OT - What 9mm ammo should I use

Blues said:
Embarrassing if you ever have to point a holster at someone... :rolleyes:
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I've had my moments... Not quite involving the same but still pretty embarrassing.

Funny story (well, not funny at the time but in hindsight and all...): When I was working for the Sheriff's Office, I once responded to a call with my Sergeant. It was over some sort of property dispute in a rural area so we were out in the sticks. When we returned to our vehicle after concluding our business at this location, I was puzzled and then mortified to find one of my magazines lying on the passenger seat of the patrol car.

Check my gun - yep, no mag. WTF?! Only thing I can figure is that during my exit of the vehicle and however way my gun was positioned on my duty belt, the mag release got engaged.

As such, I had been walking around this property for over an hour with these folks airing out their complaints and I had no mag in my Glock. There is no way it wasn't noticed. How humiliating. It never happened again though, I made sure of that.
 
Murphjd25 said:
I don’t know why, but my wife’s Glock 42 .380 is really goddamn picky on what ammo it likes. Every single other gun I own could care less what I feed them. I haven’t figured it out yet. 🤷🏻‍♂️
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Seen that happen before, turned out the cause was limp wrist shooting. Maybe that’s the case with the wife’s 42 too.

Could be with any other frame pistol she shoots (or you), they just fit her (or you) hand more firmly and she (you) locks the wrist up tighter with them vs the 42.
 
Retired UPS Driver said:
Seen that happen before, turned out the cause was limp wrist shooting. Maybe that’s the case with the wife’s 42 too.

Could be with any other frame pistol she shoots (or you), they just fit her (or you) hand more firmly and she (you) locks the wrist up tighter with them vs the 42.
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That’s EXACTLY what I was thinking it is too. I’ve only shot it once but didn’t have a problem, it fed and shot all 6 rounds.
 
The test for limp writing is to have others shoot it and see. Those little 380's (Glock, Sig, S&W etc) get WAY more reliable after 300-500 rounds.

That said, and I know this will be a controversial statement, any modern "combat grade" firearm should function 100% with limp writing. You cannot control the environment in which you will need to use a firearm to defend you or your families lives, even the strongest person in a self defense close quarters fight for their life may NEED to limp wrist to defend themselves. This is why standing at a shooting range plinking paper is not a substitute for real world high pressure situations.

If you are going to carry a pistol for self defense it should be tested and function in as many grip situations as possible, strong hand, weak hand, firm grip, soft grip, etc.. Not to mention drawing from concealment in as many scenarios as reasonably possible.
 
The Zieg said:
Fed HST 124 gr is a great round according to all sources, but it is a bit snappy for my CCW pistol. I am still on the prowl for an SD round that mimics the 115 gr FMJ military ammunition I tend to practice with.

I'll be watching this space eagerly.

Zieg
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Today I'm trying out these 100gr little pink pills at the range. The LC9 is not a difficult pistol to control, but double taps really are not an option with common ammunition. It is not like shooting .38 wadcutters out of a GP100! I'll report back here later today.

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Here is one side by side with a Winchester 124gr JHP round. With such a shorter profile it will be interesting to see whether it feeds reliably.

(Bonus points for a Buck 110 cameo?)

Zieg
 
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klee94404 said:
I used to have an acquaintance who used to load Glaser Safety Slugs under contract before they were legislated out of business due to being "cop killer" ammo. I'm surprised that they're available now after a Google search. Copper jacket around pellets that wouldn't penetrate walls but would fragment once it entered soft tissue. Less chance of collateral damage.
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I remember the ads for Glaser, back in the 80s. Turns out, it's rather shyte, and mostly marketing.

Defensive ammo needs sufficient penetration to reliably reach vital organs, and that includes going through heavy clothing, larger torsos, off-angle shots (shots won't always be straight to the front of the torso), potentially passing through a hand/arm, before entering the torso etc.
 
DrBC said:
I’ve read and heard a lot of good things about frangible 9mm & 5.56 for that matter. I haven’t tried any out but for self defense and close quarters it’s worth checking out.

The general thought is the bullet dumps the full energy load on contact and the bullet disintegrates into dust as a result. But that full engery transfer is what will stop some one in their tracks.
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No. Same reasons as my post above, about Glaser Safety Slugs.

The performance of rifle vs pistol ammo, are wholly different.

Been following the research of Dr. Gary Roberts, on terminal performance of various manufacturer loads for rifle and pistol (he goes by, and is commonly referred to as DocGKR). His research has been used for Federal/DoD and Law Enforcement agency procurement contracts.

He's tested most of the available manufacturer loads for penetration and expansion in bare calibrated ballistics gelatin, fired through 4 layers of denim, and through auto glass/windshields.

As of now, the 3 top performing 9mm rounds are
Federal HST
Speer Gold Dot G2
Winchester Ranger-T (VERY difficult to obtain, without LE connections. Dealers are instructed NOT to sell to the public. Even many departments have switched over to HST or G2, due to supply issues procuring Ranger-T. I prefer RA9T over RA9B. Eagle Eye Guns for whatever reason, is one of the only places that will sell it to folks without LE/Mil credentials).

*** Honorable mention goes to Hornady Critical Defense and Critical Duty. Critical Defense has less penetration but better expansion in shorter barrels. C Duty is designed for better penetration, especially after going through intermediate barriers like auto glass.

As folks have pointed out, there is minimal benefit shown in testing, of the +p/+p+ varieties. As for bullet weights, either 124gr, or 147gr.

I prefer 147gr, but be aware that there are some guns/barrels that may encounter failures with some 147gr rounds. Common recommendation (besides firing a few hundred rounds of a particular load through the specific pistol, which realistically is always the best option), is to do a 'spin test'. If you can drop a live round in the chamber and manually spin/turn it, it should cycle fine. If it sticks, you might have issues.

Bone Frog Gun Club is one place I've purchased HST from (was going through some and saw the invoice for $360 flat for a case, back in 2018 😅 😭). There are also some places offering LE Trade-in HST (Ammo that was purchased but never fired, and replaced after X years), at even lower prices.

There's actually a gen1 vs gen2 HST (not advertised). Only way to tell, as far as I'm aware), is inspecting a round. The gen2 HST bullet has longer skiving (supposedly to aid consistent expansion, but the original shorter skive bullets have still been one of the most consistent rounds in actual real world performance).
 
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Nathan the Machinist said:
I figured now is a pretty good time to buy ammo. We're coming off the end of some shortages and I feel like we might be coming into some shortages in the future

Although I usually time things completely wrong so, y'all should probably do the exact opposite of what I do
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I agree with now being the time to stock up. Lots around and lots of sales. I also agree with another shortage not being far off. During the shortage me and some buddies teamed up and went to academy sports daily and in between we hunted rare bourbons:)
 
Elgatodeacero said:
You should load your own. Seriously.

it is time for Carothers Performance Ammunition (CPA).

Here is a machine you should get, to add to the machines you got.

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It has been a little while but I do load my own for my hunting rifles. They're getting a little low and it's about time to set back up again. But the pistol ammo, I prefer to buy it. I have the dies and Mark wants to set up his progressive here. So I imagine I probably will, at some point, start building some again. but my self-defense I would rather have production rounds.
 
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