The Best 9mm Ammo For Self Defense: Here Is What We Picked

Gun News Daily

Security,

Do you agree?

I’ve been a handgun enthusiast for a little over a decade now, and I love everything about handguns. I love older pistol designs and all modern designs the same way.

I have my preferences as far as handguns designs, i.e. I like hammer-fired handguns better than striker-fired ones, I like handguns with an all-steel frame better than those with a polymer or an alloy frame, and I like 1911s and SA/DA magnum revolvers far more than I’d ever like any other handgun platform.

Likewise for handgun calibers, not counting rounds I consider obscure but slowly gaining popularity (e.g. 10mm, .460 Rowland), I have a soft spot for both the .45 acpand the .357 magnum — which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone because like I said, I love 1911s and magnum revolvers. For me, as far as handgun calibers, these two being on the higher end of the ballistics performance spectrum, no other calibers come close.

The .45 acp might be the slowest and heaviest of the “big three” semi-auto handgun calibers, but it makes the biggest holes in soft tissue targets when comparing FMJ vs. FMJ or JHP vs. JHP — its only downsides: terrible solid target penetration (slow and fat bullets have a hard time penetrating even entry level body armors) and lackluster ammo capacity in handguns chambered for it (the typical 1911 magazine can only fit seven to eight of these big fat cartridges).