Defense Round for gen 4 glock 19?

[MolonLabe7]

I just want to know what a good defensive round would be for me to carry in my glock 19. Where can I find them, price, grain, etc. I am in the Muncie area while I am at school, but I go visit home around the Warsaw area. Any type of round I should stay away from?

I've heard people say that you want to go with a lower grain to help reduce the chance of collateral damage. What are your opinions?

 

[avboiler11]

Any quality 124 or 147gr JHP loading (Remington Golden Sabre, Speer Gold Dot, Winchester Ranger or PDX1, Fed HydraShok) should work fine.

IMO reliability in your weapon is #1 priority, and accuracy for shot placement #2.

I use 124gr +P Winchester PDX in my Gen2 G19.

 

[ashby koss]

Gold. Dots. Done.

 

[Thegeek]

Any quality 124 or 147gr JHP loading (Remington Golden Sabre, Speer Gold Dot, Winchester Ranger or PDX1, Fed HydraShok) should work fine.

IMO reliability in your weapon is #1 priority, and accuracy for shot placement #2.

I use 124gr +P Winchester PDX in my Gen2 G19.

Is +P ammo safe for the Gen4 Glock 19? By the user manual anyway?

 

[kawtech87]

Is +P ammo safe for the Gen4 Glock 19? By the user manual anyway?

I'm pretty sure all Glocks are rated for +P ammo. (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

They were designed as a sidearm for law enforcement and military use. It wouldn't make much sense for them not to be +P rated IMHO.

 

[Thegeek]

I had the same thought, but I don't recall seeing it anywhere in my manual when I bought it back in November. I run Gold Dots 124gr in my for EDC and Winchester 115gr FMJ for target practice.

 

[venenoindy]

Federal HST
Winchester Ranger bonded
Gold dot

 

[HICKMAN]

Hornady Critical Defense in mine.

 

[24Carat]

Just go with bonded +P.

I find the price of Golden Sabre attractive and I sure wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one.

 

[DanVoils]

I have Federal HST in all of my side arms. The expansion and penetration were much better than everything my sons tested including hydro-shocks.

 

[Double T]

I run Hornady critical duty in my gen 3.

 

[lowendgenerator]

124gr Hydra-Shoks and Speer Gold Dots when I can find em.

 

[jwh20]

My preference is Federal Hydra-Shok.

The general school of thought is that you want to use HP (hollow point) ammo for defense for 3 main reasons:

1) Lower possibility of penetrating all the way through the target and possibly injuring someone on the far side.

2) The HP expansion transfers more of the bullet's energy into the target and therefore hits harder. Also the larger diameter of the expanded bullet causes a larger wound than a jacketed bullet.

3) If you miss the target, an HP bullet is less likely to penetrate a wall and injure someone in an adjacent room.

I think all of these are valid points, although none are absolutes. There are many who say a HP is not needed in .45 ACP since the bullet is already so large that it will behave more like an expanded smaller caliber anyway. I prefer JHP in my .45 just the same.

I'm not sure that +P is needed unless you are just concerned that regular ammo is not "hot" enough. But be sure you practice with +P. In 9mm you can surprise yourself if you aren't expecting the extra recoil and that could very well interfere with any needed follow-up shots. As I read the Glock manual for the 17, +P is acceptable but, as with all +P use, you do accelerate wear-and-tear on the gun.

 

[thabombsquad]

i use hornady critical defense as well as hornady critical duty in my 26. speer gold dot are also a great defensive round!

 

[cmj]

I run Critical Duty over Critical Defense (simply because the O.A.L. is the same as my target rounds)

It's an expensive round to prove reliability with, but I think it's a great candidate.

 

[other dave]

124 gr. Gold Dot +P in my Gen. 3 G26

 

[nm0369]

147gr Federal HST here (+p if you can find them). I've watched several videos on YouTube, testing various JHP ammo....Federal HST, Winchester Ranger T & Speer Gold Dots are top tier rounds. Everything else is a step down IMO.

Check Kylesgunshop.com frequently for defense ammo. You can get 50rd boxes of HST or Gold Dots for under $30, and s/h is more reasonable than most sites.

 

[aaron580]

I personally like underwood +p+ 124 HP. But, I am a huge fanboy of underwood.

 

[MolonLabe7]

I ended up going with gold dot

 

[AmericanBob]

I run the zombie max stuff. Exact same as the critical defense, but a couple of bucks cheaper for some reason. I have some gold dots and federal hydrashocks, but you can't go wrong with hornady.