Aguila Ammunition offers both handgun and shotgun ammunition for home defense. Hollow-point handgun rounds include offerings in.380 ACP, 9mm, .357 Mag, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. Most of these loads offer medium to deep penetration. Aguila also has a “Minishell” in 12 gauge, in either 00 buckshot or slug configuration. Both the slug and buckshot loads have reduced recoil. They offer medium to deep penetration and are best suited for defense of single-family residences, especially in rural settings. (http://www.aguilaammo.com; 888-452-4019)
Barnes Bullets of Mona, Utah, offers a line of TAC-XPD handgun ammunition that features all-copper Barnes X-type hollow points in .380 ACP, 9mm +P, .357 Mag, .40 S&W and .45 ACP +P. The monolithic copper construction of the bullets in these loads gives them reliable expansion and medium to deep penetration, making them best suited for home defense in solidly-constructed, single-family residences and homes in rural settings. (http://www.barnesbullets.com; 800-574-9200)
Black Hills Ammunition offers a wide variety of handgun and rifle ammunition that is suitable for home defense. Black Hills produces two lines of handgun ammunition in various bullet weights and calibers. Its JHP offerings feature Hornady XTP bullets and Barnes X bullets. Both offer medium to deep penetration. With respect to .223 and 5.56mm NATO rifle chamber ings, Black Hills produces everything from low-penetration varmint loads to deep-penetrating ammo topped with either heavyweight match bullets or Barnes X projectiles. (http://www.black-hills.com; 605-348-5150)
Browning ammunition plans to introduce its new BXP line of hollow-point ammunition in the Spring of 2016. Initially, the ammunition will be loaded in .380 ACP, 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. BXP stands for Browning X-Point. These pistol rounds have an X-shaped divider in the hollow-point cavity that is designed to improve barrier penetration. (http://www.browningammo.com)
CorBon Ammunition produces many pistol, revolver and rifle loads suitable for home defense. This includes everything from low-penetration, fragmenting Glaser Safety slugs to DPX ammunition loaded with medium- to deep-penetrating, X-type, all-copper bullets. Two new products that will be available from CorBon this year are low-penetra- tion Urban Response rounds for handguns and controlled-penetration Multi-Purpose Rifle ammunition. Both these loads have polymer inserts in the bullet’s nose to initiate rapid expansion. (http://www.corbon.com; 800-626-7266)
DDupleks Ammunition of Riga, Latvia, produces a variety of specialized shotgun slugs for hunting and personal defense. Two of its fragmenting loads that offer lower penetration are the Hexolit 32 fragmenting load, with a slug made of steel and polymer, and the Kaviar Slug, which is a fragmenting slug made of lead pellets in a polymer matrix. Kaviar Slugs offer low penetration in both tissue and common household barriers, which make them suitable for multi-family dwellings. (http://www.ddupleks.com)
Federal manufactures a broad variety of handgun, rifle and shotgun ammunition that’s suitable for home defense. For handguns, Federal’s medium- to deep-penetrating HST and Hydra-Shok loads are well-suited for most single-family dwellings. Federal’s Guard Dog ammo generally produces low penetration and is a good choice for environments like apartments where collateral damage is a special concern. With respect to tactical rifle calibers like the .223 Remington, 5.56mm NATO, 7.62x39mm and 6.8mm SPC, Federal Premium offers a wide choice of loads. (http://www.federalpremium.com; 800-379-1732)
Freedom Munitions has entered the field of personal- and home-defense ammunition by offering a medium-penetration, electro-plated, copper-jacketed hollow-point for pistols called the X-Treme Self Defense. Freedom also offers handgun ammunition loaded with Hornady XTP hollow points that offer medium to deep penetration, and rifle loads in .223 and 300 BLK. The rifle cartridges are topped with a variety of bullets that provide either low or deep penetration. (http://www.freedommunitions.com; 208-746-3668)
G2 Research manufactures home-defense ammo for rifles and pistols using both fragmenting and non-fragmenting bullets. The company’s RIP line of pistol loads fragments and offers deep core penetration, while its non-fragmenting Civic Duty ammo exhibits low to moderate penetration in tissue but still penetrates through barriers. G2’s Rip Out rifle loads offer fragmentation and deep penetration, while the Trident line uses deep-penetration projectiles. (http://www.g2rammo.com)
Gorilla Ammunition produces pistol and rifle loads suitable for home defense in a variety of calibers. In addition to .223 loads with traditional jacketed lead bullets that offer low to medium penetration, Gorilla Ammo offers a new Silverback line that has all-copper, hollow-point bullets. Gorilla’s Silverback rifle and pistol ammo in the Self-Defense line is designed for low to moderate penetration in tissues, but its all-copper bullet construction easily penetrates many barriers. In addition, there are two 300 BLK Silverback loads that are medium to deep penetrators.(http://www.gorillaammo.com; 772-766-5805)
