Personal defence 9mm ammunition is completely unavailable here.
However, reloading components and standard 9mm ammo are plentiful.
As I see it I have tree options:
1: Buy factory JHP target ammunition.
2: Make Mexican match with standard factory FMJ ammo.
3: Reload from scratch with suitable bullets.
1 Factory target JHP
Simpelest option. It was tested to function reliably in a variaty of handguns, if my handgun fires say 100-200 rounds without problems than I can depend on it to function well. I won't have to worry about variables like seating depth, neck tension or the amount of crimp like in option 2 and 3. But with no data on expension in soft targets like balistics gel there is no telling how suited this ammo is for personal defense. It was never nesigned for this purpose so there is no telling how it will perform in this scenario.
I can get Magtech 115 JHP, Selliet & Bellot 115 JHP and Geco 115 JHP.
2 Mexican match
Pull the bullets off of factory FMJ ammo, possibly increase the load 5-10% to get some extra velocity and replace with suitable bullet of same weight (Speer gold dot for instance).
This option takes little effort but what I am worried about is reliability.
Neck tension could be anywhere, so velocity could vary a lot. Resizing could solve this but will probably also lengthen the case which means trimming is needed which can't be done with the primer in place which would make it more work than full reloads.
I have made plenty of 7.62x54R Mexican match for my Mosin with no problem, but personal defense ammo for a semi-auto handgun is a completely different story, one that I have no experience with.
I can get a variety of factory 115 and 124 grain FMJ ammo.
3 Full reloads
Most time and cost intensive but I know exactly what and how much the ammo is made of. However, I would have to test a lot of it to make sure it functions reliably. Also, I don't have a chronograph, so I would have no idea about velocity.
As for suitable bullets I have been able to find Speer Gold Dot, Remington Golden Saber and Hornady XTP, all in 115, 124 and 147 gr.
Which option would you pick and why?
However, reloading components and standard 9mm ammo are plentiful.
As I see it I have tree options:
1: Buy factory JHP target ammunition.
2: Make Mexican match with standard factory FMJ ammo.
3: Reload from scratch with suitable bullets.
1 Factory target JHP
Simpelest option. It was tested to function reliably in a variaty of handguns, if my handgun fires say 100-200 rounds without problems than I can depend on it to function well. I won't have to worry about variables like seating depth, neck tension or the amount of crimp like in option 2 and 3. But with no data on expension in soft targets like balistics gel there is no telling how suited this ammo is for personal defense. It was never nesigned for this purpose so there is no telling how it will perform in this scenario.
I can get Magtech 115 JHP, Selliet & Bellot 115 JHP and Geco 115 JHP.
2 Mexican match
Pull the bullets off of factory FMJ ammo, possibly increase the load 5-10% to get some extra velocity and replace with suitable bullet of same weight (Speer gold dot for instance).
This option takes little effort but what I am worried about is reliability.
Neck tension could be anywhere, so velocity could vary a lot. Resizing could solve this but will probably also lengthen the case which means trimming is needed which can't be done with the primer in place which would make it more work than full reloads.
I have made plenty of 7.62x54R Mexican match for my Mosin with no problem, but personal defense ammo for a semi-auto handgun is a completely different story, one that I have no experience with.
I can get a variety of factory 115 and 124 grain FMJ ammo.
3 Full reloads
Most time and cost intensive but I know exactly what and how much the ammo is made of. However, I would have to test a lot of it to make sure it functions reliably. Also, I don't have a chronograph, so I would have no idea about velocity.
As for suitable bullets I have been able to find Speer Gold Dot, Remington Golden Saber and Hornady XTP, all in 115, 124 and 147 gr.
Which option would you pick and why?