personal protection round

bwsbama25 · January 29, 2010, 02:34 AM

I want to make a good personal protection round for my ar.What bullet do yall think is a good one.I have been looking at 55 grain v-max bullets since i have a 16" Chrome Moly R-4 Barrel With 1:9 Twist but i would like some good suggestions.I would like for it to be accurite up to two hundred yards if possible.

BurkGlocker · January 29, 2010, 02:57 AM

V-Max is a good, explosive bullet and very accurate. Hornady has the TAP-FPD .223 Rem loads, which I am assuming utilizes the V-Max (or A-Max) bullet, and I hear good things about it as well in accuracy and terminal performance.

Jim243 · January 29, 2010, 05:17 AM

Interesting concept, using a 22 caliber bullet as a self defence round!! (not) For accuracy the 55 grain Hornady V-Max #22716 is a good choice, besides I love those little red tips. At 200 yards you are going to be hard pressed to convince any jury that you shot in self defence unless you were being shot at.

AR's are neat, but they were designed to be used as sub-machine guns not semi-auto rifles. For self defence at self defence ranges 10 to 20 feet the little 22 is just going to go completely through what ever you are shooting at. Unless you are going to go for head shots, I would suggest a 12 gauge shotgun with 00 buckshot or 230 grain 45 ACP for a defensive round. The V stands for varmint not large preditor.

Stay safe
Jim

KySilverado · January 29, 2010, 09:45 AM

I've read and been told my many much wiser then I, to not use a handload in something you may need to defend yourself. You may find yourself in front of a jury trying to defend the super man killing load you concocted.

hagar · January 29, 2010, 09:46 AM

Anything past 30 yards a shotgun is pretty pitiful. I have plenty of experience shooting coyotes with them, and cannot tell you how many times we had to track them 100's of yards. It was uncommon for them to drop right on the spot unless they were closer than 30 yards.

The 64 grain Winchester PP bullet always put them down right there, right now. I also shot 2 mule deer and 2 javelina with it with the same result. It gets very high marks for self defence as well.

QBall45 · January 29, 2010, 12:20 PM

For home defense my recommendations in order of personal preference are:

1911 45ACP 230gr jhp factory loads

12ga pump #7 1/2 birdshot

AR15 55gr soft point factory loads

In some testing I did with my son for a science fair project the difference between a ballistic tip (like the VMax) and lead soft point bullets is dramatic. We use ballistics gel to test for weight retention and expansion. Both produced nice big wound channels. Both expanded to double original diameter. Weight retention was NOT the same. The ballistic tip retained less than 50% of the original 55 grains. The lead soft points retained around 75% of the original 55 grains. Also used a 55gr fmj as a control. Zero expansion as expected. 90-95% weight retention.

IMHO the AR should be on the list for SD/HD use. Just not at the top as a "this is the gun to grab first".

This is just my opinion. Take it for what it is. Follow my advise if you wish. And, never use handloads for self defense. Rather, spend the money and get some SD factory loads for your SD/HD use. (This all from a guy that trusts his own handloads over any factory load. And, still carries factory in his ccw)

rottieman33 · January 29, 2010, 04:28 PM

In the New Hampshire if you use reloads for Personal Defense and shoot some one you will go to jail. Friend told me about it and I did look it up. So before using reloads to defend yourself check state laws.

80viking · January 29, 2010, 05:00 PM

AR15 for self defense - you could do better

Handloads for self defense - not a good idea

Some interesting things to consider. If all I had was an AR15 thats what I would use. If I had a lot of property to protect, like a farm or a construction company, an AR15 actually sounds pretty good.

How about the ammo? Hmm, what kind of bullet would put a 4'' wide by 3'' deep hole in an intruder but not pass thru and not do any harm on the other side of the target? Sounds like a varmint bullet to me, that which is available in a wide variety of factory loadings. Bullets of 55gr or heavier will work best with a 1/9 twist rate. Just my .02

January 29, 2010, 02:34 AM	#1
bwsbama25 Junior Member Join Date: January 21, 2010 Location: Birmingham Al Posts: 9	personal protection round I want to make a good personal protection round for my ar.What bullet do yall think is a good one.I have been looking at 55 grain v-max bullets since i have a 16" Chrome Moly R-4 Barrel With 1:9 Twist but i would like some good suggestions.I would like for it to be accurite up to two hundred yards if possible.

