Choosing the Right Ammunition for Your Handgun

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Experienced gun owners can walk into any gun store and find the ammunition they need for their purposes. A newer gun owner might assume it’s as easy as grabbing a box off the shelf and taking it to the counter. However, did you consider the caliber?

• The projectile type?
• Your purpose?
• Projectile weight?
• Velocity?

You should, and today, we’ll dissect each category and give you the ultimate guide to choosing the correct ammunition for your handgun.

Make Sure It’s The Right Caliber!

This sounds like common sense, but if you’re new to handguns, you might be surprised at how many calibers have similar names and types. Let’s say you have a 9mm handgun and go ammo shopping. It seems like you need a box of 9mm.

9mm what? It’s likely 9×19, but there is also 9mm Makarov, 9x25mm Dillon, 9mm Laugo, 9mm Glisenti, 9mm Browning, 9x21mm, 9mm Short, and about a dozen other 9mm cartridges. The same goes for rounds like .380 ACP, which is known as 9mm Short, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Browning short, 9mm Corto, and more. The little .22 has the .22LR, the .22 Short, the .22 Long, the .22 CB Cap, and the .22 Magnum.

This applies to a wide variety of cartridges. It’s always wise to double-check the ammo box to match what’s on the gun. Most of the time, the caliber will be inscribed on the barrel, ensuring you have the proper caliber for your firearm.

Purpose Plays a Role With Ammunition

What’s the purpose of the ammunition you are purchasing? Do you want to go shoot your .45 ACP at the range? Are you taking your .22LR hunting? Maybe you need to load the gun for self-defense and concealed carry. Either way, you’ll need different ammo types.

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If you go to the range to train, plink, or compete, the best bang for your buck will be cheap full metal jacket loads. These provide a low-priced option for turning money into noise. Full metal jacket ammo is basic ball ammo that’s typically a copper-jacketed lead round.

FMJs aren’t safe for self-defense use or appropriate for hunting. They tend to over-penetrate, go through soft targets, and maintain enough energy to harm something behind them.

Self Defense

You typically want a jacketed hollow point made explicitly for self-defense. A jacketed hollow point round opens and widens as it strikes a target, creating a parachute effect, where the round slows down rapidly inside a soft target.

Modern hollow points are tuned to penetrate just deep enough to reach something vital while not over-penetrating the target. The rounds opening up have the added benefit of becoming more prominent and causing more damage to the target. Hollow points might not always be the answer.

The Ammunition Exception

If you use something like .22LR or .32 ACP, you may want to use an FMJ load. This is precisely due to the lack of penetration some calibers offer. FMJ loads allow for deep penetration but are also very unlikely to over-penetrate.

You might want to choose a wadcutter round when fielding snub-nose revolvers. Hollowpoints require a certain velocity to function, and short revolver barrels often fail to generate the velocity needed. The wadcutter design allows for adequate penetration without overpenetration.

When you choose a gun and caliber, learning about the round and gun is wise. Research penetration, barrel length, and projectile types, and how they work with your firearm and caliber.

Hunting Loads

Hunting cartridges will vary depending on the animal you’re hunting. Shooting squirrels with a .22LR differs from hunting deer or bears with a .44 Magnum. You must consider your gun, cartridge, and chosen game animal when hunting. This will guide your load.

For example, you need a cartridge that will expand quickly if you’re hunting deer. If you shoot a bear, you need a cartridge and projectile that penetrate deeply and kill humanely. A soft tip or deep penetrating hollow point is desired for lighter animals.

For larger, more muscular games, you may choose a hard cast lead round that can penetrate super deep and reach the vitals. Luckily, game-specific cartridges are produced that allow an easy way to get the right ammo for the right animal.

Weight Matters With Ammunition

If you’re shopping for one specific cartridge, you might notice that the same cartridge has different weights. For example, 9mm comes in 115-grain, 124-grain, 135-grain, 147-grain, and more. What’s the point of all of these different bullet weights?

In some cases, heavier bullets allow for better penetration from short-barreled handguns. If you’re carrying a SIG P365, you might want the Federal 150-grain HST ammo for short barrels so you can reach an appropriate penetration level.

If you’re carrying a midsize 9mm handgun, the 124-grain JHPs might offer excellent penetration expansion. In other cases, lighter-loaded ammo might offer less recoil, which makes the gun easier to shoot.

Weight and projectile design work together to produce an efficient defensive cartridge. When it comes to self-defense, consider your barrel length and projectile weight.

Another way weight matters is bullet speed. Heavier bullets are slower. If you’re shooting suppressed, you might want to eliminate the supersonic crack by using a bigger, heavier bullet. For .45 ACP, this occurs with 230-grain rounds, with 9mm; the 147-grain rounds are subsonic, and .22LR has specific subsonic loads.

Most standard handgun cartridges will have a subsonic variant available to maximize your suppressed shooting capability.

The +P Conundrum

When shopping for ammunition, you’ll likely see the moniker +P. Overpressure ammunition is signified by a +P or even a +P+ moniker. This symbolizes ammunition that has been purposefully loaded to a higher internal pressure.

The general idea is to produce ammo that generates a higher muzzle velocity and muzzle energy. It can translate to better penetration and expansion. +P ammunition tends to have a 10% higher pressure than standard cartridges.

Not all guns are rated for use with +P ammunition. Your weapon’s manual should provide information about using +P ammunition. It’s better to be cautious and avoid +P ammunition when in doubt.

Special Purpose Ammo

Finally, talk about some common special-purpose ammunition you may run into. These include:

Frangible Ammo—Frangible ammo explodes when it strikes a target. The harder the target, the more frangibility is achieved. It’s commonly used to avoid ricochets and shoot at steel targets with reduced risk of splatter and ricochets.

Reduced Recoil—Reduced recoil ammo is often loaded with lighter projectiles to reach standard velocities but produce lower recoil. These cartridges work fine in revolvers, but users should extensively test them in semi-auto handguns.

Hard Cast—Hard cast rounds are designed to retain their weight and shape as they penetrate targets. They are typically used for hunting larger game or for predator protection.

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Wadcutter—Wadcutter refers to a specific projectile type used in revolvers. They are completely flat bullets. They were initially used for competition due to the clean holes, where they were punched into paper targets. However, they’ve retained their ability to penetrate; they’ve moved into the defensive realm with short-barreled revolvers.

The Right Ammunition For the Right Job

As you can see, it’s not always easy to just buy a box of 9mm and call it a day. You have to find the right ammo for the right job and consider a variety of factors. Luckily, it’s not all that difficult.

If you follow the information above, you’ll be able to find the right ammo for the right job. It can be as simple as buying a box of 9mm—a box of 124-grain JHP+P 9mm ammo for home defense with your Glock 17.

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