It’s a good time to be a concealed carrier. The amount of loads designed for self-defense has never been better. The cartridge of choice for most shooters is now the 9mm, which has become the dominant cartridge in defensive chamberings. Most police forces have ditched the .40 S&W in favor of 9mm, and the 45 ACP is called the 45 AARP for a reason. It’s all about 9mm now, and with the advent of micro-compact 9mm handguns, it’s not likely to change anytime soon.
With that in mind, what’s the best defensive 9mm ammo? Why is it the best, and what is it the best at? That’s what we plan to answer today.
What Matters With Defensive Ammo
When it comes time to load your smoke wagon, you should have access to the best defensive loads on the market. The ammo market is odd. There is certainly a lot of snake oil out there bragging about energy and foot pounds as if it matters when it comes to stopping a threat. In real life, when discussing handgun calibers, only one thing really matters, and that’s penetration.
Can the round get deep enough to strike something vital and make the threat not a threat anymore? That’s what we are looking for. Beyond that, we get into other features, like expansion. When a round expands, it does more. More damage done to a threat is better than less damage, correct? If we have a round that both expands and penetrates, then we really are cooking with gas.
Finally, we get into how the round affects the shooter and gun. Obviously, it needs to be able to function reliably inside your firearm of choice. This means the gun needs to be able to digest it, and it should be a premium-grade round that functions in semi-auto handguns. Not only that but when fired from your gun of choice, it should be able to reliably penetrate and hopefully be able to expand.
In terms of affecting the shooter, we have to mention recoil. The famed 9mm round is fairly tame, and that’s why we like it. However, you put the right +P load in a micro-sized gun, and you’ll be getting a snappy experience. Considering the gun and shooter is also important in load selection.
The Best Defensive 9mm Loads
For Small Guns: Federal Personal Defense HST Micro 9mm Ammo JHP 150gr
Small guns have short barrels. Barrel length affects velocity. Velocity affects penetration and expansion. It seems to affect expansion more than penetration, but we do like both at the end of the day. There is also a bit of an issue with recoil and small guns. A round that can penetrate, expand, and not beat your hand up can be valuable.
This brings us to the heavy-duty 150-grain HST rounds from Federal. They deliver adequate penetration and expand when fired from smaller 9mm handguns. These cartridges were designed around 3-inch barrels. They tend to be quite easy to control with less recoil than your 124-grain +P loadings.
The 150-grain loads expand from .355 inches up to .655, and they retain nearly 100% of their weight. They even tend to have less muzzle flash in low light compared to other, similar defensive loadings. It seems odd to pack such a heavy bullet in a short barrel, but it works and works well.
For Duty-Sized Guns: Hornady Critical Duty 135 Grain FlexLock Duty
If you are using a Glock 19 or larger type gun, then you can graduate to something a little hotter. These 135-grain loads utilize a 135-grain projectile with some +P power to it. This makes them a little snappy in a smaller gun but fine in a full-sized or Glock 19-sized compact. The 135-grain bullet has no problems reaching minimal penetration and doesn’t over-penetrate, either.
The round punches through and expands as it travels, ripping and tearing as it goes. Hornady uses the Flexlock projectile, which features a polymer tip. The idea is that it can pass through drywall, heavy denim, or whatever else, and the hollow point of the projectile won’t fill up. Hollow points with gunk in them tend to fail at expansion.
The plastic tip breaks away on a soft target and allows the projectile to expand as it penetrates. It’s a genius design. +P often means + recoil, but that’s not the case here. It’s surprisingly easy shooting for a standard-sized gun. The big cartridges fly far, hit hard, and travel quite flat.
Best All-Around 9mm Load: Speer Gold Dot 124 grain +P Load
One of the most proven, most recognizable, and most widely trusted cartridges by law enforcement agencies is the Speer Gold Dot 124 grain round with +P loadings. It works quite well for handguns with barrels from 3.5 inches and up. The cartridge is well known for its accuracy and dependability.
The 124-grain projectile is often touted as the best all-around weight for the 9mm handgun. It penetrates well and can reach a good velocity to encourage reliable expansion without a whole lot of recoil behind it. Some +P velocity ensures it moves fast out of barrels, both short and long.
The case is designed for long-term carry with a nickel coating. This keeps the brass from tarnishing, which can affect how the round feeds into the weapon and how the case ejects. It just works, and if you want a simple answer for defense 9mm ammo, the Speer Gold Dot is the way to go.
Best Low Recoil Load: SIG 365
I tend to dislike low recoil loads for automatic handguns. Many suffer from numerous problems. This includes reliability with semi-auto firearms and bad penetration. SIG produced the P365 as an everyday carry, and alongside it, they produced a line of ammo called the 365 ammo. It’s designed for small guns and designed to be light recoiling.
Not only does it not beat your hand to pieces in sub-compacts and micro-compacts, but it also has no problems cycling the guns. The 115-grain projectile penetrates deep enough, and the velocity makes it easy for the round to expand and grow as it penetrates.
SIG cracked the code with their V-crown 365 ammo. It’s my personal favorite in my LCR in 9mm and my standard P365. It’s well suited for those little, lightweight guns and for those who might be somewhat recoil sensitive.
Best For PCCs: Federal Premium Hydra-Shok 9mm Ammo 147gr JHP
If you are rocking and rolling with a pistol caliber carbine for home defense, then you need to think about the ammo you’re using in it. The long barrels boost velocity, and they can make the velocity too high. It hits too hard and too fast and doesn’t expand. It seems odd, but it’s an issue worth correcting.
The best way to slow a projectile down is to make it heavier. Thus, we use a 147-grain load. These hefty loads designed for full-sized handguns work quite well for PCCs. They race out of the short barrel, hit hard, and do not fail to expand.
These heavy-duty cartridges don’t impart much recoil from rifles and remain exceptionally easy to control. They fit the role of defensive ammo just right. Federal Premium Hydra-Shok rounds are well-proven for their reliability, consistency, accuracy, and expansion. In a rifle, they form a great option for defensive shooting.
9mm Defensive Ammo Options
A lot of people get awfully picky about their guns, optics, and lights. They should be just as picky about their ammunition choices. Luckily, we have plenty of good defensive 9mm ammunition. My main advice would be to stay away from loads that seem too good to be true. Look for independent testing, or you might end up shooting G2 Rip rounds. Be picky, do your research, and match your load to your gun.
