115, 124 and 147 grain for self defense, which do you use and why?
I prefer a 124gr in a golddot, but have some 147gr Winchester ranger hst, and some 127gr ranger hst +p+, I just prefer a premium hollow point in my ccw. If all I had was a fmj or even a lrn, then that is what I would carry. But spending a little to get a definitive product is worth it in my book.
I guess I didn't answer the question. I prefer a 124gr, good balance of weight and speed. I think I have read that the 9mm round was designed around that weight. I would not hesitate to use a 115, but a near 10% gain in bullet weight is good for me.
Slow and big also works but some bullet designs in a 147gr seem to have reliability issues in some guns, ymmv.
I guess I didn't answer the question. I prefer a 124gr, good balance of weight and speed. I think I have read that the 9mm round was designed around that weight. I would not hesitate to use a 115, but a near 10% gain in bullet weight is good for me.
Slow and big also works but some bullet designs in a 147gr seem to have reliability issues in some guns, ymmv.
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124gr Remington Golden Saber mostly.
124gr Gold Dot +P here.
This topic came up just in time. I too was wondering the same thing. I was looking at Cor-Bon 115gr +P JHP. Might hold off and see what everybody else suggests. I'll be using my XDM 4.5".
Winchester Ranger 127 +P+ (RA9TA)here. Below is an EXCELLENT source of information on defensive loads. Anything on the "recommended" list would be GTG, and with ammo shortages being what they are, I'd use whatever I could find off it.
http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19887
http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19887
I currently use speer gold dots 147 in all of my defensive handguns just as a matter of preference. Get any HST, ranger or gold dot hollow point round in the 124-147 range and you should be good. If you must have a 115 use a round that utilizes the Barnes solid copper bullet. Other 115 have shown issues getting acceptable penetration. But which ever round you chose make sure you check that it is reliable in your pistol.
JHPs from Speer or Federal in 124gr.
Any of the above rounds will suffice.
However, i would point out that bullet selection is a tertiary concern after reliability and accuracy.
My suggestion would be to find a bullet weight and pressure that cycles 100% and is as close to poa/poi and make a defensive bullet selection based on that info.
However, i would point out that bullet selection is a tertiary concern after reliability and accuracy.
My suggestion would be to find a bullet weight and pressure that cycles 100% and is as close to poa/poi and make a defensive bullet selection based on that info.
I've seen some people go with heavier rounds in the winter and lighter rounds in the summer, especially up north where winter clothing can be quite thick. You should just check out 9mm ballistics on YouTube. It is informative and fun to watch. One channel does some great slow motion shots. TNOutdoors (I think that's the right name) has a very extensive collection of tests from water jugs to wet pack to ballistics gel. And there are some others as well. Basically, most premium (but not all) perform well and some budget JHP does fairly well too. But lots of the gimmicky ammo doesn't do so well. Weight has a lot to do with penetration, but so does speed. Some really hot and heavy loads don't penetrate as much as you would think because of massive expansion.
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