9MM Over penatration.

[JlazyH]

My carry gun is an HK USP 9mm compact. 13+1 is ideal for my needs. I may be over thinking this to much but I am worried about over penatration. What are some views on defence ammo for the 9mm? Iworry that most will go threw and threw in most cases and travel on to hit someone other than who it was intended for. I carry the Liberty USM49mm. Rated at 50grain 2000fps 12 inches in depth and 5 inches in width @ 25 meters. There is very little recoil with these but then I worry about threw clothing, glass or anything you may need to go threw before you get to the bad guy. What do you find best and why?

[hurley842002]

Personally I choose any of the reputable premium defense rounds, with Federal HST and Speer Gold dot at the top. I would not recommend any of the fancy super light, super fast rounds like the Liberty, for fear of under penetration. I'm currently carrying gold dot 124 grain +p, and am perfectly comfortable with these, not at all worried about over penetration. To be quite honest, I'm more worried about over penetrating my wife than my carry ammo, and I'm of Irish descent....

[J]

Don't forget the Ranger-T line from Winchester. Harder to find but up there with HST and GoldDot.

Anything that will get deep enough to incapacitate through bone, clothing or a side shot through arm, shoulder, bone, ribs and finally into vitals will penetrate through a braodside assailant or dry wall, or....

Know your target and what is beyond. Further than that... you unfortunately have to take the risk of over penetration if you need to deploy lethal force. Do the best you possibly can, then hope for the best. Better than the sure result of getting killed if you use ineffective ammo, or are too afraid of over penetration to defend your self.

In the end, know that it was the bad guy that caused the whole event, not the legally armed defendant. And luckily in criminal cases that fact is often recognized (doctrine of competing harms). Unfortunately in civil cases that is not as definite.

[hurley842002]

Completely agree on the Winchester T line, I just didn't mention it because I haven't found any in quite some time.

[DenverGP]

There is a really good series of video reviews on youtube testing popular self defense rounds out of a short barrel as commonly found on many ccw guns. In the tests, many rounds that perform great from a longer barrel don't have quite enough velocity to get good expansion, and therefore over-penetrate.

It was based on those tests that I went for the Federal HST rounds.

Here's one of the reviews (with links on this one to get to the others)

[Bailey Guns]

Frankly, in a lethal force shooting scenario, the last thing I'm going to worry about is over-penetration. My guess is missing your target completely is a far greater likelihood. In that case your concern about harming an innocent is probably more justified. I'd also steer away from the "exotic" types of ammo and go with a name brand maker like Winchester, Federal, etc. Personally, I like the Ranger ammo. But it's not that big a deal for me. Hell...I carry ball ammo sometimes if that's what I happen to have loaded for whatever reason.

I'm sure the over-penetration thing has happened in the past but personally I don't remember hearing of one.

[cstone]

Another vote here for the big name brand (Fed, Speer, Win, etc...) in well constructed hollow points. Get 100 of them through your carry gun, using every magazine you might use for carry, without any problems and you will have found your carry round.

A good starting point is finding the same ammunition used by local LE. They either do their own testing or rely on testing from other larger departments or agencies. Since they often buy in quantity, they will shop for good price per round to stretch their budget.

Last, there are no "magic bullets" that always expand, always fully penetrate, never miss, and never over penetrate. Some of the best, most reliable ammunition will have squibs or fail to expand. If we could count on one round doing the job, we wouldn't need more than a few rounds to begin with. Most things worth shooting once, are worth shooting at least three times.

Be safe.

[centrarchidae]

I do whatever DocGKR tells me to do. Win Ranger T or Gold Dots, whatever I have on hand.

I got lucky in 2011 and stumbled on a case of the 127gr Ranger T +p+. It's a little hot, so check with your gun's manufacturer first. You may need to change springs a little more frequently.

Frankly, I lump the Liberty in with Magsafes and Glasers and the Lemas "blended metal" crap. They're gimmicks, IMHO, and the only way they're a good choice is if the alternative is "unarmed." Give me a good well-constructed medium-heavy JHP if I get any choice in the matter.

[ray1970]

I'm no expert in the matter by far, but I would imagine a 9mm round that passes through a bad guy would probably lose enough energy in doing so that it wouldn't be a huge issue anyways. I could be totally wrong.

[J]

Depends on whether it expands or not. If it stays in tact and avoids hitting bone on a broad-side shot it will still have plenty of energy after the pass through.