I am in a quandary as to what's the best defence Ammo to use in my 9mm, 3.1" barel doesn't give to much time for delivery speed. Does anyone have some input as to what and why they use their brand Ammo?!
Thx in advance !!

Hi OP. Note i have limited experience compared to others on this but can say the defense rounds i work with in my PC Shield are Hornady Critical Defense. As i only use 115gn for range ammo, the CD both cycles fine and hits the same spots i aim at with my practice rounds.

A search for that post on this forum is a good start. My shield eats just about anything so any good name brand HP will do good.

I us hornady XTP is my shield 40 but I'm bgoing to switch to HST sometime soon. My wife runs hrdya shocks in her 9mm shield.

Friends don't let friends buy a Taurus

Boy talking about opening a can of worms you sure did...

Check Youtube..look for "ammo Quest Federal HST 9mm".

Your question will be answered there.......

__________________
Hipcocked45

Hornady critical defense is not a great round due to under penetration. Critical duty is a better round if your a critical ammo fan. Federal HST 124 grain standard pressure is an outstanding performer if not the best.

HST 147 works well out of my shield. Ammo quest has great videos as already been mentioned.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I actually bought a box of the Federal HST for defense purposes (124 grain) after watching that very video. I've tested a couple of rounds on the range, and couldn't really tell any difference in the recoil from the 115 grain American Eagle that I use for my normal target practicing. I definitely plan on keeping this for my defensive carry.

Of course, to the OP, ammo is kind of like oil - everyone has an opinion on what is best. Ultimately, you'll probably want to test a few different rounds based on input from here and decide what is best for you. For defensive purposes, you need something that you will personally be comfortable with. That will not necessarily be the same for everyone.

I was loyal to Hornady until recent testing proved that they are VERY inconsistent especially in 9mm. 45LC and ACP they are very consistent. So for 9mm I actually switched to Speer gold dot yesterday, my second choice would be Federal HST however I just heard that Federal is in big financial trouble so im not sure how I feel about them while that is happening.

__________________
Smith all the things

If you do any real research you'll find that the question is pointless. As long as the cartridge fires, you're good.

In other words, the best cartridge for your 9mm is one that says 9mm on the base.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

I carry Remington Golden Sabers 124+P they feed 100% just like FMJ Ammo. Hope to never test them on anything other than with paper targets but based on research they should get the job done.

With all due respect to Rastoff, if you look at actual testing of ammo, it does make a difference what you use. Lucky Gunner has some great testing, with shorter barrel, real world carry guns. Several rounds are very good, several are very bad and a few are true stand outs. Take that info, compare it with other actual tests, select a few boxes of the top cboices and go verify it runs in your gun.

Use as many sources as you can, but this was a helpful and high volume source to start my evaluation.

http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self...llistic-tests/

So far, the HST micro looks good, but as I reported back on another thread, the 150gr. Did shoot high in my gun and does not match the 147gt fmj prqctice ammo, so still working on my edc rounds. Continuing to use Hornady Critical Defense, as it performed OK in various tests and cycles, matches point of aim with my practice ammo

I'm a big fan of Federal HST 124gr +p. If it's good enough as my duty ammo, it's good enough for off duty carry. Also, I don't really think the +p gives that much more recoil then standard pressure, plus I like the extra velocity. With that said, I still wouldn't hesitate to carry standard pressure HST.

BTW, +p can be a huge performace benefit, based on your gun and fhe distances you are shooting. My Shield in other tests, performs poorly with +p as the barrel is to short to burn all the powder, full size 5" barrel is very different! Thats why we all need to evaluate, then test in our own guns!

I just shot a box of Ruger ARX defensive ammo. All I can say is my 9mm shield didn't perform well enough for me to feel safe carrying them. Two fail to fire, recoil was no different than my own 124 grain nosler HP and accuracy was disappointing. My reloads performed much better as did my Hornady critical defense

P9HST2 aka 147gr Federal HST is well regarded, but I've never seen it on store shelves, only through mail-order. One benefit is that a 50rd. box costs what a 20rd box does off the store shelf.

SGAmmo is a reputable company, and usually has it in stock.

50 Round Box - 9mm Luger Federal HST 147 Grain Hollow Point LE Ammo P9HST2 | SGAmmo.com

I have become a fan of 9mm Fiocchi XTP 115gr. My Shield is very accurate with it.

