Heavy or light bullet for 9mm snub ??

[bdb benzino]

The title says it all. I know where I stand when it comes to 45's and 38spl but 9mm out of a revolver is new to me. I just started carrying a 9mm snub and would like to get the best performace out of my carry ammo! Thanks for the replies!!

 

[WC145]

What's the difference between shooting it out of a revolver or an auto? The bullet doesn't know what kind of gun it's being shot out of. I carry the same in my 9mm snubby BUG as my 9mm auto duty gun - Federal 9BPLE 115gr JHP +P. I clocked it at 1174fps out of a Taurus 905.

 

[bdb benzino]

The difference is there is a gap at the forcing cone and there is also cylinder jump because the cylinder is a standard 38spl length, these are things that a semi-auto does not have.

 

[C-grunt]

I always like heavy in short barrels. Weight makes up for lack of velocity and usually still penetrates well. Ive seen chrono tests that show the heavy bullets are less hindered by the short barrels than the light ones. Also with modern ammunition, the hollow point will still expand usually.

 

[WC145]

The difference is there is a gap at the forcing cone and there is also cylinder jump because the cylinder is a standard 38spl length, these are things that a semi-auto does not have.

The extra cylinder length is just more room for powder to burn and the barrel/cylinder gap isn't that big a deal. The same load that gave me 1174fps in the 905 went 1204fps out of my Beretta Cougar with a 3.6" barrel and 1307fps out of a full size HK USP. And, my 905 was the "Instant Backup" DAO model with the shorty frame and cylinder.

 

[cz85cmbt]

BDB gold dot makes a short barrel 9mm and it is designed for 3"-3.5" pistol barrels, however the pistol is measured with the chamber included while revolvers are measured after the cylinder gap. Heavy bullets do well in short barrel (get closer to max velocity than lighter bullets) and larger hollow point cavities will expand under lower velocities, all things being equal anyway. I'd go for short barrel gold dots or the new hornady critical defense. Both are designed for short barrels, the gold dot is +p but no problem for a revolver and happens to be 124 grains, the hornady is 115 and only get about about 315 foot pounds (little lighter than normal 9mm loads but could be because its out of a short barrel) they use a flexible polymer insert to keep clothing from fowling performance, when it hits tissue the polymer acts under the hydraulic pressure and expands all the time from what testing has shown. Only down side it seems to this new hornady round is the polymer may react to other hard objects which limit its barrier penetrating power, but this would not really be troublesome with a 9mm snub. Hope that helps.