9mm - preferred carry load?

[Sniper 79]

NATO stuff or whatever my current hand loads are.

 

[EricG]

I never pretend to be a ballistics expert. I leave that to folks like Dr Gary Roberts and the team's of science needs he works with.

9mm is gtg.

Sent from my VS810PP using Tapatalk

 

[BehindBlueI's]

How about the penetration factor this time of year with heavy clothing aka coats, jackets, etc???
This inquiry is directed at the experienced members here with actual knowledge...

Not really an issue in duty calibers with quality cartridge selection. Hollowpoints that plug will typically fail to expand and penetrate more in heavy clothing. Hollowpoints that are over driven will start to fragment early and penetrate even less. Ball, of course, is largely unaffected. There are many good HP options today that aren't nearly as likely to plug and fail to expand as the 1980's and 1990's tech was. .380 and under the choices get more restricted, and it's quite difficult to get a consistently performing expanding bullet after heavy clothing, unless you count consistently acting like ball ammo.

I hear a lot of good about the 147 HST, anything extra special other than the weight?

It's an extremely barrier blind and consistent performer. here's a lot of good options out there in the 124-147gr category for 9mm right now, though, so I hesitate to describe the HST as "special". Specific to the Gen 5 Glock shooter, the 147gr weight is supposedly what the new line was optimized for. I don't think the differences in recoil, group size, etc. are particularly significant, though.

 

[gmcttr]

124gr HST in my G43 only because I seem to have the only G43 that doesn't like 147gr HST's.

147gr HST if I'm carrying any other 9mm.

 

[Route 45]

HST 124 +P in my P365.
Underwood Gold Dot 147+P in my M&P Compact 2.0 with 3.6" barrel.
HST 147 in my other 9mm pistols with barrels of 4" or longer. HST 147 for my carbines as well.

Honestly, if it's an HST or a Gold Dot in 124 or 147 grain, I think you've done about all you can to select an effective 9mm load.
I like +P in shorter barrels to make up for velocity loss a little. Probably not necessary, but gives me a little more confidence.

Practice and bulk SHTF ammo is Winchester 124 grain 9mm NATO or Speer Lawman 124 grain FMJ.

 

[2A-Hoosier23]

Is this the appropriate thread to ask, since a lot of us are using HST, where is a good place to get HST now? Prices have skyrocketed since Federal cracked down on selling the 50 round boxes only to LE.

 

[Dean C.]

Is this the appropriate thread to ask, since a lot of us are using HST, where is a good place to get HST now? Prices have skyrocketed since Federal cracked down on selling the 50 round boxes only to LE.

There are several vendors at the Indy 1500 gun show that have confirmed to me that they will still continue to sell "discounted" 50 round boxes at the gun shows. The explanation I was given is Federal wants to avoid becoming the next "Black Talon" in case some jack wagon decides to use HST in a shooting or some other paranoid crap.

 

[gmcttr]

Is this the appropriate thread to ask, since a lot of us are using HST, where is a good place to get HST now? Prices have skyrocketed since Federal cracked down on selling the 50 round boxes only to LE.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...00-what-happened-price-hst-2.html#post7822022

There is also a $1/box rebate running on 9mm. Rebate plus Prime Ammo membership at Target sports USA gets it down to $26.59/box shipped.

 

[88E30M50]

I use 147g HST in all of my 9mm pistols. It seems to run well in everything.

For .40, it’s either HST or GS. CZs don’t seem to like the .40 caliber HSTs as much as they do the Golden Sabre’s. For .45, it’s 230g HSTs mostly but do have a bunch of 185g GS around for the smaller .45s.

But, for 9mm, the 147g HST is my go-to ammo for all of the reasons mentioned above.

 

[cmamath13]

As of 5:40 PM Feb 9th, 2019, Federal HST 36 to all others 20...

 

[Amishman44]

In 9mm, the older federal Hydra-Shok 135 grain JHP's tend to work just fine...
I have a Glock 23 with a Storm Lake 9mm Conversion Barrel and a couple of older Ruger P-Series 9mm's...and they all handle the federal's just fine!

