What's the best 9mm ammo

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I don't know what the "best" defensive 9x19mm ammo is (if there is such a think), but I do know what my preference is: Speer Gold Dot 124gr (regular non +P). I like it because it's generally available in 50 rd boxes, is reasonably priced, and works very well in ever pistol I've tried it. I also like that POI shift is negligible versus the 115 grain and 124 grain cheap training ammo I tend to shoot.

It's not the sexiest, newest, or most powerful loading out there, but it has been around for years, it's proven, and it works as well as anything I've encountered.
 
I mainly use 124 gr Federal HST or 124 gr +P Speer Gold Dots. FWIW I do practice with 124 gr. Besides the lack of POI shift I find shooting 124 in practice gives me a better since of the speeds I can maintain with my defensive ammo.

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I like 135gr +P Hornady Critical Duty. Not as much expansion, but it punches a little deeper than most others due to the bonded design. Hornadys flash suppressant in the powder is also very good, and I find the recoil to be very mild and smooth.
 
Thanks guys for the opinions. I'll be carrying them in probably a Ruger LC9. I wanted a Kimber Micro9 but I can't justify the cost... Anyway I'm going to make up pick up one in the next week or two...

Tony
 
Remember, Speer and Federal are now owned by the Vista Outdoors. Same company.

Interesting example of similarities between the two. Speer .223 Gold Dot is the same bullet construction as the new Federal Fusion .223. Crazy world. Vista Outdoors owns almost all bullets in the US with the exclusion of Tula, Remington/Barnes, Hornady, and a few of the smaller manufactures they haven't gobbled up.

9mm bee's knees is the HST.
Ranger T 147gr has at times been test as penetrating too much and not opening up.
Gold Dot lagging behind the HST, when Speer was owned by ATK, went into a revision with the Gold Dot G2.
XTP as defined by Hornady (X for extreme, where extreme is referenced for it's penetration) doesn't open up large the other hollow points. That's why you see XTP rounds in hunting rounds (ie 10mm) and the FTX in the personal defense line.

HST always lands at 17" or under fully expanded.
 
Geezerbiker said:
As I recall Corbon used to be considered the best but I haven't carried a 9 in a long time. What is considered top grade defensive ammo these days?

Tony
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I still carry Federal Hydro-shocks. I use to carry Winchester Silvertips back in the 80s and then switched to Hydro-shocks.
 
I was looking on Midway for some defensive ammo and ran across NovX 9mm lead free ammo. Before I order some, anyone here have any experience with it?

Tony
 
Not that I dislike Corbon and I did carry DPX in my P3AT when it was THE .380 round...

But in 9mm it's not sufficient in the non +P load and the +p 115gr Barnes XPD/Corbon loads are the only 115gr that are "good" in the big tests. The expansion of the XPD is impressive.

As a result of the light 115gr, we see they stop in the 13-near 14 inch range. The Federal loads go 15" plus and are large.
 
https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/

Realistically, on the Lucky Gunner list of 9mm tested ammunition, there may be only one, or two, that I wouldn't carry based on initial testing. Provided they function in my weapon.

Placement over round.

Find a round that functions in your weapon.

Shoot it enough to know it won't fail when you need it. At least to the degree that reality allows you to do so.

Practice, and get realistic instruction.

Be willing. Survive the fight. Don't over think it.

Give me an 80s designed Winchester Silvertip and I'm happy as a clam; 30 years later. Are there more modern designs? Yes. Do any of them give me more confidence? No.
 
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I still like the classic Corbon 115gr +P jhp. Bought two new boxes yesterday, in fact. Most of the time, I use HSTs (all variants except the Micro version) or 124gr +P Gold Dots, but for those really hot summer months when people are wearing really light clothing or for HD, I like the low penetration, high energy dump of this old school load.
 
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