The Best 9 MM Self-Defense Ammunition for Your EDC Handgun

ammunition, ammo, self-defense ammo, bullets, 9mm, 9 mm, defensive ammo, CrossBreed Holsters, everyday carry, IWB, OWB, edc, iwb, owb
Bound to create a brawl in the comments, this article highlights the best 9MM Self-Defense Ammunition to ensure your personal protection!

 

Pretty sure I’m about to stomp on a murder hornets’ nest but here goes nothin.

Have you ever noticed how folks in the gun industry tend to be just a bit opinionated? You know, kind of like the way the sun is a little warm? Anyone who has hung around the range or gun store for longer than a minute can tell you how many various opinions there are about the “best this” and the “best that”– from guns to holsters to knives to defensive rounds. And how, exactly, do you define “best”?

That’s a tough one, but here’s how I’m going to define “best” for this 9mm ammunition round-up: Does it do its job and not break the bank? I’m not going to get into the minutia of overall velocity or how far a round penetrates into ballistic gelatin. I’ll leave the science up to the experts. But we can still find out what makes a great defensive round without putting on our lab coats and eye pro.
ammunition, ammo, self-defense ammo, bullets, 9mm, 9 mm, defensive ammo, CrossBreed Holsters, everyday carry, IWB, OWB, edc, iwb, owb
Ballistic gelatin is cool, y’all.

I want to pause here for a second and address something about calibers before I go any further. As common as 9mm is, there are still those out there (again, it’s hard to find a non-opinionated gun owner) who argue it’s not a good defensive round because, well, for a lot of reasons they cite. It’s too light, too slow, too fast (yes, they say both), and other reasons. While all of that may or may not be true, I’m not here to argue about the merits of different calibers and why some are better than others. So for now, let’s just focus on what we came here to do, shall we?!?

WHOA. Where was I? Ah, yes…

Ammunition is expensive!

Even the cost of practice ammo can add up over time, especially if you shoot on a regular basis. At 15 to 25 cents a pop, pretty soon you’re burning up a week’s worth of grocery money before you even shoot enough to merit cleaning your gun… and that’s the cheap ammo! Throw a few defensive rounds down range and you’re wallet just got a whole lot lighter.
ammunition, ammo, self-defense ammo, bullets, 9mm, 9 mm, defensive ammo, CrossBreed Holsters, everyday carry, IWB, OWB, edc, iwb, owb

Of course, by definition, defensive rounds aren’t meant to be tossed at a target very often. They stay tucked away in your concealed carry gun, reserved the rare occasion – or never, if you’re lucky – when a deadly threat presents itself and you’re forced to employ the skills you’ve learned in training. (You do train on a regular basis, right? Please say yes.) While you can usually train with practice ammo, it is best to fire at least a few magazines of your defensive rounds through any gun you might carry just to be sure they play well together. The last thing you need in a defensive situation is to pull out your gun, squeeze the trigger…and nothing happens.

So what are some of the best defensive rounds out there?

Let’s look at the job of defensive ammunition first. What’s it supposed to do?

Most defensive ammo is hollow point, designed to fly straight, penetrate the target, and then spread inside, allowing the newly formed tentacles to use the spinning motion of the round to tear into internal organs and blood vessels to instantly lower the blood pressure and stop the body from working. Penetration and expansion – this spread also works like a claw to stop the bullet faster than ball or practice ammunition, which doesn’t spread and could over-penetrate, exiting the body and possibly hitting something behind it.

With this baseline established, let’s check out some *recommendations of rounds!
*These are listed alphabetically to keep my personal opinions out of this – all of these rounds fall within the FBI’s recommended 12-18 inches penetration.

Black Hills: 9mm Luger HoneyBadger™

Wouldn’t you know after all that talk about hollow points, the list is kicked off with the only non-hollow point of the bunch?

Unlike its cavity-filled cousins, Black Hills’ HoneyBadger ammo is a solid copper ballistic that uses four fluted sides to create the air pressure needed to form a wound tunnel. Thanks to its plus-sign-shaped construction, the bullet does not spread on impact, instead staying true to form all the way in, aiding in penetration while still opening a wide wound cavity, even at a mere 100 grains.

You can usually find a box of 20 for around $28.58, which is $1.43/round.

Federal Premium HST 9mm 147 Grain

Often found on the gun belts of police agencies across the country, the Federal Premium HST 9mm 147 Grain ammunition is a classic hollow point with some serious heft, coming in a bit heavier than many of its competitors. If you’re like most concealed carriers, you probably don’t rotate your ammo out very often, if at all, which means you’ll appreciate the copper-plated projectile and nickel-plated case that prevent corrosion during long term carry.

Federal is known for value pricing and a box of 50 can be yours for just $39.99, just 80 cents per round.

Hornady Critical Defense

Hornady claims to have solved the problem of clogging and penetration inconsistency sometimes associated with hollow-point rounds by adding the patented Flex Tip technology to the inside of the ballistic. The red polymer plug purportedly prevents the hollow point from spreading prematurely, ensuring more consistent penetration through the initial layers of a target, such as clothing and skin, before mushing up on its own to force the round to flower and grab tissue.

Critical Defense ammo also uses Hornady’s proprietary low-flash propellant to reduce the glare often associated with shooting that could temporarily hinder your ability to see your target in low-light conditions.

You can find a box of 25 Critical Defense bullets for $22.99 at Brownells, just under $.92 per round.

Sig Sauer Elite V-Crown

When Sig Sauer got into the ammunition business, they had a lot of catching up to do. Despite Sig’s storied history of great firearms, most of their competitors had been making ballistics for decades longer.

