Self Defense round for .40 S&W

[Brent]

I was wondering what other Kahr .40 owners are using as their self defense round. I'm looking for the ammo that functions with the least problems in your Kahrs, particularly in the CW40 or P40 models. I will run tests on my own gun, but would like some suggestions to know what to start out with. Thanks!

[jocko]

get ur notebook out my friend. kahrs are realy not ammo sensitive so u should get alot of opiions to TEST out..

[Brent]

get ur notebook out my friend. kahrs are realy not ammo sensitive so u should get alot of opiions to TEST out..

That's good to know jocko! I always hated tests in school, but I have a feeling that shooting tests with this Kahr are going to be most enjoyable. http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y302/BrentRFC/Smileys/pistola2.gif

[sharpetop]

There are alot of good defense loads for .40 S&W, from 135gr jhp up to 180gr jhp. Pick one from a major mfg. and if it feeds and functions, stick with it. My inexpensive Federal 155gr Hi-Shok jhp will kill em' just as dead as a Speer 180gr Gold Dot jhp.

[HadEmAll]

I prefer the 155 grain JHPs by Winchester, Remington, Speer, and Federal for self-defense in all my .40's. I like the velocity and performance on thin-skinned mammals as demonstrated by the former Border Patrol. I'm sure there are some good 165 grain and 180 grain loads out there, I just like the 155's. You can see many of these on YouTube.

Here are results in my CW40: different times of the year, so the velocities might vary a little depending on ambient temperature.

Winchester Ranger 155 grain JHP - 1175 fps/478 ft/lbs Very available on line at several sites.

Remington Express 155 JHP - 1149 fps/457 ft/lbs Older stuff used by the former Border Patrol. I used to come across tons of it at gun shows, but don't see it around much anymore. I bought a lot of it.

Speer Gold Dot 155 JHP - don't have it chronographed in the CW for some reason, but in my longer barrelled .40's it runs around the same as the Winchester. Funny thing is, this is what I am carrying in the CW40 and PM40. Guess I need to get to the range with the chronograph. A hot round, a good bullet, nickled case, and my overall favorite .40 round.

Federal Classic HiShok 155 JHP - 1117 fps/432 ft/lbs. I like this round, but may have gotten a bad batch. I bought 1000, and I've had 2 dud rounds out of 537 I've shot so far, so just use it for range ammo now. However, I like the round and would buy more if I came across it.

A word of caution, all just my opinion of course. There is a lot of Wincheter 135 grain JHP around at very good prices. Not to be confused with the 135 grain Corbon round, which IS a very hot round.

The Winchester version is advertised as a 1200 fps load. I have chronographed the 500 I bought out of 10 different .40's, and haven't see 1200 fps out of any of them. Didn't make it in a Glock 22 or a M&P. If not in those 2 it won't make it out of any handgun. The 155 grain Ranger outperformed it in all the pistols by about 50 fps. There was a Federal equivalent that Walmart sold a lot of a couple of years ago. Same thing, NOT a 1200 FPS round. Very mild. Kind of dumbs down the .40 in my opinion. You'll see it promoted, and I wouldn't want to get hit my one, but it isn't really what the .40 is all about. Adapted by Homeland Security to make the .40 recoil nicer is what I understand. If recoil bothers you, this might be the ticket, but as I said, I don't consider it a REAL .40 round. Maybe the lot I bought was being dumped after being rejected by some agency for underperformance, which happens sometimes, but I'd have to see results that proved it was a 1200 fps round before I even considered it.

Good luck.

[HadEmAll]

Out of my PM40: Add about 40 fps for the CW40.

Winchester Ranger 155 JHP - 1131 fps/443 ft lbs

Winchester Ranger 135 JHP - 1083 fps/353 ft lbs

Federal 135 JHP - 1092 fps/359 ft lbs



Edited to add some PM9 loads for reference:


Corbon 115 grain +P JHP - 1222 fps/383 ft/lbs

Winchester Ranger 115 grain +P+ JHP - 1200 fps/370 ft/lbs

Winchester Ranger 127 grain +P+ JHP - 1134 fps/365 ft/lbs

[Brent]

Thank you HadEmAll. Lots of great info there! http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y302/BrentRFC/Smileys/sthumb.gif