9mm ammo, what do you guys think?

Locally, I can find cheap and available surplus LE ammo in the following brands/weights:

1. Ranger T 124gr +P
2. Ranger T 147gr
3. Golden Saber (bonded and non) 124gr +P
4. Golden Saber (bonded and non) 147gr
5. Gold Dot 124gr +P
6. Gold Dot 147gr
7. Winchester PDX-1 124gr +P
8. Winchester PDX-1 147gr.

I tend to like heavy for caliber (carry 180gr in my .40 SW). But I've heard 147gr in 9mm isn't that great. What do you guys think? Those types of ammo should all be pretty similar in the different weights, right?

Cool! Thanks guys :)

All of them are good and run fine in my XD, I have a preference for the 124gr +P I have been running with Win. PDX-1 as of late.

For SD, go heavy. For practice, whatever's cheap.

They will all work. I have both 124 and 147 though

I prefer 147 , but a hot 124 has alot going for it.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of those rounds. Buy a few boxes of each and see which one feeds the best and that you are the most accurate with.

I have a preference for the Speer Gold Dot 124gr. +P for short barrels since all of my carry guns are subcompacts.

I also prefer 147's in my 9mm's, but would have no problems running 124+P's.

Try a few boxes and see what your pistol likes.

(oh--and when Gunsmoke pops up in a little bit and tries to give the misinformation of compacts not liking 147gr rounds...just ignore him)

If I have to have a 9, I carry DPX, because it penetrates car doors and windshields without deforming or deflecting better than lead core bullets. But I use hard cast 124's for practice and hand load 124 Hornady XTP to the max for impressive displays. IMO the lead core 115's are too light and the 147's are too slow. Reliable feeding and shooting control are more important than bullet weight. The 9 should handle just about any situation with proper shot placement.

I carry Ranger T 147gr. There is no truth to the argument that heavier loads don't work well in 9mm, it makes no sense whatsoever. Just go with 124gr or higher, practice, ensure reliability, and don't look back.

Gold Dot terminal performance

Winchester Ranger-T terminal performance

Remember that PDX-1 is the same as bonded Ranger-T. I currently carry 147gr Ranger-T. I've got a few boxes of Gold Dot 124gr+p too. I have confidence in both of them. When it comes time to buy more I'll probably get whichever one costs the least for 500.

Everything you listed is fine, but for my 9mm, I'm loading the heavy stuff. YMMV.

I'd go with 3 or 5, or consider HST. I like a compromise between weight and velocity, in any caliber. I recently ordered some 124gr standard pressure HST. I couldn't find the 124gr +P. The brands I was looking for where HST, Gold Dots and Golden saber bonded. A lot of the 124gr +P stuff was hard to find, except for Golden Saber (non-bonded). I didn't want the non-bonded. Went with HST 124gr. I'm new to 9mm. I'm going to start carrying it in my newly acquired G19. If the HST performs well, I'll carry it and stay on the lookout for 124gr +P version.

Any of those would be good choices. Assuming they function well in your pistol my first choice would be 147 gr Gold Dots, second would be 124gr +P Gold Dots

For my PF9 my fav loads are:

PDX1 124 +P
Hydra-Shok 124
WWB 147 HP

I'm sure there's other loads I could try like the Rangers and Gold Dots but I haven't found them at my nearby stores.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tokerblue

I don't think you can go wrong with any of those rounds. Buy a few boxes of each and see which one feeds the best and that you are the most accurate with.

I have a preference for the Speer Gold Dot 124gr. +P for short barrels since all of my carry guns are subcompacts.

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Agreed!