9mm Federal Self Defense "Low Recoil"

No I haven't shot the ''Low Recoil'' Federal but my home defence ammo is Federal Hydrashock 124 grain hollowpoint.

Same here, and actually the Federal Hydra-Shocks seem to have less kick than my plinking rounds without any specific "low-recoil" label. I guess it's like the idea of high-mass training equipment (medicine balls, trainer bats, trainer golf clubs, etc); when you can control the recoil of target rounds correctly, firing PD loads becomes easy. Or it may just be a brand/powder difference, or the simple fact that for a lighter round to have the same muzzle energy as a heavier one, it has to be faster, so the 115gr has a heftier cartridge behind it.

The 9mm Federal Was Never Issued In " Low Recoil " Ammunition,

WHATEVER that might be.

That's what it says:

What the heck is THAT? Looks like ammo designed to empty your wallet.

Shoot whatever you can comfortable afford to shoot yearly in 50-round boxes.

I personally put 200-500 rounds of SD ammo thru a pistol before I trust it. Then I shoot 100-200 more rounds throughout the year in addition to FMJ.

Don't get caught up on 'type' of bullet, get focused on regular practice.

The 9mm Federal Was Never Issued In " Low Recoil " Ammunition,

WHATEVER that might be.

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OOH! PWNZED!

Anyway, back to ballistics. Your Low-Recoil Hydra-Shoks are a 135gr projectile, giving middle-of-the-table performance (between 124gr and 147gr) in most respects according to Federal's graphs. On paper in some respects the round appears to be a hybrid; for instance, muzzle velocity is right between a 124 and 147grain as expected, but the bullet loses energy more like the 147gr slug than the 124gr, meaning it may start slower, but at a certain range it has the most energy of any bullet. This is pretty academic, however; the range at which it has the most energy is between 25 and 60 yards, and most SD encounters are well within 25 yards, most of those within 10. Consider your "low-recoil" round a compromise between the "standard" 124 and the heavier, slower 147; in most respects it's closer to the former than the latter.

What the heck is THAT? Looks like ammo designed to empty your wallet.

Click to expand...

You never spoke a truer word. The 124gr HS JHPs are $25 for 20 retail; online dealers knock that down to $17-18 for 20. Either way, it's not plinking ammo. You fire a clip or so every few range trips to rotate stock and make sure the stuff still works in the gun, and the rest stay in a loaded mag in your dresser waiting for Sparky to come a callin'.

Personally, if I was gonna go the "low recoil / fast followup" route in defensive 9mm, I'd just get the standard pressure Remington Golden Saber 124 gr load. Pretty affordable ($12.50 / 25 online). Good hollowpoint, very controllable, but not so lightly loaded that it'll sap your confidence.

I generally am not impressed by Federal's (non-LE) defensive ammo offerings.

Two exceptions are the 230 gr Hydra-Shok in .45 ACP and the Federal Classic 125 gr semi-JHP in .357 Magnum.

Perhaps Mr. Terry was referring to the 9mm Federal rimmed round in his post?

It is hard to see what would be gained here, since the 9mm is a low recoil cartridge to start with.

If you're interested in it, I'd suggest buying a box of it, some "normal" Speer Gold Dots (or any other mainstream premium JHP ammo), maybe some +P JHPs, and some Winchester White Box 115gr FMJs.

Take the whole mess to the range and shoot a few of each in turn. Mix them up in one magazine. See if you can feel any difference at all. (I can't.) If you want to be thorough, look at the ballistics data on them, but then notice how small the differences are.

Personally, I load Speer Gold Dots from Gerogia Arms (over 600 rounds between a Glock 17 and a CZ-75B while doing a little limp-wristing; no failures) and also keep a loaded mag of WWB FMJs as a spare (thousands if not tens of thousands of fired rounds and, while I can't say with conviction that they've never failed, I certainly cannot recall even one failure of any type).