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Invented by the legendary Georg Luger in 1901, the 9mm Parabellum (or 9x19mm or 9mm or 9mm Luger) is one of the most prolific cartridges in the world today. But what is the best 9mm ammo?
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From military special operations units to college shooting sports teams and millions of concealed carriers, the 9mm has done it all and will continue to do so for a long time to come.
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So in a world with more than 9mm makes and types, how do you know which is the best?
How do we define what is "best"? And where can you find a good deal for it?
Before we get down to business, let's go over the cartridge basics so we can agree. Then what are we going to look at?
I hope we all know what a bullet is - a bullet that comes out of the barrel (at least that's the plan).
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While you'll often hear people use the slang word "bullet" for the entire cartridge, technically speaking, the bullet is just one part of the cartridge.
Although any part of a cartridge can change its performance characteristics, the design of the bullet will have the greatest impact on the target because it is the design of the bullet that really affects the target.
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FMJ (Full Metal Sheath) - The lead core covers a copper "sheath". It's pretty easy to make and pretty cheap.
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More importantly, only brass touches the barrel of the gun, unlike cast lead bullets that don't have a metal plating.
JHP (Jacketed Hollow Point) – This bullet consists of a bullet or other core encased in a copper sheath with a carefully designed and tested opening in the open, soft nose of the bullet.
To keep it simple, we'll say the opening to improve the expansion when the bullet hits the target.
The added benefit is that it requires a lot of energy and therefore slows the projectile significantly. This goes a long way in preventing excessive penetration.
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Other – There are several new bullet designs that are not from a few decades ago.
Personally, I haven't seen any reliable third-party testing that supports these concepts. I've seen dozens of independent tests proving the effectiveness of JHP and HP bullets.
For factory ammunition it is rare to know what type of gunpowder is in each cartridge type, but the bullet weight and design must be available.
If you refill, you'll want to learn more about gunpowder. But until then, it's best to trust only the manufacturer.
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Bonus: This image is from our gun caliber guide. If you want to know more about pistol and revolver cartridges, I recommend reading it.
One thing I often have to remind new gun owners is that life is not a video game. You don't have 100 health points and it doesn't pierce 1D10 per 9mm hit.
Some factors, such as barrel length, are related to the weapon you are using. Others are environmental, like always living in Southern California Vs. North Dakota in winter.
Usually 9mm is designed for a 4-5 inch barrel. Getting ammo for barrels shorter than this is a niche in the market that has been taken up recently.
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If you're using anything less than 4 inches, you may want to double check if the ballistic gel tests with your chosen ammo.
If you live in an area where shorts and T-shirts are worn almost year-round, you can deal with shells that may not penetrate very far.
Conversely, if you need to protect yourself in a cold climate where the bullet has to go through a heavy jacket or more, penetration becomes the deciding factor in what to buy.
Winter can make it easier to store your clothes, but it also means a lot more layers to throw away.
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For those who live in really cold places where the bullets need a lot of penetration, there is a feeling that FMJ bullets might be the answer.
You can solve the problem by using a hollow ball designed for penetration rather than expansion (like one of the polymer tipped Hornady options). This may be a more reliable choice.
Also very popular with the police and military, the 124-grain bullet is a good compromise. In fact, NATO standardized the 124g design.
As with the climate comparison, you have the choice of fast/larger expansion or slower/better penetration. These are general principles of course - there are lots of exceptions in the real world.
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I mentioned penetration and expansion - what exactly am I talking about? Let's loosely define terms that refer to ammo.
It is defined as piercing or passing something through. The FBI standard (a good standard for life) seeks 12 to 18 inches of ballistic gel penetration.
Some bullets are excellent at penetrating - they actually penetrate very well. One of the concerns is that the bullet may miss its intended target and injure an innocent bystander beyond the target.
In relation to a gun bullet, expansion is the ability to pierce a target and result in a larger diameter at the end of its journey than when it entered.
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The expansion bullet is usually a JHP with a jacketed bullet body with a soft, sometimes exposed lead or polymer tip.
There are many different types of expanding projectiles, but the differences are hardly significant to the average person.
To calculate bullet energy, multiply the weight of the bullet (in grains) by the square of the bullet velocity (feet/second) and divide by 450, 437.
For example, a 115-grain bullet at 1150 fps will produce 337.6 pound-pounds of energy.
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Energy ratings can be misleading and should not be the sole determinant of projectile performance. As I'll explain below, sometimes energy looks good on paper, but doesn't translate well in the real world in terms of actual bullet performance.
If you want to check this information yourself, a simple chronograph can help you get accurate readings.
While some are silly and some are practical, the gold standard is the FBI Penetration Test.
The FBI has tested thousands of bullets and has even developed a standardized test for the playground.
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We could (and should) write an entire article on just testing, but the short version is that it tests ammo using a block of gel and includes things like heavy clothing, drywall, simulated car doors and car glass.
In general, heavy clothing is the most important thing to consider for the average society. Statistically speaking, it is very rare for a civilian to fire through the drywall, car door or windshield in defensive shots.
Winter coats, on the other hand, can be worn half the year or more depending on where you live.
It's hard to separate the good from the bad unless you make your own ballistic gel. Fortunately, the folks at Lucky Gunner have done a tremendous amount of testing and this information is available to us.
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If in doubt about a brand of defensive ammunition, check the lab test results to get a clearer idea of what's going on.
However, every type of ammo we recommend is ammo that we rely on with our lives. We do this because we researched them and practically shot them ourselves.
In reality, I only want three things from my training ammo - I want it to be cheap, I want it to be reliable, and I want the impact point to roughly match the impact point of my carry ammunition.
Whether for practice or just getting into the range, FMJ ammo is great for keeping your costs down.
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Another great way to do less damage to your wallet is to use steel or aluminum cased ammo. Steel can be harder to find these days, as most steel pot ammunition comes from Russia and these sources have recently been banned. I hope other countries follow the same path.
Both are great for making cheap ammo and are perfectly safe to shoot with your gun. You may experience feeding or mining problems as these metals behave differently than copper.
As a note to our readers, we apologize that most of the ammunition we recommend may be out of stock when you search.
CDC safeguards, significant disruption of supply chains, and many other reasons – this ammo shortage isn't over yet and will likely continue for a few more months.
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You can usually find them at a good price and in abundance. I fired thousands of magtech bullets and never
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