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Old May 15, 2011, 01:09 PM   #26
stealintv
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To the OP - Type some of the brands listed here by other posters in Youtube. There are endless videos with shooters testing over a chronograph, shooting water jugs, newspaper, denim, etc. That's the beauty of the internet, not too many people have original ideas anymore so Google is your friend too. 9 times out of 10, someone has asked the same question before.

Oh and try the search function for this wonderful forum. You will definitely find that your question has been asked before. Actually, it gets asked about once a week.

Don't worry about trying to find the magical bullet that will stop a threat in 1 shot... There is no such thing. Go buy the cheapest ammo you can find and practice and then practice some more. It's all about shot placement, not the brand of bullet you buy. After you are confident that you can hit what you are aiming at, start buying different brands of defense ammo and see what your pistol likes. Even if there was a magical 1 shot threat stopping bullet; it may not feed in your handgun.

P.S. I bought Federal HST's for my Glock 19 when I carry in Indiana. Carry ammo is not a worry of mine while out and about in the wonderful state of Illinois------yet.

Cheers!
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Old May 15, 2011, 01:33 PM   #27
Webleymkv
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There's basically three schools of thought when it comes to 9mm ammo: Those who want the lightest, fastest bullet available and usually choose +P or +P+ loadings with 115grn or lighter bullets, those who want the deepest penetration possible and usually choose standard pressure loadings with 147grn bullets, and those in the middle who seem to like the 124-127grn loadings. Personally, I'm one of those in the middle and I feel that a 124-127grn +P or +P+ loading gives the best balance of velocity, expansion, energy, momentum, and penetration in a 9mm. My personal favorite 9mm loading is the Winchester Ranger T-Series in the 127grn +P+ flavor. I understand, however, that because it's a LE loading that this particular one isn't always easy to find and also that many guns cannot handle +P+ ammunition (I don't feed my 9mm large quantities of it myself). Other loadings that I would also feel good about include Speer 124grn +P Gold Dots and Cor Bon 125grn +P JHP. There are other loadings available such as Federal HST, Winchester Ranger Bonded, and Remington Golden Saber which have excellent reputations, but many of them just don't deliver the types of velocities that I want out of a 9mm (I prefer a bullet in the 124-127grn weight range at 1200fps+).
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Old May 15, 2011, 02:08 PM   #28
KyJim
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When picking self-defense ammo, the factors to consider, in order, are:

1. Reliability in your handgun. First and foremost, the ammo must feed. Pick one or two loads and test them for functionality in your gun. Probably no reason to try a bunch of different loads because that gets expensive.

2. Penetration is important to insure you can reach the vital organs. It doesn't matter if it mushrooms spectacularly but leaves only a surface wound.

3. Expansion and resistance against fragmentation. A larger hole means a better chance at hitting something vital (like the CNS) and more bleeding, leading to shock from blood loss and incapacitation. In handgun velocities, you don't want the bullet to fragment. If it stays together, it will more likely penetrate and break a bone if it hits one. This helps in incapacitating the bad guy.

4. Energy transferred. This is a fairly distant fourth, IMHO, because I do not believe handgun bullets travel fast enough to cause "hydrostatic" shock, meaning tissue damage to other areas of the body. This does happen at rifle velocities. I do believe the energy dump of a bullet into a person will create the, "Crap! I've been shot!" effect. This will stop some attacks but cannot be relied upon because it is psychological.

So, for those reasons, I like:

1. 124 gr. +P Speer Gold Dots
2. 124 gr. +P Federal HST.
3. 127 gr. +P+ Ranger Ts from Winchester

I also feel okay with 115 gr. +P Gold Dots though they are a hair short of optimal in penetration.
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Old May 15, 2011, 02:22 PM   #29
rjksx1
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so 115 gr FMJ is what i shoot alot-no problems; however, many people feel this is an inadequate SD load.
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Old May 16, 2011, 12:20 AM   #30
ClydeFrog
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The "OH #%*+" factor, Ball or FMJ rounds...

I for one, suggest packing a spare mag or 2 of 9x19mm AKA 9mmNATO ball powrball EFMJ type ammunition.
You may not need it in a armed citizen or home owner event but it could assist you if your main pistol magazine runs low or out & the violent bad guy(s) get behind cover or are still an active threat.
Ball or FMJs may also feed 100% in your 9mm pistol and keep you from having a jam or problem in a high stress/oh s$&# type incident.

I purchased a 50rd box of factory Ranger T 124gr NATO FMJs for those uses.
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Old May 16, 2011, 02:06 AM   #31
8shot357
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I use what the police use, GD 124g +Ps. It also feeds well in all my 9mm's.
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Old May 16, 2011, 02:59 PM   #32
dean1818
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I just changed to a 9mm from 40 Cal and was asking the same question.

The best performing ammo from my Kahr K9 is the Corbon DPX

I did my own test (shooting into jugs of wet newspaper through denim)

Penetration was 15 inches

Expansion was almost 3/4 inch (almost as good as most of the 40 cal)

The Rangers HSTs were also close, but ot as good for me...... I tried several popular brands.

Keep in mind, that differrent ammo performs varied results out of multiple pistols.

Ammo shot from a a 3 inch barrel may not perform as well as from a 4 inch barrel


You should TRY the cheap test yourself.
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