I found some 150g Federal HST micro rounds this wekend at Cabela's. Based on testing, rvfiews and forum feedback, they appear to be a top choice. I plan to hit the range this week and try them out. I only have about 250 rounds through my Sheild, but is has yet to have eny hiccups feding ammo. It is currently loaded with Hornaday Critical Defense 115g, shoots well, feeds great and it is wasy to find.
Best personal defense Ammo for shield 9mm?
- Thread starter JCsix13
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Out of my Glock 43 Critical defense penetrated to 11 1/2" and expanded to .485". In comparison the Federal HST 124gr standard pressure penetrated to 18" and expanded to .622
jtaylor996
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That's a terrible result for the critical defense.
I agree! I will not carry that round. It was through winter wear.
Weather 42*, Humidity 86%, Pressure 29.8inHg
Winter wear with one layer of medium weight insulated polyester fill and nylon outer shell, one layer of polartec 200gr and one layer of T-shirt Hanes cotton. Best penetration was 11 1/2" for the critical defense
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Best choice. I'm privileged to be involved in FBI protocol ballistic shoots so I get to see a lot of terminal performance results of the latest, greatest 9mm ammo. I usually recommend Gold Dot if you plan on shooting at folks behind cover or in cars. (not many outside of LE will have to do that). GD is a bonded bullet and performs very well, but HST for soft targets is hard to beat. It gets bigger than GD, even out of short barreled pistols and stays together very well. Penetration is consistent, (16-18 inches) even from short barreled pistols, but it doesn't get generally get as big as HST. HST generally comes out of the "jello" at .800 to .900. In full size pistols the 147 grain is still the best, but the 124 grain is awesome out of the little pistols.
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Retired LEO, Range Master and Armorer. Got to attend a lot of good training over the years. From all that including shooting into and out of vehicles, I carry 124+P HST in all my 9mm carry guns. Will take 124+P Gold Dot without issue. I try to buy cases at a time so I tend to not have one load for the Shield and one for the rest. I liked what I saw with the 147 load but had a bad experience with 147 back in the 90's that just haunts me. Its mental on my part but confidence wins. YMMV.
Protected One
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If you watched ALL his testing of rounds for short barreled 9mm you will see that he ultimately chose Winchester D as the "best performer".
Protected One
Member
I shot the new 150gr "Micro" 9mm a few months ago. Noticeably less recoil than any other round fired. I like it, and it's my new edc round.
jyork08854
Member
Both my Shield 9mm and full sized M&P 9mm always have magazines loaded with Hornady Critical Defense. The only time they don't is when at the range or when cleaning.
I tested those as well. They penetrated to 19-20" routinely and expanded to about .488".
My testing showed the 124 HST far superior out of a Glock 43 and PC ported Shield.
124 HST penetrated to 18" and .622 average expansion.
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someone else previously mentioned it. . .check out the Luckygunner ballistics results. Tons of test data, mostly shot out of short barreled guns.
Surprisingly, the Speer Gold Dots did not expand hardly at all out of the short barrel pistols tested.
I carry Federal HST in my Shield 9. Either 124gr or 147gr.
Surprisingly, the Speer Gold Dots did not expand hardly at all out of the short barrel pistols tested.
I carry Federal HST in my Shield 9. Either 124gr or 147gr.
4 out of the 5 god dots did not expand in my tests either. They work well out of a full size not short barrel
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I'm going to be carrying the standard 124 hst in my pc shield after watching the hst testing. But for you guys carrying Hornady critical defense have you thought about stepping up to the critical duty. Think it's a better performer.
SmithNWesson
Member
I thought about it but i like the expansion and velocity in the critical defense. I will probably go with the critical duty for winter carry. The 124gr Federal HST has some impressive numbers
What exactly is it that you like? Critical defense has some pretty dismal numbers out of a short barrel like the Shield or Glock 43.
Out of my Glock 43 Critical defense penetrated to 11 1/2" and expanded to .485". In comparison the Federal HST 124gr standard pressure penetrated to 18" and expanded to .622
Never ordered from here, but they have a good price on Federal 9mm 124 Grain HST in a 50 round box: Federal HST LE 9mm Luger Ammo 124 Grain JHP
Please let us know how it goes if you order from them.
Please let us know how it goes if you order from them.
Raisin
Member
I just fired 50 rounds of 124 gr HST today from my Shield 9 with disappointing results. When loading a magazine with the slide closed the first round would not feed. When loading a magazine with the slide open it worked fine. It looks like the nose of the round would tip down when hit by the slide. I tried extracting rounds from the magazine by hand and could not get the first one out without using a screw driver to hold the nose up. The nose of the round would hit the front of the magazine every time. Now I am worried. Is it the HST, the magazine, or the Shield?
First I would do is try a different magazine. The top rounds are hard to remove from a loaded magazine. I would take the mag apart and check for bent spring. Make sure mag is clean on the inside as well. Check your follower. Do not ride the slide forward when loading your first round...pull back your slide and sling shot it.
When you had the slide open then inserted a loaded magazine and sling shot the slide did that work and every round fire?
What about sling shot the first round then take out the mag and add one more round to the magazine and reinsert. This way you are carrying one in the chamber with a full mag...did that work? All rounds were fired without incident?