Whatever you do, make sure that your self-defense rounds fire reliably in your Shield. For instance, many Shield owners like Federal HST ammo. However, in my Shield 9mm, HSTs tend to hang up on the bottom of the feed ramp, resulting in a 10% failure to feed rate. For me, the only acceptable failure rate for SD ammo is zero. Accordingly, I've shot a lot of SD ammo to determine which works best with my Shield. I adopted a standard that requires the ammo to fire at least 100 consecutive times without a failure of any kind.

Three of the brands I tested have passed the test: Hornady Critical Duty 135g +P has gone 174 rounds to date with no failures; Speer Gold Dot 124g +P has gone 147 rounds to date with no failures; and Remington Golden Saber 147g went 227 rounds before I experienced a failure to eject. Of these three, the Golden Sabers were the most accurate.

However, don't just take my word for it. Do your own testing and find out what works best in your Shield.

Good shooting!

__________________
What, me worry?

No disrespect taken. I didn't say there wasn't a difference. I said the question is pointless. Let's look at it closer...

The original question was, "what's the best defense Ammo to use in my 9mm?" "Best" is always subjective. I can cite many situations where people were killed by a FMJ round. I can cite many situations where people were NOT killed by a JHP. Does that mean the JHP is not as good as the FMJ? Absolutely not! The only correct answer is we don't have enough data to draw a conclusion.

Ballistics gel is a good analog, but it's not a person. We're not defending ourselves from gel. We hear these phrases all the time:

• Brand X has always been good for me.
• I've always felt safe with brand Y.
• Brand Z is well regarded.
• The super frangilistic hooper point is used by the police so, that must be good.
• The military uses hardball so, that must work, right?

Out of all those that say such things, how many have actually used whatever to stop a human? I'll bet none.

There is only one thing at the top of the list when it comes to a defensive gun: functional reliability. Absolutely everything else is a debatable quality. If the gun doesn't work, it's not a gun anymore, is it? If that new wonder round causes your gun to fail to cycle, then it's not worth spit.

Correlate that with the original question and it goes like this:
What's the best ammo for my X gun?
The ammo that most reliably functions in that gun.


So you have to test. Now the question becomes, how many rounds do I need to fire in order to verify the functionality of it in my gun? This is a widely accepted number and easily discovered.

Since nothing is ever 100% reliable, we must accept something less than 100%. Statistically that number is the 95% confidence level. To reach that level it is generally accepted that it takes 30 iterations of a process. This means 30 shots. However, since each position of a magazine represents new variables, each position must be tested. For a 10 round magazine, that's 30x10 or 300 rounds. If you have more than one magazine, multiply by the number of magazines.

Most people don't fire 600 rounds in their lifetime. Let alone do 600 rounds of testing with the super expensive special defensive uber expanding hollow point rounds. No, most people fire one magazine worth and declare that their gun cycles reliably and is 100% functional with said super round. Are you OK with that? Are you willing to trust your life to that? If you are, fine. I'm not.

Remember, we're not talking about what's good or good enough, we're talking about what's best. The best is what's going to work best in YOUR gun. Every round on the market will stop the threat if placed in the proper place. No round on the market will stop the threat if it doesn't fire or isn't placed where it will do serious damage.

To sum up, the BEST round is one that:

1. Will function reliably in your gun.
2. Hits the intended target. (This requires training and practice.)

Everything else is internet discussion fodder. Is a JHP better than an FMJ? Probably, but only if it's placed in the right place.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

Other things to take into account:
Many (if not most) Brands of SD ammo package in 20 boxes (some do sell in 50 round boxes), so to test a type, that means buying several boxes, just to test AND have enough to load all your mags.

Also... While it would be great if one could depend on uniformity forever, we often see reports of 'ammo from lot xyz has been found to be defective', or 'XYZ Brand is recalling Lot# 12345 manufactured between these dates...' So, unless you want to blindly trust that a brand's Super-Round will work (forever), one needs to test ammo from each different Lot# that they buy.

So once you find the Brand/Load that works reliably in your handgun, you'll probably want to buy enough from that particular Lot# to last you a while (a couple Hundred rounds
per purchase).

