Ask a Question
Our customer service team has published this Q&A information as a free service to the shooting community.
Please note that LuckyGunner.com expressly disclaims any and all liability with regard to how the shooting community
might use this Q&A information. See Terms of Use for more details.
Posted On: 5/25/2022
By: jimmy davis
A: Thanks for reaching out Jimmy! Self-defense ammo offers two important things. First of all, it is higher-quality. This is not to suggest that range ammo would fail you if your life depended on it, but it's understood that a failure to feed or fire range ammo wouldn't put the shooter's life in jeopardy. Self-defense ammo is usually produced according to the manufacturer's highest standards for reliability. A self-defense round also has an expanding bullet (like a JHP, SP or polymer tip). This enables the bullet to (A) create a wider wound cavity, (B) exert more of its energy outward instead of merely forward, and (C) reduce the chance of over-penetration which could jeopardize innocent bystanders. All of that said, a 5.56 or 223 cartridge with an FMJ bullet is essentially the same ammo our Armed Forces would use in combat, which is to say that it will effectively neutralize a threat. Still, I advise keeping your home defense rifle's magazine filled with premium self-defense ammo – in addition to keeping a very large supply of more affordable range ammo available for a longer-lasting crisis.
