9mm defence cartridges

[Treefrog23]

I hope this is on the correct forum. If not please direct me.

What is the best 9mm defense round? I've heard Hornaday is good.
TF

 

[Skribs]

You're going to get a lot of debate on the subject. Hornady tends to make light, fast, bullets that have less penetration than you might want. The two that I'd consider very high quality, personally, are Speer Gold Dot and Winchester PDX.

What you really want is a quality JHP that will penetrate at least 12" in ballistics gel and will cycle reliably in your firearm.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Skribs is right..."best" is somewhat subjective.

An optimal round under one set of conditions may not be the optimal round under another. Take clothing, for example. Layers of clothing can seriously hamper the ability of a hollowpoint to expand as expected. So some hollowpoints may not perform quite as well, say, in the winter months as they would in the summer months because the bad guy may be layered with clothing against the cold.

Accurate shot placement remains the number one concern any shooter should have. If you can't hit your target, it doesn't matter what kind of ammunition you have.

Penetration is the number two concern. No wonder bullet will amount to a hill of beans if it cannot penetrate.

Solid point or hollowpoint, you've GOT to have penetration.


My personal preference in my 9mm are the Gold Dot 115 gr hollowpoints. They cycle reliably in my pistol, they have the same mass and velocity as the 115 gr ammunition I shoot for target practice, and they hit the target in the same place that my target ammunition hits.

I have never done any personal testing to see how they penetrate compared to my target ammunition, but they do expand reliably when hitting anything with fluid in it. Even if they don't expand, they should penetrate in a similar fashion as my target ammunition.


I wouldn't focus on "best". That's a never ending quest, in my opinion. You should focus on "reliable" and "accurate" first and foremost. After that, choose one that has shown reliable penetration and expansion characteristics under reasonable conditions. And you can test this yourself, or search the internet for plenty of people who have tested various rounds.

Good luck!

 

[Skribs]

My personal preference in my 9mm are the Gold Dot 115 gr hollowpoints.

And right here is another reason why it's so subjective. He and I both like gold dots. I like 147 grain. We can argue back and forth all day just on which weight to use, let alone which bullet construction.

We both mentioned gold dot, and I mentioned PDX, but there are a lot of good options out there.

 

[19-3Ben]

I wouldn't focus on "best". That's a never ending quest, in my opinion. You should focus on "reliable" and "accurate" first and foremost.

Exactly. ANY modern purpose built defense load from a major company is likely going to be good.
Speer has the Gold Dot, Federal has the HST, Winchester has PDX, Hornady has several including the Critical Defense/Duty like, XTP and TAP. There are plenty more as well. This is not a complete list.

Heck even some of the older loads like Federals 9BLPE and Hydra Shock, and Remington's Golden Saber have a lot going for them. But really defensive ammo has made a big jump in quality in the last 10 years so you might as well take advantage of it with a modern load.

Pick a few loads, shoot them in your gun(s) and see which cycle reliably and shoot accurately.

 

[aguywithagun]

I'm looking to stock up on 9mm jhp ammo for my M&P 9. Are there any that are better or worse suited to that gun specifically, and where can I buy them in bulk for a reasonable price?

thanks.

 

[19-3Ben]

Are there any that are better or worse suited to that gun specifically, and where can I buy them in bulk for a reasonable price?

Every gun is slightly different, even within a specific make and model. My M&P9 shoots well with Speer Gold Dot so I load 124gr. Gold Dots, but that's also the only premium SD ammo I have shot through it. I would be shocked if it didn't shoot all premium ammo well.

Look at some of the makers I listed above, and see what deals you can find.
Looking at one of my favorite ammo suppliers, AmmoToGo, if you are looking to buy in bulk you can buy stuff like Speer Gold Dot or Federal HST in 500rnd orders for about 3 bills. The old standby, the Federal 9BPLE is about $200 for 500 rounds. It's outclassed by today's bonded ammo, but it's far from useless. I actually just bought a box to just stock up and have a little more defensive ammo on hand "just in case."

 

[primalmu]

The best self-defense round is the one that stops an attacker.

That said, you really need to find the best round for your gun and intended use. I'd suggest picking up a few boxes of different self-defense rounds and find out which one you and your gun shoot best.

 

[jdmb03]

I use Federal HST 124gr.

 

[56hawk]

I use Federal HST 124gr.

Ditto. I did a lot of research before I bought ammo the last time, and Federal HSTs were at the top of just about every study.

 

[jc57]

Federal HST 124gr +P is what I have. Speer Gold Dots and Winchester Ranger T series are also good.

aguywithagun: You may be a little late to the stock-up rodeo. There's been a run on bullets recently and some of the readily available stock has dried up. If you wait a while it will settle down and you should be able to find your bulk deals again.