I will take into account all the testing and professional evaluation I can get before I start my personal testing process to determine what the best round for one of my guns may be. The hottest, fastest super head hunter zombie killer may cycle from my gun and group extremely well, but if there is little to no chance of expansion, it may not be nearly as effective when it comes time to defend me or dispatch a downed animal. I know hunting rounds are very different, but I have had two nearly identical shots on deer where one round expanded (found the round on the opposing, shattered ribcage). That deer did not take a step. Same gun, same load, different bullett the next night, through the ribcage, within an inch of point of impact of the prior evening, through and through (found the impact point of the round on both sides of the ribcage) and the deer ran for hours. I did recover it, but it was quite a different result. Both imperical testing and experience tells me the round I used on the first deer is more effective, all things being equal, than the second. Both were accurate, the second round happened to be in my speed loader from the night before and I didn't bother to swap it out (I knew the bullet was accurate from my testing). The deer ended up a 12pt, 250 lb. monster. There was testing and reports of the one bullet not reliably expanding and the other being very consistent in expansion. I will use the bullett proven to the "best" until I am faced with data telling me I should re-evaluate��

You've missed the point. Expansion doesn't mean anything if the gun doesn't fire.

Also, consider this; a 9mm JHP, if it expands, enlarges to about the size of a .45ACP. So, should we be telling the OP to ditch his 9mm and get a .45ACP?

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

I saw my share of gunshot victims over the years, gelatin tests and I tested a lot of 9mm cartridges for accuracy and reliability. Regardless of the pistol I carry, a Sig P938, Glock 19 or S&W Shield 9mm, my preferred defensive cartridge is Speer 124g GDHP.

__________________
Train to win

I've been very happy with Hornaday Critical Duty. As for the Shield itself, I've ran a few thousand rounds through it with zero failures. At least a dozen different loads. The bad thing is that it's so good I have no desire to replace it which slows down my new pistol purchases.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

I understand your point and agree your edc needs to run in your particular gun. If you look at the variance in performace, several of the 9mm rounds expand much beyond a .45 jhp, much less an fmj. I do carry a 9mm Shield. I also have a new .45 Shield. I have done some preliminary shooting with this gun. Amazingly enough, I used a lot of resources to choose a couple of rounds to test in my gun to determine the "best" round. I did not choose rounds that test poorly when subjected to measured tests that help to predict performance in actual defensive situations. I also try to match my practice rounds to my edc in terms of bullet weight and point of impact. As I mentioned in another post, I remain hesitant to adopt a particular round, because my paratice ammo doesn't match point of aim/impact. Just because a round runs, does not make it a good round IMO. I wish i had more time and money to perfect the process. I try and balance all of the factors to make my choices in a systematic and informed way.

Speer 124+p gold Dots seem to work fine in mine. They are at or near the top in most performance tests. They are also used by many police departments and have a lot of real world usage to back up those tests.

I carry these ..same as Ranger line. bonded

Attached Images

pdx1 9mm.jpg (148.9 KB, 79 views)

__________________
S&W BG380, S&W 915 9mm

I carry Speer Gold Dot LE 124 grain HP's in my Shield 9mm. They have functioned flawlessly.

Should note to all viewers.....+P is not recommended in the Shield
Not that it will not fire it....but wear and tear on the gun.....Plus as one commentor noted...The +P can't be fully effective in the short barrel.

Something to consider.........

__________________
Hipcocked45

My Shield manual says +P+ is not recommended.
+P is fine and has lots of real world usage to determine it's effectiveness.
I shoot some of my +P to make sure everything works fine but, since the price is much higher, not enough to put a lot of extra wear on my gun. I don't see a problem.

Ammo Quest 9mm: Federal HST 124+P ammo test P9HST3 in ballistic gel - YouTube

You will find this very interesting. It's the choice I am switching to.

These days the 9mm Shield has Federal HST 150 Gr "Micro" in the magazines. My wife shots them well and she appreciates the slight decrease in recoil.

About the same time I picked up the micros I also added Talon rubberized grip tape to her Shield so just how much her improvement in shooting is from the slight ammo change or the grip tape is hard to say. Both were good changes for her.

__________________
Bill Bates

The OP hasn't been back yet...

Availability of SD 9 mm ammo apparently no longer being an issue, and echoing some of the comments above:

Choose any modern expanding 9 mm load (several good ones mentioned above, try a box of several types), test to ensure 100% function, and adequate practical accuracy in your 9 mm Shield. Re-verify the last two periodically. You are good to go.

