9mm Defensive Load Work Up

[Donny1]

Unfortunately my closest shooting spot is about 20 miles away and getting the time and a reasonable temperature to go out right now is not that easy so I'm trying to make as few trips as possible to achieve the desired result.

Still somewhat of a novice up to this point in my opinion, I've loaded maybe 10k combined of 12ga, 38spl, 9mm, 45acp and some .223. All have been completely functional with no issues. Up till now it's been 12ga for trap and the rest have been near the minimum loads for practice. Now I want to work on a 9mm defensive load. I have been loading these and they work very well as far as expansion, just as good or better than any store bought, $1 a round ammo.

https://www.xtremebullets.com/9mm-124-HP-X-Def-p/xb9xd124b100.htm

I'm starting low but I'm curious on the effects on fps and pressure when shooting the same ammo in longer barrels. The current loads are:

M&P Sheild

Xtreme 9mm 124 HP X-Def
5gn CFE Pistol
OAL 1.130
Avg FPS 990
Full expansion through 1 gallon water jug, all pedals peeled to near the bottom - .565 avg.

Xtreme 9mm 124 HP X-Def
5.2gn CFE Pistol
OAL 1.130
Avg FPS 1022
Better expansion through 1 gallon water jug, all pedals peeled to the bottom - .635 avg.

These are recommended at 1125 fps and I'm curious how close to that I would be in my XD Tactical with a 5" barrel, and more so in the Ruger PCC.

Also, shooting through a gallon milk jug and penetrating 2-3 layers of heavy material, is that acceptable penetration? Should I load these hotter for the shield and maybe not use them in the longer barrels?

Likely overthinking all this as usual but like I said, multiple trips with multiple guns is just a hassle right now.

[Cowboy T]

For pressure, you stay at or below SAAMI specs, regardless of the gun. This prevents kabooms.

For barrel length, you will naturally not get as much velocity out of the shorter barrel as with, say, a 5" barrel. What you want to do is get as much kinetic energy out of that barrel as the SAAMI-listed pressure will allow you to get.

As long as your 5.2gr CFE pistol load is within the specs, I would use that load. It appears that you're getting some good expansion at 0.635" from a 0.355" bullet. You will thus be delivering all of the bullet's energy to your assailant, which is a good thing. Are you doing your test shooting at only one water jug, or do you have a couple of them stacked for your testing? I would use two for this test.