9mm: the latest advances in ammo

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I've been looking to update my carry weapon to a high capacity autoloader and keep hearing from the fans of the 9mm that there are much more improved rounds on the market for sd purposes.
What are these new fangled rounds and which ones are best for SD with the 9mm?
Of course, we're speaking of plain old 9 mm. :)
 
You can't go wrong with Gold Dots in 124 grain, regular or +P. I've also heard some interesting things about Corbon Power-Ball.
 
If it has a big name on it, you'll be fine. Try a handful and see which shoots best for you.
 
I'm specifically asking about newer choices in 9mm ammo. What are the latest and greatest, and why are they better than previous loads?
I'm asking because if 9 has progressed as a caliber due to certain modern loadings it bears research and consideration as a SD choice.

But, sifting through the various 9mm offerings is a big task and I'd rather have users point me in the right direction of where to look.
Deer Hunter's link has some good information.
Anything else?
 
"But, sifting through the various 9mm offerings is a big task and I'd rather have users point me in the right direction of where to look."

Wheel,

If you don't want to think for yourself then:

Go get Corbon DPX +P 9mm.

Buy 300 rounds and run at least 50 to 100 through each magazine.

If you have no problems then:
buy another 40 to 80 rounds,
load up your magazines,
slap a magazine into the well,
rack one into the chamber,
eject the magazine,
top off that magazine,
slam it back into the well,
pull hard on the magazine to make sure it's in place and your GTG.

On the other hand, I would suggest you take your life a bit more seriously and derive your own convictions based on your own best research. Antedotal is all you are going to get around here.

If you are looking for a more general response then look for a HP that is least in the 120s in weight and can handle glass, metal panelling, and still expand properly.
 
I guess I am an old fuddy duddy because I am quite comfortable using 124 full metal jacket bullets for self defense but then again I have a great deal of respect for Federal 115 jacketed hollow points.

The 115 hollowpoints will not overpenetrate as much as the fmj bullets so, bonus to them.
 
That business of "Buy 300 rounds" is definitely correct, but it kind of works against keeping up with the bullet of the month, when the makers charge a 50 price for a box of 20 superbullets. I have a good supply of Federal hollowpoints and know they function in my guns and are likely to expand to some extent. I will stay with them until something clearly better turns up.
 
http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_37

Take your pick. I personally prefer the 147 grain Gold Dot @ 1120 fps, but the other Gold Dots (124 grain @ 1300 fps, or the 115 grain @ 1400 fps) I'm sure would be just fine.

Gold Dots expand well through a large range of velocity, and expand well even through heavy clothing. DoubleTap loads them faster than anyone else without going higher than +P (Buffalo Bore loads are about equivalent, but +P+).

Any reputable manufacturer should use flash-suppressing powders. Fire a few rounds of UMC green-box JHP some night, and you'll understand why flash suppressing powder is important.
 
"That business of "Buy 300 rounds" is definitely correct, but it kind of works against keeping up with the bullet of the month, when the makers charge a 50 price for a box of 20 superbullets. "

I figure that when I've got thousands of dollars in guns, and few thousand dollars in training a year, that I'm wasting everyone's time if I don't get the best round possible and make sure it runs in my gun.

I am on the road a lot and so glass and metal panelling penetration is important to me. Actually I think it ought to be important to everyone because the majority of BS goes down in parking lots and gas stations.

There isn't a round of the month. They come up with something compelling to review everything three or four years.
 
I like to stick with the basics. I keep the Winchester White Box 147gr. jhps in my Glock 19 and Browning Highpower. They get high marks for penetration AND expansion, they're very accurate, and they're under $10 at Walmart in _50_ round boxes.
 
Deanimator, my thoughts exactly... Although, at gun shows, I do buy the Georgia Arms 147grn+P Gold Dots rated at 1050fps, 50 round bags for $ 11 a bag - give or take 50 cents....
 
Deanimator, my thoughts exactly... Although, at gun shows, I do buy the Georgia Arms 147grn+P Gold Dots rated at 1050fps, 50 round bags for $ 11...
 
My favorite load is Corbon's 115 +P at 1350 fps. Speaking in general about the 115 loads moving at between 1300-1350 fps Massad Ayoob stated " when you see an autopsy report that indicates the cause of death as 'cardiac maceration', and there was only one round fired, you can be pretty sure that it was one of these rounds."
 
