Best Standard Pressure 9mm Defensive ammo in a Service Length Barrel.

[YoungMilsurpGuy]

In my continuing saga of being a broke but armed college student, I have come into the possession of a Isreali Surplus FEG hipower. Its a great gun(way more comfortable to shoot compared to other $300 options), and with a new recoil spring has been 100% reliable with about 400 rounds of ammo, about half of them brass cased and half of them steel cased stuff.

Now the gun isnt an every day carry gun, but rather is used for plinking, the occasional competition, but it sits in a m12 chest holster attached to my desk chair as a second line home defense gun. (A 12 gauge with #4 buck is my go to) Now given that this is just a Hungarian copy of the Hi-power, and was used in service in the Isreali home guard and god knows where else, I don't want to be firing +P out of it.

So what Im wondering is what is the best self defense ammo that is standard pressure out of a service length barrel? And also I favor penetration in handgun rounds, and Im looking for something that does 12-18, preferably at least 14" inches in a service barrel. I perosnally am looking to just go up to wally world and grab some winchester white box 147 grain bullets, as it seems a heavier round has more momentum and better penetrating capability. Has anyone seen any problems with this ammo? Or have any other alternatives that would suit my needs?

And I mean theres no wrong answers here, because right now I have 15 rounds of good old wolf 9mm 115grn ball. I also have the 15 round mec-gar magazine that feeds all the modern hollowpoints.

 

[mammynun]

Federal 147 HST is a good place to start... the ability to reliably feed is critical for HD so you should plan on firing enough rounds to be sure your chosen ammo gets along with your pistol. For me, that's 200 rounds to start, and I also fire the magazine in my carry gun on about a monthly basis though I'll confess to economic slacking from time to time.

Just remember that it's a 9mm pistol, not an 81mm mortar; your ability to hit your target in a vital area is far more important than the type of ammo you hit it with.

50 Round Box - 9mm Luger Federal HST 147 Grain Hollow Point LE Ammo P9HST2 | SGAmmo.com

 

[Birds Away]

First, I congratulate you on making a good decision on a solid surplus gun. Secondly, take a look at Remington Golden Sabers. They aren't the "latest and greatest" but they stand up well in testing and you won't be paying quite as much as for some others.

 

[KellyinAvon]

"Broke but Armed" would be a great forum handle. Hornady Critical Defense or Federal HST would get my vote.

 

[in625shooter]

People get to wrapped around the axel. About any bonded quality round will be fine. Hornady Critical defense, HST, PDX1 Gold Dit it's more what you can find than anything else these days.

The only thing I do myself is avoid the 115 with the exception. Of Gold Dit. GD seems to be spot on in any weight. Personally I like 124-147. Brand really doesn't matter.

 

[mammynun]

Just to be clear, you want/need hollow points for a variety of reasons. FMJ/ball ammo is the round of last resort for defensive purposes IMO.

 

[PGRChaplain]

+1 For the Hornady CD. A well placed shot is much more critical than the Ammo. the FEG is a Solid Handgun, like a Timex it will "take a Lickin and Keep on Tickin"

 

[canterbc]

I used to be a Hornady CD fan, but have since jumped ship to 147 grain Federal HST. A guy on youtube (tnoutdoors9) did a test out of short barrels and it was the winner. It seems to function in the longer barrels just fine too. Whats nice is you can get a box of 50 for about $22 or so.

 

[poppy]

Google Dr. Gary Roberts. He one of, if not the leading authority on self defense ammo and ballistics and penetration.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

HST, Speer G2, Ranger Talon, Winchester PDX-1...all good options and with only minor differences. Winchester penetrates slightly deeper, HST expands slightly more. All perform within FBI specs.

 

[tacticalmaster45]

I carry Hornady 135gr +P Critical Duty in my Glock 19 but also use HST's and Speer GD's in other defensive firearms. The only thing that I would stay away from are the "all copper" HP's out there - I have not been impressed by their expansion in numerous non-scientific tests I've conducted.