I usually buy from www.sgammo.com. Good pricing and usually good availability, but like I said, their stocks are reduced right now so you might not find what you want in 9mm.

 

[RBid]

My preference is Speer Gold Dot 9mm 147gr. This round penetrates very well. I live in Oregon, so that is a big value point for me. It's also a soft-shooting load.

 

[aguywithagun]

i'm new to shooting and i only have a single box of SD ammo, but as 19-3Ben mentioned it is in fact Gold Dot 124gr; specifically Speer Gold Dot 9mm Luger+P 124gr GDHP short barrel hollow point. not sure what all that means, but i did put 4 rounds through my gun just to make sure it ran, and fresh out of the box the gun ate it np.

 

[C0untZer0]

I really like the Winchester 147gr Ranger "T" RA9T

http://www.winchester.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/flash-SWFs/law_bullit.swf

If I had a big beefy 9mm the Underwood +P+ loading of the Speer Gold Dot looks awfully good too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMiI8VcPQ3c

 

[Steel Talon]

For the 9mm I've always carried old school Federal Hydra Shok cause I bought a case years back in their hay day lol.

 

[2zulu1]

Hi-Power is loaded with 124gr HSTs while the G17, when it's out of the safe, is loaded with 127gr +P+.

 

[Skribs]

The best self-defense round is the one that stops an attacker.

I really don't like these cryptic answers to hardware questions. "The best gun is the one you have on you." "Shot placement matters more than ______".

If I walked into a hardware store and asked what tools I need to build a birdhouse, and I was told "the best tool is one that builds a birdhouse" or "the best tool is the one you have in your toolchest", I'd find a new store.

 

[481]

Regardless of caliber, I prefer a "heavy for caliber" JHP- HSTs, PDX1s, Ranger "T"s, Gold Dots, and XTPs being among my most favored.

 

[1SOW]

I prefer 124gr Speer Gold Dots.

I reload the Gold Dot bullets "when I can find any". The bullet shape is not conical. It's traditional ogive allow it to be loaded at a long length and still feed smoothly in short-chamber pistols like XD and CZ; so it will run reliably in any pistol.

As said above, there are a number of good 9mm SD bullets out there.

 

[9mmforMe]

I too like the heavier rounds, and in my 9 its been Winchester 147gr Personal Defense in the White box. I think that the newer ammo most likely does have better designs, but I like to consider price for product and from what I've read, the bigger companies do update their budget line as well as make the newer facy stuff. I was looking at a box of WWB 147 PD from a few years ago and then some that I picked up a few weeks ago and the nose cavity is markedly different, so someone is doing something. I have yet to field test these, but they function well in my gun and are accurate. Big selling point is that Walmart has them for about 25 bucks for 50 rounds...a good deal to be sure.

 

[smalls]

1.Find what's commonly available in your area.

2.Go pick up a few boxes of the most common

3.Go try each in your gun.

4.Of those that run 100% in your gun, do research on penetration/expansion.

5.Buy the cheapest that meet your satisfaction in the penetration/expansion department.

 

[71Commander]

If I bought factory defense ammo, I would buy Federal for the simple reason that their primer is the softest and less likely to have a FTF because of a bad primer.

That being said, I have bought some Corbon PDX ammo and taken them apart, changed the primer to Federal and put them back together.

 

[Hit_Factor]

I have bought some Corbon PDX ammo and taken them apart, changed the primer to Federal and put them back together.

Brian, that solves all of my problems. I also carry Corbon, but Federal offerings are considered for the primer alone. I'm going to give that a try after deer season.

 

[NG VI]

I really don't like these cryptic answers to hardware questions. "The best gun is the one you have on you." "Shot placement matters more than ______".

If I walked into a hardware store and asked what tools I need to build a birdhouse, and I was told "the best tool is one that builds a birdhouse" or "the best tool is the one you have in your toolchest", I'd find a new store.

Feel exactly the same way.

The person is asking our input on the nuts and bolts of ammunition selection, not how to shoot someone or where to land shots or anything philosophical.

 

[MIL-DOT]

Exactly. ANY modern purpose built defense load from a major company is likely going to be good.
Speer has the Gold Dot, Federal has the HST, Winchester has PDX, Hornady has several including the Critical Defense/Duty like, XTP and TAP. There are plenty more as well. This is not a complete list.

Heck even some of the older loads like Federals 9BLPE and Hydra Shock, and Remington's Golden Saber have a lot going for them. But really defensive ammo has made a big jump in quality in the last 10 years so you might as well take advantage of it with a modern load.

Pick a few loads, shoot them in your gun(s) and see which cycle reliably and shoot accurately.

Took the words right out of my mouth, this perfectly sums up what I was going to post. I have several,(gold dots,HST's,etc.)but I really like the Golden Sabres simply because they're the most economical (usually by a good margin).