Which 9mm ammo is best

Problem with real-world conditions of course is that they are unique to exactly where, when and how they happen and are therefore impossible to perfectly predict or to simulate. So you can't say it won't work just because it hasn't passed some test that the government cooked up 30 years ago. Also, this ammunition is only a few years old. It doesn't have a track record yet to draw on. Speer Gold Dot is one of the stalwarts of 9mm ammo for defense, as it's carried nationwide by many police departments and LEO agencies including the FBI as well as civilians.

Gold Dot was the first of the popular bonded hollow points, quickly gaining a reputation as an excellent duty round. Speer was also one of the first companies to formulate ammunition for short barreled pistols as the grain. The pedigree does bring with it a price tag not astronomical though but this is one of the "go tos" for defensive ammunition. Like other proven types of ammunition - such as Remington Core-Lokt or Nosler Partition for rifles - you won't ever go wrong.

It's a LEO round, but some distributors will sell to the public. It's known for good penetration and reliable expansion. If you carry a larger gun, you'll likely get a bit more out of it. There are standard and bonded versions out there, should you decide to look into it.

Just like with Ranger T Series, you're going to have to do some hunting to find it, but it is a very popular round with police departments and federal agencies, so it's a good choice for a carry round. This way, you don't have to necessarily bother trying to find a distributor that will sell to you directly; a lot of gun stores have Defender 9mm ammunition on shelves.

Why bother trying to find T series and, for that matter, why even bring up the LEO ammo in the first place? Because a box of 50 T Series goes for only a few dollars more than a box of 20 Defenders through the retailers that will sell to you. Another brand and box that gets people curious is Liberty Civil Defense 9mm ammo. Liberty takes a slightly different tack compared to traditional JHP. The idea is to propel the bullet fast enough for ensure reliable expansion as well as to produce hydrostatic shock, a pressure wave that damages elastic tissue.

While common with rifle cartridges, it's harder to do with standard handgun projectiles without pushing chamber pressures far beyond what's safe. The effect is that the projectile mushrooms and flattens, but the petals burst apart due to the hydrostatic shock. A possible downside is a bit less penetration than typical JHP 9mm ammo, but for civilian purposes, that's actually not a bad thing.

At least one of the agencies has a real problem with having to put down deer struck by cars; standard 9mm ammo wasn't doing the trick, so they sent them some to try and the issues were solved. It's also supposed to be very effective on feral hogs. This list wasn't and certainly wasn't intended to be fully comprehensive; just a decent list of the available 9mm CCW ammo for concealed carry and home defense that's on the market today. You get the general idea.

There are more out there, so do be sure to test a few out. You'll probably find a box or two that your gun happens to group very closely and feeds easily.

That is the load to carry. If it's a reliable defense round, and you happen to shoot it well, then that's the load to get. He resides in the great Inland Northwest, with his wife and child. His varied interests and hobbies include camping, fishing, hunting, and spending time at the gun range as often as possible. My Cart. Shop All Holsters. Concealed Carry Holsters. Shop All Concealed Carry Holsters. Shoulder Holsters.

Pocket Holsters. Ankle Holsters. Belly Band Holsters. The HST hollow point is deeply tapered so it will not clog, even when passing through tough barriers. The HST design also features a cannelure that locks the hard copper jacket to the soft lead core for maximum weight retention. Federal Premium also included other quality features that help make these loads perfect for personal defense, including nickel-plated brass cases, highly consistent powder charges, reliable boxer primers, and waterproofing on the case mouth.

These JHP loads are perfect for budget conscious shooters. These loads feature the high-quality components that made the Winchester name famous for its reliability. Topped with an expanding jacketed hollow point, these loads are well-suited for all duty and self-defense applications. We absolutely love this option for an EDC Glock Winchester White Box JHP loads come in several projectile weights ranging from grains all the way up to grains.

The grain loads make a nice low recoil option, while the heavyweight JHPs deliver deeper penetration. The line-up includes something for just about every shooting application, including target shooting, hunting, and self defense. This makes them a fine option for full-size handguns like the Glock 34 designed specifically for competition shooting or for something subcompact like the Taurus PT G2C.