 

[VERT]

Hungarian FEG. I would stick with something similar to ball in profile. Federal still offers their 9BP loading. I think the XM1001 is similar and might be sold as Candian police surplus. The 9BP is sold either in a plain white box or a grey Classic box. These are standard pressure 115 grain hollowpoints that resemble the old Hydrashok only without the post. When I was a young guy in college I bought an FEG HiPower and these loads fed well. Worked then will work now.

Federal 9BP is a very accurate loading. I shoots and feeds so well that I still keep some around. Plus it doesn't break the bank. You can buy it online for about $16 a box. Not a fully modern self defense load but not something I would want to get hit with.

 

[flatlander]

124 HST

Bob

 

[MCgrease08]

[video=youtube_share;c8gm7ZTkDxc]http://youtu.be/c8gm7ZTkDxc[/video]

 

[YoungMilsurpGuy]

Hungarian FEG. I would stick with something similar to ball in profile. Federal still offers their 9BP loading. I think the XM1001 is similar and might be sold as Candian police surplus. The 9BP is sold either in a plain white box or a grey Classic box. These are standard pressure 115 grain hollowpoints that resemble the old Hydrashok only without the post. When I was a young guy in college I bought an FEG HiPower and these loads fed well. Worked then will work now.

Federal 9BP is a very accurate loading. I shoots and feeds so well that I still keep some around. Plus it doesn't break the bank. You can buy it online for about $16 a box. Not a fully modern self defense load but not something I would want to get hit with.

Interesting, seems to be a round that would feed reliably out of even the surplus mags I have and that later when I can get better ammo can be regulated to be a second line effective stockpile round for prepping that would feed in any cheap stash gun or even the FEG since I will probably hold on to it

 

[halfmileharry]

None of it does any good if you miss the target.
You might want to give the Federal 135grain low recoil HS a try. I can get much faster follow up shots with the 135 than HST, Gold Dot, or the Hornaday. I've got about a dozen different types of 9hp here thanks to some local INGO'ers that have all gone through the trial and errors of the "Best" available.
That FEG should shoot them fine. It's an older design and may not like some hollow point designs. I've got a real BHP that refuses to eat most HP ammo but it's a very old one that belonged to my dad so it's not a defensive gun anyway.
I'd try one brand at a time and make sure it's going to like them.

 

[VERT]

Interesting, seems to be a round that would feed reliably out of even the surplus mags I have and that later when I can get better ammo can be regulated to be a second line effective stockpile round for prepping that would feed in any cheap stash gun or even the FEG since I will probably hold on to it

9BP should feed ok in a surplus gun. I would invest in a couple new magazines. The MecGar HiPower mags should work. If memory serves they make 13 and 15 rounders. Avoid some of the cheap South American mags.

 

[Doublehelix]

I also shoot Federal HST 147 gr. as my defense rounds. (Sig and H&K pistols.) 100% fire rate with no FTF or FTE in my guns. I feel pretty confident when I have them in my mags.

EDIT: I just noticed the "standard pressure" part of your post. Sorry, I missed that. Mine are +P.

 

[halfmileharry]

I also shoot Federal HST 147 gr. as my defense rounds. (Sig and H&K pistols.) 100% fire rate with no FTF or FTE in my guns. I feel pretty confident when I have them in my mags.

EDIT: I just noticed the "standard pressure" part of your post. Sorry, I missed that. Mine are +P.

They do have standard pressure HST as well as the +P. I have both handy. One of our local INGO LEOs let me in on that one.

 

[Rockhopper]

Federal HST 124gr for all my 9mm's.

The only problems I have ever had with pistol/ammo combination was Hornady Critical Defense/Duty in a Ruger LC9. The first round in the magazine would often get hung up on the feed ramp. If I nudged the round forward a pinch before inserting the mag, it worked fine.