Speer's Gold Dot 124-grain fires at 1,150 fps and hits with 364 ft-lbs of energy, a power factor of 143. The bullet is a bonded jacketed hollow point; bonding the jacket to the core is meant to keep the two together as the bullet expands. From a 25-yard zero it sits 1.3 inches low at 50 yards and 10.2 inches low at 100, and it is still moving at 1,038 fps at 50. In a 1.9-pound compact pistol the estimated recoil energy is 4.7 ft-lbs.

Federal HST 124-grain posts the same 1,150 fps and 364 ft-lbs, so the two are a wash on paper. Winchester Defender +P 124 Bonded runs 50 fps faster with 32 ft-lbs more energy and about 7 percent more recoil, and Hornady Critical Duty +P 124 FlexLock is 25 fps faster with about 4 percent more recoil. Hornady Critical Defense 115 FTX is 15 fps slower and produces about 16 percent less recoil energy in the same pistol. Winchester NATO 124 FMJ matches the Defender +P at 1,200 fps, which makes it a practice load that kicks about 7 percent harder than this Gold Dot. Drop at 50 yards is within two tenths of an inch across all of them.

This is a concealed carry and home defense load for shooters who want a bonded bullet at standard pressure, without the extra blast and recoil of +P. If your pistol is rated for +P and you want the most muzzle energy, Winchester Defender +P 124 Bonded gives 396 ft-lbs against 364 here; check the rating first. If you carry a micro-compact and 4.7 ft-lbs of recoil energy is more than you can run fast, Critical Defense 115 FTX cuts that by about 16 percent.