[Blindjim]

as it's likely been said already, try a bunch of ammo from various makers, and even some of their models as well. Each gun shoots different ammo differently.

".... I suspect more than a few types of ammo are going to work very well for you, especially if you fire first and more accurately than the bad guy. Then at that point some WAlly World even FMJ or even a wad cutter placed in a critical spot (brain or heart) should be good enough."

some great numbers of penetration and expansion with one sort of ammo, might not be able to give you & your gun quite those exact same numbers. unless of course, they were shooting the same gun they did which yielded those numbers.

even the same gun with a different length barrel shoots the same ammo providing dissimilar ends.

Common sense says many of the newer hi tech hi pressure hollow point semi jacketed ammo is going to preform very well and likely be just fine.

from what I've read online it's about the speed of the round which allows the bullet to blossom completely. It seems too that the speed indicates accuracy as well for different length barrels. It's not so much the weight of the round itself. One prevalent reviewer uses very often, as many as seven or more types of ammo in the handgun he reviews and each sort of ammo results in different size groups every time!

so one can go by those results IF they buy the same gun and the same/best resulting ammo being fired.

Otherwise, when reporting what ammo someone prefers, it's merely a subjective account on what makes that person, with a particular pistol, feel confident... and such confidence should be derived from testing ammo in their own carry gun (s).

Consequently, when asking for what ammo is best, it should be a request such as, "what's the best ammo for the "yada yada"" pistol with a "XXX" length barre..... otherwise you might end up shooting less than optimally while in the dark.

the length of your barrel & model of gun are tremendous factors in trying to achieve the best results with any ammo and those items should be disclosed by posters when they are reporting what they believe is best.

but again... I suspect more than a few types of ammo are going to work very well for whatever brand gun in whatever length barrel, especially if you fire first and more accurately than the bad guy. Then at that point some WAlly World even FMJ or even a wad cutter placed in a critical spot (brain or heart) should be good enough.

I shoot Hornady in all of my weapons, long and short barreled. Carbine and shotgun. I'm secure enough using Critical defense, TAP, non + p, and +p. All are JHP except for the 12ga., naturally. Good luck!