Looking for the best handgun ammo for self-defense? Good. It won’t compensate for poor marksmanship, but the right ammo can only tip the scales in your favor.
Quality. Reliability. Bullet weight. Bullet style. Muzzle velocity. Price, to some degree. All of these factors indicate whether a cartridge will prove itself a good ally when you need it the most.
We’re going to share some of our top choices of ammo for defense with a handgun. The following selections aren’t exclusive. Depending on the shooter, their firearm, and their circumstances, there can potentially be hundreds of “best” choices of defense ammo. We’re only offering the following recommendations as loose guidelines. Make sure to research and personally test out a type of ammo before recruiting it for defense!
Best Self Defense Handgun Ammo on the Market in 2025
| Best Handgun Ammo for Self-Defense | Hornady Critical Defense 9mm 115 Grain JHP |
|---|---|
| Best 45 ACP Round for Self-Defense | Speer Gold Dot 185 Grain JHP |
| Best Handgun Ammo for Bear Defense | Buffalo Bore Dangerous Game Heavy 44 Magnum 275 Grain Mono-Metal |
| Best Target Shooting Handgun Ammo | Remington UMC 38 Special 130 Grain FMJ |
| Best 22 LR Ammo for Semi-Auto Handguns | CCI Uppercut 22 LR 32 Grain JHP |
Best Handgun Ammo for Self-Defense
Hornady Critical Defense 9mm 115 Grain JHP
Specs
- Bullet Weight: 115 grains
- Case: Brass
- Muzzle Velocity: 1,140 fps
- Muzzle Energy: 332 ft-lbs
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Trusted brand by law enforcement agencies | Expensive |
| One of the best ammo lines for self-defense, no matter the pistol | Some find recoil excessively snappy |
| Medium recoil | |
| Fast and hard-hitting |
Why I Chose It
Like many, I believe the 9mm to be the best choice of handgun cartridge for defense. This is due in large part to its higher magazine capacity, manageable recoil, and adequate stopping power.
Hornady Critical Defense is an excellent choice for full-size pistols, regardless of whether they are carried by average Joes or elite law enforcement officers. These are the rounds I keep in my Smith & Wesson Shield – the very same pistol I trust to defend my life above all others.
I consistently shoot tighter groups at the range with these rounds. That may be because I’ve familiarized myself with their performance. Even so, they seem to deliver outstanding accuracy.
Downsides? Two, it’s not cheap and a bit snappy in the recoil department. I don’t cheap out on the ammo I would fire in defense of myself and my own, however, and I’m so accustomed to 9mm recoil that I hardly notice it anymore. Just one of the perks of training, I suppose.
Honorable Mention
The Hornady Critical Defense Lite 100 grain FTX is a great option for those who are recoil-averse or too small in stature to control/tolerate conventional 9mm recoil. These light loads may be weak relative to 115, 124, or 147 grain alternatives, but they are more than sufficient to stop the threat (when fired properly, of course).
Best 45 ACP Round for Self-Defense
Speer Gold Dot 185 Grain JHP
Specs
- Bullet Weight: 185 grains
- Case: Nickel-Plated Brass
- Muzzle Velocity: 1,050 fps
- Muzzle Energy: 453 ft-lbs
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Reliably deep penetration | Expensive |
| Reliably wide expansion | |
| Designed for personal protection |
Why I Chose It
The Gold Dot is the original bonded handgun bullet. Its dense, alloyed lead core is electrochemically fused to its copper jacket. In addition to improving rotational stability (which benefits accuracy), the Gold Dot bullet’s jacket is highly durable – the reason why it retains its weight so effectively while penetrating barriers or body mass. This ensures the Gold Dot conserves enough momentum to enter deeply into the target.
The Gold Dot bullet features a precision-formed nose cavity as well. It is created via a series of die presses, which programs it to expand at a consistent rate and to a consistent diameter. It’s all in service of promoting more immediate stopping power.
These aren’t cheap rounds, but you get what you pay for. Countless law enforcement agencies across the country aren’t wrong about Speer Gold Dot.
Honorable Mentions
It’s quite arguably just as good as Speer Gold Dot, if not better: Remington Ultimate Defense 230 grain BJHP, which features a brass-jacketed and spiral-serrated JHP that excels at deep penetration and rapid expansion.
Hornady Critical Defense is some of the best self-defense ammo available, regardless of whether you’re firing 9mm, 45 ACP, or any of the several other cartridges it’s available as.
Barnes TAC-XPD 45 ACP +P 185 grain SCHP is also excellent. The solid copper hollow point is very tough and well-equipped to undergo broad terminal expansion. The lead-free bullet is also clean-shooting and accurate thanks to its lack of a jacket that could possess concentricity flaws.
Continue reading Best Handgun Ammo for Self-Defense in Common Calibers on Ammo.com