9mm fmj for HD

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Michael R.

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Hello,
I was just wondering how many of you would 9mm fmj for HD. My dad has always insisted that we use that because they work just fine and cycle reliably in the gun. So, if given the choice, would you use 9mm fmj in your HD pistol?
Thanks
 
So, if given the choice, would you use 9mm fmj in your HD pistol?
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Umm.. No

Why would you? modern hp cycle fine and even if they fail as a hollow point, your left with a fmj. Im not even going to mention overpenetration if you have neighbors.
 
I would choose to use 9mm FMJ in SD in one circumstance: if I wanted to shoot through one person to wound another.

Generally, I would not want that in a HD scenario; so, I would not want 9mm FMJ. But "want" or not, if it is the only ammo available and I'm under lethal attack...
 
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In 9mm, I shoot FMJ by the bushel for practice, but I don't like, use or recommend it for self defense. The fast-moving, pointed nose bullet tends to poke pencil-sized, self sealing holes while sailing on through to whatever is behind it.
 
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Nope, if I had the option, I would ALWAYS choose a quality hollow point over FMJ. Pretty much every quality modern handgun will feed HPs reliably. When you buy good HP ammo, you're buying something that will be more reliable and more accurate than your average plinking FMJ ammo. Also, 9mm FMJ is notorious for over penetration. A quality HP will limit over penetration while also creating a larger strike face to give you a slightly better chance of impacting something vital should you ever have to use your HD firearm.

A good test that I like to use is "what do my local LEOs carry?" Its likely they put a good bit of thought and research into that decision. If FMJ performed better than everything else, they would be carrying it. But they all carry some form of premium hollow point.

The FBI published a finding called "handgun wounding factors" or something to that effect. You may want to look at that for a more detailed explanation.
 
Michael R.
9mm fmj for HD
Hello,
I was just wondering how many of you would 9mm fmj for HD. My dad has always insisted that we use that because they work just fine and cycle reliably in the gun. So, if given the choice, would you use 9mm fmj in your HD pistol?
Click to expand...

If 9mm FMJ was the only cartridge I had available, sure I would use it. Keep in mind the over penetration of this round. About 22" with WWB and almost 30" with 9mm NATO FMJ. :eek:
 
I guess it boils down to what a lot of people are saying ... given the option ... no.
But frankly at a certain point I'd rather pay rent than have the best quality ammo.

We do not have unlimited resources, and if limited by resources, FMJ in any caliber will do just fine.
 
The three most important things in real estate: location, location and location.

The three most important things in defensive firearms: reliability, reliability and reliability.

If the pistol won't run reliably with anything except FMJ, that's what I would use - at least until I could get the pistol seen to by a good 'smith, or replace it with one that wasn't so ammo sensitive. I would prefer not to be limited to FMJ in any 9mm.

Even so, not all FMJ is created equally - there is EFMJ, for example: http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produ...rds-9mm-federal-le-tactical-efmj-124gr-p-ammo

or

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produ...9mm-federal-premium-guard-dog-105gr-efmj-ammo.

And there is flat nose FMJ, for example http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produ...rican-eagle-147gr-fmj-ammo/cName/9mm-fmj-ammo .

Is this strictly an ammo question, or is there something here for ST&T?
 
And there is flat nose FMJ,
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I picked up a hundred or so FP's and HOLY GOD! I am sold! Those things are amazing! To me at least, one of the most underestimated round constructions out there.
 
If my HD weapon of choice was a 9mm subgun, I would probably use 124gr NATO FMJ in it.

Unless of course it had no problem feeding 147gr hollowpoints!

A while back I was a little short on cash and had to pawn my 1911 for a little while. A friend was kind enough to lend me his Sig 228 so I had a decent defensive piece. All he had for it was 115gr FMJ, so its what I kept in it. It wasn't my ideal choice, but given the situation I was more than happy to have it.
 
9mm ammo choice for HD is way down the list of priorities for overall S&T in planning HD. If it comes to gun then a whole bunch of layers have failed or been defeated, might be time for the shot gun.
 
If say, the only gun I had available was a vintage Browning Hi-Power or Luger P-08, or some other 9mm that is so old, it was made before the 'Wonder-nine" era, and I didn't have the time or resources to test it to make sure it runs premium JHP ammo reliably, I would load it with something as close as I could find to 9mm NATO loads.

