Speer Gold Dot 5.7x28mm 40gr GDHP

Speer Gold Dot 5.7x28mm is the load that answered the cartridge's longstanding terminal-performance question. For years, 5.7 carry options were range bullets pressed into defensive service. Speer built this one from the ground up as a self-defense round, and it is the default carry recommendation for any 5.7 pistol.

The 40gr Gold Dot hollow point uses Speer's Uni-Cor process, which electrochemically bonds the jacket to the lead core so the bullet holds together through barriers and after expansion rather than shedding its jacket. At 1,800 fps and 288 ft-lbs, it runs faster than the FN range load while delivering controlled expansion that plain FMJ and the V-Max polymer tip cannot reliably produce. That combination of velocity, bonded construction, and a true hollow point is what makes it a credible defensive cartridge rather than a fast plinking round.

As with everything in 5.7x28mm, you pay for it. At roughly $0.80 per round there is no cheap way to carry this caliber, so the realistic approach is to function-test with Gold Dot, confirm it cycles and groups in your pistol, then keep the rest as carry ammo and train on the cheaper Fiocchi and FN range loads.