A friend was asking what weight 9mm bullet he should use for carry. I suggested a mid weight 124 +P if his weapon was +P rated...Thoughts
Thanks

Ken

I go with 147 +P in my Sigs, at some point I was taught to carry the heaviest load I could and have stuck with it, that was years ago before the latest innovations in bullet design (although I still use the latest round just in the 147 +p variants.)  Perhaps it is time to reevaluate.

Like with my G30-.45, I tend to go with Underwood's  +P 185 Grain Bonded JHP

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/#9mm

I ended up with Remington 124 grain +p in my Glock 19, HK P30's and S&W Shield.

Have always liked a mid weight + P

Great info on the Lucky gunner link, Thanks

yep

Depends on length of the barrel...
3.1" barrel or less, I'm most likely going with 124gr +p....  Often HST.
3.5" up 4.2" 147gr +p or 124gr +p...  HST likely.
4.3" barrel and up... 147gr Ranger T or HST.

From testers like Shootingthebull & Lucky Gunner i'm comfortable with
147gr Ranger T across the different barrel lengths. 

Thanks Rojo

My little brother who is a now retired Gov't trapper and I have hunted coyotes since we were old enough to pick up a gun. I'm 71 and he is 75. The coyote death toll has to be in the tens of thousands if not in the hundreds of thousands. His territory was Webb County Texas which has the densest coyote population in the world. Often times we would come on a coyote in a steel trap or snare and shot the critter. We used the 9mm a lot due to ammo costs although it kinda didn't matter since the State furnished him with everything he needed including components or ammo. To give you an idea of how much we shot, we both wore out a Browning High Power each. Mine was their bright blue. His he had Armaloyed and wore the finish off of it. He also wore completely out a Colt Trooper that Colt replaced- no charge. What we determined out of playing with the 9mm on a coyote and 500+lb hogs was that the 115gr HP was about as good as it got for the 9mm. Anything heavier and the bullet was practically reloadable if you found it inside the body cavity. No roll back of the HP, nothing. It might as well been FMJ. We settled on the Remington 115gr HP as it would open up some. That's for hunting. For self defense, we're from the old school where bigger is better. If the cartridge size doesn't start with a 4, it's a plinker, not a defense weapon. If you reload and have a 40SW, try the 135 gr HPs. You can easily push them 200+'ps faster than a 9mm with little to no gain in recoil. That's what the wife carries and she is extremely recoil sensitive. Once I get my R1 10mm long slide working like I want, loading the 135 HP will be high on the list to make work in it. That will put the 10mm in 357mag territory for a 10mm light bullet. In my aged opinion, that's what is so attractive about 10mm. You can load light but fast and get 357 mag performance or load heavy and almost get to 41 mag performance. I doubt there is another cartridge out there that is so versatile.

Quote from: Trapper6L on June 09 2018 06:00:43 PM MDT
... that's what is so attractive about 10mm. You can load light but fast and get 357 mag performance or load heavy and almost get to 41 mag performance. I doubt there is another cartridge out there that is so versatile.

Absolutely.

And there is certainly no other cartridge available in factory guns that is as versatile.

Great info, Thanks guys!

Actually today, I had to go to our farm and dispatch 4 raccoons. Well I had my clear ballistic block with me so I figured I'd capture my bullets.

Two loads used were handloaded, 115gr Speer gold dot, 124gr gold dot. Out of my shield the 115s had an average chronograph of 1142fps and the 124s we're 1157fps.

The other load was a factory federal hst 147gr +p.

Out of all of the loads, the 115gr penetrated the farthest with even going through both shoulders. About 12" total penetration. It got pretty dinged up.

The 124 gold dot expanded superb but only penetrated around 7" total.

The HST 147gr penetrated about the same as the 124gr gold dot, however 2 shots were taken as the first had complete core jacket separation.

From left to right, 115gr gold dot, 124gr gold dot, 147gr gold dot.

No the raccoons didn't suffer either. They were dispatched prior to me using them for the test.


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Nice, Thanks!

I myself am carrying Sig V Crown 124gr in my Walther pps. No +P for me