But this is only because the gun might have a problem with it. I would expect any modern 9mm to run any premium JHP ammo, and I would test it to make sure.

For home defense......did someone say shotgun?
 
I think that this is strictly an ammo question. If that means you need to shut it down, go ahead. Or you could move the thread somewhere else.

Michael R.,

It's a good thread, I just want it to be where it'll get looked at by the most people, get you the most replies, and be on topic as much as possible for the subforum where it appears. We usually don't focus strictly on hardware questions so much in ST&T, it's more of a 'software' kind of place.

Moved to Autoloaders...

lpl
 
Federal EFMJ or Guard Dog, then. Especially in Illinois. Can you imagine what would happen if you were using FMJ bullets and shot through an attacker, out the house, and you hit somebody else's stuff... or worse, somebody else?

It'd be the END of you, that's for sure.
 
Modern 9mm ammo designs & the pistols that run them "ain't your Pappy's 9mm". Before the Wonder-Nine craze of the 80s most dedicated, knowledgable, bad-@ssed, life-or-death LEO pistoleros weren't fans of the caliber in FMJ configuration. They were much more likely trusting a 1911 in .45 acp/.38 Super or a .357 mag (or bigger) revolver to save their bacon as a handgun. Modern JHP 9mm ammo, especially in +P configurations, is now common-place & even preferred by the modern equivalent of those same shooters. IMHO, the 9mm FMJ is fine for practice. But in defensive situations it has been eclipsed by time & technology.
 
When I read these threads I often wonder what people invision as a home attack. Just having a gun at all is going to be enough to come out on top of 99.99999% of "home attacks". Unless of course you think the government is going to send an entire team of highly trained special forces to "get you", lol.
 
My Glock 26 is usually loaded with 12 Ranger 127gn +P+...but I often carry a G19 15rd mag full of NATO 124gn FMJ for a reload. I figure that if things have gotten bad enough to burn through 12 of the Ranger JHP's, I just may want to shoot through some things.
 
When I read these threads I often wonder what people invision as a home attack. Just having a gun at all is going to be enough to come out on top of 99.99999% of "home attacks".
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I wish this was true, but it's not.
Merely having a firearm in the home has never detered a home invasion, not since the colonial days, not since the days of the "wild west", and not today.


As for the OP....
I would only use FMJ 9mm rounds if I had no alternative.



Easy
 
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When I read these threads I often wonder what people invision as a home attack. Just having a gun at all is going to be enough to come out on top of 99.99999% of "home attacks". Unless of course you think the government is going to send an entire team of highly trained special forces to "get you", lol.
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What you don't realize is the "bad guy" wants to live just as much as you do.

If you have to protect you and yours with a firearm, you want to stop or incapacitate the intruder. Once you engage or even present a gun/deadly weapon, it then becomes a fight for BOTH of your lives. If you wound/threaten someone they will be forced to run or fight back. If you want to bet your life that they will run go ahead, I for one am not a gambling man.

Its not like a paintball game where if you get shot your out and thats it, everyone stops.

The objective is to STOP someone if you have to, not scare them away or wound them, or even fataly wound them if it takes 10 minutes to do so.
 
What you don't realize is the "bad guy" wants to live just as much as you do.
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I'm not so sure that's true. I'm not breaking into his house or endangering his family. He's just weighed-the-odds & decided that he's willing to gamble that I WON'T be armed with the best equipment & necessary mindset...to kill him. Perhaps because most people aren't. Perhaps because he's desperate. I don't know. But, by his decisions, he obviously does NOT want to live as much as I do. And I will show him that is absolutely true. Including the use of (back to the OP) 9mm JHP +P ammo.
 
Just because someone does something that endangers their life does not mean they don't have the want to live. It simply means they have made a decision to gamble in hopes of obtaining something they desire enough. Basically with the "I'll get by with it this time" attitude.

Think of it this way, criminals break the law and gamble their freedom knowingly, but when faced with the concequences of their actions they will endanger their lives trying to retain freedom ( running from the cops for example).

If most criminals made thought out decisions they wouldn't be criminals to start with.
 
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