Ammo Recommendation - 9mm (Vanity)

IrishPennant

[IrishPennant]

Excuse the vanity post but I just picked up a new Ruger P95 9mm. I figured it was the right time. I'm not a stranger to handguns, carrying the .45 back in the Corps and then transitioning from a wheel gun to the Sig 9 (226 I think...or 228 - one was bigger) when I was a cop...but I left that over a decade ago and I haven't had a handgun since. I am almost ashamed to say, I didn't leave with much memory either...they gave me rounds - I shot rounds - qualified well 4 times a year and life was good.

But now that I have one I am wondering what the best rounds for this Ruger would be; both inexpensive but good rounds to send down range and "impact rounds" to keep in the mags at all other times.

The manual states the pistol is chambered for a 9mm x 19 Parabellum (9mm Luger) cartridge. Well, there ya go! I had no idea there was such an animal. It also says not to load any other 9mm cartridges such as 9mm short, 9mm Steyr, Bergmann, etc.

I guess bottom line, I don't want to look like a geek when at the counter buying rounds. I would rather say "Gimme a few boxes of them and a few boxes of those, thank you very much."

Any guidance from knowledgeable FReepers???

p.s. for those obama/ACORN trolls scrubbing the internet, the above post is hypothetically presented. I would never, ever own a gun...

[IrishPennant]

Your pistol is probably rated for +P or +P+ but it's a good idea to find out for sure.

I was searching the web for ammo talk...came across a few blogs where they taled about the Ruger being able to fire +p and +p+. What is that/are those???? (If you have a moment?)

[IrishPennant]

Good point - they did have shotgun ammo in the aisles...and yeah, I do have a close BPS. I guess that is my destination!!!

[IrishPennant]

You are very welcome...That makes your son my brother!!! Give him my best - doesn’t matter he don’t know me from Chesty.

[LimaLimaMikeFoxtrot]

There are probably smarter gun guys here than me, but +P signifies higher "over pressure" for higher muzzle velocity more stopping power.

+P+ is even higher, but I do not have actual data.

[IrishPennant]

Seems to me we carried a hydra-shock when I was a cop....had little fins that opened up to chew the flesh or something once it impacted, right?

[LasVegasMac]

You ain't gonna pick up a few boxes of this or that in this particular time period....

I bet ya I pick up quite a few boxes this weekend....

"2009 Las Vegas Gunshow Schedule NEW LOCATION: Las Vegas Sports Center, 121 E. Sunset Rd July 4-5, 2009"

We had a CrossRoads gun show three weekend's ago, too.

Seriously, I know what you mean. At the last gun show, my boy says, "Dad, I know why everybody on the Internet is out of ammo.....it's all here!"

Get it when ya can!

[LasVegasMac]

No big deal.

The "vanity post" police don't pack!

lol

[IrishPennant]

I remember right when I was getting out of the Corps, we as MPs were going from the 45 to the 9 (Beretta). I think I had one for a week before my EAS papers came in. Anyway, bunch of troops whining to the range instructor about less stopping power, smaller round, etc...The instructor said "Hey, would you rather be hit by a mac Truck doing 40 or a Volkswagen doing 80"???

I always remembered that (more for the humor then anything else).

[smokingfrog]

The Winchester “white box” or Blazer brass FMJ is usually decent ammo that doesn’t cost too much. When breaking in your gun, I wouldn’t use any steel case or anything too cheap.

For defensive purposes, try the 124 grain Federal Premium Hydra shock or if you have feeding problems with that try some Federal 105 grain EFMJ.

Make sure your pistol can use +P ammo.

[IrishPennant]

For carry/self defense ammo one recommendation is to carry the same type of duty ammo (Brand, not necessarily caliber) the local cops carry.

It’s usually functional and can reduce liability in court, because your lawyer can say your ammuniiton was commonly used by a Major PD.

Excellent thought!!!! Thank you.

[LimaLimaMikeFoxtrot]

PERSONAL OPINION FOLLOWS: I used to re-load Winchester AAA 12 gauge shells when I shot a LOT of Skeet and Sporting Clays.But I will never again buy a re-loaded pistol round EVER again.

I bought some 9mm reloads at a gun show and halfway through the first magazine a cartridge exploded when the firing pin hit the primer. Burns to my arm and face, scared the bejeezus out of me and damaged the extractor in my Sig.

Don't shoot re-loads that you have not loaded yourself.

Just sayin..

[IrishPennant]

When breaking in your gun, I wouldn’t use any steel case or anything too cheap.

Great post in its entirety, but that one thought above has to be the most common sense thing I can do. Thank you for bringing that up.

[5Madman2]

No problem-good luck with your new weapon.

[Yosemitest]

Check out these three pages from Georgia Arms.

[LasVegasMac]

When breaking in your gun, I wouldn’t use any steel case or anything too cheap.

Why is that?

Not doubting you, by any means.

I'm just a FNG and need to learn.

[IrishPennant]

Basically, Georgia Arms is tapped out of the 9’s, huh???

[IrishPennant]

Hey gang...going to go grab evening chow and maybe an adult beverage...check back in shortly...Thank you all very much. I knew I could count on FReepers!!!

[SampleMan]

Despite what you will hear on FR, the 9mm is a fine round. As a man stopper it tends to over-penetrate. That is why you want to use hollow points when you mean business.

You should have no problems with the P95 cycling anything, however, don't bet your life on it. Shoot at least fifty rounds of the hollow points down range to make sure that they don't give you any feeding problems.

[Vendome]

Go to any indoor range and ask for ammo. They will hook you up with American Eagle or Wolf.

[absalom01]

Winchester Ranger +P has shown to have consistently good terminal performance for duty rounds.

Winchester “white box” USA brand FMJ are good quality range rounds.