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The 9mm Luger

John A. said:
"Take a black bear" may be too subjective.

Shooting at a charging bear until I am empty and then throwing the gun at it while screaming like a girl and speaking in tongues would probably sum it up a lot better. :lol:


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

That actually played out in my head as I read it. That's AWESOME!!!
 
1st gun was a Ruger P95 tack driver. I've since switched to all DOA or striker pistols. Hated selling that sturdy old friend but have a Sig 250C in it's place and CCW a Kahr 9mm daily. Have to admit that a Glock 22 is at the front of the safe under the bed. Good 9 works fine for me.
 
nitesite said:
tcecil88 said:
nitesite, what do you think of Hornady Critical Defense 115gr vs. Federal HST 115 gr. out of a 3 1/2 in. barrel?
I have 100 of the 115 gr. HCD. I was thinking of getting 2 boxes of Federal HST @ $35 a box/50. The limited research I have done shows them to be pretty equal in expansion, weight retention. Just wanted your opinion.

tcecil88~

Honestly, I think that premium 9mm self-defense ammo is basically all GTG. The Hornady Critical Defense is still rather untested in real world shootings based on FBI and police shooting statistics, but I wouldn't let that stop me from carrying that exact round which pretty much expands no matter the intermediate barriers. You have 100 rounds and I would feel very good being in your shoes.

My "suggestion" for you, if you want to get more 115-gr 9mm premium ammo to try, is to get the Federal 9mm +P+ BPLE round, and the Federal HST. Both would do an excellent job but the BPLE has hundreds of recorded stopping (and non-stopping) incidents to sort through, mostly very positive. And everything I see about the HST ammo, whether 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 Auto looks like it does a superb job as well. I lobbied for (and won) a changeover to the HST bullet in our dept .40 GLOCKs.

It's not that the Critical Defense bullet and load isn't a good contender. I'm sure that it is, and over time the forthcoming results will bear that out.

My only bitch about Hornady Critical Defense pistol ammo is their packaging and pricing. I am resistant to buying 20-rd boxes of ANYBODY's ammo when that box costs $25.

So I mentioned the Federal 115-gr +P+ BPLE and the Federal HST as another option. Why?

Because it isn't that hard to find Federal (or Winchester) 50-rd LE packaged ammo of the same stuff that might cost only around $32 per box.

Keep what you've got and I'd be your wingman any day and not worry about what you're carrying. If you change, that's OK too! :cool:

Sorry for the late reply, I actually forgot I asked you this question.
I have not seen the Federal 9mm +P+ BPLE at the stores around home, I will look though. I will probably pick up a box or 2 of the Federal HST when I get home. I carry the .45acp 230 gr. HST in my Glock 21 and Sig P250C and thought about getting some 9mm to try. I can also get the Hornady Critical Defense for around $20 / box of 25 at the LGS.
Last time I was home, I picked up 200 rounds of Remington 9mm 115 gr. JHP at Wally World for $36! :eek: The kid behind the counter screwed up and says there was nothing he could do without me losing the gift card I had used and that I had scored the ammo real cheap. I sat there for a minute a little stunned and said "Are you sure?" He says "Yep."
Hell, I about ran out of the store!
I did a little research on the round and YouTube has a video of a guy testing this round through denim shorts into a barrel of water. Shot through 4 layers of denim and they expanded everytime. I was pretty happy with my "score" after I saw the video. :)
 
You probably wont find the +p+ stuff in any store. Maybe a gun shop, but no retail outlets are going to sell it. If you ask them for it you'll usually get the response, "Is your barrel stamped with +p+?" When you say no, they'll tell you it's unsafe to shoot. Gotta love the lawyer like responses these sales people are taught to give.
 
Any opinions on bullet weight? I like 115 gr., but I am old school. What do the rest of you like?
 
I qualify with and occasionally carry a G34 and I do like one bullet in 115-grain. It's the Federal +P+ BPLE I previously mentioned. I like better, and actually prefer either a 124-gp +P Speer Gold Dot or a 147-gr Federal HST from that long barrel.
 
I shot a bunch of 115 vs a bunch of 124 just the other day. The 124 seemed more accurate to me but the gun is still new to me so I need to shoot it more before I judge ammo accuracy from it. The 124 did hit the steel harder , I could tell that just from the report of the impact. The +p Golden Sabers sounded louder but I really couldn’t detect a difference in recoil….but that might be my awesome new gun too.I am going to reload 124 grain exclusively for 9mm from now on…..might still buy 115 for the brass though.

Shot all these between my SP-01 and an XDm9. The reloads and the Golden Sabers were 124 gr
IMG_0717.jpg
 
God I love that photo!

oli, if you ever reload 115s you find that their extremely short bullet base leaves very little contact surface in which to taper crimp the bullet to the case wall. That's one big reason why I reload only 124s or 147s. Plus, as you said, the heavier boolits just hit harder. Period.
 
I'm still laughing about John being chased by the bear, and screaming after emptying his 9 !! :lol:
 
Rossignol said:
Oooooh, a striker fired pistol! I've yet to fire one, though I've looked and they feel weird!

I am seriously ready to try a 9 though!

It doesn't take long until it is the other way around!!
 
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