Best 9mm SD load

[BSA1]

I doubt many perps are tough enough or have an abundance of blood that will allow them to live 30 minutes with 6 holes in their heart from a triple tap of FMJ ammo from a .32 or .380 ACP or 9mm.

I don't consider a gun owner who also has "6 holes in their heart from a tripe tap of FMJ ammo from a .32 or .380 ACP or 9mm" dying after his attacker as a win but you may keep score differently.

 

[gwpercle]

The best self defense load for you ...
1.) Functions in your gun reliably ... 100% . Hearing "Click" when you need "Bang" is sickening and can get you killed .

2.) Must be a load you can shoot accurately . Only "Hits" count , a miss will get you killed .

3.) Must / should be a load you can get and afford to practice with ... you want to shoot accurately .

Try out any and all ammo untill you find one that will accomplish all three , it doesn't mater how many +'s or P's are in the name ...it doesn't matter what "special" magic bullet it is loaded with ... it must function reliably and only hits count . A lot of men have died from FMJ RN ammo over the years and two World Wars ... It wasn't any magic bullet or +P velocity that killed them all !
Gary

 

[AJ]

The best self defense load for you ...
1.) Functions in your gun reliably ... 100% . Hearing "Click" when you need "Bang" is sickening and can get you killed .

2.) Must be a load you can shoot accurately . Only "Hits" count , a miss will get you killed .

3.) Must / should be a load you can get and afford to practice with ... you want to shoot accurately .

Try out any and all ammo until you find one that will accomplish all three , it doesn't mater how many +'s or P's are in the name ...it doesn't matter what "special" magic bullet it is loaded with ... it must function reliably and only hits count . A lot of men have died from FMJ RN ammo over the years and two World Wars ... It wasn't any magic bullet or +P velocity that killed them all !
Gary

Gary,

This is basically what I have been saying all along. There is no magical bullet. It all boils down to shot placement. FMJ has stopped more folks than any HP ever invented. Most of these folks only know what they read or hear.

AJ

 

[wood714]

I like HST too.

 

[smithra_66]

Er, no. That is simply not true.


Illiteracy is the problem with today's criminals. As good reading and comprehension skills are not longer taught in schools modern criminals do not read gun forums and learn that they are suppose to immediately stop their attack after being shot by one bullet.

Err, yes. All this is true. And I never mentioned "one bullet."

 

[smithra_66]

Who was it who said, "shot placement is king, penetration is queen, and everything else is ferries dancing on the head of a pin?"

Nooooo doubt.

Step 1, get the shot in the right place.

Step 2, penetrate into the boiler room.

All the rest is minutiae.

 

[WR Moore]

There are so many people who just repeat second and fourth hand information..........................

The various theories and proven systems including using the pelvis when forced to use 38 rnl, that head shots can actually bounce off depending on angles. The central nervous system is a sure thing but a small target protected by lots of fat meat and bone. Depletion of the "hydraulic" or circulatory system works but can take 8-10 seconds.

For our purposes the CNS (Medulla and spinal column down to C5 or C7 [depends upon source]) is protected by a lot of bone. How much meat depends upon a lot of variables for the spinal column. I hate to break it to you, but with a blood pressure of zero, the muscles & brain store enough oxygen for 10-20 seconds of directed physical activity. What that activity is depends upon the aggressor.

The best weapon is paying attention to what's going on around you and heeding that feeling that it's time to do the Snagglepuss maneuver and exit the stage.

 

[BSA1]

For our purposes the CNS (Medulla and spinal column down to C5 or C7 (depends upon source) is protected by a lot of bone. How much meat depends upon a lot of variables for the spinal column. I hate to break it to you, but with a blood pressure of zero, the muscles & brain store enough oxygen for 10-20 seconds of directed physical activity. What that activity is depends upon the aggressor….

Which includes drugs and alcohol they have in their blood system and diminished mental capability such as from use of drugs like meth. It is well documented that violent offenders using pain killing drugs like PCP can absorb a lot damage from gunshots and still continue their attack.

 

[BSA1]

There is no "best." They all work almost equally well to subdue a human sized target at SD ranges.

9mm FMJ, 9mm HP, etc. will work fine if you double tap someone in the A zone.

Stopped is stopped, no matter which kind of bullet you use.

Don't fall for the hype and marketing. With any caliber 9mm and above, shot placement of ANY standard pressure load will do a fine job.

Well I guess you keep score differently than me. Bullet size, style and velocity does make a difference in stopping power.

I will confess that I probably follow different rules than you…

I CHEAT…

ANYWAY I CAN.

Meaning I am constantly looking for anything that will give me a advantage and coming out of it alive. Circumstances may not allow for a double tap. I regularly practice double taps but I am most concerned about where the first shot is going.

Humans are soft targets.

.
Who have amazing ability to continue functioning after traumatic injuries.

You pay your money and take your chances. I spent several years working in the Emergency Room of a large hospital so my opinion is based in part on first hand observation.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Is the one you never have to pull the trigger on......

 

[AJ]

Meaning I am constantly looking for anything that will give me a advantage and coming out of it alive. Circumstances may not allow for a double tap. I regularly practice double taps but I am most concerned about where the first shot is going.

The double tap if done the way Gunsite taught it was "Two shots from one sight picture". Meaning you line up the front sight and pull the trigger twice, as fast as you can. We were taught this using M1911A1 in .45 ACP. When done properly the rounds impacted the target side by side.

 

[Biggfoot44]

" Best " , is especially in this instance, a nebulous concept . Like anyone I have a few favorites and some personal prejudices .

Any of the current major mfg Duty loads and Premium Defense loads are very good . ( Other than shooting through automobile windshields) the differences between them are negligible enough to be of little concern; and as a class they are more than Adaquate for intended purposes.

Additionally, the best of the Classic loads , and the better of the current medium priced loads are very good .

To drop a name , when my friend with a side gig selling ammo had great price , I stocked up on HST 124 . But if he had scored a similar deal on Gold Dot , or Ranger , etc , I would have been just as satisfied.

 

[chief38]

My 9mm carry load of choice is Federal HST standard velocity 124 grain HP. That displaces my former choice which was CCI 124 grain GDHP. While no one will go wrong using either one, I think the HST edges out the GD.

I am judging this by performance out of my Sig P365 that has a 3.1" bbl. I have found that some loads just perform better out of certain length barrels than others.

 

[AJ]

I was trained on the 9MM with a 147 Grain loading and have stayed with that.

 

[Nevada Ed]

There has always been a lot of questions on what is the best SD ammo for a weapon
and I thought that I would just toss another log onto this fire.

Since this one is on 9mm ammo, I thought that this little bit of information might be interresting, to some.

Back in the 1970's I aquireded on of my father's pistols, that I
finallybought some dies for and started reloading ammo for it.
I developed a Sierra 115gr fmj at a factory 1270fps and a
125 gr Speer fmj at 1096 factory Dup. loading that were accurate, for me.
I tried the little Hornady 100 gr RN bullet but groups were ugly.

As a note, the new hot SD load coming up was the;
125 gr. Nyclad that did 1100fps out of a S&W 439 and the bullet gave .80" diamiter, in test.

That was 50 years ago.

Here is a picture of my very first 9mm pistol.

 

[Old cop]

FWIW my former department issues the Federal Premium LE 147 grain HST for duty in their Glock 19s.