Just bought my first gun S&W 9mm Shield

[Golfany1]

Just bought my first gun S&W 9mm Shield, if you don’t count a Browning Buckmark 22 which was handed down to me from my Father 20 years ago. Traveling long distances from home to work each day and getting off of work at midnight I decided to purchase a firearm followed by getting a carry permit. Having researched for long time now which gun I’d like to carry, I decided and bought an S&W Shield 9mm ($399) which I’ve been searching for three months throughout TN. I’m now actively searching for a quality conceal carry permit class in middle TN as my next step to being a responsible gun owner.
Through this forum I found some very helpful information and recommendations on what type of ammo to shoot at an in-door gun range (Winchester Whitebox) and a holster I believe will fit what I’m looking for like Ramora Series 6Art IWB.
Since I’m new to gun ownership and don’t fully understand ballistics, stopping power, grain ammo yet, what would be good not too expensive ammo for self-defense?
Since I plan to practice with my gun quite often at the range, any suggestions on a range type bag where I can carry my two guns and ammo in?

Any other tips or suggestion would be appreciated.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[1MoreGoodGuy]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum

[Hiram25]

Welcome from Delaware!

[tropicoz]

Excellent purchase and welcome!

[FLSurfdog]

Great gun and you got it at a good price. I love mine. It is surprisingly accurate for a smaller weapon. I use Winchester White box FMJ and Federal FMJ for range practice and use Hydroshocks when carrying. All can be had at Walmart pretty inexpensively.

[VPNAVY]

Welcome aboard from the great state of Pennsylvania!

[Bark'n]

Welcome aboard.

Congratulations on the new M&P Shield. I have one myself and it is an awesome pistol.

Regarding your ammo question. You will get a lot more exposure from members if you post your question in the Defensive Ammunition & Ballistics section.

However, in my opinion for defensive ammo in the 9mm caliber, I prefer ammo which has a proven track record of stopping in real gunfights. Good performing ammo are Federal HST; Speer Gold Dot's; Remington Golden Saber; Winchester Ranger - T series or Hornady XST. I would bet my life on any of those rounds.

Currently, I am using 147 gr. Federal HST's in all my 9mm's because I got a good price at the time. I have used Speer Gold Dots and the Ranger-T's with good luck in the past. Personally I stay with the heavier grain bullets in 9mm. 147 gr., 124 gr., or 126 gr. I do not carry 115 grain bullets for defensive use.

I also recommend looking at tnoutdoors9 YouTube videos. He is an engineer who does ballistics tests as a pretty serious hobby. He does good work with very consistent, and carefully conducted tests. He has done 47 videos on 9mm ammo alone and has tested many of the rounds I mentioned above. You can see his 9mm tests here.

Some of his earliest tests were with gallon jugs packed with wet paper, but he has since been testing with ballistic gelatin and placing 4 layers of denim material in front of the blocks of ballistic gelatin using the IWBA (International Wound Ballistics Association) standards. Many of the ammo tests he has done using both methods.

[archer51]

Welcome from Virginia.

[MrBuckwheat]

congrats on the new 9MM and Welcome from Wisconsin>

[BamaT]

Welcome from Alabama! You'll soon find a lot of varying opinions on a good defensive ammo. As said earlier, go to the defensive ammunition forum and spend a lot time reading. Personally, I carry 147 grain Golden Saber or 147 grain Ranger T. Wouldn't hesitate to carry Federal HST or Gold Dot either. Some will prefer the 124 grain weights, others, myself among them, like the heavier 147 grain bullets.

A great place to buy ammo is SGAMMO.com. You can get premium defensive ammo in 50 round boxes for about the same or not much more than a box of 20 or 25 in a LGS. You may want to buy some smaller quantities of 2 or 3 different brands to begin with and see what your gun handles best and you are most proficient with. Then buy several boxes and practice with your carry ammo as well as your "range ammo." You need to practice with what you will carry.

[Old Chief]

Welcome Aboard and Greetings from Rocky Top Tennessee

[Dangerfield]

Howdy, I like my Shield as well. I carry this in my car and a Kahr PM9 on me.

[Geobob]

Hello, Golfany, and welcome from Missouri to this great forum - good people and lots of info here! I was also interested in the Shield (9mm) - where did you find one for $399? You will get all kinds of advice on SD ammo. I suggest you review the article in the link below and decide on something for yourself. For self defense, the real key is like real estate: Location, location, location! (where you hit the BG). Get a few boxes of a few different brands and types, and see what works best with your Shield. I have a Taurus 709 Slim, and it seems to eat any bullet grain of hollow point that I'v fed it so far. Still more testing to do. Best of luck to you, and take care!

Best Choices for Self Defense Ammo

And, here are some good places to check for deals on Ammo:

Target Sports USA | Discount Ammunition Online | Ammo For Sale | Free Shipping Ammunition

Pistol Ammunition | SGAmmo.com

The Armory: 9mm Ammo ammunition, Remington, Winchester, Corbon, S&B, PMC, Aguila, Wolf,

[RoadRunner71]

Welcome from Michigan!

[RightyLefty]

Welcome to DC from Wisconsin. Great choice of a firearm. Love my Shield. It may be your first M&P, but I guarantee it won't be your last. It's an addiction. Don't fight it. It's futile!

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