Best 9mm round for concealed carry?

[CrystalRiver1]

Well..... I wish I could remember what these are. Have a couple zip lock bags from a long azz time ago. Believe they are 115gr Winchester or 115gr federal. All I remember is the weight and they were in a black box. Long time ago give me a break......

They grouped well when I had my ruger's. And do the same in my g3 now.

Had to save my wife&kids dog the night before last. Wasn't sure what the commotion was about, so I tossed the g3 in my back pocket to go investigate. Found him getting all tangled up with a big arse coon. I put one into the belly of the coon from 25ft and another the back of the head as a mercy. Have to say they are a mean round. Turned the poor coon to jelly.

Sorry if that's too graphic. But it's what most want in a pd round. Reliability, accuracy and terminal performance.


View attachment 316763

Steven

Raccoon in the wrong place @ the wrong time for sure!
The 115 gr was more than enough huh?

 

[USMC615]

Well..... I wish I could remember what these are. Have a couple zip lock bags from a long azz time ago. Believe they are 115gr Winchester or 115gr federal. All I remember is the weight and they were in a black box. Long time ago give me a break......

They grouped well when I had my ruger's. And do the same in my g3 now.

Had to save my wife&kids dog the night before last. Wasn't sure what the commotion was about, so I tossed the g3 in my back pocket to go investigate. Found him getting all tangled up with a big arse coon. I put one into the belly of the coon from 25ft and another the back of the head as a mercy. Have to say they are a mean round. Turned the poor coon to jelly.

Sorry if that's too graphic. But it's what most want in a pd round. Reliability, accuracy and terminal performance.


View attachment 316763

Steven

Damn coon killer…lol

 

[Stevetheboatguy]

Raccoon in the wrong place @ the wrong time for sure!
The 115 gr was more than enough huh?

Way more than necessary. I wish I would have grabbed the .22 off the wall. But it sounded way to intense to rely on a rimfire. I thought he was tangled up with a stray dog or a coyote by the sounds of it. The night before deer season opened. Didn't know what to fully expect. Glad it wasn't anything else.


Steven

 

[CrystalRiver1]

Way more than necessary. I wish I would have grabbed the .22 off the wall. But it sounded way to intense to rely on a rimfire. I thought he was tangled up with a stray dog or a coyote by the sounds of it. The night before deer season opened. Didn't know what to fully expect. Glad it wasn't anything else.


Steven

Glad you handled it and shared the results, because I've heard some negativity around the 115 gr rd.

I've got some stacked up...guess I need to head to the range or my Pa's house to blast some!!

 

[FergusonTO35]

Well, looks like plenty of folks still love the venerable Hi- Power. The new Springfield version is selling for way over MSRP on Gunbroker.

 

[FergusonTO35]

My gen. 5 Glock 19 really likes this round. Hornady 115 grain XTP over 4.5 grains Bullseye at 1.075 OAL. This is near the top of the charge range published by Hornady but is quite accurate and easy to shoot. It would be a real handful in something like a P365 though.

 

[srb08]

My gen. 5 Glock 19 really likes this round. Hornady 115 grain XTP over 4.5 grains Bullseye at 1.075 OAL. This is near the top of the charge range published by Hornady but is quite accurate and easy to shoot. It would be a real handful in something like a P365 though.

View attachment 347667

Have you shot anything to check expansion on those?
I have some of those and the same bullet in 147gr.
I shot a big boar Raccoon with a 147gr but the bullet sailed right through him.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Never shot anything living with them, will see if I can dig up some from my berm. This load clocks 1168 across my chronograph so actually a bit faster than factory ammo. Every test of the XTP I have seen indicates they are very consistent at expanding but don't turn into a sunflower like others do. I think a modest amount of expansion is good but definitely not at the expense of penetration, which is why I use solids in .38 and .380.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Went and dug in the berm for a few minutes and found one of the XTP's. Interestingly, it was in there alot deeper than the others, even the 147 grain FMJ slugs. Expansion was perfect, though I'm not sure how well dirt correlates to flesh.



From left to right: 75grain .32 ACP lead, 73 grain .32 ACP FMJ, 100grain .380 plated, 115 grain 9mm fmj, 130 grain 9mm lead, 147 grain 9mm fmj, 115 grain 9mm Hornady XTP.

 

[blades]

Best One ?- those that go bang everytime. Expansion - soft cast hollowpoint lead, not hard cast. Can be powdercoated though.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I always say accuracy is King and penetration is queen. Expansion is nice but never at the expense of the first two. For lower velocity rounds a lead slug with a big flat point is about the best possible choice.

 

[srb08]

I always say accuracy is King and penetration is queen. Expansion is nice but never at the expense of the first two. For lower velocity rounds a lead slug with a big flat point is about the best possible choice.

That 115gr jhp expanded well and held together better than I would have expected, fired into dirt.

You’re correct on both accounts.
One of my favorite .44 spec loads consists of a 255gr Keith bullet at 800fps.
I really like that load in a 4 5/8” flat top Blackhawk. Easy to shoot and hits hard.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Interesting, I'm planning to start casting the .45 version of that bullet for sabot use in my muzzleloader.

 

[srb08]

Interesting, I'm planning to start casting the .45 version of that bullet for sabot use in my muzzleloader.

That’s the bullet I shoot most in my .45 single actions.
I also use it in my .480 Ruger at 412gr, .41M at 220gr and .38 at 160gr.
Elmer knew what he was doing.

 

[NYH1]

Federal HST 124 gr. +p (P9HST3).

NYH1.

 

[CrystalRiver1]

I don't reckon this would be concealed carry ammo unless you're of the Paul Bunyan variety.
What are some good 5.56/.223 Personal protection ammo recommendations?

Recently purchased an entry-level AR 15 and looking to have some decent shooting ammo on deck. I'm really out of my comfort zone, but I gotta start somewheres...

 

[Czed]

I don't reckon this would be concealed carry ammo unless you're of the Paul Bunyan variety.
What are some good 5.56/.223 Personal protection ammo recommendations?

Recently purchased an entry-level AR 15 and looking to have some decent shooting ammo on deck. I'm really out of my comfort zone, but I gotta start somewheres...

Some of my friends use gold dot ammo im their

An Official Journal Of The NRA | The AR-15 For Home Defense: 3 Loads To Consider

While a myriad of .223 Rem. and 5.56 NATO loads exist on the market, not all are best suited for use in home defense. Here are a few loads for both that are worth consideration for defensive use in riles and pistols.

www.americanrifleman.org

 

[FergusonTO35]

I reload, and what I do is buy regular FMJ rounds and replace the bullets with Hornady or Sierra soft points. Shoot 'em in both my AR's and bolt actions and they do great. It's far more likely my rifles would be used against a four footed predator, but I'm sure it would be effective on the two legged version as well.

 

[CrystalRiver1]

I reload, and what I do is buy regular FMJ rounds and replace the bullets with Hornady or Sierra soft points. Shoot 'em in both my AR's and bolt actions and they do great. It's far more likely my rifles would be used against a four footed predator, but I'm sure it would be effective on the two legged version as well.

Hey Ferg,
What's an effective site for these guns & do you prefer iron over Red Dots/Scopes?

Thanks

 

[FergusonTO35]

On AR's I just use military style sights, they work as well as a red dot and are more rugged. If I need magnification I just use a scoped bolt action. I may look at putting a compact scope on a side mount for an AR sometime so I can use scope or sights.