Speer Gold Dot 9mm
- Thread starter wamj2008
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benderx4
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Sure, it will work, but I agree that the other stuff has better ballistics. Speer Gold Dot 124g +P is what protects me and my family as well.
minutemen1776
Member
I've had trouble finding the 124g +P load as well. I have enough for my carry mags, but my reserves are all standard 124g loads. To answer the question, though, the 115g Gold Dots will certainly suffice, even if better options may be out there (albeit currently unavailable for many).
AKElroy
Member
http://handloads.com/misc/stoppingpower.asp?Caliber=0&Weight=All
The 115's are fine. In +P+ configuration, they actually outperform the 124's in actual shootings. I carry DoubleTap 115 +P+ in all my 9's.
The 115's are fine. In +P+ configuration, they actually outperform the 124's in actual shootings. I carry DoubleTap 115 +P+ in all my 9's.
Shawn Dodson
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Federal HST is an outstanding bullet as well. The HST bullet is a hybrid design incorporating Gold Dot and the old PMC Starfire.
They are in stock at Streicher's, $25/50 rd box: http://www.streichers.com/ProductDetail.aspx?Catalog=Guns and Ammo&Category=AMMO_FEDD&Prod=FC-9HST
Cheers!
They are in stock at Streicher's, $25/50 rd box: http://www.streichers.com/ProductDetail.aspx?Catalog=Guns and Ammo&Category=AMMO_FEDD&Prod=FC-9HST
Cheers!
bestseller92
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While some may be better than others, any 9mm JHP load that functions well in your gun and which you can shoot well should suffice for defense purposes.
Shawn Dodson
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You're correct. My bad. For some reason I believed HST used a bonded jacket similar to Gold Dot. That's not true. Thanks for the correction.
More info about Federal HST: http://le.atk.com/
The Speer 115gr GD standard pressue will work just fine for self defense as long as they feed reliably and hit where aimed in your particular firearm. They're better than any solid bullet for defense and are cataloged for sale to law enforcement agencies along with the +P version.
Well they share the same designer for one, and the expanded bullets show the family resemblance pretty well too.
Let's see if I can link these pictures in here successfully.
Starfire
HST
I'm not 100% sure that it is actually Starfire 2.0, but they were both designed by Tom Burczinski (SP), when they have finished their work they look an awful lot alike, and the HST came out a while after the Starfire, I'm guessing he probably took the same ideas and principles behind the Starfire and redesigned it for better performance and to take advantage of improvements in manufacturing, keep it low-cost.
The Lone Haranguer
Member
Yes, it will suffice.
Buffalo Bore has +P and +P+ available in 9mm. I doubt you will find a better round in 9mm.
In every independent test I have seen Buffalo Bore ammo always does what it's advertised to do.
http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=118
In every independent test I have seen Buffalo Bore ammo always does what it's advertised to do.
http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=118
I know they were designed by the same person. He also designed the Hydrashok. That doesn't mean the bullet design is in any way similar. JMB designed a lot of different weapons, that doesn't make them all the same. While I agree the expanded bullets look similar the Starfire used flutes in the HP to try to direct hydraulic forces to the thinner parts of the bullet and to aid expansion. The HST uses a conventional HP and does not use this principle. Besides, the HST work a world better than the Starfires ever did. They are half the price of the Gold Dots and seem to work really well. The 124gr +p HSTs are my carry load in 9mm.
But back on topic we are supposed to be talking about the Gold Dots which I think we CAN agree is different to. Gold Dots are generally accepted as being a very well performing design. They use soft lead and a bonded jacket that lets it perform well in a large variety of instances while retaining a lot of its weight. Driven fast enough, like the 115 +p+ they will show fragmentation but not to the degree of a conventional HP. I looked online to try to find some testing with the standard 115gr JHP but no luck. I would suspect the GD 115gr would perform as well or better than any other load in the same weight out there. I would prefer the 124gr +P but I wouldn't feel bad about the 115gr JHP either.
But back on topic we are supposed to be talking about the Gold Dots which I think we CAN agree is different to. Gold Dots are generally accepted as being a very well performing design. They use soft lead and a bonded jacket that lets it perform well in a large variety of instances while retaining a lot of its weight. Driven fast enough, like the 115 +p+ they will show fragmentation but not to the degree of a conventional HP. I looked online to try to find some testing with the standard 115gr JHP but no luck. I would suspect the GD 115gr would perform as well or better than any other load in the same weight out there. I would prefer the 124gr +P but I wouldn't feel bad about the 115gr JHP either.
Island Beretta
Member
would not recommend +P+ for personal carry.. an heightened risk for gun/gun part failure in a firefight that is not necessary.. +P is good enough..the rest is up to shot placement..
My Kahr K9 is rated for +P+ and that's what I have always carried in it. I practice with milder ammo but have shot about 200 rounds of Hirtenberger +P+ through it.
I purchased a bunch of this ammo some years back for $9.95 for 50 rounds and it is superb ammo. I don't have a chrono but the guy in the next lane to mine at the range had one set up he clocked the bullet at slightly over 1500 fps from my K9.
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I forgot to mention that Georgia Arms uses Gold Dot bullets in some of their ammo.http://georgia-arms.com/9mmluger.aspx
I use their ammo and have no complaints with it. Unfortunately they are also out of stock right now, but when they do get stock in they haven't reverted jacking prices up like some of the other suppliers have. Good people to deal with.
I use their ammo and have no complaints with it. Unfortunately they are also out of stock right now, but when they do get stock in they haven't reverted jacking prices up like some of the other suppliers have. Good people to deal with.
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