Hornady Ammunition makes a broad variety of home defense ammunition for revolvers, pistols, rifles and shotguns. The Critical Defense line for revolvers and pistols offers low to medium penetration, while the Critical Duty handgun line penetrates deeper and meets the criteria of the FBI’s test protocol. The American Handgunner line uses Hornady’s innovative XTP bullets for medium to deep penetration. The company’s offerings in tactical rifle calibers include low-penetration projectiles with polymer tips and deep-penetrating, monolithic, GMX expanding bullets made of gilding metal. (http://www.hornady.com; 800-338-3220)
HPR Ammunition produces low-penetration Black Ops fragmenting ammunition in several pistol calibers and .223 Remington, all of which are suited to the requirements of defending yourself in multi-residence buildings. HPR also makes medium- and deep-penetrating rifle, pistol and revolver ammunition topped with traditional match, soft-point or hollow-point XTP bullets. (928-468-0223; http://www.hprammo.com)
For revolvers and pistols, Remington offers two premium lines, High Terminal Performance and Ultimate Defense. Both of these offer medium to deep penetration. In tactical rifle calibers, Remington offers ammo with low-penetration, polymer-tipped bullets that are suitable for multi-family residences as well as various deep-penetrating loads. Finally, Remington home-defense shotgun ammunition includes standard and high-velocity buckshot loads, which offer medium to deep penetration depending upon the size of the buckshot. (http://www.remington.com; 800-243-9700)
Polycase Ammunition sells its ARX Power Blade ammo with plastic/copper matrix bullets under the Ruger and Polycase Inceptor labels. This ammo offers medium to deep penetration in tissue, yet it fragments and generally does not penetrate heavier construction materials. It is suitable for home defense in most single-family homes and in some multi-family dwellings as well. Ruger’s new ARX ammo is available in .380 ACP, 9mm, .45 ACP and eventually .40 S&W. (http://www.ruger.com)
Sig Sauer produces home defense ammunition for revolvers and autopistols, and some match geade rifle calibers. The Elite Performance handgun ammunition has Sig’s new V-Crown bullet, which offers medium penetration in most handgun calibers. In addition there is a match grade supersonic and subsonic load that is optimized for 300 Blackout rifles. (http://www.sigammo.com; 866-345-6744)
Wilson Combat produces ammunition for pistols and rifles. The company’s pistol ammo uses a variety of medium- to deep-penetration Hornady XTP projectiles and deep-penetrating Barnes X bullets. In addition, Wilson produces a broad variety of ammo for tactical rifles, including ammo with bullets that offer low, medium and deep penetration, allowing the shooter to tailor his or her ammunition to the environment where it will be used. (http://www.wilsoncombat.com; 800-955-4856)
Winchester manufacturers a broad variety of revolver, pistol, tactical rifle and tactical shotgun ammunition useable for home defense. This includes moderate- to deep-penetrating PDX1 ammunition, low- and moderate-penetrating Super-X loads, and a very unique Defender shotgun load, which employs segmented slugs that exhibit moderate penetration. This is one of the few shotgun slug designs suitable for home defense. (http://www.winchester.com)
Wolf produces pistol, rifle and shotgun ammunition. Hollow-point loads in the Wolf Gold line of pistol ammunition have medium to deep penetration. Wolf ammo for tactical-caliber rifles includes both medium- and deep-penetrating loads, while Wolf’s Power Buckshot offers deep penetration. (http://www.wolfammo.com; 888-757-9653)
Choosing ammo for home defense is often more complicated than choosing ammo for concealed carry. Street carry in urban and residential areas usually requires ammunition that penetrates 12 to 14 inches in ballistic gelatin, to limit the risk of collateral damage. These medium-penetration street loads are also okay for many single-family homes, but they might not be the best choice for people who live in apartments, duplexes or lightly constructed houses. For them, low-penetration loads that go 9 to 12 inches in gelatin are probably better. On the other hand, people who live in farmhouses or other rural dwellings may be best served by ammo that is designed for deep penetration of 14 to 18 inches.
Given this, choosing home-defense ammo is a matter of individual need. Each person must weigh the pros and cons for himself or herself, and choose a load that’s reliable in their weapons and has a range of penetration that fits the environment where they may potentially have to shoot in self-defense.
Fortunately, there are a lot more home-defense ammo choices today than there were 50 years ago. However, when choosing a home-defense load, remember that real-world incidents are more complex than any set of ballistic calculations or gelatin-test protocols. Bullets designed for deep penetration sometimes deflect and fail to penetrate, and low-penetration expanding bullets can fail to expand and over-penetrate.
In short, make the best choice you can, but remember that there are no 100-percent guarantees when it comes to bullet performance, so be sure of what is beyond your target.
