9x25 Dillon for SD

[Overkill338]

I ran up on a topic hear about the 9x25. Someone said it rattled Rob Laethem's fillings loose.

Well I have a Glock 29 with a 20# RSA and I sometimes carry it with a Lonewolf 9x25 barrel. Loaded with Underwood's 125gr Nosler Bonded. They averaged 1522 fps over my chrono from the 3.8" barrel.

My dogs were barking one night because some stray dogs had wandered up. I walked out side without thinking, I fired 5 rounds into the ground......with open ears. Before this my hearing tested as "perfect". Now I have a permanent ringing in my ears. So PLEASE be careful with this round. I've shot other things to scare animals away or what not, with other rounds and never had this happen. The muzzle blast and fireball is impressive to say the least.

Here she is:

 

[Dave T]

Sorry about your hearing loss but you should have known better. You can suffer hearing loss from any caliber, with just one shot. It depends on the location of the gun and the position of your head. Had a long talk with an audiologist (about my own hearing loss) and he warned of this possibility.

Dave

 

[Jessesky]

I considered 9x25 for woods and personal defense for a while. It’s .357 in an auto loader what’s not to love?

I’ve heard experiences like yours from others, the main reason was the fireball was so blinding that it’s unusable at night, apart from the fact that it’s loud which .357’s are as well. And the 10mm which it’s based on is much more at burning all the powder in that shorter barrel length.

I stuck with the good ol’ 9x19. No flash, much quieter for my daily needs. Still a cool cartridge.

 

[Overkill338]

I considered 9x25 for woods and personal defense for a while. It’s .357 in an auto loader what’s not to love?

I’ve heard experiences like yours from others, the main reason was the fireball was so blinding that it’s unusable at night, apart from the fact that it’s loud which .357’s are as well. And the 10mm which it’s based on is much more at burning all the powder in that shorter barrel length.

I stuck with the good ol’ 9x19. No flash, much quieter for my daily needs. Still a cool cartridge.

I have a video took at night. Using Underwood, the fireball is far from blinding. I'll see if I can dig the video up for you. Trust, I expected to see Hiroshima in my face. Instead it's like a flash light with dead batteries.

 

[Overkill338]

Sorry about your hearing loss but you should have known better.
Dave

Yeah, I believe that was implied by "without thinking"

 

[darkcloud]

had a Taurus Tracker 41 Mag 4". They come factory ported. I wanted to find out how loud they are just in case I ever had to use it for self defense (man or bear). All it took was one shot. Urged me to avoid a confrontation if at ALL POSSIBLE. Ears rang for a week and the report hurt like hell.

 

[Overkill338]

had a Taurus Tracker 41 Mag 4". They come factory ported. I wanted to find out how loud they are just in case I ever had to use it for self defense (man or bear). All it took was one shot. Urged me to avoid a confrontation if at ALL POSSIBLE. Ears rang for a week and the report hurt like hell.

I'd be happy if the ringing would stop lol makes ya feel like an idiot when you've always used ear plugs.

But I believe if you ever had to use it in self defense, doesnt adrenaline override it or something like that?

 

[tommy.duncan]

I have that same set-up, G29 in 9x25 Dillon.

I have only shot it once, but, want to take it to the range again soon... with ear protection!!

 

[Riomouse911]

I'd be happy if the ringing would stop lol makes ya feel like an idiot when you've always used ear plugs.

But I believe if you ever had to use it in self defense, doesnt adrenaline override it or something like that?

Having been in a small room when a knife wielding murder-for-hire suspect was shot through the head about 2-3 feet in front of me, the adrenaline dump did cancel out the sharp BOOM! associated with the firing of the detectives’ 6906 9mm handgun indoors... but even if your brain doesn’t register the noise it is just as loud and it still causes ear damage, tinnitus, etc.

I will admit I had tunnel vision, audio selectivity, even subconscious actions...all the classics when that event happened back in 1993.

Stay safe and remember; You only get one chance at your vision and hearing so be careful!

 

[Pat Riot]

What?

 

[Riomouse911]

What?

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Sorry about your ears. Not good. Hearing protection for all, whenever possible.

 

[Monac]

With 9mm Luger available in "pocket size" automatic pistols - that is, the size 32 and 380's used to be, 40+ years ago - I have begun to wonder why 9mm Luger is still a popular choice for full-size automatic pistols, like Glocks and Springfields and so on. I think 9x23 Dillon and 10mm should be taking over in that size. Yet actually the trend is just the opposite: Police are dropping 40 S&W in favor of 9mm Luger because of cops who are recoil-shy (I guess).

I have to assume that 9mm Luger actually has the power to get the job done, in the eyes of the police, and that more power is not really needed, at least in their opinion.

I do not like heavy recoiling guns myself, but given the number of people here who say that 357 Magnum is not that bad to shoot, I am surprised at both the lack of popularity of 9x23, and the direction the police are going. Maybe I have not got the facts right.

 

[The Evangelist Cowboy]

Why? Its not something I can pick up at the local shop or wally world, Id be just as well served with a regular 9mm Parabellum for SD at the house and if we go into the woods thats not semi auto territory to me (even with 10mm or .45 Win Mag) the .44 mags and .45 Colts come out then. Doesn't do anything for me, but hey its your gun and your money so if its what you want by all means use it.

 

[cheygriz]

I would love to have a 9X25. Will prolly get one, someday.

But I want a big ol' honkin' Glock 20 with a six inch barrel.

For a carry/self defence/home defence weapon, My SIG P226 9MM is perfectly adequate.

