What 9mm Defensive Ammunition do You Carry?

[MechaDragon]

Just general curiosity really. I have carried and trusted in my Barnes Tac-XPD for quite a number of years at this point.

Pretty simple and typical start to ownership really. I researched good defensive 9mm loads, saw ballistic tests and so on and so forth, and picked some up.

I then proceeded to get familiar with how my handgun shot the ammunition at my local range and I felt it was satisfactory and I could place shots accurately.

If memory serves, I believe I started carrying the Barnes around 2012-2013. Luckily I have only had to ready my weapon once, and have never had to actually fire it in a defensive situation.

Ive never carried any other defense round. I don't really feel any sort of need to change ammunition either, so this is purely a curiosity thread. What do you carry?

Oh by the way my carry weapon is a Walther PDP 4" Compact 15-round 9mm with Trijicon HD XR Night Sights. I originally had the PPQ Sub-Compact LE Edition but decided I wanted something larger right around the time the PDP series came around. I just prefer the way a Walther feels in my hand.

 

[481]

HSTs or Gold Dots in +P flavor.

 

[MechaDragon]

HSTs or Gold Dots in +P flavor.

I have heard and seen a lot of good things about both. Why both HSTs and Gold Dots though? Just curiosity or do you have a reason for having two different defensive loads?

 

[unclenunzie]

9mm Federal HST and Speer Gold Dots are very high quality, and either are fine in my pistols. Law enforcement agencies use them and they are relatively inexpensive and very available (for defensive ammo). Specifics - they do very well in properly calibrated ordinance gel tests, have sealed primers, nickel plating and major manufacturers making them and backing them up. I have fired cases of both kinds over the years and have never had a failure with either.

Why two, it is good to have alternatives of equal trust in case one is temporarily unavailable or maybe one is cheaper than the other.

Mind you, I am simply your average joe and not involved in any way in the industry. I merely read what other people in positions to actually know have recommended, and both work in my defensive devices.

 

[entropy]

HST.

 

[wayneinFL]

124 grain Golden Sabers. Decent quality for the price, about 70 cents a round. The nickel case/brass bullet doesn't corrode, so they last a while.

Don't know that they perform better or worse than anything else.

 

[trackskippy]

I dont think it really matters what you pick, as long as they run OK in your gun and the ammo you practice with, mimics them fairly closely.

Something that's been accepted by the major police agencies makes the most sense to me. They have paid people to do the R & D on things and spent a ton more money than I ever would figuring it out.

I wouldn't bother with the boutique type ammo.

These days, I have mostly Federal 124 grain HST's in my mags, but in the not so distant past, I was using Winchester 127 grain Ranget T's, and still have a few boxes of that floating around here too.

Truth be told, I wouldn't be uncomfortable with using my 124 grain FMJ practice reloads either. I wouldn't be shooting the gun any differently, no matter whats in it, and the results will likely be the same. Magic bullets wont make up for your lack of skills/shooting.

 

[Kleanbore]

One of the premium defensive loads.

 

[Rexster]

Speer Gold Dot 124-grain +P.

 

[Coyote3855]

115 Critical Defense.

 

[GRIZ22]

No magic ammo. Any quality jhp. You don't have to spend $2 a round for designer ammo.

 

[Styx]

Syntech Defense 9mm Luger 138gr or Remington HTP.

 

[unclenunzie]

68 cents a round without membership:

Speer Gold Dot LE Duty 9mm 124 Grain JHP - Ammo Deals

Speer Gold Dot LE Duty 9mm 124 Grain JHP at Target Sports USA with free shipping available. Enjoy deals on 9mm Luger ammo for sale.

www.targetsportsusa.com

 

[C-grunt]

Currently it is Winchester Ranger One 147 grain bonded. It's my issued ammo. Prior to that it was Speer Gold Dot 124 grain +P (prior issued ammo).

 

[.308 Norma]

I dont think it really matters what you pick, as long as they run OK in your gun and the ammo you practice with, mimics them fairly closely.

I'm with you, trackskippy. And that's why I carry Winchester "D" (Defend) 9mm, 147gr JHPs in my gun, but run Winchester "T" (Train) 9mm 147gr FMJs in it for practice. Both types run great in my Glock G19, and they print close to the same place on my targets.
The only thing is, the Winchester "Train and Defend" ammo is a bit costly for my wife and me (my wife also likes it in her Sig P239). So, for general everyday practice, we mostly run "whatever is on sale" factory ammo (as well as our own 9mm reloads) then we run just a few rounds of the "costly" Winchester stuff through our guns before heading home for the day.

 

[MechaDragon]

No magic ammo. Any quality jhp. You don't have to spend $2 a round for designer ammo.

Well like the OP says, just curiosity. Not like I don't have capable ammo, it wouldn't be worth it to replace it.

 

[Gary H]

147gr HST and now looking at Winchester 147gr JHP White Box. The white box seems to perform well with the “jelly test” through four layers of fabric. Lot cheaper than HST.

 

[sparkyv]

I carry any 124gr HPs from reliable suppliers that function reliably in my CCW. At thus time it's Sierra Outdoor Master HPs, and when that runs out, next is IMI Di-Cut HPs in the rotation.

I dont think it really matters what you pick, as long as they run OK in your gun and the ammo you practice with, mimics them fairly closely.

No magic ammo. Any quality jhp. You don't have to spend $2 a round for designer ammo.

 

[Tcruse]

Last article I read said that the Sig ammo was now considered the best.

 

[481]

HSTs or Gold Dots in +P flavor.

I have heard and seen a lot of good things about both. Why both HSTs and Gold Dots though? Just curiosity or do you have a reason for having two different defensive loads?

HST or Gold Dot dependent upon what pistol (and caliber) I am carrying; both are great designs with many years-long track records.

If I (unintentionally) led you believe that I loaded both HST and Gold Dot JHPs into the same pistol/magazine at the same time, that is simply not the case and I apologize for any confusion.

 

[MechaDragon]

HST or Gold Dot dependent upon what pistol (and caliber) I am carrying; both are great designs with many years-long track records.

If I (unintentionally) led you believe that I loaded both HST and Gold Dot JHPs into the same pistol/magazine at the same time, that is simply not the case and I apologize for any confusion.

Nah I figured it was just ammunition availability. Like you used to carry one but couldn't find it for a while so you got another.

I can't think of anyone who would carry two types in the same magazine lol

 

[Styx]

Nah I figured it was just ammunition availability. Like you used to carry one but couldn't find it for a while so you got another.

I can't think of anyone who would carry two types in the same magazine lol

Well for here on out you can think of little ol' me, lol. I have had to do that when I first started carrying because of lack of funds and ammo availability. Only 20 JHP came in box, but I had to load a 13+1 pistol and 13 or 15 spare. I reckon as long as both brands are reliable and the POA/POI is the same, it shouldn't really matter except to those who are OCD.

 

[nettlle]

124 grain Gold Dots over 4.4 grains of Bullseye.

 

[Zendude]

Fiocchi Defense Dynamics 124 grn

 

[cfullgraf]

For the past several years, I use what 9mm I can find in a 124 HP.

Currently, I have Sig Sauer ammunition.