 

[ajeandy]

Is this the appropriate thread to ask, since a lot of us are using HST, where is a good place to get HST now? Prices have skyrocketed since Federal cracked down on selling the 50 round boxes only to LE.

I actually have quite a bit of 124 gr and 147 gr hst in 50 round boxes saved up. I had been selling them for $25/box of 50.

 

[BowhuntnHoosier]

Remington 147gr Golden Sabres.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

In 9mm, the older federal Hydra-Shok 135 grain JHP's tend to work just fine...

9mm Hydra-shoks are very inconsistent in expansion. Clear gel and water testing are not analogues to 'real world performance' or penetration, but they do show expansion under ideal conditions. In other words, if it doesn't expand in water or clear gel testing, it's never going to expand.

135gr Hydra-shok:

147 gr HST:

135 Critical Duty +P:

You can see the consistency of the HST and Critical Duty rounds.

Hydra-shok performs even worse through tougher intermediate barriers. With options like the HST, Ranger Bonded, Critical Duty, etc. all being both better performers under a wider variety of circumstances AND offering significantly better consistency, I'd have a tough time recommending hydra-shoks for 9mm or .45 use. Potentially in .380 if you're required to carry a HP per policy but are looking for more penetration then rounds that actually expand offer.

 

[NyleRN]

Just look at those beautiful pedals on the HSTs

 

[ru44mag]

9mm Hydra-shoks are very inconsistent in expansion. Clear gel and water testing are not analogues to 'real world performance' or penetration, but they do show expansion under ideal conditions. In other words, if it doesn't expand in water or clear gel testing, it's never going to expand.

135gr Hydra-shok:

147 gr HST:

135 Critical Duty +P:

You can see the consistency of the HST and Critical Duty rounds.

Hydra-shok performs even worse through tougher intermediate barriers. With options like the HST, Ranger Bonded, Critical Duty, etc. all being both better performers under a wider variety of circumstances AND offering significantly better consistency, I'd have a tough time recommending hydra-shoks for 9mm or .45 use. Potentially in .380 if you're required to carry a HP per policy but are looking for more penetration then rounds that actually expand offer.

I had switched to the Critical Duty, but quickly switched again to the Federal 147 HST when I found out I could buy 50 HST rounds for less than the price of 25 Critical Duty rounds.

 

[justacog]

At the time, LuckyGunner penetration test table helped me pick the Federal HST 147gr in addition to other misc reviews. They've updated with new ammo since I last looked at it, but haven't changed my recipe for what I feed my 9mm since the Federal HST digested fine. I may try some 147gr golden saber sometime.

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/
I just sorted the table based on the FBI standard depth window and expansion (little up/down arrows in column header), then picked whichever happened to have the better expansion without too much under/over penetration. Bonus points for more common availability. May re-evaluate based on cost at any given time in the future.

P.S.
Remington 180gr Ultimate Defense (Full Size) for the .40.
Hornady Critical Defense 90gr FTX for the .380.

 

[tcecil88]

I carry Federal HST 147gr. +p in my G17 and G26. Awesome round, mild recoil, very accurate. As a bonus, you can get it in a 50 round box for not much more than 20 rounds of Hornady CD or Speer GD.

 

[gglass]

All of my SD ammo has been switched to the Winchester Ranger-T series, after many years of carrying Federal HSTs.

I was an early adopter of the Federal HST line when it first hit the market, but I have finally sworn it off. Why? Because I am just tired of replacing the creased cartridges of HSTs. (No, I do not re-chamber the rounds. They just tend to crease after being loaded and unloaded from mags after a while.) No other brand that I have carried does this.

Ranger-T 147gr Expansion:

 

[CampingJosh]

I was an early adopter of the Federal HST line when it first hit the market, but I have finally sworn it off. Why? Because I am just tired of replacing the creased cartridges of HSTs. (No, I do not re-chamber the rounds. They just tend to crease after being loaded and unloaded from mags after a while.) No other brand that I have carried does this.

How many times are you loading and unloading magazines? And why?