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Best Bullet Weight in 9mm for EDC

Jim Diamantoni

Jim Diamantoni

Elite
My preferred bullet for EDC is the Federal LE 147 gr HST or Winchester Ranger 147 gr HP. MI State Police also use Federal 147 gr HST.
It seems most local stores, as well as on line sources offer 115 gr and 124 gr JHP and FMJ offerings.
I'm a heavy bullet guy but the heavier 147 gr bullets are not as plentiful as the lighter weight bullets. What's the best bullet weight for EDC and target practice?
 
I have always used heavy for caliber bullets for self defense. 147 gr for 9MM , 230 GR for .45 ACP , 158 gr for .357. However for .38 special I use 125 gr or 130 gr such as the HST that I use in my J frames.

For practice I will use what I can find in 9 MM including 115 gr.
 
I can't say if its the best, but I've pretty much settled on the 124gr bullets. While its not much over the 115s, I feel like the slightly extra weight may aid penetration. I do know they shoot well in my guns.
For practice and range use, I go with what's cheap. ;)
 
This is a letter I sent to my armed guard students/clients in 2019:

My recommendation still stands.
Gentlemen I routinely get questions from my students concerning the type duty ammunition that is best for law enforcement and security work. I wanted to pass this along to you for your information and consideration.

There are a lot of opinions and marketing efforts out there but it makes sense to take advantage of the extensive testing and research the FBI has done before selecting duty ammunition for their own agents to carry.

The ammunition selected by the FBI is manufactured by Hornady. It is labeled Critical Duty. This is a Plus P ammunition that should only be used in modern firearms, and that you would not want to shoot a lot of for practice. But it is a very effective defensive round.

As a result of the research done by the FBI, we recommend Hornady Critical Duty.

For 9mm it is labeled Hornady 9mm Luger +P Flexlock 134 grain Critical Duty.

For 40 caliber it is labeled Hornady Hornady 40 S&W Flexlock 175 grain Critical Duty'

For 45 caliber it is labeled Hornady 45 ACP +P Flexlock 220 grain Critical Duty

I also often get questions about how often duty ammunition should be replaced. Shelf life of ammunition that is kept in climate-controlled space is essentially unlimited. The ammo we carry around with us every day is another matter.

We are in a very humid climate and humidity affects the duty ammunition we carry over time. Whatever climate conditions you are subjected to, so is your firearm and ammunition. Although modern ammo is pretty durable, we recommend that duty ammo be replaced at least once per year, and preferably every six months. It is a good idea to shoot the duty ammo for practice or qualification and then replace it with new ammo.
 
I more or less look at the ballistic data for how a particular round performs out of the size barrel I'm using, and then I make my decision on what make/model I will carry which ever number of grains that is. In the case of 9mm JHP ammo that's Federal 124 gr HST. It penetrates better or equal to larger grain bullets, and it consistently expands to be larger or the same size as larger bullets.

Winchester 147 gr Ranger T-Series looks good too but HST is more commonly found at LGS. FYI there are are several other 147 gr 9mm offerings that will not perform well at all or better than many 115 gr offerings which is why I pay less attention to grains and more attention to how the round will perform out of the 3" and 4" barrel I'm using.
 
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KillerFord1977 said:
Underwood 147 gr JHP 9mm for SD
Buffalo Bore 255 gr +p hard cast FN for Hogs or SD

Anything other than WWB for training on 230 gr .45 or 115 gr 9mm
Click to expand...
I should edit that the 255 gr was .45, but figure most of you would know that

This is the result .

Was an Oh 💩 moment.
In close on the run and had to draw … saint was empty.. mag load was too long .. 45 came out on transition
2F98ACB3-4131-4366-9B66-1E67208C5119.jpeg
 
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