 

[Jessesky]

With 9mm Luger available in "pocket size" automatic pistols - that is, the size 32 and 380's used to be, 40+ years ago - I have begun to wonder why 9mm Luger is still a popular choice for full-size automatic pistols, like Glocks and Springfields and so on. I think 9x23 Dillon and 10mm should be taking over in that size. Yet actually the trend is just the opposite: Police are dropping 40 S&W in favor of 9mm Luger because of cops who are recoil-shy (I guess).

I have to assume that 9mm Luger actually has the power to get the job done, in the eyes of the police, and that more power is not really needed, at least in their opinion.

I do not like heavy recoiling guns myself, but given the number of people here who say that 357 Magnum is not that bad to shoot, I am surprised at both the lack of popularity of 9x23, and the direction the police are going. Maybe I have not got the facts right.

There is an FBI article on why they left 9mm for 45acp, ignored the 40s&w and then went back to 9mm. It’s a triangle of controllability, capacity, and terminal performance. They determined there was not much difference in terminal performance between the three.

The other factor was no matter how well trained, you can do better still with the more controllable cartridge. I can squeeze my 9mm as fast as possible and it stays on target as that slide comes forward. There is also the noise factor, 9x25 I assume is just like a 4” 357, LOUD and bright. I’m accustomed to magnum cartridges but I see why the FBI stuck with 9mm.

 

[Monac]

There is an FBI article on why they left 9mm for 45acp, ignored the 40s&w and then went back to 9mm. It’s a triangle of controllability, capacity, and terminal performance. They determined there was not much difference in terminal performance between the three.

The other factor was no matter how well trained, you can do better still with the more controllable cartridge. I can squeeze my 9mm as fast as possible and it stays on target as that slide comes forward. There is also the noise factor, 9x25 I assume is just like a 4” 357, LOUD and bright. I’m accustomed to magnum cartridges but I see why the FBI stuck with 9mm.

I agree with controllability being very important, and your answer makes it clear why the police are doing what they are doing. It's just that quite a few people think you can never have too much power, which is why 44 Magnum is popular. That's why I am surprised there are not more guns available in 9x23. Maybe most of the people in that group go straight to 10mm if they want a full size automatic.

 

[Jessesky]

I agree with controllability being very important, and your answer makes it clear why the police are doing what they are doing. It's just that quite a few people think you can never have too much power, which is why 44 Magnum is popular. That's why I am surprised there are not more guns available in 9x23. Maybe most of the people in that group go straight to 10mm if they want a full size automatic.

Yeah, I hear you. I’m not quite sure why. I know plenty of people with the Glock 40 and preach 10mm is the best mm. I don’t really have an answer for the 9x25 Dillon. People always comment that velocity is negligible to performance when at pistol velocities, and it’s about frontal area and bullet design. Which would make sense why the 10mm is more popular being a .40, but the 9x25 is a rifle ballistic almost. Speer has a load pushing 90gr at 2100 which I suspect to be a long test barrel, but Underwood has a 90gr at 2000, that’s rifle ballistics to me.

 

[JohnKSa]

But I believe if you ever had to use it in self defense, doesnt adrenaline override it or something like that?

Your brain may not process the sound, but adrenaline can't prevent sound pressure from causing physical damage to the delicate structures of the inner ear.

Some research suggests that ears do have some protective mechanisms that can help reduce damage from sounds when the person is expecting the sound in advance, but the mechanism seems to vary in effectiveness from person to person--or perhaps some people are just not as prone to hearing damage.

I know an ex-police officer who was involved in a shooting on the job. Those were the only unprotected shots this person was ever exposed to, and it was certainly a high-stress situation, but hearing damage still resulted.

The bottom line is that even under high stress just a few gunshots can cause permanent damage. And some calibers are definitely worse than others.

 

[Overkill338]

I can squeeze my 9mm as fast as possible and it stays on target as that slide comes forward. There is also the noise factor, 9x25 I assume is just like a 4” 357, LOUD and bright. I’m accustomed to magnum cartridges but I see why the FBI stuck with 9mm.

The 9x25 is snappier than the 10mm. The report is vicious indeed and is exactly like shooting a short 357.

 

[Overkill338]

Here you guys go. 9x25 muzzle flash in the dark from a G29.

 

[MachIVshooter]

.22 LR (or short, long) from a rifle length barrel is the only thing hearing safe without a suppressor. Virtually all centerfire handgun & rifle rounds run between 160-170 dB by milspec testing (1m left of muzzle), way over the threshold for impulse noises.

 

[Overkill338]

.22 LR (or short, long) from a rifle length barrel is the only thing hearing safe without a suppressor. Virtually all centerfire handgun & rifle rounds run between 160-170 dB by milspec testing (1m left of muzzle), way over the threshold for impulse noises.

I didnt do it on purpose. I ran out mad as hell and fired. I've shot the 10mm with no plugs, it rang for a little while but stopped. That 9x25 fooked me permanently

 

[MachIVshooter]

I didnt do it on purpose. I ran out mad as hell and fired. I've shot the 10mm with no plugs, it rang for a little while but stopped. That 9x25 fooked me permanently

So did the 10mm. So will 9mm, .380, .223, .30-06, 12 gauge and every other centerfire, as well as rimfires with shorter barrels. Over 140 dB impulse = instant, permanent hearing damage. The degree is variable; 168 is gonna do more damage than 148, but damage is damage to the extent that you'll lose sensitivity to both certain frequencies and lower intensities. The pressure literally snaps off the cilia in the cochlea.