After all the pistols I've had the last 30-or-so years, I'm back to Smith & Wesson. I'm also 'down' to a wimpy 9mm! BUT--the older I get, the less I like to carry heavier stuff, so this is just fine.

Notice the thumb safety and also the bit of 'dremeling' on a ridge on the grip and also at the top-front of the grip. This pistol is VERY comfortable for me.




Took me very little time to get my favorite personal-defence bullets expansion-tested. These are Federal's excellent HSTs in the tough-to-find 147g. +P load. Advertised muzzle velocity is 1050FPS.




These bullets were fired from ten feet into a row of one-gallon, thin-plastic milk jugs filled with water. The left pair were fired into bare jugs; the right two were fired thru four layers of terrytowel to simulate thick clothing. #3 cracked the rear wall of jug #3, which I call 18" of penetration; I forgot to note what shot #1 did. Of the terry-toweled pair, #2 entered jug #4 and did not crack the rear wall, which I'll call 21" penetration. #4 cracked the rear wall of jug #4, equaling about 24" of penetration*. This performance is perfect as far as I'm concerned, and I'm thrilled!

I've now shot about four 50-boxes of this +P ammo and its non-+P partner with absolutely NO functioning trouble. Said another way, all this brand-new ammo functioned absolutely perfectly in my brand-new, 'plain-Jane' pistol. Now, time to buy more ammo!

* Of course, these distances are NOT equivalent to penetration in ballistic jell.

Any real difference between plus p and standard ammo IYO .

Only VERY slightly more recoil. But the recoil of this 9 is very low to start, so the +Ps are plenty comfortable to shoot.

And thank you very much for your military service.

all 3 of my M&P 9s love HST ammo; 124 or 147 gr. Been my carry ammo for years.

I have been a proponent of HSTs for a long time. They basically perform the same in .380. Beautiful petalled expansion, that stays together with all of it's energy. Just too bad they are so expensive, but worth every penny in the lil pocket .380s!

Got out to our excellent shooting range (Ben Avery Shooting Facility) today and got it sighted in. Three things this process reinforced--1. This HST ammo is still 100% reliable; 2. The pistol is still quite comfortable to shoot; and 3. Adjusting sights with a hammer and punch is a king-sized PITA!

But we got there: last group, 5 shots, 10 yards, rested, 1.2" C-to-C and in the right place. YIPPEE!
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I too like Federal HST. I use Federal HST 124 grain JHP (P9HST1) for carry and American Eagle 124 grain FMJ (AE9AP) for practice. Muzzle Velocity (1150), Muzzle Energy (364), and trajectory are the same for both as is feel/recoil. And the nice thing is you can purchase Federal HST LE 124 grain JHP in 50 round boxes for about the same price as Federal HST [Civilian] 124 grain JHP 20 round boxes...when you can find them. FYI...Speer Gold Dot 124 grain JHP has the same ballistic/trajectory numbers as American Eagle and Federal HST. Another very reliable defensive round.

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Si vis pacem, para bellum