Freedom Munitions sells new manufacture 9mm ammo loaded with Hornady XTP bullets.
Velocity claimed for 124 grain is 1014 fps, and for 115 grain is 1095 fps.
Would you consider this to be an acceptable defense load?

Depends on the firearm, if you have a 4" or greater barrel, it will be great. If you have 3" or under, mileage may vary. If the velocity when it hits its target, is below 1000fps, it may not expand properly (and then act like a fmj and over penetrate).

I have watched all the shooting the bull 9mm videos and that seems to be the make or break point. If you have a short barrel, you either need short barrel or +P ammo. I spoke to them at freedom, and all their ammo is done to full SAAMI standards for velocity (which are advertised at 4" barrel length)

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Regards from THE Old Fart

I have bought a lot of remanufactured from this company and have been quite pleased with it. I have shot thousands of rounds in various iterations without a single ammo problem. It is great practice ammo, but all of it is, I believe, remanufactured by them. I even have some of the 9mm XTP of which you speak (write) and in fact shot some two days ago.

The 9mm runs good in my 9s but would I use it as my primary carry load? I would say no and I don't do it personally. It is as note remanufactured by them and not a major primary manufacturer. When they say new I believe they mean new brass as opposed to previously fired brass. All of the bullets, primers, and powder are by necessity new.

I wonder about the possible legal ramifications should it ever come to that!

If you have any questions don't hesitate to call them. They have been very pleasant on my phone calls and I think are straight shooters (pun intended).

How about it fellow users of their ammo? Any other comments?

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Nearly Normal Mike, NRA Lifer

No,no and no. Those velocities are on the very bottom end of
what 9mm ammo should reach in a pistol of normal barrel
length. People get caught up in debates over expansion
and bullet design and forget the number one requirement of
ammo used for SD is reliability. At those claimed velocities
their ammo will no doubt fail to cycle the action of some
pistols. You don't want it to be your pistol at a critical time.

I would not. I would take most any other modern JHP load from a major manufacturer.

No matter who makes the ammo, I don't consider the XTP bullet a good SD design.

I called Freedom today and they told me they tested velocity with 6 inch barrels. I wonder which is right?

Why take a chance on self defense when you can get the best at about the same price?

Freedom wants about $20 for a box of 50 new rounds. Speer Gold Dot and Federal HST are available for a bit more at $24-26 from most of the good mail-order/online houses like ammunitiondepot, sgammo, venturamunitions, etc.

Out of my 3" M&P9c, HST 124+P runs 1236fps. Gold Dot 124+P goes 1157.

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USAF, 69-92
Vietnam, 72-73

Do not do it. Freedom Munitions is way to inconsistent with their loading and their QC is way to spotty to bet your life on. They are fine for plinking ammo but that is about it. Quality new ammo is getting cheaper and cheaper so unless you are saving a ton I would even pass on their plinking ammo.

Federal claims 1200 fps in a 4" bbl for the 124gr. +P HST.
Law Enforcement - Federal Premium LE, Speer LE, BLACKHAWK!, Eagle - Handgun Details

Wondering what to do to get the extra 36 fps in my 3" CZ?

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CSM, U S Army(Ret) 1963-1990

What makes you think FM is inconsistent and their QC spotty. You have mentioned it before but not quoted any facts. I've been shooting it in 9mm & .380 for over a year with no issues. Who has actually had problems?

A Self-Defense situation is going to open massive issues of criminal and civil responsibility.

I'll buy my SD ammo from a company large enough to absorb their part of the "deep pockets" search from the theatrically crying and weeping family of the useless miscreant.

Wondering what to do to get the extra 36 fps in my 3" CZ? [/QUOTE]

Every gun is different. And factory velocity numbers don't always match, even closely, chrono numbers out of any given gun. What I posted, 1236fps, is what I chronoed out of my 3" barrel. Run some through your CZ over your chrono. See what you get and PM me with results. Thanks.

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USAF, 69-92
Vietnam, 72-73

I'll have to try that. I have a buddy that has a chrono. I betting it's gonna' be around 1100 fps.

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CSM, U S Army(Ret) 1963-1990

If you look around the web in multiple places you will find that people have had a fair amount of QC issues with their ammo. I believe a lot of it comes from the IMT brass they use for their new ammo and for a lot of their reloaded ammo. It has a step/rim on the inside of the case which decreases the volume of the case. This allows them to use less powder to get "normal" pressures but I do not think they do a good enough job of QC to do it consistently.

There are a lot of reports of squib rounds. I took a 2 day pistol class with a well known professional training group and they reported that multiple shooters in one of their courses in CA has multiple squib rounds. For my money squib rounds are the most dangerous failure because if you do not catch the failure, due to high rate of fired, you can blow up your pistol and your hands, face etc...

Freedom Munitions CS took care of the issue but for me there have been too many reports of squibs. On the flip side there are reports of signs of over pressure so the QC issues swing both ways.

I shot about 3,000 rounds of 9mm and 45 ACP before moving on to my own reloads and true factory ammo. YMMV

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Product Issue: Freedom Munitions 124-grain 9mm FMJ | Handgun Planet

I gave up on Freedom munitions over a year ago. Long delays in shipment, non-existent customer service, shipping costs out the wazoo.

No thanks.