So whenever I am shaking down a new gun I like to run a mix of ball weights and of course some defensive ammunition.

I have pretty much settled on Gold Dots and HST as my go to defensive ammo so that is generally what I run in my testing phase. Today however I was cleaning out some old stocks of ammo and I had with me some Gold Dot, HST, Hornady TAP, Hydra Shock, a little Golden Sabre and some fairly old Remington Green and White Box hollow points.

So we all know to function test our defensive ammo. I am also of the mind that any decent, reliable defensive ammo is about as good as their peers. One thing however most folks don't take into consideration if they just grab a cheap box of HP defensive ammo is the flash of the powder. The cheap stuff usually doesn't use low flash powder...................
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So about that old Remington Green and White Box HP stuff. Holy Pink Floyd Batman, what a light show. Fairly inconsistent as well. This stuff would definitely distract you in ANY kind of low light as it was distracting under direct light.

Now I am not saying a box of cheaper grade defensive hollow points are ineffective crap just pointing out, mostly for folks new to the game, that low flash powder makes a big difference. I had a mag loaded up with a mix of Gold Dot, Hydrashok, TAP and the stuff above. When you hit that cheap stuff it was like a camera flash.

So anyhoo, might be something else to keep in mind for the new shooters to consider as most of the time we tend to hammer reliability of a given load and forget to mention other factors like consistency and flash.

As always, take care, shoot safe,
Chris

Good points to think about.

I agree. I was issued Remington 9MM +P 115 grain and Remington .45 ACP 185 grain for years. Both very high flash in low light. Same with old style Federal 9BP and XM9001 115 grain. More modern carry/Duty type 9MM, even +P and +P+, along with Winchester and IMI NATO 9MM tested in low light displayed MUCH less muzzle flash....ymmv

Any of that stuff will make a real bad sore on a twerp and mess his whole day up. The most important thing is accuracy. I would rather have a hit with lead round nose than a miss with +P+. Just my opinion.

Good points Chris: but accuracy, penetration; and expansion can vary a lot among loads Want faster burning powder to maximize all above factors in compact or subcompact guns, too!

Way way back in the day when we were getting rid of our surplus of Winchester Black Talon ammo, we tried some Remington Golden Saber, Federal Hydrashok and HST ammo. We were not getting consistent performance with the Golden Saber. We eventually settled on the HST. When we left .40 to go 357, we switched back to Winchester Ranger.

Thanks for this info, I did not realize that there was low flash powder.

GoldDots are my go to in most cases. Flash suppressants in the powder are a must for me. Especially when I used to work nights. Although I used to joke I wanted the bad guys to see the loudest and flashiest blast coming my muzzle.