The Elite V-Crown, however, proved they had what it took to make great defensive ammo. This 124-grain load works on what Sig calls their “stacked hollow point” design that features the initial cavity which opens on impact followed by a middle crease that expands the opening even further as the round penetrates.

Right now, you can get a box of 20 for $15.99, which is an impressive $.80 per round.

What’s in YOUR Magazine?

Whatever self-defense ammo you choose to protect you and your loved ones, make sure it runs in your gun. You don’t want the last sound you ever hear to be the anemic “click” of a hammer or striker on a bullet that didn’t fire.

Is there a type of personal defense ammunition you use that works particularly well with your everyday carry gun? What has been your experience with self-defense handgun ammo?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
situational awareness, sweatpants, bellyband, belly band holster with hard trigger cover, Walther, Walther PPS, PPS, ultimate belly band holster, deep concealment, modular belly band, CrossBreed Holsters, holster, IWB, Concealed Carry, most comfortable holster, hybrid holster, stay strapped, sweatpants, lockdown, personal protection, best belly band, best holster, best-concealed carry holster, CrossBreed, pandemic self-defense, IWB, OWB, inside the waistband, outside the waistband, DropSlide, SuperTuck, CrossBreed Holsters, Best IWB, Best OWB, concealed carry, open carry, gun belt, made in america, best holster, holsters, holster for, gun holsters, hybrid holsters, Dave Workman

 

David Workman is an avid gun guy and a contributing writer to several major gun publications. In addition to being an NRA-certified RSO, David trains new shooters on basic handgun skills and CCW requirements and is a strong advocate for training as much as you possibly can. “Real life shootouts don’t happen at a box range.”

 

 

 

 

You may also enjoy these popular articles:

1911 Pistol, M1911, gun review, pistols, M1911, CrossBreed Holsters, holsters, holsters for 1911, 1911 holsters, IWB, OWB, CrossBreed SuperTuck, tuckable holster, handcrafted holster, handmade holster, hybrid holsters,  1911 Pistol, M1911, gun review, pistols, M1911, CrossBreed Holsters, holsters, holsters for 1911, 1911 holsters, IWB, OWB, CrossBreed SuperTuck, tuckable holster, handcrafted holster, handmade holster, hybrid holsters,  caliber, 9mm, 45 ACP, 10 mm, pistols, ammunition, ammo, bullets, self-defense ammo, defensive ammunition, defensive ammo

Follow us on Social Media:
Facebook, share, article, crossbreed holsters, handguns, concealed carry, hybrid holsters, blog    Twitter, share article, share, article, crossbreed holsters, handguns, concealed carry, hybrid holsters, blog 

CrossBreed Holsters, EDC, everyday carry, Best Holsters, hybrid holsters, Google, SIG Sauer, handguns, Glock, Walther, google review, best IWB holster, holsters, OWB, best owb holster, holsters for, edc gear, SuperTuck, MiniTuck, Executive Gun Belt, leather gun belt, best gun belt, my everyday carry, survey, outside the waistband, inside the waistband, Smith & Wesson, Shield, G19, Springfield Armory, Springfield Hellcat

©MTC Holsters, LLC and CrossBreed Holsters Blog, 2020.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to David Workman and the CrossBreed Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

SIG, SIG Sauer, P320, M17, CrossBreed Holsters, EDC, everyday carry, Best Holsters, hybrid holsters, Google, SIG Sauer, handguns, Glock, Walther, google review, best IWB holster, holsters, OWB, best owb holster, holsters for, edc gear, SuperTuck, MiniTuck, Executive Gun Belt, leather gun belt, best gun belt, my everyday carry, survey, outside the waistband, inside the waistband, Smith & Wesson, Shield, G19, Springfield Armory, Springfield Hellcat

9 thoughts on “The Best 9 MM Self-Defense Ammunition for Your EDC Handgun”

  1. Forrest Simmons

    Inceptor arx. Uses the same principle as the Black Hills Honey Badger, but has more velocity with less felt recoil, is lighter and will not penetrate (or ricochet?) off hard surfaces.

  2. Still carrying .45 caliber Black Talons. They open very much like the HST rounds, but, with the addition of the little “talon” at the end of each ‘petal.’

  3. The one I carry, and you should look into, is RIP in 9mm. Great penetration and a massive wound cavity. As you know, it’s not normally the bullet that stops the threat, its them bleeding out.

  4. Hodgdon Retumbo Smokeless Powder

    This magnum powder was designed expressly for the really large overbored
    cartridges such as the 7mm Remington Ultra Magnum, 300 Remington Ultra Magnum,
    30-378 Weatherby Magnum, etc. RETUMBO adds 40-100 fps more velocity to these cartridges
    when compared with other normal magnum powders. In addition, it is an Extreme Powder,
    making it perfect for big game hunting under all types of conditions.

  5. Vetro Firearms LLC
    Premier Firearms Dealer New York City.
    America’s largest complete source for firearms, ammunition, hunting accessories online
    Vetro Firearms LLC is a company that specializes in the sales and manufacturing of firearms and ammunition. Founded by two brothers, Vetro Firearms has become one of the most trusted names in gunsmithing. Their products are made with precision and craftsmanship, ensuring that they will last for years to come. They offer a wide variety of guns ranging from handguns to rifles as well as accessories such as holsters, scopes, sights and more. In addition to their own line of firearms they also provide custom work such as trigger jobs or barrel threading services for those looking for something unique or specific needs met with their weapons system build-outs.
    Full-service Licensed FFL firearms Dealer and Gunsmith. Vetro Firearms LLC is a Smith & Wesson authorized Law Enforcement dealership. orders are filled within 2 to 3 days.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *