A new 9 in the house, could use some recommendations

Haven't loaded for a nine yet, but I, would start with a 115 grn. bullit, and go from there.

I would start reloading her practice ammo with 115 FMJ, working up fairly quickly to +P levels .

Buy her 115 or 124 +P JHP for defense. If you can find it, or have a friend in L.E, who can get it for you, use the Federal 9BPLE (115 +P+ JHP) for defense.

I shoot a whole mess of MBC's "Small Ball" 124 gr. round-noses over just a bit under 4.0 gr. of Titegroup. You need to seat them short for some guns, (like 1.05" or so) but they sure work well.

I am new to reloading so take this info for what it's worth. I have an XD9 also and have had no problems with MBC 115g with 4.6g W231 @ OAL 1.105 but I prefer the 147g MBC with 3.8 WSF @ OAL 1.16 or 147g MBC with 3.3 W231 @ OAL 1.16 because I don't need to seat them as deep. Both of those 147g loads are nice soft target loads. For self defense rounds the guy at the local shop recommended me Speer Gold Dot 147g.

As far as SD ammo, these have worked well in my 9 mm (CZ75, SIG 226, BERETTA M9 Glock 27 with conversion barrel, etc.):

Federal Hydrashok JHP
Winchester Ranger JHP (the newer Black Talon)

9mm for SD needs to go fast and have some major hydrostatic shock.... you want the hydrostatic shock factor that a 9mm is awesome at... so you want light and fast. 147gr is heavy in the 9mm world. i use 124gr frangible ammo in my CCW 9mm...in theory the force disperses into the object... i only use it because it was a gift.

with that said -- we are very weak and fragile in terms of animal kingdom toughness...unless your "attacker" is jacked up on meth or another drug then you will be ok with whatever you choose -- add a light and laser show and you will reduce the possibility that you have to pull the trigger.... in the end we want our guns to be a deterrent...not a lethal will of force.

Or you could give her your .40 or .45.....

mbruce said:

9mm for SD needs to go fast and have some major hydrostatic shock.... you want the hydrostatic shock factor that a 9mm is awesome at... so you want light and fast. 147gr is heavy in the 9mm world. i use 124gr frangible ammo in my CCW 9mm...in theory the force disperses into the object... i only use it because it was a gift.

with that said -- we are very weak and fragile in terms of animal kingdom toughness...unless your "attacker" is jacked up on meth or another drug then you will be ok with whatever you choose -- add a light and laser show and you will reduce the possibility that you have to pull the trigger.... in the end we want our guns to be a deterrent...not a lethal will of force.

Or you could give her your .40 or .45.....

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Your last few statements are subjective and everybody has their own opinion so I won't hijack this thread. Personally I would rather my home SD firearms serve as lethal weapons rather than deterrents. The alarm system, locks, dog etc. serve as deterrents but I consider the firearm the last line of defense and it had better be effective. Lights and lasers have their place but ultimately they are accessories. Plus we really don't want to get into another caliber war where nobody wins.Sorry for digressing.

Plinking
IMHO Sam1911 gave you the best answer. 115gr is going to "sting" her hands. I'd go with the 124gr as being much easier for her. W231/HP-38 does great with lead, meters well, and has a wide loading range.

The eastern European guns have short chambers, so OAL is going to be critical. Sam1911's OAL sounds short, but also very realistic. IMHO you're not going to find that OAL listed in any manual.

SD
You'll really need to buy several boxes and shoot them to check the feeding. I've not discovered any issues with any of the major brands, but for SD you really don't want to take anyone's word.

I'm not loading FMJ because she shot the hell out of my target stands last time.....

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You didn't need those stinkin' stands anyway !!

docnyt said:

Your last few statements are subjective and everybody has their own opinion so I won't hijack this thread. Personally I would rather my home SD firearms serve as lethal weapons rather than deterrents. The alarm system, locks, dog etc. serve as deterrents but I consider the firearm the last line of defense and it had better be effective. Lights and lasers have their place but ultimately they are accessories. Plus we really don't want to get into another caliber war where nobody wins.Sorry for digressing.

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If we eliminate subjective posts then most posts on this forum would be eliminated. Since the OP moved on so will I.

