Hornady Critical Defense or Duty for Shield 9mm?

I carry 147HST rounds in my FS9. I run 75-100 thru the weapon a month. I buy they mailorder as i haven't seen them in Sac. They still come in 50rd boxes, and run about 25$/box.

They do neat stuff to watermelons with about any jacket i can put on it. :)
 
I carry 147HST rounds in my FS9. I run 75-100 thru the weapon a month. I buy they mailorder as i haven't seen them in Sac. They still come in 50rd boxes, and run about 25$/box.

They do neat stuff to watermelons with about any jacket i can put on it. :)
 
Like mentioned by Aahzz...do NOT use Hornady's Duty ammo on compact or subcompacts. It is for full size only. I accidentally bought the critical DUTY instead if critical DEFENSE a few days ago. My Shield has trouble racking the round. Smooth as butter in my FS M&P .40.

Most of the time I use Federal Premium Personal Defense JHP's for home protection/SD.
 
shawn mccarver said:
Yes, I am well aware, as are the MANY agencies that spec and use +P+ ammo. The factory warning is of no concern to me, but by all means, if it concerns you, find a less powerful round, or go to a bigger caliber.
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Thanks. I will stay with my 147 HST :). I think that will do the job without needing to push the limits of the gun.
 
I've browsed a lot of websites through the past few years, and I've seen too many Hornady Critical Defense primer issues to ever trust my life with that round. There was yet another complaint about this on this very site earlier this week.

I have no comment on Critical Duty. It's seen less use.

I'd choose something from Federal, Speer, or the Winchester Ranger-T line.
 
I carry for my FS9 and my SR9c HST 124gr+p or HST 147gr. I've used Gold Dot, Golden Sabre, Hornady Critical Defense and WWB JHP but think both HSTare the best IMO (one lighter but fast and the other heavier but slow) do the same job for me.
 
tennisguy said:
Have any of you shot the Hornady Critical Duty or Critical Defense out of the Shield 9mm? What round do you carry in the winter to deal with heavier and thicker clothing?

I have Speer Gold Dots 124 and 124+p now to shoot out of my Shield 9mm.
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Good info at this link on recommended loads from Dr Gary K Roberts.

Thoughts on Service Pistols, along with Duty and Self-Defense Ammo Recommendations - M4Carbine.net Forums

BLUF: Your Gold Dot +P 124 gr load does well in testing against FBI standards and has a good record of use in actual encounters.

I use Federal P9HST2 147 grain standard pressure HST (not HydraShok) in all my 9mm carry/HD guns, regardless of barrel length (5.3" G34 down to 3" Kahr PM9). Would be just as happy with CorBon DPX, Speer Gold Dots or Win Rangers in apppropriate bullet weights, or anything else on Doc Roberts' list.
 
Hey guys, just thought I'd chime in with my experience.

I picked up a shield in 9mm a few weeks ago. First time out, shot a bunch of plain reloads. It was flawless through 200rnds. So busted out some of my defense loads to make sure it ran reliably through the shield. Loaded it up with some +p Critical Duty and got a jam on the second round. (These run perfect in my G19). Clear it out and try again... Got another jam a few rounds later. What is happening is the Critical Duty has that insert in the tip and it catches the feed ramp and sticks like a good pair of shoes on the gym floor.

I also noticed that Critical Duty doesn't seem to load/rack into place and I have to sometimes slam the slide forward to seat the first round.

I also have a bunch of Critical Defense and tried that. Even though they have a similar tip, they seem to feed reliably. Now the problem that surfaced with the Critical Defense loads that popped up is I had several fail to fire rounds in the 25 round box I brought with me. Striker left an imprint in the primer but no bang. A second strike on those rounds worked and sent them down range. Again, my G19 fires these same rounds every time. Maybe the Glock stikes harder? i don't know... I do know that I'm more accurate with the Shield than I am with my G19... It's just more picky with ammo. I'm using some 124g new jhp rounds from Freedommunitions. The shield eats those up without fail in a few hundred rounds.

So for me, no Hornady rounds in my Shield at all.
 
I'd stick with the Gold Dots, but if you must change, critical duty would be what I'd go to. I'm not a fan of the "light and fast" rounds, at least not when it's questionable whether the round is going to get adequate penetration and with the critical defense, I think there is a very big question mark.
 
Shooting My Shield

I took my Shield 9mm out for the 1st time a couple of days ago. I put almost 100 rounds through mine with no problems. Shot Federal 115 grain FMJ with no problems, and I put 2 magazines of Speer Gold Dots 124 grain hollow points with no problems too. I might go back next week and put another 200 rounds through it since I didn't get to shoot it as much as I wanted to last time. I have some Gold Dots 124+p that I'm going to fire next time too. I'm going to use the Gold Dots as my defense round.

I am new to shooting and the gun seemed to run perfectly, but the operator needs more practice. Shots were little high but most were left of center and a little high & low. First time shooting a 9mm and really shooting at all, so more practice is needed. Didn't have any shots right of center. Going to get some better targets next time so I can better see where I am hitting and adjust.
 
Shooting to the left is very common, especially in new right handed, right eye dominant shooters. I had super tight groups as a newbie (guess in a natural), but my group was also a tad left of center. You'll learn to compensate.
 
Critical Duty worked fine in my 9mm Shield. I'll probably eventually switch to Federal HST though.
 
narcoden said:
Hey guys, just thought I'd chime in with my experience.

