Speer has taken its law-enforcement proven Gold Dot G2 hollow-point bullet and modified it to create a new product line called Gold Dot Carry Gun. This specialized ammunition is designed to provide superior feeding, ballistics and terminal performance through compact handguns. Speer’s new Carry Gun lineup includes 9mm 135-grain, .40 S&W 165-grain, and.45 Auto +P 200-grain loads. Shipments of this new product have begun to arrive at dealers.
“Most shooters believe that a defensive bullet—any defensive bullet—will perform well in typical self-defense situations. But a duty bullet that is designed and optimized for a full-sized duty handgun may not perform to the same standard when shot from a short-barreled carry or backup gun,” said Federal Handgun Ammunition Product Manager Chris Laack. “By taking the Gold Dot G2 bullet and customizing it to function in short-barreled defense pistols Speer has created a self-defense load truly optimized for the guns in which it will be carried.”

Gold Dot Carry Gun features the original G2’s exclusive bullet nose design. Instead of a large hollow-point cavity, it has a shallow dish filled with a high-performance elastomer. On impact, the material is forced into engineered internal fissures to start the expansion process. The result is extremely uniform expansion, better separation of the petals, and more consistent penetration across barrier types. Speer Gold Dot Carry Gun also utilizes the use of quality nickel-plated cases that feed dependably, advanced powders that perform consistently, and a sealed CCI primer that is sensitive and reliable.
Features
- Gold Dot G2 bullet design optimized for compact carry pistols
- Shallow dish nose cavity filled with elastomer and structural-plated, pressure-formed core improve performance through barriers
- Extremely uniform expansion and penetration when fired through short barrels
- Exclusive Gold Dot construction virtually eliminates core/jacket separation
- Quality, reliable components and consistent accuracy and performance
https://www.speer.com/
Speer ammunition can be found at dealers nationwide or purchased online direct from Speer. For more information on all products from Speer or to shop online, visit www.speer-ammo.com
Has anyone tested any of this? Are there any specs available? Velocity figures?
I have heard of nothing but problems with the 9mm G2 ammo since its introduction ten years ago and can find almost no testing of it in any other caliber. Offhand I cannot think of a single test I have seen where the bullet performed properly. Either the front half blows to fragments and only the shank of the bullet penetrates, with no expansion over initial diameter, or it does not upset in gelatin at all. Even in bare gelatin the 9mm version of the G2 is little, if at all, better than FMJ, only expanding erratically and inconsistently, some of the time, when fired from a full length service pistol. For the same money I can get T-Series or HST or even the old 1990s version Gold Dot and know it’s going to perform to spec.
I hope this “carry gun” version is an improvement, but it’s been five years since they released it and I cannot find a test of the 9mm version anywhere on the entire Internet, and only one single very poorly done, very unscientific test of the .45 version, which ended up looking no worse than the old version Gold Dot but no better either.
I hope Speer did some testing internally. It’d be nice if they’d release the data. Otherwise I’m going to have to stick with products where I can see test results and have some confidence in what I can expect.