HOME defense ammo for 9mm

R

Roland Thunder

New member
What inside the home defennse ammo would you suggest for a 9mm (Ruger SR9). I am mostly concerned with avoiding over penetration like going through walls, etc. This doesn't have to be necessarily the same thing you would suggest for outdoor conceal carry
 
Cor-Bon DPXs. Relatively light weight = less penetration through walls, yet by design deep penetrating and expanding even through heavy clothing. :cool:

Stay away from gimmick rounds like Extreme Shock. :barf:
 
They were not designed for airplanes.... nor are they really used in them. Also the thought process of a small bullet hole in a plane causing catastrophe is also wrong. Planes even pressurized are actually pretty "leaky". It's been tested... even on Myth Busters.

I would never carry the frangible rounds because they aren't designed to do what you WANT in a SD round. You want to cause damage to vital organs
, nerve systems, and cause major blood loss. Sorry but a true self defense situation you should be "shooting to incapacitate" not "shooting to wound" which is what the frangible rounds designed to do soft tissue damage were designed for. I am sure they will work in some instances, but not all. Look at the guy who was shot 11 times in NY by police with a 9mm.... and lived. Point is nothing is certain... and NO handgun, or handgun ammo is IDEAL. But I would tend to stack those odds in my favor as much as I can. I use good premium hollow points in my 1911. I function check them and stick to big brands.

Federal Hydra Shoks
Remington Golden Sabers
Speer Golddots
ect. (whatever is on sale.)

Golden Sabers run good in a lot of my guns... seems to have more of a rounded nose than some other hollow points.
 
If worried about overpenetration...

... you might look at an AR or Mini-14. The 5.56mm tends to come apart and lose most of its momentum in drywall, and typically penetrates less than most pistol rounds will after encountering drywall.

I'm not a huge fan of the safety slug type pistol bullets. Personally, I like a round with less noise and muzzle flash, especially for the dark, wee hours, so I tend to load my 9mm pistols with Hornady TAP or Winchester Ranger 147gr subsonic.

But those loads will penetrate pretty well...
 
As a professional pilot, I can confirm that a bullet hole in the fuselage will not instantly depressurize an airliner. It may not even cause a noticeable, slow depressurization. There are many things that leak air on any pressurized aircraft; in comparison with the total amount of space in those existing leaks, a bullet hole isn't much.

The bigger worry with bullets in an aircraft is one of hitting fuel or hydraulic lines or control cables (or circuitry on fly-by-wire aircraft).
 
Unless we're talking thin inner apartment walls between you and a neighbor, I wouldn't worry about "lower power" ammo. The 9 just isn't all that potent a round. If you're going to go "milder" the DPX is a good choice, and because of the low bullet weight the Pow'R'Ball also makes sense.

I like Federal Hydra Shok
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Well I don't. Sorry, but it's severely outdated. The Gold Dots stomp it into the ground and leave it crying for mama.

Now, Federal DOES have a serious option, but it's not on their website. It's marked "law enforcement only" but you can get it in "peon" channels, esp. ordering online. It's the "HST" line and in a full-sized gun it's probably the best stuff going. The 124gr+P version is probably about a wash with the also-LEO-only Winchester 127gr+P+ while the 147gr flavor HST is flat amazing as long as you have a gun the size of the SR9 or bigger.

I despise Federal and Winchester for their tendency to water down ammo unless it's marked "police only". Under NO circumstances would I accept using their "gelded" stuff.
 
I know that it is big selling point for "frangible" ammunition, but I'd religiously avoid anything that won't make through a few a sheets of drywall without breaking up since it won't reach the vital organs/structures of an assailant especially if that frangible round has to defeat an(y) barrier enroute to the bad guy's anatomy.

Since it is unlikely that an intruder or assailant will stand still in the open awaiting such crippled incoming ammunition (the moment you shoot at him he's going for cover unless he is stone cold stupid) frangible ammunition won't cut it.

Best advice that I could give the OP is to invest in 200 - 300 rounds of a premium JHP design (Gold Dots, HST, PDX1, Hornady TAP/XTP, etc.) run 50 to 100 through your SD/HD weapon to assure reliable functioning and keep the remaining 100 or 200 for the role of protecting you and yours.

The following loads all demonstrate outstanding terminal performance and can be considered acceptable for duty/self-defense use:

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)


Check out the following link for a professional perspective on SD/HD ammo selection:

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19887

Stay clear of the DRT, Magsafe, Extreme Shock junk. It is nothing more than a very expensive novelty load that may cost you a lot more than just money.
 
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LawScholar: said:
Name calling is not warranted.
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Totally agree. It would be nice to not have this degenerate into an exercise in anonymous rudeness.

This topic can be debated without resorting to such juvenile behavior.
 
Just because a round is called and marketed as a Air Patrol super magic round... doesn't mean it is being issued. Most reports you read they are carrying either a .40 or .357 Sig with your everyday Jacketed Hollow Point. Your buying into hype and gimmick.... sorry.