American Gunner is proudly made in the USA with premium components, including specially formulated propellants, high-quality boxer primers, and top-of-the-line, virgin brass cases. Unlike most jacketed self-defense ammo, Remington Golden Saber is made with a tough brass jacket rather than the usual thin copper gilding.

The brass jacket is hot bonded to the lead core for exceptional weight retention up to an amazing 97 percent through auto glass that drives the projectile deep into soft tissue. The jacket is also nose cut in a patented spiral pattern which assists in terminal expansion. This training ammo features full metal case projectiles. With a case that completely surrounds the inner lead core, these loads offer cleaner shooting perfect for shooting at an indoor range.

With less lead residue left behind in the barrel, Magtech Sport also allows high-volume shooters to get in more practice time before we need to clean our weapons. The company also holds all of their ammunition to incredibly exacting standards.

Their 9mm FMJ loads are offered in grains, grains, and grains and feature quality boxer primers and reloadable brass cases. These rounds use clean-burning, low flash powders and unique primers that are free of lead and heavy metals. With a brass jacket that completely covers the core from base to tip, BEB projectiles leave less residue inside the barrel of your weapon.

These clean-shooting features combine to eliminate airborne lead at the firing point. As with all else in life, choosing good 9mm ammo for self defense is never going to be easy as there are a lot of things to consider.

But whatever you do, whether or not you end up ordering any of the ammo brands in this article, make sure you save some for practice shooting if only to familiarize yourself with how your handgun handles the loads — specifically, how accurate the bullets are and how they recoil. And never make the assumption that you can win every gunfight just because you have your mag loaded with some of the best ammo on the market.

Always remember that in gunfights, shot placement is king. A firearms and ballistics enthusiast and an outdoorsman, Mike is one of Gun News Daily's best contributing authors. He's a researcher, data analyst and writer by trade and strongly adheres to conservatism—a stalwart of the right to keep and bear arms. Fun article. The extreme defender link does not go to an Underwood products page on Cabelas thought you might want to know.

A side by side review like this article is awesome! It was the Penetrator bullet whose results we included here. Great catch btw!

Just a side note. These guys tested a bunch of it and seemed to disqualify rounds that were over-penetrating according to the FBI standards. Hi Martin. Thanks for reading through the article. Two channels from which blood comes out means faster blood loss and is almost a guarantee that the bad guy is incapacitated immediately. There is nothing more preferable. The problem lies in bystanders potentially getting hit — and the defender potentially getting sued, not to mention bouts of guilt upon seeing their loved ones in pain.

In my testing the bullet, at an aveage velocity of 1, fps. The best performers practically blew the first jug apart, did heavy damage to the second and stopped in the third almost every time. Some did just make it into the fourth, and I consider penetration beyond the fourth to be excessive. I have had multiple fire arms in multiple calibers that wont eat hornady ammo, or have had other problems.

I personally avoid hornady like plague. While revolvers maintained their status on the hips of patrol officers and troopers for many decades after the turn of the 20 th century, armies of the world understood the way forward was with the semi-automatic pistol. Georg Johann Luger designed the 9x19mm in , adapting it from the 7. Ironically, he pitched the cartridge and the infamous and iconic Luger pistol to the British, the U. The German Navy ultimately adopted it in and the German Army followed suit just four years later.

They also adopted it to their submachine guns, most notably the MP Unlike so many obsolete or forgotten calibers, the 9mm exploded in use after WWII. There are really just two common types of ammunition readily available in the 9mm: full metal jacket ball, and jacketed hollow points. Yes, there are other types but they are not mainstream. FMJ is the most common ball ammo in production. It is produced in bulk both domestically and imported.

Much of which is in the form of steel-cased of Russian origin. This is going to be your go-to for plinking and brushing up on skills. This is the most diverse type of projectile used in 9mm platforms. It is also the option with the widest range of bullet weights. Common weights in this are gr. The gr and the gr JHPs are best suited for self-defense applications in close quarters when you have to worry about bullet penetration depth. The gr JHP is the best option for situations where high-velocity rounds with deep penetration are needed to stop a potential threat.

Over 1. Magtech has done a good job of quietly becoming a very popular, good-quality brand. Distributed in the U. Their full metal ammunition provides numbers are familiar to 9mm shooters. It offers a fully encased bullet which will be of great interest to those who must shoot indoors.