I picked up a shield in 9mm a few weeks ago. First time out, shot a bunch of plain reloads. It was flawless through 200rnds. So busted out some of my defense loads to make sure it ran reliably through the shield. Loaded it up with some +p Critical Duty and got a jam on the second round. (These run perfect in my G19). Clear it out and try again... Got another jam a few rounds later. What is happening is the Critical Duty has that insert in the tip and it catches the feed ramp and sticks like a good pair of shoes on the gym floor.

I also noticed that Critical Duty doesn't seem to load/rack into place and I have to sometimes slam the slide forward to seat the first round.

I also have a bunch of Critical Defense and tried that. Even though they have a similar tip, they seem to feed reliably. Now the problem that surfaced with the Critical Defense loads that popped up is I had several fail to fire rounds in the 25 round box I brought with me. Striker left an imprint in the primer but no bang. A second strike on those rounds worked and sent them down range. Again, my G19 fires these same rounds every time. Maybe the Glock stikes harder? i don't know... I do know that I'm more accurate with the Shield than I am with my G19... It's just more picky with ammo. I'm using some 124g new jhp rounds from Freedommunitions. The shield eats those up without fail in a few hundred rounds.

So for me, no Hornady rounds in my Shield at all.
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S&W manual doesn't say not to use +P but it kind of warns against it. It says +P generates pressures in excess of the pressures associated with standard ammo. Such pressures may affect the wear characteristics or exceed the margin of safety. Use of +P ammo may result in the need for more frequent service. (page 11 in the Shield manual)
 
cflshield said:
S&W manual doesn't say not to use +P but it kind of warns against it. It says +P generates pressures in excess of the pressures associated with standard ammo. Such pressures may affect the wear characteristics or exceed the margin of safety. Use of +P ammo may result in the need for more frequent service. (page 11 in the Shield manual)
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That's fine.... I have a life time warranty through my lgs on my shield. Heck, they fix guns of mine that I bought from other dealers for free. That keeps me going back for all future purchases :)

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
patbelly said:
Critical Duty worked fine in my 9mm Shield. I'll probably eventually switch to Federal HST though.
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Can you tell us how many rounds of it you have fired through your Shield?

I don't have a large budget to test ammo with, but I can report that I have fired 20 rounds of Critical Duty +P and 12 rounds of Critical Duty standard through my Shield, with no issues.

Altogether I've fired over 300 rounds (everything from 115gr +P Corbons to 147 grain Remington target ammo), and so far have had no failures of any kind with the gun.

I'm currently carrying the Critical Duty because I like the idea of having the extra barrier penetration capability. The Shield is my out and about gun, not a nightstand gun. I'm really impressed with those Flexlock 135 gr bullets.

While Hornady has had some quality control issues recently, their product research and development seems to be pulling ahead of the competition. I've had good experience with their Leverevolution ammo in my Marlin 1894.

There is also a video on Youtube of a guy testing the standard, non +P Critical Duty 9mm ammo out of a Glock 26 sub compact and getting some interesting results. He shoots through two pieces of drywall and gets 17 inches of penetration in his test gel, however the bullet fails to fully expand.
 
Aahzz said:
Critical Duty is not designed for compact pistols. From Hornady's site:

"In addition, Critical DUTY® loads are “full power loads” designed to function full-size handgun slides. Although designed to work flawlessly in ALL handguns, these loads are NOT optimized for short barreled, concealed carry style handguns;"

The difference between Critical DUTY® & Critical DEFENSE® - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc
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But it works. they are just trying to cover their *** probably

Hornady Critical Duty 9mm 135 Grain FlexLock Denim and Gel Test - Standard and +P - YouTube

that being said, I've had issues with it from my M&P
Hornady critical duty .40 fails to chamber - YouTube

and this is the response I got from hornady

taseal, we are sorry to hear about this issue. We have been made aware of some compatibility issues regarding the M&P and the critical duty ammunition. We think that the extractor associated with the M&P is causing feeding issues with this ammunition. S&W have been made aware of the issue. If you would like to return the ammunition to us we will gladly replace it with Critical Defense ammo. Thanks
Click to expand...

I will admit I used the 'slide lock' to release the slide, and it's not reccomended, but it's the only round that I have that issue with. so take it for fwiw

I really had high hopes for this round, but i'm not sure anymore. I still have it in the MP40. my 9mm has Speer gold dots. but I'm thinking about moving over to 147gr bullets for enhanced penetration (closer to .40-45 penetration)
 
Last edited:
narcoden said:
Hey guys, just thought I'd chime in with my experience.

I picked up a shield in 9mm a few weeks ago. First time out, shot a bunch of plain reloads. It was flawless through 200rnds. So busted out some of my defense loads to make sure it ran reliably through the shield. Loaded it up with some +p Critical Duty and got a jam on the second round. (These run perfect in my G19). Clear it out and try again... Got another jam a few rounds later. What is happening is the Critical Duty has that insert in the tip and it catches the feed ramp and sticks like a good pair of shoes on the gym floor.

I also noticed that Critical Duty doesn't seem to load/rack into place and I have to sometimes slam the slide forward to seat the first round.
Click to expand...

I had the same problem, I emailed them about this, and got the following reply

taseal, we are sorry to hear about this issue. We have been made aware of some compatibility issues regarding the M&P and the critical duty ammunition. We think that the extractor associated with the M&P is causing feeding issues with this ammunition. S&W have been made aware of the issue. If you would like to return the ammunition to us we will gladly replace it with Critical Defense ammo. Thanks
Click to expand...
 
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