I'm specifically asking about newer choices in 9mm ammo. What are the latest and greatest, and why are they better than previous loads?
The main reason the latest and greatest are better is because 1) they spent more time and money on marketing; and 2) they increase the maker's profit.

Seriously, a +P or +P+ load from any of the major makers' (Winchester, Federal, Remington, Speer) premium lines will make me a happy camper so long as it's reliable and accurate in MY pistol. Weights between 115 and 127 are fine.
 
Forget About A Superbullet

Start with a round that feeds reliablely in you gun. Most modern U.S. ammo will feed in a modern (1985) or later gun.
Then pick the most accurate. Just make sure you can get enough of the ammo you choose.
FEDERAL HYDROSHOK, WINCHESTER RANGER, SPEER GOLDDOT and REMINGTON GOLDEN SABER have all proven themselves with police. So go with the one that works best in your gin.
I use FEDERAL HST +P and HYDROSHOK. I found the HST for half the price of GOLD DOT ammo and I was issued the HYDROSHOK, so I still have plenty of it.
AVOID THE 147 GRAIN AMMO. IT IS A STEP DOWN FROM THE 115 AND 124 GRAIN AMMO. Just my opinion

You will do better by spending the money and then the time practicing and maybe taking a combat course from a reputable school or instructor.

Jim
 
Pesonally I'd skip corbon. I've had quality control issues with their ammo in the past. The golden sabre, gold dot and ranger are all awesome loads. I'd stick with the 124 gr. for adequate penetration.
 
Dont forget Extreme Shok! The box has a bunch of cool lookin guys on it and its very expensive so it must be good. :rolleyes:
 
Explanation in order

keep hearing from the fans of the 9mm that there are much more improved rounds on the market for sd purposes.

Might I inquire as to where you keep hearing this from? Or if you heard it from a particular place?

In any event, usually when someone says something along the lines of "a 9mm is perfectly fine for self-defense purposes with modern well-designed ammunition" they are referencing ammunition produced post 1986 with an eye towards meeting the new standards established by the FBI, and later organizations.

1986 saw an incident with the FBI where officers died in a firefight with some well armed and tactically proficient bank-robbers. The FBI blamed the death of the officers on the failure of ammunition design. Prior to 1986 the FBI chose ammunition based on the RII (Relative Incapacitation Index) which favored expanding ammunition, but took no account for bullet penetration, or for reliability of expansion. The FBI testing protocol and IWBA testing protocol test for all of these factors. The Hydrashock line of bullets tested very well in initial testing, and consequently sold like hot-cakes for years (and still do), despite the fact that other bullet designs far eclipse the outdated hydrashock. The process of development has been evolutionary, every few years a new design of the same bullet, or a new bullet design entirely gets just a little bit better. It's been over 20 yrs since 1986, and this tiny incremental changes add up to quite a bit.

The upshot of all of this is that bullets that meet IWBA and FBI test protocol expand *much* more reliably than older bullet designs (because they were designed to do so), and are actually designed to penetrate a set minimum distance, in addition to expanding. A well designed 9mm bullet today is much better than .45 FMJ, older JHPs, and newer JHPs that are poorly designed.

The downside is that not all bullets are designed to perform to IWBA or FBI standards, and there's no easy to find label that will indicate if a cartridge meets that standard, you have to find evidence someone has conducted the testing yourself.

If you're a police officer, you can ask the FBI, us civvies are kinda on our own. Lucky for you, I've got a line on a link:
http://www.tacticalforums.com/cgi-bin/tacticalubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=78;t=000964

Presto.

As others have suggested, before deciding on a load it may be a pretty swell idea to buy a bunch of that particular sort of load, to be sure your weapon digests the ammo without a hiccup. FMJ that feeds beats the heck out of "thor's hammer" that jams. More important of course is how well you can place shots on target under stress.

-Morgan
 
A well designed 9mm bullet today is much better than .45 FMJ
Blasphemy! Never!;)

My Glock 19 is loaded with 124 grain Gold Dot +p. It's 100% reliable in my Glock,recoil and follow-up shots are easily managable(+p 9mm is still easier to shoot than a .40 imo),and it's hell on water jugs. No pictures,but I've dug some out of the ground that looked like they should be in a Speer advertisement.
 
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