I've been testing almost a dozen premium JHP self-defense rounds and have a working list of better rounds for a new S9-A1. Has anyone else run some informal tests and come up with their own list? If so, please share your list with the rest of us.
I use Speer 124 grain Gold Dot +P Short Barrel. Reliable, accurate, low flash. midwayusa.com had some in stock in their latest flyer.
I run Hornady Critical Defense 115 gr. in my C9-A1. I have my own reasons for that, but I love the ammo. It's reliable, as accurate as the shooter, and I can run it in my other 9mm guns as well.
I just bought a box of winchester pdx1 bonded 124 +P, $18. per 20 at academy sports until SAT. I will shoot a few next week, I will also be getting the 124 +p gold dots this is for my new s9-a1
Hi Guys Anybody else tried these, besides steyrcase an' me? I putta box of 'em thru my last S9-A1 atta bouta buck a round! "Fed and Cycled", no worries! :thumbsup: 'course, I always wanted to try reloadin' some 135 Gr Speer 38 cal GD SB's (Speer #4014 <-- resized to .356" ), and give 'er a go inna 9x19MM ...just for the Hell of it! Oughtta make for an awesome 9MM SD performance round, near 1100 fps! :drool: Be safe, Guys. Wulf <-- Has fun with 'is reloads
After all the testing done I've settled for the time being on Federal 115-grain +P+ 9BPLE, the famed (ISP) Illinois State Police round with a proven track record. Rated at 1300 fps in a 4" barrel so it ought to be hitting around 1250 fps from the S9-A1. The back-up magazine carries Federal 135-grain Tactical Bonded +P, figuring that one mag ought to have a regular bullet and the second a bonded one. The fact is, all the premium JHP self-defense rounds are good choices and life could be worse than having all the good choices available. Tomorrow I might decide to carry Federal 124-grain HST standard pressure or +P with back-up mag loaded with Federal 124-grain Tactical Bonded or 124-grain Remington Golden Saber +P. The most important thing to me is that the new S9-A1 shoots everything perfectly. What a great CCW pistol it is!
I have the 115-grain Gold Dots and they work just fine. Wish I had the standard pressure or +P 124-grain rounds though, as that bullet weight is what I generally prefer for 9mm. From what I've read the particular +P round you picture is the default "best of the best" 9mm round out there by which all other 9mm self-defense rounds are compared. ammnitiontogo.com offers 50-round boxes of this ammo at a much more reasonable price. And that's not the only online ammo source that offers the 50-round boxes. I've exclusively bought my carry JHP ammo via online sources for the past two years or more. The prices and delivery are excellent and for some deals if you purchase enough the shipping is free.
That's what I carry in my M9-A1 when I carry it and what I carried in my PF-9 and now my DB9. When I shot a series of water jugs from approximately 7 meters with my PF-9 (3.1" barrel), I retrieved the below bullet out of the second jug. It had expanded beautifully. I don't have access to a chrono, so I have no idea what my muzzle velocity was. I'm sure I took a decent hit shooting it out of that short barrel. Nice choice!
Now that the weather's cold I switched magazines. Primary CCW is now the Federal 135-grain Tactical Bonded +P and backup the 9BPLE rounds. My next online ammo purchase will include Speer 124-grain Gold Dot +P and Remington 124-grain Golden Saber +P Bonded. I'm also dabbling with the idea of picking up some Speer 115-grain Gold Dot +P+ to compare against the 9BPLE; I've read some comments that this is a very impressive round. I carried the 124-grain Golden Saber +P in my M9-A1 because it delivered the best overall shooting characteristics of all the rounds I tested. Unfortunately the bullet has a reputation for core-jacket separation. I've seen some good videos of backyard tests with the bonded version and I understand it enjoys an excellent reputation. Current List of premium JHP self-defense ammos I have: 1. Speer 115-grain Gold Dot 2. Fiocchi 115-grain Extrema XTP 3. Federal 115-grain +P+ (9BPLE) 4. Federal 124-grain HST 5. Federal 124-grain HST +P 6. Federal 124-grain Tactical Bonded 7. Federal 135-grain Tactical Bonded +P 8. Remington 124-grain Golden Saber 9. Remington 124-grain Golden Saber +P I also have a box of Fiocchi 92-grain Extrema Monoblock (9EMB) ammo I bought for my Kel-Tec PF-9 but haven't thought seriously about carrying that ammo in the S9-A1. If anyone believes this is something I should consider please let me know.