In the end our common goal is to help one out... in my point of view firearms are not the last line of defense-- pulling the trigger is. I want to do everything I can to minimize the chance of going to my true last line of defense.

to recap: 9mm for SD = speed for hydrostatic damage. In my subjective opinion put a light and laser on your wife's SD gun...its all about minimizing risk and they definately put odds more in your favor then without...

I load 115gr mbc rn with 4.5gr 231 @ 1.107" and get great results.
I have on order 124gr mbc rn...

Once you order 115gr you will find out more people use 124..then you'll probably switch. Ha

I load 4.0 gr of tite group (max load) under a MBC Smallball.
Hodgdon recommends 3.6-4.0 for lead

I use an OAL of 1.100 - I've tried loading them lighter, but then they almost don't want to cycle my gun.

Remember start lower & work up to get reliable service for her gun.

Leading will be unique to your gun and is an effect caused by more factors than powder charges. Some more experienced loaders can touch on the subject....that's just what I've gathered from reading their posts.

First you should pick your SD ammo. I recommend the Ranger XT (newer black talons as stated above). Those things create a ridiculous amount of damage in any inanimate object I have put em into.

Once you pick your SD ammo and fire around a box of 20, create a load that shoots very similar to it. I would start with a same grain bullet 10% below max load and work your way up to a matching ballistic trajectory. Maybe someone here can suggest a specific load for ya.

Also, if you are gonna get a light, get a very high lumen output with a fast strobe mode. If you get the right strobe rate, you will make an attacker sick and unable to do much of anything but run away. Then if they still are unaffected y the light, you have some good bullets that will stop em.

Loading for 9mm

My Son bought a Taurus Millenium PT-111, the Titanium model. I'm going to hand load for him, and haven't loaded 9mm in about 20-25 years other than a couple of FMJ boxes for a friend about 6 months ago. He bought some 115 gr. Gold Dots and 115 gr. XTP-HP for me to work with. I'm using Longshot which performed real good the last time I loaded 9mm. But my question is for the 115 gr. XTP, I can't find a COL for that bullet and I'm pretty sure it's going to be different from that of the 115 gr, G.D. which is 1.125". I wouldn't be all that concerned about seating depth if I was loading for something other than the 9mm, it has had a long standing reputation for pressure concerns with respect to different bullet styles needing different seating depths. I compared the G.D. to the XTP bullet and they are very different in length. But on the other hand, if the 115s need to be 1.125" wouldn't that be a fairly good COL for just about any jacketed 115s regarding feeding and pressure?

It's my opinion the best bullet weight for the 9mm is 124/125gr. I like to load between 4.0gr and 4.4gr W231/HP-38 under a 124gr LRN bullet. W231 is a good clean and accurate powder in the 9mm and a lead bullet will cost you less to practice with. As long as the bullets use a good lube you won't get any leading.

Precision delta's 124gr FMJ's are $77/1000 shipped currently, my preferred choice. 124gr FMJ, 4.9grs W231, and something longer the minimum OAL (sorry don't have one handy to look at and tell you).

For SD, I'd personally go with either 124gr +P Speer Gold Dot (it's basically a slightly slower straight wall .357sig), or the afore mentioned 124gr Winchester Ranger XT's. Both have performed admirably in the field.

-Jenrick

115 gr. XTP, I can't find a COL for that bullet and I'm pretty sure it's going to be different from that of the 115 gr, G.D. which is 1.125".

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Hornady #7-115gr XTP-1.075 OAL

Lyman 48-115gr XTP-1.090 OAL

Federal 9BPLE 115 +P+ was the "gold standard" for law enforcement for many years. Many departments still issue it.

If it works for LE, it will work for you.

I load 9mm 3,000 rounds at a time. I use 6.4 grains of Power Pistol under a Montana Gold 124 gr. JHP bullet @1.125 OAL. This is my "practice round". For a SD round I merely substitute a Gold Dot Hollow Point and leave the rest alone. I get just a little more speed than published @1200 fps average but this could also be a variation in chronographs, theirs vs. mine.

Both shoot excellent in either my Sig P-229 or CZ75 SP-01.


Both of these pistols seem to like the 124 gr bullet over the 115 gr for accuracy.

Everyone is a fan of Unique....use it up...231 meters better for me but unique meters well enough. I load for my wife with 231 and I usually load with unique for myself....guess i'd rather her use 231 because I can get charges to the .1 consistently.

But disregard any comment that portrays unique in a negative light...I mean who doesn't have it on his/her shelf