January 29, 2010, 09:46 AM	#5
hagar Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 2000 Location: Colombia, SC Posts: 745	Anything past 30 yards a shotgun is pretty pitiful. I have plenty of experience shooting coyotes with them, and cannot tell you how many times we had to track them 100's of yards. It was uncommon for them to drop right on the spot unless they were closer than 30 yards. The 64 grain Winchester PP bullet always put them down right there, right now. I also shot 2 mule deer and 2 javelina with it with the same result. It gets very high marks for self defence as well. __________________ I don't have time for busy people

January 29, 2010, 05:00 PM	#8
80viking Senior Member Join Date: December 8, 2009 Location: The Peoples Republic of Massac Posts: 333	A lot of good advise in this thread AR15 for self defense - you could do better Handloads for self defense - not a good idea Some interesting things to consider. If all I had was an AR15 thats what I would use. If I had a lot of property to protect, like a farm or a construction company, an AR15 actually sounds pretty good. How about the ammo? Hmm, what kind of bullet would put a 4'' wide by 3'' deep hole in an intruder but not pass thru and not do any harm on the other side of the target? Sounds like a varmint bullet to me, that which is available in a wide variety of factory loadings. Bullets of 55gr or heavier will work best with a 1/9 twist rate. Just my .02

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January 29, 2010, 02:57 AM	#2
BurkGlocker Senior Member Join Date: May 18, 2008 Location: Sheppard AFB, TX Posts: 568	V-Max is a good, explosive bullet and very accurate. Hornady has the TAP-FPD .223 Rem loads, which I am assuming utilizes the V-Max (or A-Max) bullet, and I hear good things about it as well in accuracy and terminal performance.

January 29, 2010, 05:17 AM	#3
Jim243 Senior Member Join Date: January 5, 2009 Location: Just off Route 66 Posts: 5,067	Interesting concept, using a 22 caliber bullet as a self defence round!! (not) For accuracy the 55 grain Hornady V-Max #22716 is a good choice, besides I love those little red tips. At 200 yards you are going to be hard pressed to convince any jury that you shot in self defence unless you were being shot at. AR's are neat, but they were designed to be used as sub-machine guns not semi-auto rifles. For self defence at self defence ranges 10 to 20 feet the little 22 is just going to go completely through what ever you are shooting at. Unless you are going to go for head shots, I would suggest a 12 gauge shotgun with 00 buckshot or 230 grain 45 ACP for a defensive round. The V stands for varmint not large preditor. Stay safe Jim

January 29, 2010, 09:45 AM	#4
KySilverado Senior Member Join Date: January 24, 2010 Posts: 147	I've read and been told my many much wiser then I, to not use a handload in something you may need to defend yourself. You may find yourself in front of a jury trying to defend the super man killing load you concocted.

January 29, 2010, 12:20 PM	#6
QBall45 Senior Member Join Date: April 5, 2008 Location: South Central Minnesota Posts: 584	For home defense my recommendations in order of personal preference are: 1911 45ACP 230gr jhp factory loads 12ga pump #7 1/2 birdshot AR15 55gr soft point factory loads In some testing I did with my son for a science fair project the difference between a ballistic tip (like the VMax) and lead soft point bullets is dramatic. We use ballistics gel to test for weight retention and expansion. Both produced nice big wound channels. Both expanded to double original diameter. Weight retention was NOT the same. The ballistic tip retained less than 50% of the original 55 grains. The lead soft points retained around 75% of the original 55 grains. Also used a 55gr fmj as a control. Zero expansion as expected. 90-95% weight retention. IMHO the AR should be on the list for SD/HD use. Just not at the top as a "this is the gun to grab first". This is just my opinion. Take it for what it is. Follow my advise if you wish. And, never use handloads for self defense. Rather, spend the money and get some SD factory loads for your SD/HD use. (This all from a guy that trusts his own handloads over any factory load. And, still carries factory in his ccw)

January 29, 2010, 04:28 PM	#7
rottieman33 Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2009 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 223	In the New Hampshire if you use reloads for Personal Defense and shoot some one you will go to jail. Friend told me about it and I did look it up. So before using reloads to defend yourself check state laws.