best 9mm?

[RobertN]

Practice! Yes! I posted earlier from my sons old 4H instructor. He wants you to learn and practice, not just on paper target, and not just at 2pm on a sunny day at the range.

As he pointed out, it aint like on TV. And, it aint likely to happen at 2pm on a sunny day.

And, it aint all that expensive to do.

Drawing from a holster quickly...now that can be a sticking point, especially if the holster is buried under layers of clothing or a buttoned or zippered jacket.
One does need to practice drawing (with an unloaded handgun, of course). And one does want a good quality holster that will retain the gun, yet allow a quick draw.

 

[Car Doc]

+100 on Glock I am a huge fan.

My 30 has been on me constantly for going on 6 years now. It gets shot at the monthly matches its been soaked with sweat, covered with dirt from me rolling around on the ground under a truck out in my drive or tilling big gardens.

It looks old and worse for wear but has absolutely no rust anywhere and still shoots better than about any .45 I own besides my 21sf just awesomely reliable firearms. :thumbsup:

 

[Pilot]

A friend has a S@W Governor. Fires .45ACP with moon clips, .45 colt and .410 shot shells. I have forgotten his loading sequence, but he has them in a sequence that gets increasingly deadly as events progress and the bad guy or bear gets closer and closer.

No, this isn't 9mm, but the OP's first criteria is for a self defense weapon and then he chose 9mm, which may not be the best choice.

Portland cops use 9mm and every time there is a shoot out there is a hue and cry in the press questioning why they shot the bad guy 15 or 20 times. The Miami FBI story tells why. Makes me wonder if .22 mag hollow points would be just as good as round nosed solid 9mm's.

 

[DeeDubya]

Win WMR 40gr JHP average 120 ft lbs at the muzzle
Win 9x19 115gr FMJ average 360 ft lbs at the muzzle

3 times the energy

Internationally 9mm Luger (9x19) is still the most popular handgun round

I keep 147gr FMJ in my CZ 75B, about 430 ft lbs, Rem Golden Sabre is another good self-defense load

 

[Bird]

Portland cops use 9mm and every time there is a shoot out there is a hue and cry in the press questioning why they shot the bad guy 15 or 20 times. The Miami FBI story tells why. Makes me wonder if .22 mag hollow points would be just as good as round nosed solid 9mm's.

:laughing:I don't know just when the Illinois State Police first started carrying 9mm sem-autos, but I know they had them in 1971. And back about 1987-88, I read a "study" they did on how effective they were, or whether the change to 9mm was successful. I don't remember when it was written, but at the time, I found it a bit humorous, because they had shot lots of suspects, several of them multiple times, but the author concluded that the 9mm was a success because not a one of those shot died.:laughing: Even the ones shot multiple times survived.:laughing:

Incidentally, I was doing a little traveling recruiting in 1967 and one small town (county seat) that I visited in Texas had a young giant of a fellow, but real nice guy, as their police chief. In fact he was the whole department. And yep, he carried a .22 mag revolver.

 

[Car Doc]

147 Ranger T's in all my 9's especially the little Glock 26 they make about 145 power factor and the Ranger T in 230 + P is about 227 power factor.

Std .45 230 ball is about 195 PF and std 115 ball 9mm is about 126 PF and a .22 rim fire 40gr at 1200 fps is 48 PF fwtw. MV x BW = PF

 

[Pilot]

My comment about the .22 mag was meant to be tongue in cheek. But those .22 hollow points sure open up nicely and don't pass thru like the solids do.

 

[Bird]

My comment about the .22 mag was meant to be tongue in cheek. But those .22 hollow points sure open up nicely and don't pass thru like the solids do.

I know that's the way you meant it, but I actually met that police officer carrying that caliber. I think I was 10 years old when I got my first .22 rifle and later a couple of .22 revolvers. So I've shot a lot of .22 ammo, but never .22 magnum. You know a lot of police recruits have ever shot a gun of any kind until they become an officer. When I started in 1964, the first couple of days on the range we were shooting .22 revolvers that looked exactly like the issued .38 spl. S&Ws. Then after a couple of days, we went to the .38s.

Now that they issue 9mm, I don't know whether they start recruits on a gun with less recoil or not, but I doubt it.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

My comment about the .22 mag was meant to be tongue in cheek. But those .22 hollow points sure open up nicely and don't pass thru like the solids do.

Apples and oranges. I have never met anyone who chooses FMJ for self defense or hunting, and 115 gr. is the bottom end of bullet weights in 9mm. Self defense rounds are heavier and JHP. Indeed, in my state, FMJ bullets are illegal for hunting because they do not provide a humane kill, leaving far too many wounded animals.

 

[JB4310]

:laughing:I don't know just when the Illinois State Police first started carrying 9mm sem-autos, but I know they had them in 1971. And back about 1987-88, I read a "study" they did on how effective they were, or whether the change to 9mm was successful. I don't remember when it was written, but at the time, I found it a bit humorous, because they had shot lots of suspects, several of them multiple times, but the author concluded that the 9mm was a success because not a one of those shot died.:laughing: Even the ones shot multiple times survived.:laughing:

Incidentally, I was doing a little traveling recruiting in 1967 and one small town (county seat) that I visited in Texas had a young giant of a fellow, but real nice guy, as their police chief. In fact he was the whole department. And yep, he carried a .22 mag revolver.

Around here almost all LEOs are carrying .40's. don't know of any still carrying 9mm. Ballistics seem to be the happy medium between velocity/penetration and knock down energy characteristics.

That's interesting that the chief would carry a .22 mag. Wonder what his reasoning was? They are wicked accurate.

JB