What do you feed your 9mm for defense?

[ChCx2744]

In all honesty, I used to be a stickler and religiously clung to the top carry loads. (I.E. Speer GDHP, Winchester Ranger T, Federal HST, etc.) But now that I've had some time to chalk up some experience, they will all serve their purpose fairly well, given the fact that you've actually had a chance to run a couple mags of the stuff through your piece without any failures. As long as they are hollow points and they function reliably, you should be just fine with pretty much anything on the market.

 

[jacob2745]

124 gr hst

 

[Fencer]

Winchester Ranger 127grn +p+ in my P2000sk, Speer 115grn Gold Dot in my Steyr m9. It just does not like the rangers very well for some reason. After the first few mags of factory stuff I go to home rolled 115grn Honaday XTP or Winchester Silvertips cranking around 1300fps.

 

[Checkman]

Federal HST 124 grain +P

 

[Certaindeaf]

A particularly vicious little number is the Lyman 133 grain SWC #358480. It has a very wide meplat and sharp shoulder and when driven hard will really surprise you with the damage it'll do to an animal. Here's a blurry profile of the thing

 

[Inebriated]

147gr Federal HST's.

 

[Ehtereon11B]

Hornady Critical Defense or Corbon powrball +p. It has been quite awhile since I have carried a 9 at all though.

 

[Skribs]

I'm using 147gr gold dots in my 9. I've always preferred the heaviest standard load, i.e. I carry 180gr in .45.

 

[Warp]

A particularly vicious little number is the Lyman 133 grain SWC #358480. It has a very wide meplat and sharp shoulder and when driven hard will really surprise you with the damage it'll do to an animal. Here's a blurry profile of the thing

And you load into in your 9mm for defense???

 

[Certaindeaf]

^
I use those and the one on the prior page in my 9mm. Many people use SWC's in .45 for whatever.. it seems that way less people use them in 9.

 

[mach1.3]

I like 124gr HP ammo in my 9mm. Corbon, Gold Dot, Hornady CD are all good and function well in my G19, Sig P226 or MP9c. Why use +P+ 9mm ammo?
Just convert to the 9mm Mag er or the Sig .357 in 125gr. if ballistic charts,
muzzle velocity and downrange ftlbs energy rule your decisions. My P229 in
.357 is delightful to carry or shoot at the range. The ammo is more expensive but I'm not putting more than 100 rds. downrange in any month. If I need more than 10rds. in a situation then I need to stop cruising the crack houses with thousands$$ in my pocket or carry an extra mag.


BTW: My G23 .40 is outfitted with extra .40LWD 4.9" barrel with threaded compensator, a drop-in Sig .357 barrel and a drop-in 9mm barrel. Mix and match I say.


"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean their not out to get you."
I don't carry in church but do leave a .45 in my car. Thank God for the Castle Doctrine in Texas.

 

[481]

In my 9mms, I use the Hornady 147 gr. XTP JHP

 

[Certaindeaf]

.Why use +P+ 9mm ammo?
Just convert to the 9mm Mag er or the Sig .357 in 125gr..

Maybe because those bottlenecks don't fit in your gat. Seems pretty simple to me.

 

[Warp]

Why use +P+ 9mm ammo?
Just convert to the 9mm Mag er or the Sig .357

Because it is a lot more work and expense to convert to a new caliber than it is to buy RA9TA instead of RA9T when you purchase ammo.

 

[mhuxtable]

I use 124gr Gold Dot

 

[HOOfan_1]

As an add on to this thread...how many rounds of a certain type of high priced SD ammo do you feed through your autoloader before you trust it enough for Self Defense?

 

[DocRx]

I carry my Kahr CM9 laded with CorBon DPX 115gr+P and feel very comfortable. To answer above post, after a break-in of 300 rounds of various ammo, I have run over 30 rounds of the CB DPX, and all is well, with no malfunctions at all from the beginning with anything. The Kahr CM9 is one nice little pistol IMO.

 

[TAKtical]

Federal HST 147 gr.

 

[Warp]

As an add on to this thread...how many rounds of a certain type of high priced SD ammo do you feed through your autoloader before you trust it enough for Self Defense?

When first acquiring the gun, at least 100.

When it's a gun I've had for awhile that has already proven itself across many other rounds, including other JHPs...one box or so where everything checks out is good enough for me.

When it's a very similar 'new' round...like moving from a 124gr Gold Dot to a 147gr Gold Dot...one magazine is good enough for me.

 

[The smiling swordsman]

Hornady Critical Defense

 

[Old Dog]

Speer Gold Dot 124 gr +P usually. Have also stocked up on some Winchester PDX1 124 gr +P that performs well out of my SIGs.

Trying out some 135 gr Federal Hydra-Shok, shoots pretty nicely through the SIGs, my issue S&W M&P-9 and the Beretta M-9 ... Scored a bunch of Federal "Hi-Shok 115 gr JHPs at Wal-Mart for only 15 bucks a box, so I bought 'em all (Federal ammo has always proven reliable for me).

I'm getting a little cynical about the need for +P or +P+ these days anyway ... most are fairly close in speed anyway, and the expansion and penetration of standard pressure rounds is better than some of the ol' fast moving stuff we all used to think was so great (see Cor-Bon) ...

Amazing the stuff one sees if one actually reads through all the posts in a thread. For example, yesterday, S&W620, who says he uses FMJ for defensive rounds, said

The cost/benefit ratio of the SD ammo vs. odds of actually having to use the weapon in a SD situation doesn't make sense to me.

Funny, the odds of my ammo expanding the most reliably make the most sense to me. If one doesn't think the odds of actually having to use the weapon in a SD situation are enough, why have a weapon in the first place? First time of ever seen a "cost-benefit ratio" argument against using the most effective ammunition possible.


So yesterday, Skribs posted
I'

m using 147gr gold dots in my 9. I've always preferred the heaviest standard load, i.e. I carry 180gr in .45.

Uh, Skribs? 230 grain would be the heaviest "standard" load in .45 ACP ...

 

[Warp]

Speer Gold Dot 124 gr +P usually. Have also stocked up on some Winchester PDX1 124 gr +P that performs well out of my SIGs.

Pro tip: The PDX1 is the same thing as the Ranger Bonded, but the latter can be found in 50 round boxes for about the same price as the 20 round PDX1 stuff...

But I prefer Gold Dot to anything from Winchester these days anyway.

 

[Old Dog]

Pro tip: The PDX1 is the same thing as the Ranger Bonded

Yep, but I didn't have to buy the PDX1 -- got it free. And I agree with you about the Gold Dot; it's also my department's issue for those of us with 9mm and I've become a fan. Although strangely, we end up with a lot of the Win Ranger from time to time (mostly the FMJs for training).

 

[Sergei Mosin]

124gr standard pressure Gold Dot. In answer to the question of reliability testing - the gun gets a minimum of 100 rounds, and each magazine gets cycled through at least twice, topped off both times. So when I bought my Beretta and a couple of extra magazines, that was a 128-round test (four 15-round magazines, topped off, twice through) - which it passed without a single failure.

 

[Torgy]

Federal HST 147 gr. If today's 147-grain rounds surpass 1,000 FPS, penetrate 13-15 inches, and expand to 3/4 of an inch in diameter, why stick with 124 +p knowing the recoil is 20% higher than 147s? Trust the technology folks.