What 9mm self-defense ammo do you use for a 3in. barrel or smaller?

Mr. Robot

Mr. Robot

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Hi folks, I’ve got a couple 9mms with 3in. barrels. Was wondering what you carried in yours. I’m currently running Critical Defense because it functions and I have a few boxes of it saved up. Bigger guns I’m running 124gr +P Gold Dot

Ive seen shootingthebulls ammo quest on 9mm which was solid info but was wanting to see what everyone here carries. Take care
 
Standard pressure HST or Gold Dot 124gr. They will work in everything I carry if I do my part.
 
In this market any good 124gr hollow points. For my wife’s and my compact 9mm I had squirreled away some boxes of 124gr +P Gold Dots PP Short Barrel. It supposedly is tweaked to burn the powder in the barrel (less muzzle flash and a little more velocity) and a jacket design to expand better in shorter barrels ... it could be snake oil but ... they’re still Gold Dots.
DBBA0B6E-41AE-496C-AE4D-3F534BAAB21D.jpeg

If we ever run out I’d be fine with standard 124gr Gold Dots or Federal HST’s ... and if they don’t have 124gr ones I’d try 115gr hollow points before I’d go heavier.
 
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BTLeeks said:
Hornady Critical defense is a decent option. In this market though...anything you can get.
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I have 124gr +p Gold Dots, only reason I’m not carrying them is that I haven’t tried them in my PM9 yet. I’m sure it’ll run fine, it’s eaten everything so far but still want to be positive before I trust my life to it

also have a 50rd box of 115gr +P+ Gold Dots but no way in hell am I carrying that in a 3in barrel lol
 
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NCFubar said:
In this market any good 124gr hollow points. For my wife’s and my compact 9mm I had squirreled away some boxes of 124gr +P Gold Dots PP Short Barrel. It supposedly is tweaked to burn the powder in the barrel (less muzzle flash and a little more velocity) and a jacket design to expand better in shorter barrels ... it could be snake oil but ... they’re still Gold Dots.
View attachment 265717

If we ever run out I’d be fine with standard 124gr Gold Dots or Federal HST’s ... and if they don’t have 124gr ones I’d try 115gr hollow points before I’d go heavier.
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I can't find the link but I used to have a link to a statement from A guy who worked at Federal in their defensive ammo department who talked about using 147 grain in shorter barreled 9mm guns. IIRC guns 3" and under. The contention was that 147Gr standard pressure because of the round and the charge had a longer dwell time in the barrel and made better use of the powder. I am not a ballistics expert or even that knowledgeable about ballistics to comment one way of another. I stopped searching for the perfect round and these days basically am going for proper feeding and getting the rounds on target vs which bullet I am using.
 
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124 gr Speer Gold Dot.
 
Given today’s difficulty find ammo, I’d seriously consider these,

SOLD - 9mm Ammo... Good Stuff

Federal Hi Shok 115 Gr JHP 750 rounds for $500
carolinafirearmsforum.com carolinafirearmsforum.com
 
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Jeppo said:
Given today’s difficulty find ammo, I’d seriously consider these,

SOLD - 9mm Ammo... Good Stuff

Federal Hi Shok 115 Gr JHP 750 rounds for $500
carolinafirearmsforum.com carolinafirearmsforum.com
Click to expand...

I have been seeing decent JHP for $.75-$1 a round. I have not bought any but they are out there. I have a good bit of defensive ammo but wish I had bought more when Gold Dots where 50% off and did not sell 500 rounds of 147gr HST last year. 😢 In the end I don't shoot many JHPs after I have tested a gun for function.
 
wvsig said:
I can't find the link but I used to have a link to a statement from A guy who worked at Federal in their defensive ammo department who talked about using 147 grain in shorter barreled 9mm guns. IIRC guns 3" and under. The contention was that 147Gr standard pressure because of the round and the charge had a longer dwell time in the barrel and made better use of the powder. I am not a ballistics expert or even that knowledgeable about ballistics to comment one way of another. I stopped searching for the perfect round and these days basically am going for proper feeding and getting the rounds on target vs which bullet I am using.
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You are right on the delta in velocity for a heavier round (it was an engineer on the Ranger series development crew) but you need to get a velocity that puts the round into its expansion window ... a 3” barrel spits out the Speer 124gr PPSB Gold Dots ammo at approximately 1100 fps ... but 147gr rounds drop to around 900 fps depending and they were designed for more in the 1000 plus fps area.

Back to the OP ... truth be told in this market shoot what you can find and cycles you handgun reliably ... and heaven forbid you ever have to don’t be stingy on ammo ... shoot ’til the threat stops.
 
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