Recommended 9mm self defense ammo?

[SouperMan]

Winchester Ranger-T are exactly the Black Talons just in case somebody would ask about if the Black Talons are still available.

Remember, "Same eXact Thing" lol

[1lostinspace]

I like my snake oil RBCD. Over 2000 fps out of my G17-21 had to put down 2 deer last year both were dead like a light went off!

[SILENT GUNMAN]

I mostly use gold dots myself. Its what I carry every day at work and I have never had one fail to fire after shooting thousands of them over the years. YMMV.

[Brandon04GT]

I use HST in 147gr....mainly cause I got a good deal on them and if anything I heard more reports of them having a slight edge over Ranger-T's. In reality i'd just just has happy with either.

[AreWeFree]

Federal HST 147gr or Gold Dot 124 +P. Check out some youtube videos by tnoutdoors9, he does a great job on his ammo tests.

[BHPFan]

Picking up my first 9mm on tue. Glock 19 gen 3. Anyone recommend a JHP that they prefer? I'm looking at Gold Dot right now

Gold Dots are good to go. For the G19 that I owned, 124 gr JHP (either std or +P) is what I loaded. That being said, any JHP 9mm will work on the G19. It's a matter of finding which one works best for you.

I use the Federal 115 gr standard velocity JHP round (9BP). Not glamorous and very ancient, but it has a proven record.

+1 on the Federal 9BP. I mainly load those on my 9mm BHP's for the past 20+ years. Arguably, the most reliable and accurate std velocity JHP 9mm for the BHP pistol. I also like the Nyclad, but those are out of production.

[Ron-Solo]

Winchester Ranger SX-T 147 grain

SX-T = Super Xpansion Talon.

[IVC]

Stupid question, but what's the difference between these and those you get in bulk from online vendors like Freedom Ammunition?

Primarily the bullet construction. For live targets (HD, hunting), you want bullet to behave certain way - reliable and consistent expansion, no overpenetration or fragmentation.

Also, HD ammunition typically uses higher quality components and will not create FTE/FTF due to out of spec brass, inconsistent powders or bad primers. Your gun can still do it on its own, though, so test it before using it.

Finally, if you have full metal jackets, it's better than nothing. San Francisco would actually prefer you use them, even though they are less suitable for defense.

[digdug74]

Talking strictly in terms of bullet technology, I currently like Speer Gold Dot, Winchester Ranger (bonded), Federal HST, and Hornady (their ballistic point stuff). Exact weights and loads in 9mm seems to be a little contentious. Personally, I like 124 grain standard pressure in my 9mm. I feel like with the current crop of bullets (any of those I just mentioned), you're going to get good impact on target with standard pressure. But, if you want to kick it up a bit, you can always go +P if you can find it. I know the Speer Gold Dots are widely available in their 124 grain loading -- I'm not so sure about the others.

I see a lot of folks running the heavier 9mm bullets right now at standard 9mm pressures. Lots of 135 and 147 grain stuff. I suppose if the bullets themselves perform as advertised, these should be "theoretically" good loads but I'm still a little skeptical.

[k1dude]

Federal HST, Hornady Critical Defense, Winchester PDX1, Speer Gold Dots, Remington Golden Saber, Winchester Ranger T, and Hornady Critical Duty seem to be mentioned most often in these threads. Always between 124 gr and 147 gr. I think you'd be fine with any of them. Get what's available and cycles well through your pistol. I think you're splitting hairs trying to find meaningful differences between them.

It seems +P or +P+ loads don't perform as well as some of the standard power loads. So I suspect standard loadings are fine.

[parksmart]

Pray that none of us will ever have reason to second guess our choice of SD/HD ammo......

That being said, I own and regularly shoot Federal HST , Speer Gold Dot & Winchester Ranger Subsonic. They all run fine, leave a bit of a larger hole in the target compared to FMJ and are louder (Win Ranger Sub just slightly) than standard target loads. My take is that all of the factory HD mentioned are going to work fine in any type of critical situation.

[RaiderMike619]

+1 for Hornady Critical Duty....you tube the ballistics....awesome!

[ParadigmShift]

12.75'' penetration, 4/5'' wide expansion, 147 grain, 1150fps