So far I have tested 4 types of self defense ammo in my 9mm Ruger p95dc. First I shot targets at 15 yards for accuracy testing, then I shot into milk jugs filled with water, with plywood boards behind them. 3 jugs followed by 2 sheets of plywood followed by 2 more jugs. Here is what I shot
Speer +P 124 grn Gold Dot
Remington 147 grn Golden Saber
Hornady Critical Defense 115 grn
Magtech First Defense Solid Copper HP +P 92 grn
Accuracy wise the Golden Sabers are the winners. Shot about a 1.5 inch group. The other three were about equal in group size, all more than usable for self defense ranges.
Now, the penetration/expansion tests. Golden Saber and Gold Dot were both about equal. Penetrating 3 complete jugs and lodging in the plywood. Both expanded to between 60 and 65 caliber. The Golden Sabers were a bit bigger.
Critical Defense stopped in 3rd jugs and expanded to around 54 caliber, the flex tip works well, but would have liked to see a bit more expansion.
Magtech First Defense, what a waste of money. I would never use these as carry ammo. Penetration was great, but very very little expansion. Bullets went through 3 jugs into wood but expansion was minimal at best. The best one expanded to only 40 caliber. They acted more like an FMJ than a hollow point. So I decided to try something else. Wood first then water jugs. It was worse. No expansion here at all. Hollow point just clogged and acted as an FMJ.
So I will use the Golden Sabers as they had good accuracy, penetration/expansion was awesome and they were quite controllable during rapid fire. Next I will test Gold Dot loads from Double Tap ammo, all +p stuff. Hopefully this information will be of some value to someone.
