Best 9mm JHP for primary carry?

[The Mad Moderate]

Careful, a lot of (most?) guns aren't supposed to be fed +P+ ammo. I know it's a nono in my Sig.

My Ruger P95DC will chew on +P or +P+ all day long. It is reliable.

Edit: I see loaded liberal has already cited the Ruger manual.

The info with my gun (ruger p95) says it can fire any ammo on the market expressly including +p+.

Built like a tank, ugly as sin but I love my P95DC.

[RttlTrap]

I think trying to compare the difference between the different brands of high quality SD ammo is like trying to split hairs. Shot placement is going to be a much more important factor than the technical differences between Gold Dot, Federal HST, etc. Pick one you can get a good deal on, make sure it works well in your gun and carry it.

I personally went with Federal HST because I got a good deal on a case of it from AmmunitionToGo.

Brian

There are many good choices out there.

+1 for Federal HST

[v-rog]

We are off topic. I'm looking for possible 9mm JHP choices. Thanks

[MoJo]

We are off topic. I'm looking for possible 9mm JHP choices. Thanks

CorBon 115 +P DPX, Gold Dot 124 +p, Federal 115 +p+, Winchester 127 +P+, Federal 124 HST, Rem Golden Sabre 124 +P, Federal Tactical HST 147 +P
Any of these loads will do the job for you. Just make sure your gun likes them.

[BrianSW99]

That is another thing I am wondering about. My manual doesn't recommend using +P ammo. But I want a round that will cause substantial damage if I need to use it. I wouldn't plan on shooting +P ammo on a regualr basis- Just enough to become comfortable with the round.

If you're looking for ammo for the M&P in your sig, +P will be just fine. You won't be shooting enough +P to cause any problems. I've really only heard of +P being a problem in some of the miniature 9mm guns.

Brian

[gigag04]

Speer GD of any weight should be sufficient.

[AdioSS]

I carry Speer GD 124+P in my Beretta M9 & as the first round of my KelTec P-11, but the magazines of my P-11 are full of Remington UMC 115. However, I am strongly considering switching to 40S&W...

[v-rog]

Thanks Guys. I've seen a couple of youtube videos on the Rem Golden Sabre 124 +P, the Federal Tactical HST 147 +P, and the Corbon JPH. They are all highly rated.

I looked at the Winchester 147 JHP rounds and there are mixed reviews on it. Not sure about that.

One that hasn't been mentioned is the Winchester Ranger 124+P+ JHP. It gets good reviews but I'm not sure that I want 16" of penetration if I am shooting at one person?

Thanks Brian. That is what I figured. I was a little worried about my pistol exploding in my face on the range. That would be kind of embarrassing and probably pretty painful!

[The Annoyed Man]

Thanks Brian. That is what I figured. I was a little worried about my pistol exploding in my face on the range. That would be kind of embarrassing and probably pretty painful!

FWIW, pretty much any gun built for SD/LEO purposes by a top tier manufacturer (S&W, Springfield, Glock, Baretta, Kimber, etc.) is going to shoot +P and +P+ ammo without exploding......but.....higher pressure ammo will batter your gun and do damage to it if you shoot that stuff all the time. A few rounds (and I do mean a few) to familiarize yourself with it isn't going to destroy your gun, and neither will any rounds that you actually have to use in a self defense situation.

[rubiconjp]

Careful, a lot of (most?) guns aren't supposed to be fed +P+ ammo. I know it's a nono in my Sig.

I think that if you go to sigforum.com, you will find that the general consensus is that any modern SIG P series (except the P210) is OK with factory +P+ ammo. There are some very knowledgeable folks on sigforum such as the folks from Gray guns.

I think the reason many mfg's don't list +P+ as acceptable in their guns because unlike +P, there's no ANSI/SAAMI standard for 9mm +P+ ammunition. SAAMI 9mm standard only goes up to +P. There is however an industry consensus that +P+ should be about 15% higher in pressure than +P.

As with anything, the use of +P or +P+ will accelerate wear and tear on any gun. AFAIK, modern SIG's have no problem accepting +P+ ammo.

[The Annoyed Man]

By way of my post 2 posts above this one....

I just checked the Kahr website for my own peace of mind (SOURCE), and Kahr pistols are rated for +P ammo.

[v-rog]

A point of clarification- Using "+P" in the M&P is OK. The manual states not to use "+P+"

[03Lightningrocks]

By way of my post 2 posts above this one....

I just checked the Kahr website for my own peace of mind (SOURCE), and Kahr pistols are rated for +P ammo.

I fired some +P+ through my PM9. I didn't do it on purpose, I just wasn't paying attention to the second plus. I offered up a pretty nasty "kick" with each round fired but cycled just fine. It was not real comfortable on my hand...LOL. It took me at least 20 rounds or so before I thought, "WHAT THE HECK IS WITH THIS AMMO" , and decided to read the label on the box. It didn't appear to do any damage, but I could sure see how firing that stuff on a regular basis would take a toll on my gun.

[bikerbill]

I've converted all the guns I use for SD ... Kimber UCII, Springer Loaded (nightstand), Smith 637 and my main carry gun, a Kahr PM9 ... to Hornady Critical Defense ... love the accuracy, none have ever failed to go off in practice and they feed in everything with no issues ... a great round, +p is available if you insist ... been searching without success so far for the promised Critical Defense .22Mag for my dogwalk gun, an NAA Pug ...

[bigmoney]

A point of clarification- Using "+P" in the M&P is OK. The manual states not to use "+P+"

That's what I was thinking too. I thought I remembered reading in my M&P manual that only one gun couln't shoot +p, a revolver I think.

I stick with pdx1 124gr +p in my M&P9c. I like the way it feeds better than gold dots. You can actually feel a smoother feed when loading the first round, I'm guessing that's due to a slightly narrower tip. Either way that makes me feel better about not experiencing any jams, and it eats them pretty good, no issues yet to help confirm my support. Also looking into the critical defense for it too since I started experimenting with it in my .380. I'd like to try some corbon's but haven't found any in any stores around here, suppose I'll have to order it.