Best 9mm Carry Ammo Recommendations

EDC_Minded

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I'm new to the whole EDC scene, and I'd love to hear what you seasoned folks trust for 9mm carry ammo. Hollow points or full metal jacket? What do you carry and what's been your experience in terms of reliability?
 
You will find this is a debate that never ends. A very popular choice for the LE world and civilians is the Federal HST Tactical line of ammo. I carry HSTs in all of my 45s and 9mms. Once you decide on the brand your will need to decide on 124gr hollow point vs 147gr hollow point. 124gr is more popular, but I chose 147gr because I carry a P365 these days, and I was more comfortable with the recoil from this small gun. Frankly I'm not so sure it really matters as long as your choose a major brand that LE departments have chosen based on results, and go with it. More importantly is hitting your target. Practice, practice, practice until you are confident. Good luck.
 
Depending on which gun I am carrying it's either Federal 124gr HST JHP or Federal 147gr HST JHP. If I'm carry my 45, it Federal 230gr HST JHP.
Exactly the same with me. I'm curious which gun determines weather you carry 124gr vs 147gr?
 
My CS9 has a 3" barrel, so it gets 124gr. The 3913TSW has a 3.5" barrel, so it gets the 147gr.
No science behind it, I suppose I could use either in both.
 
Despite all the advertising I'm not completely convinced that one 9mm Self Defense round is better than any others. I use the HST because someone I knew and trusted said that's what he used in his LE job.

I have several brands of 124 and 147 9mm JHP. I don't expect that I'll ever use any for self defense. At least I hope not.

Any factory loaded 124hr HPs that feed reliably in my SD guns is what I use.
 
I carry a Kimber micro 9 with laser grips. Currently loaded with Remington hollow points and spare mag in the other pocket. Great pocket weapon that is completely concealed with no bulge showing. Solid built without all the cheap plastic crap. Never leave home without it and been carrying it for years.
 
Tomayto tomahto provided you are using top shelf ammo. I use 124gr or 115gr. I recall this nuisance from school 55 years ago, For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. The heavier the slug I push the heavier the recoil it will push back. And for the arguers it's too light, I'd rather hit them with a fly swatter than miss them with a cannon. YMWV
 
As much as folks don't like the FBI, they have the best testing and ballistic data anywhere. In my many years of Law Enforcement I have carried a lot of different ammo and sidearms and just recently allowed myself to own and carry 9MM (45 ACP most of my career). FBI uses Hornady 135 Critical Duty +P, they test it in every platform imaginable and this is what they have approved for duty as well as small carry guns. For a good while it was Speer G2 147 which scored higher than any handgun cartridge they had ever tested using the FBI protocol. They switched to Hornady largely because of issues with primers and load inconsistencies with Speer and they were unreliable in the field. Still a great round but if they don't fire, they are useless, I still have some and would have no problem carrying it but I have switched to Hornady as well. That said, there are many other very good 9MM rounds available, the 124 HST, 124 Gold Dot, Remington Golden Saber, too many to list. One reason I use Hornady is the if you are LE, Bud's Guns has them for $28.00 a 50 round box and even though I'm a dealer, I buy mine there. For short barreled carry guns, I prefer heavier bullets. 135 or 147, chamber pressure spike is less and recoil can be more manageable as well they retain more terminal capability than light bullets which run too slow in short barrels and don't achieve enough speed to perform reliably. Heavy bullets don't need as much speed to work because they have mass.
 

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