What's Best for 9mm Self-Defense? 115 grains or 147 grains?

[Stomper]

I'm ALL about penetration when I'm home....

 

[Certaindeaf]

I gather that some people are saying very good things about that new Underwood Defender round.. I think the lighter of the two? and a +p+?

 

[Camelfilter]

I gather that some people are saying very good things about that new Underwood Defender round.. I think the lighter of the two? and a +p+?

Dunno about that one. Seems way to easy to take out a bad guy AND some kindergartner 2 blocks behind him...

 

[Certaindeaf]

Dunno about that one. Seems way to easy to take out a bad guy AND some kindergartner 2 blocks behind him...

No, it's not the Penetrator.
The Defender is essentially "barrier blind" while giving reliable penetration and large permanent wound channel.

 

[Camelfilter]

No, it's not the Penetrator.
The Defender is essentially "barrier blind" while giving reliable penetration and large permanent wound channel.

Ahh my mistake.

Took a look at a video thru gelatin with the defender round just now.

Thank you, seems it might make a very good choice!

Edit: finished watching the video on that defender round. Pretty amazing round. Same penetration thru plain gelatin, denim covered gelatin & then denim over 2 bags of pork ribs. That is a nice round!

 

[MrElectric03]

If you really get complicated each gun will work differently with twist rates, barrel id variances ect. Makes my head spin.

For me I prefer 124gr, I've always like the fed hst but haven't found any in a while. Right now I'm carrying with the sig self defense ammo. I'm sure on paper all this ammo is very different but any of it will get the job done.

 

[Joe13]

all this ammo is very different but any of it will get the job done

^^End of thread.

I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of any of them

 

[nammac]

For 9mm, it would be 147gr Federal HST, yea the Law Enforcement round...

If I need more performance, then I'd move to 45 ACP, 230gr Federal HST.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I was just thinking on how that Defender performs and it does seem pretty neat.
One thing I've noticed over the years is how well hardish SWC's perform on game in the 9mm. I don't know if it's some hydraulic action transpiring or just simple cutting/crushing or some combination, but do know they penetrate very well and do tremendous damage.
My favorite slugs (you make these yourself) are the 140gr Lee SWC (358-140swc), the Lyman 133gr SWC (#358480) and the dinky Lee 105gr SWC (358-105swc).
The 140 in particular is pretty nasty as it'll often tumble (it's a long bullet and will make really big holes because of this) and bend a bit (depends on alloy) and penetrates very deeply regardless.



I'd happily use these handloads for defense if I wasn't worried about over penetration.

 

[9mm guy]

It sounds like you've already looked into what you need to look into. There are plenty of ballistic test results available online. From what I've seen, the two rounds perform roughly the same. Some tests show one round out performing the other, and other tests show the opposite. I was going to link to that Lucky Gunner test before I saw you mention it. It's one of the better tests I've seen.

I think the answer to your question is that they'll both stop a man (or whatever you're shooting at) with basically the same amount of effectiveness.

That said, my mindset is that I want my SD rounds to be as similar as practical to that of my target rounds. 115 grain FMJ is available from Walmart for $48 for 200 rounds which makes it cheaper to shoot, and I spend most of my ammo fund on my target rounds, so that dictates what I use for SD. I use 115 grain 9mm Speer Gold Dot.

That said, if you already bought a heavier grain, use those until they're gone. Like I said earlier, they'll both stop a man.

Thank you cdmontgo. What you wrote almost directly reflects what I was thinking. You've validated my thoughts. I was wondering if I was the only one thinking of getting 115 for self defense but it's good to hear that someone else more experienced is thinking this way.

I agree, most of the "reputable" testing data I've found online shows a similar test results between 115 and 147. Just like you said, I'll use up the 147 I have now and start getting 115 Speer Gold Dots hollow points for self defense. I don't want to start looking for 147 target FMJ rounds or even the 124 since they are harder to find and more expensive. I guess it is important to use for self-defense what I normally fire for practice; I hear that sentiment a lot and so I'll follow it. This is especially since the 2 weights seem to make little difference in results. Thanks again.

 

[Twodogs]

I've got some Liberty ammunition 50gr @ 2000 fps that I'm carrying in my sig 938.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I've got some Liberty ammunition 50gr @ 2000 fps that I'm carrying in my sig 938.

I've got a magazine full of some of that old Geco blitz action trauma stuff. I bought it decades ago. old school

 

[ob1]

Federal 135 gr. Hydra Shock...when you can find it.

 

[jbett98]

18 rounds of whatever should do it.

 

[brentb636]

I'm old fashioned and prefer heavy bullets in each caliber that I carry. That means 147 gr Ranger-T for 9mm . Penetration is probably more important than whatever else is second , assuming a round placed on target. There are lots of tests but no real final answer. Our modern HP ammo is quite effective in 9mm, 40 cal, and .45 ACP ( the major players) . Muzzle energy uses the velocity squared which favors lighter bullets ; while momentum is simply mass times velocity, which favors heavier bullets for penetration. I like heavy. End of discussion ! lol

 

[easy-e]

Federal 135 gr. Hydra Shock...when you can find it.

I'm actually currently switching from 124 to 135 Federal Hydra Shock/HST/Critical Defense (Not sure if there is a difference) because my range happens to carry it and has a decent supply.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Thanks to that thread with all the latest tests of ammo, I made the switch ( after a few boxes in different weights) to the Remington Golden Saber in my SD pistols! Cant say enough about performance and accuracy! The HST and HydroShok's were my previous goto,but not any more! Those Underwood's look pretty awesome as well. might try some out for the 10 mm and see how they fly!

 

[ob1]

I'm actually currently switching from 124 to 135 Federal Hydra Shock/HST/Critical Defense (Not sure if there is a difference) because my range happens to carry it and has a decent supply.

Well if your range is in the Burien area, that may be related to it's proximity to the academy there. Hydra-Shock has been a law enforcement pick for years.

 

[SmitKoWitz]

Seems to be some important questions answered: Indoors or Outdoors? Private home, or multi-unit residence? Indoors: Shotgun w/nothing larger than #4 buck; which is like shooting a bunch of .24 caliber bullets at once. Outdoors if I am carrying a 9mm, then it would be something 124 Speer/Hornady or 135 Hornady (possibly +p). Practice with all of them to a degree; as accurate as necessary with any of them.

 

[Jnarowe]

I know I'll catch crap for this, but I am still carrying the Black Talon 147 GR. SXT. When Kalifornia went ape-bubblegum and banned them, I bought a ton of them (Before the price escalated). And I am carrying them in the same gun, a SIG 228. That's 27 years. But alas I am running out. On deck are the Federal 135 GR. Hydra-Shok JHP.

I get what you guys are saying about shooting what you carry. It makes a lot of sense. But I have ~20K rounds through this gun. So once-in-a-while I will run a magazine of carry ammo as a check. It averages out to once or twice per year. Because this gun is so damn good, in terms of reliability, it doesn't matter what I shoot, so although I buy 1K "range" rounds at a time, it's not always the same kind.