Remington's Golden Saber 165-grain BJHP runs 1,150 fps and 484 ft-lbs, the top muzzle figures of the 165s here. BJHP is Remington's brass-jacketed hollow point, a defensive bullet with a brass jacket in place of copper. Power factor 190, about 25 over the 165 major floor. It sits 1.3 inches low at 50 yards and 10.0 at 100 from a 25-yard zero, carrying 1,051 fps at 50 and 980 at 100. It has the most recoil energy of the group: about 11 percent more than Hornady Critical Duty 175 and 18 percent more than Critical Defense 165 or PMC Bronze 165 in the same pistol.

Speer Gold Dot 165 matches it on every figure here, so the difference is Gold Dot's bonded jacket against the Golden Saber's brass one. Federal HST 165 starts 20 fps and 16 ft-lbs behind, but it holds its speed better and closes that to 8 ft-lbs at 50 yards and 5 at 100, with about 3 percent less recoil. The Hornady loads run slower. Critical Defense 165 starts 105 fps and 84 ft-lbs behind and is 46 ft-lbs behind at 100 yards. Critical Duty 175 starts 140 fps and 88 ft-lbs behind, reaches 50 yards 103 fps slower and drops 2.7 inches more at 100. PMC Bronze 165 at 1,040 fps trails by 110 fps and 88 ft-lbs.

Buy the Golden Saber for the fastest 165 in the set with a brass jacket, if you shoot the caliber's top recoil comfortably. If you would rather give up 88 ft-lbs at the muzzle for about 10 percent less recoil, Critical Duty 175 is the heavy-bullet option at 1,010 fps. For practice, Winchester 165-grain FMJ Range runs 1,060 fps and 412 ft-lbs with about 15 percent less recoil energy in the same pistol, softer than this load.