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  1. #1
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    Default Hornady 9mm carry ammo

    Hey all so currently I carry critical defense 115gr in both my GLOCK 19 4” and 26 3.5”. I see there is also the heavier 135gr critical duty load which comes in standard or +p. There’s also a 124gr +p to add to the confusion

    I was thinking about carrying the standard velocity 135gr in my 4” and the +p in my shorter 3.5” for similar penetration though I’m not sure it would lose enough velocity to require the +p. I’m aiming for more penetration than expansion, pretty bullets look cool but hitting vitals is better.

    So if you had it your way, with these two firearms, what would you carry and in which one

    GLOCK 19 4”
    GLOCK 26 3.5”

    Hornady Critical Defense 115gr
    Hornady Critical Duty 124gr +p
    Hornady Critical Duty 135gr
    Hornady Critical Duty 135gr +p

    I’m not sure if maybe carrying the lighter load in summer and heavier in winter makes sense (more clothing on attackers in winter). Just confused

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Hornady 9mm carry ammo

    Looking strictly at ammo: If I were you, none of the above, honestly. My carry ammo of choice is a 147gr standard pressure HST in my G19, G26 and Shield. Although that loading has quite the snap in the Shield so I'm considering looking for standard pressure 124's. I prefer a heavier round over a lighter, faster loading. Out of what you have listed, I would run the Critical Duty 135's in standard pressure in the 19 this time of year and rotate the 26 in for warmer months. The extra flash would be quite intense out of the 26 and with a little more barrel length in the 19, probably negligible.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Hornady 9mm carry ammo

    carry whatever is cheap enough that you'll frequently use it at the range for practice and cycle it out.
    i carried hornady and have had it fail to bang, even the duty stuff that has a sealed primer.
    got a bunch of fiocchi on discount and have been cycling it out more.

    better it under penetrate than never go off at all. when half your carry mag fails to bang and everything else before and after does, you know the problem.
    hornady said "shoot it more" when i asked about it being moisture sealed.

    i still love hornady and carry it, but i'm much less picky about brand now and much more picky about using it on regular intervals.
    Last edited by fallenleader; December 8th, 2018 at 09:16 PM.
    There is no way to make it out alive...

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Hornady 9mm carry ammo

    Quote Originally Posted by fallenleader View Post
    carry whatever is cheap enough that you'll frequently use it at the range for practice and cycle it out.
    i carried hornady and have had it fail to bang, even the duty stuff that has a sealed primer.
    got a bunch of fiocchi on discount and have been cycling it out more.

    better it under penetrate than never go off at all. when half your carry mag fails to bang and everything else before and after does, you know the problem.
    hornady said "shoot it more" when i asked about it being moisture sealed.

    i still love hornady and carry it, but i'm much less picky about brand now and much more picky about using it on regular intervals.
    I have some critical defense that’s about 4 years old that’s been carried, chambered, unchambered, etc. we’ll see how that shoots when I cycle it out next range session

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Hornady 9mm carry ammo

    Quote Originally Posted by cleanneon98 View Post
    Hey all so currently I carry critical defense 115gr in both my GLOCK 19 4” and 26 3.5”. I see there is also the heavier 135gr critical duty load which comes in standard or +p. There’s also a 124gr +p to add to the confusion

    I was thinking about carrying the standard velocity 135gr in my 4” and the +p in my shorter 3.5” for similar penetration though I’m not sure it would lose enough velocity to require the +p. I’m aiming for more penetration than expansion, pretty bullets look cool but hitting vitals is better.

    So if you had it your way, with these two firearms, what would you carry and in which one

    GLOCK 19 4”
    GLOCK 26 3.5”

    Hornady Critical Defense 115gr
    Hornady Critical Duty 124gr +p
    Hornady Critical Duty 135gr
    Hornady Critical Duty 135gr +p

    I’m not sure if maybe carrying the lighter load in summer and heavier in winter makes sense (more clothing on attackers in winter). Just confused
    I seem to recall that Critical Defense is made for pistols with a bbl less then 4", and the Critical Duty is recommended for bbls of 4" or more. Based on that it would be Duty for the 19, Defense for the 26.
    It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere. Voltaire

  6. #6
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  7. #7
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    Default Re: Hornady 9mm carry ammo

    Quote Originally Posted by buxbandit View Post
    I seem to recall that Critical Defense is made for pistols with a bbl less then 4", and the Critical Duty is recommended for bbls of 4" or more. Based on that it would be Duty for the 19, Defense for the 26.
    Funny, I just sent an email to Hornaday about this a couple days ago. I have been carrying the Defense in my subcompacts for awhile, but just bought a M9A3 last week. I wasn't sure if I should switch to the Duty because of what you stated. Here is their reply:

    "Thank you for the email. The Critical Defense will work in a full size firearm. The round is made so it can expand at the lower velocity's that a compact or snub-nose would give you, But will still work with the velocity's of a full length."

    I am going to try it out next weekend.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Hornady 9mm carry ammo

    What I have decided, based upon all testing I have seen referenced anywhere, is that critical defense is about the most anemic defensive load available, and that this is true for all calibers it is offered in, and I would never carry it if I had any other option whatsoever.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Hornady 9mm carry ammo

    Quote Originally Posted by cleanneon98 View Post
    I have some critical defense that’s about 4 years old that’s been carried, chambered, unchambered, etc. we’ll see how that shoots when I cycle it out next range session
    best of luck, i might have just gone swimming with them but i don't recall getting -that- wet.
    Quote Originally Posted by marinville View Post
    What I have decided, based upon all testing I have seen referenced anywhere, is that critical defense is about the most anemic defensive load available, and that this is true for all calibers it is offered in, and I would never carry it if I had any other option whatsoever.
    that runs counter to the reason i started carrying it. it appeared to be one of the most reliable to expand and among the deepest penetrating in the testing i saw before carrying.
    that was before all these new specialty rounds that double as a #3 philips head in a pinch.

    i figure that odds are the person will stop when shot or won't even stop after they've got 30 of them embedded in them.
    most important thing is that it doesn't go "click", i've got 44 more where that came from if they all go bang. that's why i buy whatever i can afford and shoot it up.
    There is no way to make it out alive...

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Hornady 9mm carry ammo

    Fast fwd to 2:00 to the test. Too much talk in the beginning.

    Corruption is the default behavior of government officials. JPC

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