Best 9mm Personal Defense Round

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smithandwessonblazer

New member
My friend has decided to get a Glock 17. Need some opinions on the best 9mm defense round. I only own .40 and .45 so help is appreciated. Side note- I don't really give a dang if you think he shouldn't have got a Glock or a 9mm, so please leave your personal preferences to 9mm ammo selection only. :D
 
I've *heard* that Federal 147gr Hydrashocks have a good track record, and it's what I feed my G19 for HD (function tested 10 rounds...not enough, but I'm not made of money).

YMMV. Other people will surely have good advice too.

*ETA* I've heard good things about corbon DPX too. IIRC the 100% copper bullet means greater weight retention for better penetration. I had that in my Beretta M92 before I gave it to my father.
 
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Can't go wrong with Speer Gold Dot, its reasonably easy to find.

Better yet is my choice, Federal HST 124 gr 9mm. Trick is finding it, some guys say they have found it online, but I sure can't.

Whatever the case, any good, factory hollow point will be effective.
 
I like any LE labeled major manufacturers +p+ or +p 115-124 JHPs. I currenly carry the Corbon Thunder Ranch DPX 115gr. +P HP.
 
I like the 147 grain loads...with modern hollow points, it doesn't matter much. A lot of people put the 147 gr loads down, but I like 'em best.

The 147 grain loads are not as loud and the recoil is not as snappy as with the lighter loads...IMHO of couse.

YMMV
 
Federal Hydra-Shok is old technology. Federal HST has replaced it but is hard to find. You can't go wrong with Speer Gold Dot.
 
9 mm:
Barnes XPB 105 & 115 gr JHP (copper bullet)
Federal Tactical 124 gr JHP (LE9T1)
Speer Gold Dot 124 gr +P JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 124 gr +P JHP (RA9124TP)
Winchester Partition Gold 124 gr JHP (RA91P)
Winchester Ranger-T 127 gr +P+ JHP (RA9TA)
Federal Tactical 135 gr +P JHP (LE9T5)
Federal HST 147 gr JHP (P9HST2)
Remington Golden Saber 147 gr JHP (GS9MMC)
Speer Gold Dot 147 gr JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 147 gr JHP (RA9T)
Winchester 147 gr bonded JHP (RA9B/Q4364)

Service Pistol Duty and Self-Defense Loads

All of the above, plus some not listed, which ever one functions the best and shoots most accurately in your friends pistol. They all will work fine, if he does his part.
 
My personal favorites (and chosen carry load) are the Winchester Ranger 127grn +P+. If I can't get that (it's rather difficult to find lately), I'll take the 124grn +P Speer Gold Dot loading.
 
Like the .40 the Corbon DPX is considered the best. But any of the premium rounds will work fine. For those who want a standard load rather than +P the Federal 9BP has always performed very well.
 
FWIW - good source online for ammo. I've purchased from them and found them very reasonable. They had some Federal HST listed yesterday but I see this morning it's no longer there which means they sold out. One thing I like about this site, they list what they have in stock so you don't have to wade through all the options that are out or on back order. I personally like the Winchester Ranger T.

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/catalog1/index.php/page/1/cName/9mm-hollow-point-ammo/sort/2a
 
mete...I see you've posted almost 2700 times. I would think that you would have learned by now not to claim something is the best without being able to verify it.
 
Glock barrels tend to "shoot fast" and the 17 has a full-size barrel, so there's a LOT of good choices.

The Cor-Bon DPX or anything else based on the Barnes all-copper bullet is a good choice, esp. if the shooter is recoil-sensitive. These copper slugs fill up enough extra case capacity that power is a bit compromised, but the slug itself is so good it still makes sense with the possible exception of VERY short barrels where it might not get up a head of steam. It will go plenty fast enough out of a G17. Pricey as hell though.

If I was carrying a 9mm I'd go with anything based on the 124gr Gold Dot +P. WARNING: some of the small ammo houses like Doubletap have had a hard time getting ahold of real Gold Dots and have been switching to the Speer "bonded core" or even worse slugs of late.

The Winchester Ranger 127+P has a good rep too.
 
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