9MM Defense Power?

[ALPAPS]

What’s up guy’s I got a GLOCK19 9mm I use for home defense and concealed carry. I’m happy with the 9mm I didn’t really want to get a bigger caliber. I use Winchester SXT 147grain and Speergolddot 124grain+p (depending what I feel like carrying that day).(laughs)

My question is is 9mm cable of saving my life if I need it to? Like if a 300lbs 6’3 man trys to stab me and he has heavy upper body clothing on like a sweater, a construction carhart jacket and other crap will the 9mm able to do something or even penetrate What’s the penetration power/level of a 9mm I sometimes hold my bullet in my had and look at it and I love the round but I always ask myself will you be able to save my life one day if I need you to

[andrewjs18]

I don't see why it wouldn't.
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot1.htm

They were able to shoot through 8 3/4 in boards...I think that's much more thicker than a coat or sweat shirt.

[1861]

i use the winchester 147, has real good penetration .

[crakkajakka15]

Yes, a 9mm has plenty of stopping power. People get killed everyday by police with 9mm's. A 9mm slug placed center of mass with any good HP will be an effective man-stopper. People play up the caliber game waaaaay to much...more people are killed with .22's every year than almost any other caliber. Plus Id rather have 17 rounds of 9mm than 12 rounds in a .40 or 8 in a .45. But if your shooting more than 3 rds in a one on one encounter, you need to start practicing you shooting skills.

[JohnB]

If you are questioning the ability of the round, I suggest that you do some tests. Play around with different thicknesses of material, and see if you can shoot through it.

Obviously, be smart about what you are doing. Don't shoot your friend who is helping you do the test. Staple the material on a piece of plywood. See what the penetration looks like on the wood.

I do this stuff all the time. I started to play around when I was looking at frangible bullets. I found that frangible 223 will still make it through lots of normal building material.

Have fun.

[PureRockFury]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9x19mm_Parabellum

[Captain Tuttle]

I'd suggest practicing as much as you can afford and mastering shot placement. And with 9mm, you can definitely afford to shoot more often than some of the more expensive calibers.

I prefer middle-weight 9mm bullets with increased pressure (eg. 124gr +P) over heavy weight, standard pressure (eg. 147gr). If you look at a ballistics chart, there is more energy transferred with a faster, lighter +P bullet than a slower, heavier bullet. IMHO.

My choice for defensive 9mm is CCi/Speer GoldDot 124gr +9.

[fingers80002]

Ask anyone if they want to be downrange for the test, I don't thinkyou'll get any volunteers.

I have yet to find an anti-9mm person willing to try..........

[Shawn.L]

shot placement is king.

The loads you have chosen are good.

I would suggest you grab a box of Federal HST or Corbon DPX. Those two are THE BEST that I have seen perform consistantly in all calibers and all barrel lengths in denim over ballistics gel tests.

We had a guy from Corbon come out to a group shoot and let us all test out our carry loads, it was a real eye opener.

I saw Speer Gold Dot short barrel 124 +p 9mm from a 3 inch outperform Federal Hydashcock 40SW out of a 4 inch. Kind of changes the caliber argument.

[Montell C. Williams]

Modern 9mm 124gr hps have more penetration than a .45acp and not many people belittle the .45 and the 9mm hps make bigger holes than fmj 45s which used to be the gold standard.

In my home tests [wet paper] the gold dot 124gr+p beat all standard defense calibers for the hole size and penetration except fot 180gr.40S&W hps and .357mag out of a 4in bbl. >45hps were behind in penetration when they open, but did make bigger holes.

In warm weather I carry a Kahr 9mm and in winter a Browning High Power.