Best 9mm ammo for Defense?

[MoJo]

My preferred 9 mm carry ammo is Federal HST 124 grain +P. Cor Bon DPX 115 grain +P is another stellar performer as is Speer Gold Dot 124 grain +P, Winchester Bonded 124 grain +P, Winchester T 127 grain +P+ and Remington Golden Saber 124 grain +P. All of these except for the DPX are "LE" loads all but the DPX and Remington are available in 50 round boxes.

These rounds are used by many law enforcement agencies and have proven track records in real world use not just in gelatin. If you notice all are +P or better there's only one 115 grain load, and none are 147 grain. The consensus is, bullets in the 124 grain range are close enough to perfect, +P gives that little extra "oomph" needed some times to cycle the action when you have a poor grip or, the gun is dirty. The extra wallop of the +P ammo is a good thing on the receiving end also. The 147 grain bullet, unless loaded to +P velocities, is a poor performer although very accurate.

Your carry ammo should be the best you can find that functions reliably in your gun. I know the LE ammo is expensive but, how much value do you place on your life? I'm very, very expensive.

[Beiruty]

I carry 9mm Gold Dots +p 124 gr.
Federal HST is also a good round.

[tomtexan]

147 gr. +p Federal HST is what I use.

[MoJo]

147 gr. +p Federal HST is what I use.

That's the ONLY 147 grain load I would be comfortable with. Dave Spaulding reported on an OIS shooting sometime last year with this round it was a one shot DRT shooting. Dave was impressed with the performance of this round.

[davenewman12]

My 124 gr Federal HTS1 will be here tomorrow. I am in the process of making some ballistics gel to test the rounds in. I hear a lot of losing fps with the 147. I hear its a good round just hard to find.

[tomtexan]

147 gr. +p Federal HST is what I use.

That's the ONLY 147 grain load I would be comfortable with. Dave Spaulding reported on an OIS shooting sometime last year with this round it was a one shot DRT shooting. Dave was impressed with the performance of this round.

Believe it or not the standard pressure load has deeper penetration than the +p round. However, the +p load has better expansion.

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[snatchel]

I carry 124/147 Gold Dots. Honestly, I'm pretty sure any quality defensive stuff will do the trick.

[SecedeTX]

I have a bunch of the Hornady Critical Defense for most of the handguns I carry and have had really good experience with it with one exception. My Kahr MK9 Elite really hates this round. It likes the Cor Bon 115 +P...eats it like candy. Each gun is different. Try a few different rounds through each handgun. Guns are a bit like women, not every one likes the same thing...figure it out and you get what works :)

You really need to shoot your carry ammo even if it is expensive. If the real world goes bad, you need to know what works.

[davenewman12]

I have a bunch of the Hornady Critical Defense for most of the handguns I carry and have had really good experience with it with one exception. My Kahr MK9 Elite really hates this round. It likes the Cor Bon 115 +P...eats it like candy. Each gun is different. Try a few different rounds through each handgun. Guns are a bit like women, not every one likes the same thing...figure it out and you get what works :)

You really need to shoot your carry ammo even if it is expensive. If the real world goes bad, you need to know what works.

Good point. I want to know my stuff works when i need it.

[WinoVeritas]

Regardless of the ammo brand or type, it is wise to test your SD/HD ammo to be sure it feeds and fires without a glitch in your chosen SD/HD weapon(s). However, as in life there are no guarantees it will work when you need it, no matter the gun or ammo manufacturer. Odds are in your favor it will work just fine, but you'll never know until the next time you fire your weapon.

I try to get to the range once a month. The first gun fired is my carry w/SD ammo. Depending on which carry, that will be 7 to 13 rounds 9mm or .40. If no hiccups with SD ammo will transition to target ammo, and end with a few more rounds of SD. My HD weapon may get just one or two trips to range a year.

Regardless, there is no "THE" magic SD/HD ammo, nor does it have to be expensive - whether 9mm 115, 124 or 147 gr. JHP - if it feeds and fires well in your SD/HD weapon it will get the job done - provided you hit the target. So practice, practice, practice - as much as you can afford.

[RJGold]

Regardless of the ammo brand or type, it is wise to test your SD/HD ammo to be sure it feeds and fires without a glitch in your chosen SD/HD weapon(s). However, as in life there are no guarantees it will work when you need it, no matter the gun or ammo manufacturer. Odds are in your favor it will work just fine, but you'll never know until the next time you fire your weapon.

I try to get to the range once a month. The first gun fired is my carry w/SD ammo. Depending on which carry, that will be 7 to 13 rounds 9mm or .40. If no hiccups with SD ammo will transition to target ammo, and end with a few more rounds of SD. My HD weapon may get just one or two trips to range a year.

Regardless, there is no "THE" magic SD/HD ammo, nor does it have to be expensive - whether 9mm 115, 124 or 147 gr. JHP - if it feeds and fires well in your SD/HD weapon it will get the job done - provided you hit the target. So practice, practice, practice - as much as you can afford.

You bring up a good point. The military teaches you (forces you) to clear jams, misfeeds, misfires, failures to eject etc.

I don't practice these scenarios enough with my carry weapons. It's a good reminder to understand exactly what you would do to clear and re-load your weapons if you did have an issue that prevented it from firing.

Last time I was at the range, my daughter had a failure to fire from my Browning Hi-Power (a highly unusual occurrence with that weapon). I am sure it was the way she loaded the first round (i.e. didn't allow the action to close firmly and completely). I showed her how to clear the round while keeping the pistol under control and pointed down range.

Good reminder we should do that with all our weapons...

[Kenk]

I use Federal HST 124 grain standard pressure in 9mm and Gold Dot 125 grain standard pressure in my .38 Special snubby. The +P is a bit too uncomfortable in my old hands :-)

Ken

[Pecos]

Speer gold dot or Hornady critical duty.

I use the Critical Duty 135Gr Flex lock.
Really in a real world gun fight the BG doesnt know whay brand\type bullet hes hit with!!!!
I chose Critical duty mainly because it addresses head spacing issues.

[BAW1967]

My personal defense ammo is Speer Gold Dot 9mm 147 grain JHP.

[QB]

I have various defensive ammo but am shooting it up at the range and switching to Hornady Critical Defense.