__________________
Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I prefer Hornady Critical Defense and Federal HST.... but shot placement is most important! lol! ;-)

All handguns are relatively poor 'stoppers' regardless of caliber or bullet used. Shot placement and sufficient penetration are paramount, all else is secondary.

Barring a hit to the CNS, the only way to stop a determined and aggressive BG is shutting down the brain from oxygen deprivation via bleedout. A solid hit to the heart can leave 10+ seconds worth of oxygen in the brain, plenty of time for the BG to plant daisies in your hair.

With that being said, unless the bullet used can alter the outcome of the encounter by incapacitating the BG via blood loss (unlikely, remember the 10+ seconds after a heart hit) before he can inflict serious/lethal damage, it really doesn't matter if bullet 'X' causes the BG to expire in the ambulance instead of the ER. I doubt a determined & aggressive BG could tell the difference if hit with any of the quality loads currently available.

Personally, I like both the 135gr Critical Duty and 124gr HST in my 9mm's w/the edge going to the CD for greater assured penetration at the cost of some expansion.

JMHO...

Tomac

Federal HST 124 grain here.

__________________
M&P Shield 9
ATI 1911 .45 GI

Critical duty has some decent gel ballistic results, but they lack in actual STREET results. In other words there are not a lot of DOCUMENTED shootings with critical duty/defense ammo regardless of caliber.

I'd stick with Speer Gold dot 124 +P (NYPD Load) Federal HST 124+P (Las Vegas Metro I believe)
These rounds have actual street results, from actual street defensive shootings. Also, the Illinois State police have been (or did) use the federal 115 grain +P+ for years with very good street results. Not sure what they are using now, But back in the day when the 9mm first hit the Police market the ISP was one of the first major agencies to issue the 9mm seemed to be very happy with the 115 grain +P+
Just me to Dam cents
1SG
Out

Federal HST 124gr

Does anyone have an opinion/experience with this 124gr XTP HP?

Another vote for Federal HST 124gr...

No offense to Fiocchi because I love their ammo but, I'd be a bit worried about over penetration with this particular round. I recently watched a video of a ballistics gel test on this one. It went all the way through an 18" block and traveled an additional 49 feet before finally hitting the ground.

As to the OP, opinions will vary wildly on this subject. I can't tell you what would be best because I simply don't know. Personally though, I carry Liberty Civil Defense. If you are curious, there are numerous videos out there of all different kinds of tests done with it.

Added tension. I am a new shooter of 6 months. S&W M&P9 shield gun of choice. My SD ammo Sig Sauer 124gr. V-Crown JHP. Not rated +p but hits like it based on the gel tests on YouTube. Didn't see this round mentioned so thought I would bring it up. Plus costs much less than the rounds mentioned so I shoot them every month with the 115gr. practice ammo.

I doubt that costs much less than the rounds mentioned. You can get the best out there, Federal HST, for about or less than $0.50 per round

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

Any 9mm on DocGKR's list will work well for you!

Self Defense and Duty Loads...ballistics info by DocGKR

Winchester pdx1 ammo works great I have the 147 gr
in my shield 9mm every round has fed and fired flawlessly so far. I have fired this ammo in all my 9 mm handguns without a hiccup. I am going to try the 124 +p ammo they offer in 9mm when I get a chance. Recoil is barley noticeable difference maybe a tad sharper with the 147 over a 115gr fmj

It's interesting people keep mentioning +p for use in the Shield. Every test, report and review I have seen shows +p is not effective in shorter barreled guns. it does not result in higher velocity, as the powder lacks sufficient time to burn and or create higher pressure and the subsequent higher velocity/kinetic energy one would expect from a +P round. Am I missing something? I have spent time with both my Shields (9mm and .45) They have both eaten everything I fed them (rule #1 to find the best ammo for you- it works in your gun!) but the recoil and point of aim is diffferent between rounds I have tested. So I will continue to 1. research what "tests" the best through a variety of sources. 2. Limit my personal test to a few of the top rounds, to validate my gun will cycle them consistently. 3. Make sure point of aim matches an inexpensive, simiar FMJ round, for cost effective practice. 4. Buy, shoot and rotate my defensive rounds and practive ammo until I find something else that gives me a reason to evaluate a new round.