What's the latest trend in 9mm self-defense ammo?

I like 124g bullets @ 1150 FPS. Speer Gold Dots are good bullets for sure.

As far as factory ammo, I think Federal HSTs are probably getting more attention these days.

I think FBI just got a contract with Hornady for their Critical Duty and/or Critical Defense ammo.

I use nothing but the Winchester White Box 147gr. JHPs.

Trey Veston said:

I've seen some reports of the WWB loads having serious quality control issues. Some rounds in a 100-pack had some serious setback issues. I bought a box in 9mm a few months ago and the primer pockets were "odd". Offset and didn't look right. Have you noticed any blems or really inspected yours closely?

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No problems that I recall. It gets carried way more than it gets shot, but I used it in my Glock 19 during my CHL class without a single issue. It was extremely accurate too.

I reload 124 gr Gold Dots. Not saying Gold Dots are the best but Gold Dot's have good reviews and my reloads with them are very accurate. I have read good things about Federal HST's also but have never tried them.

Hornady Critical Duty or Defense.

Federal hst.

I've enjoyed the ballistic gelatin tests by the
"Shooting the bull" guy on YouTube.

Federal hst was the winner for me. The downside is they just changed their 50 pack tactical le boxed ammo to be specific to le and require credentials to purchase. Usually 20 rounds is over $20 in stores and I pick up the 50 packs for $20 allowing for more testing of my carry ammo.

Interesting enough the last test I read on the difference from standard to plus p on the 124 grain. The plus p was only 25fps faster, it penetrated maybe an inch less in both tests, and expanded more which made me switch to plus p. No discernable recoil difference in my application.

If you want an exhaustive study on different handgun ammo, it’s a few years old now but Luckygunner did a really nice one.

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/

I prefer Winchester Ranger "T" series, or Federal HST.

I really believe though, that there isn't a dime's worth of difference between any of the "premium" brands.

Load bulk FMJ reloads for practice,and keep the premium for carry.

As for weight, again, they all work if placed properly. I like the 147 grain +P or +P+, but that's personal taste.

I carry HST 124 grain in standard and +p loading. The differnece marked on the box is only 50fps. 1050 vs. 1200
They are available and consistently get good reviews,

The luckygunner report I posted earlier, it looked as if the Speer Gold Dots performed about the best when looking at the spreadsheet that shows penetration, expansion, and energies. But there are different options now that may perform better. But like what was said above there isn’t a huge difference between the major SD ammo manufacturers.

The only 9mm I own is a SIG P938.

147 gr. Ranger-T or HST std. pressure.




GR

It ain't hard to get 124 gr bullets up to 1200-1250 fps from a 4" barrel. 1300 fps from a 4.5 or 5" barrel. That is nipping on the heels of 125gr 357 mag from typical 4" barrels. Will beat most 3" barrels I've never shot anyone,but a similar load is what our local PD carries and they have had 6 incidents since going to 9mm. All incidents were settled with a double tap and a dead bad guy.

I picked up 250 rounds of 125 gr Speer Gold Dots from a police contract overrun many years ago that chronograph 1250 fps from my G19. That is probably enough to last me a lifetime just for carry use. But FWIW the FBI now says that a 147 gr bullet at about 1000 fps gives better penetration and is the load they are now using. I'd feel confident with either.

I'm content with 124gr HST in either standard pressure or +P.

HSTs cost me a little over $20/50 and offer good performance.

Just ordered a bunch of Golden Saber bonded 147 grainers to replace my HST I need to shoot up.

They run well in my guns and should do their part if I do mine.

Hollow points are old-school.

The latest trend (which is what you asked for) are Lehigh Xtreme Defense and Inceptor ARX bullets.

https://www.inceptorammo.com/inceptor-product/component-bullets/
https://www.lehighdefense.com/colle...xtreme-defense-90gr-bullet?variant=3759414404

Both are available for handloading, and there is load data.

https://www.inceptorammo.com/load-data/
https://www.lehighdefense.com/pages/lehigh-defense-load-data-library

Wow. The arx bullet's with my current powder choice of titegroup has 4.6 to 4.8 as starting and max... plenty of wiggle room there

Trey Veston said:

Over $1 a bullet... No thank you.

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Your math is terrible. 9mm ARX bullets run about 25¢ each at Midway. 9mm Lehigh Defense are 58¢ at Midway, currently on sale, normally at 64¢ each.

Odd Job said:

Heh, I was unaware that this is the latest trend.

Going by the manufacturer's info, these bullets sure are impressive!

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Gel data of the Lehigh bullets is very good. The Xtreme Defense bullets act like a hollow point bullet but don't require expansion like a hollow point bullet. If a hollow point bullet doesn't expand, which happens, it acts like a FMJ.