto produces similar muzzle energy to .44 Rem Mag, but it has a much smaller overall footprint. This means there are many mag-fed options for 10mm chamberings, like the G20, with a 15 round magazine.
The 10mm Auto is excellent in terms of stopping power, but fairly expensive, and it, like the .44 Rem Mag, produces punishing recoil.
12 Gauge
While a 12 gauge is not a suitable option for concealed carry, for home defense, it is genuinely hard to beat.
In terms of raw power, nothing else on this list comes close. A 12 gauge slug can produce muzzle energy in excess of 2,000 ft-lbs. For home defense applications, a slug might produce a risk of overpenetration, leading some to choose buckshot instead.
This also means that a 12 gauge will produce much more recoil than any of the handgun rounds mentioned here, but since most 12 gauge shotguns are shoulder mounted, recoil is less of a concern.
It has the market cornered on stopping power, but 12 gauge shells are large and many shotguns (like the Remington 870 and Mossberg 500) only hold between 5 and 6 shells. On the flipside, 12 gauge slugs and buckshot loads are commonly available and relatively affordable.
Moreover - and though this has nothing to do with the cartridge itself - a pump-action shotgun is more reliable than even the best recoil or blowback operated handgun, so that’s something else to consider.
Honorable Mention: .380 ACP
The .380 ACP is the smallest cartridge on this list, and also the most anemic. Typical .380 ACP cartridges produce muzzle energy in the area of 210 ft-lbs.
Some would consider this unacceptable for self defense, but there are a few things to take into account with the .380 ACP.
One, it is relatively cheap and widely available. Another is that it produces very little recoil, making it a potential option for smaller-framed shooters - or as a chambering for a backup gun.
Lastly, the small size of this cartridge has encouraged some gunmakers to produce very compact handguns chambered in .380, like the Glock 42 and Ruger LCP Max. They are small, light, easy to handle, and fairly easy to conceal.
Stock Up on .45, .40, and 9mm Bulk Ammo Online
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