The Best Self-Defense Ammo For Heavy Clothing

It seems hard to believe, but something as subtle as the type of clothing an attacker wears can affect how a poorly built self-defense bullet behaves on impact. And that can change the outcome of a life-and-death encounter.

Heavy cotton clothing, merino wool, cotton denim and the like can cover or fill a bullet's hollow-point cavity and prevent bullet expansion. Self-defense and law enforcement experts conduct extensive tests on this, and they have found a huge spectrum in performance between common hollow point bullet designs. Some work well, some do not. Choose the best self-defense ammo for defeating heavy clothing and other common barriers with this guide.

How The Best Hollow-Point Bullets Function

What makes hollow points great for self-defense is their nose cavity, which allows the bullet to expand, provides increased terminal effect, and slows the bullet to prevent dangerous over-penetration.

If clothing or another material plugs the hollow point on impact, tissue isn’t allowed to push into the cavity and cause this critical expansion. Instantly, your hollow point turns into an FMJ, which doesn't expand at all at the point of impact.

Speer addressed this common problem with Gold Dot, G2 and Gold Dot Carry Gun bullet designs. Trusted by more than 3,000 law enforcement agencies around the globe, these bullets reduce the worry of heavy clothing.

Gold Dot uses a pressure-formed lead core bonded to a precisely uniformed jacket, eliminating separation on impact and ensuring more retained weight. This allows the bullet to penetrate deep. The Gold Dot hollow-point design expands consistently through the full range of barriers—including heavy clothing—to provide uniform expansion.

Sweetening the pot is Speer's Gold Dot G2. Once offered only to law enforcement, this ultimate self-defense round sports an exclusive nose design that totally resists the effects of heavy clothing. Rather than a sizeable hollow-point cavity, G2 has a shallow dish that’s already filled with a high-performance elastomer. Because the dish is filled, there is no way for clothing to clog the bullet, and because the elastomer does its job by starting the expansion process, the results are excellent. Shooters still get the devastating effect of expansion without the worry of clothing clog. It’s the best defense ammo for full-size handguns.

Best Ammo For Concealed Carry

Speer made the G2 design even more versatile with Gold Dot Carry Gun. These loads feature the G2-style bullet, but with design tweaks and velocity adjustments that make it perform best in compact handguns used for concealed carry.

Choose the best self-defense ammo for how you defend and the handguns you use, and you’ll be ready in case the need ever arises.