Also a HOME defense situation is still a SELF defense situation. If HD is your primary goal... get a 12 or 20ga. Why use a handgun when you don't have to worry about carrying it?:confused:

... and dont use the lame excuse as to a shotgun being too long... you hear someone in the house... you should be locking the bedroom door and calling the police... not clearing rooms and hallways. Only thing that would change that is if you have kids... then get to them first. Shotgun's are much better suited for home defense.
 
I've thought about this issue. I've made the decision to make a 12ga pump my home defense weapon. My carry gun goes in my safe when I'm not carrying it. The shotgun is next to the bed at night. I load it with #7.5 bird shot especially because of fear of overpenetration. I've posted this on the shotgun board at TFL and gotten some grief for my choice to use bird shot.

You can find expert opinion that says birdshot is excellent as a close range manstopper and expert opinion that say anything short of 00 buck is weak. By the same token you can find expert opinion that standard JHP will punch all the way to the apartment two doors over and expert opinion that 2 sheets of drywall and an airpocket will render JHP harmless.

Who the bleep knows whats right? I sure don't. I just picked what sounded sensible. Hope I'm right.
 
lawnboy: said:
I've thought about this issue. I've made the decision to make a 12ga pump my home defense weapon. My carry gun goes in my safe when I'm not carrying it. The shotgun is next to the bed at night. I load it with #7.5 bird shot especially because of fear of overpenetration. I've posted this on the shotgun board at TFL and gotten some grief for my choice to use bird shot.

You can find expert opinion that says birdshot is excellent as a close range manstopper and expert opinion that say anything short of 00 buck is weak. By the same token you can find expert opinion that standard JHP will punch all the way to the apartment two doors over and expert opinion that 2 sheets of drywall and an airpocket will render JHP harmless.

Who the bleep knows whats right? I sure don't. I just picked what sounded sensible. Hope I'm right.
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lawnboy,

I sure hope that you are right, too.

Consider this if you will.

#7.5 shot at 1330 fps will penetrate about five inches (+/- 0.5 inches) of soft tissue if it doesn't encounter bone in which case it will be deflected. (For example, #7.5 shot will rarely exit a small rabbit on a broadside shot)

Is it likely that your potential threat will have his arms up in front of him (holding a gun, knife, crowbar or other "criminal tool") or likely seek cover if he hears you coming?

Does the potential penetration offered by your choice seem like a good choice if your assailant/burglar/home invader/looter/murderer dives behind a piece of furniture or puts a wall between the two of you?

What if he takes a hostage? Can you guarantee that you can stop him from harming a loved one without spraying them with birdshot, too? (which could cost them their sight and/or permanently maim them, even possibly kill them)

Can you guarantee an unobstructed shot on any potential lethal threat that will put those tiny pellets (they are 0.095 inches in diameter and weigh about 1.25 grains) on your assailant's chest and that even one will find its way past his ribs and sternum and immediately neutralize the lethal threat?

Just thought that I'd pose a few sensible questions that might serve as a little "food for thought" and you are under no obligation to justify your decision to me.

:)
 
The alternate opinion is basically that the 1oz or so of tiny pellets act as one ginormous projectile that essentially is like ramming a steel bar into the opponents midsection with the force equal to over 1000 ft/lbs. At self defense ranges, which as most shooters know are likely to be inside 30 feet (there is nowhere in my home where I could even take a 30 ft shot) the pattern is going to be smaller than a small salad plate so "spraying" shot around is not an issue (even using a cylinder choke). The 350 or so pellets in that #7.5 12ga shell ARE tiny and light, but this means that they will expend their force in the target and thus can't overpenetrate. But their sheer number chews a big chunk out of the same target. In other words, you stand a chance of actually getting a KNOCKDOWN where the target is taken off his feet by force, rather than a falldown. The force of those pellets is roughly equal to the force of two .45 rounds.

Believe me, I heard and read both arguments. And I found that if overpenetration was a concern for me the birdshot argument was more compelling.
 
I don't have neighbors to worry about when I am home from school regarding penetration, so my 870 alternates 00 buck and steel slugs.

Dad sleeps with a Colt Python 4" with Buffalo Bore
Mom sleeps with Ruger LCR with Buffalo Bore
Bro has a Colt AR-15
Dogs weigh 100lbs and there are three.
Baaaaad house to rob.

Original poster, while I carry Federal HST, for home defense I actually like the semi obsolete Hydra Shok. Great reliability track record.
 
Any bullet that will sufficiently penetrate a bad guy (12" FBI minimum) will penetrate several walls. Even the overpriced marketing-hype ammunition like extreme shock will penetrate walls. Check out: http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot23.htm

No reason to use a different ammo for home defense vs carry. Stick with a good modern hollow-point that functions reliably and accurately in your gun. Function is the most important factor, and you may have to try a few brands before you find the one that works best in your gun. Good luck testing a few hundred rounds of glasser safety slugs or extreme shock ammo on any reasonable budget.
 
For a 9mm I would go with the Federal HST 124gr+p round.

An officer I have worked with used that round to successfully defend his life. The two bullets penetrated a down jacket, a sweater, a t-shirt, and enough flesh to render a vital strike. The rounds worked well and did the job without "over penetration."

The sad truth is that anything strong enough to pentrate the bad guy is going to pentrate your walls.
 
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