Behind the Bullet: 9 mm Luger

[Graybeard]

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2017/1/27/behind-the-bullet-9-mm-luger/

by Philip Massaro - Friday, January 27, 2017

There are, undoubtedly, fervent fans in the pistol cartridge world. Some feel the .45 ACP was, is and always shall be the pinnacle of pistol cartridge development, some favor the wheelgun cartridges like the .44 Mag. and .357 Mag., and with just as much passion, there are those who champion the 9 mm Luger. The argument has raged on for decades, and probably will for decades more, but one thing is clear: irrespective of which camp’s beliefs you subscribe to, the 9 mm isn’t going anywhere.

I am a fan of the venerable .45 ACP; it works and works very well. However, that fact doesn’t discredit the capabilities of the 9 mm Luger; like the huge assortment of rifle cartridges on the market, there is room for many different designs when it comes to handguns, and I firmly believe the 9 mm fills a necessary role for many shooters.

Germany’s Georg Luger designed his rimless 9x19mm cartridge in 1902, and shopped it to many different outlets as a military sidearm, but it was his own country who adopted it first. Having neither rim nor shoulder to use for headspacing, the 9 mm Luger uses the cartridge’s case mouth as the headspace point, which allows for smooth feeding in an autoloading pistol. The cartridge can use rather wide range of projectiles, starting with the 90 and 95-grain bullets on the low end, the 115- and 124-grain bullets in the middle of the range and topping off with the heavier 147-grain slugs. So, if you’re a velocity fan, there are plenty of choices using the lighter bullets at a higher speed, yet the 147-grain ammo will make the low and slow crowd happy.

In addition, there are many different style of bullet available for the 9 mm. There are monometal hollowpoints that will deliver devastating expansion think Cutting Edge Bullets’ PHD line and the Barnes XPB—there are FMJ ‘ball’ ammo choices, which are perfect for target work or just plain plinking fun, and there are the traditional defensive hollowpoints that have proven themselves for quite some time—like the Federal Hydra-Shok and HST, the Speer Gold Dot and the Hornady XTP.

Many times, while we are all busy comparing and contrasting the minute details of our chosen cartridges, we can lose sight of the real virtues of a chosen round. The 9 mm Luger is a great defensive cartridge. It feeds reliably, it can be housed in a handgun that is easily concealed, yet offers enough striking energy to get the job done. Taking a look at the well-respected .38 Special—a cartridge used by law enforcement for a considerable amount of time—you’ll find that the 9 mm Luger compares very favorable. The .38 Special drives a 158-grain bullet at somewhere between 800 and 900 fps, while the 9 mm Luger drives a 147-grain bullet at 1,000 fps; being virtually the same diameter the performance advantage should go to the 9 mm, based on the greater energy figure. Accordingly, if the .38 Special was enough for the LEOs, the 9mm should be—and is—in the same category. For those of us who are using a handgun for a defensive tool, the 9mm Luger will work perfectly.

The recoil of the 9 mm Luger is another benefit; I’ve known shooters that were uncomfortable with the recoil of a .45 ACP, .44 Mag. or even a .357 Mag., yet could handle the 9 mm just fine. In any shooting situation, whether it be dangerous game or a life-threatening scenario, a smaller bullet in the right place is better than a larger bullet in the wrong place, or worse a complete miss. If you can handle a 9 mm Luger comfortably, I find no fault with that choice whatsoever.

The 9mm Luger is an easy cartridge to reload; and a reloader can keep him or herself in a constant supply of ammunition. Using powders like Hodgdon’s TiteGroup, Ramshot’s ZIP or Alliant’s BlueDot will give good velocities and accuracy. Because the Luger headspaces off the rim, a roll crimp won’t work, but a good taper crimp will keep things neatly in place. You may have to adjust the cartridge overall length to ensure proper neck tension, depending on the conformation of the bullet.

The 9 mm Luger has a respectable resume, serving many military roles including a stint as the U.S. Armed Forces' chosen cartridge. While the discussions/debates/fistfights will continue to rage, I can confidently say this: for 115 years the 9 mm Luger has doing exactly what it what it was intended to do, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

[Dee]

While not a nine fan, the plentiful supply, and price, can be a draw. I bought a 200 round box of 40 s&w the other day at Walmart, and could have bought the same brand, and count in 9mm over $20.00 cheaper.

[Lloyd Smale]

I like dee think the 40 is just a better self defense round. But that said I shoot probably 5 times as many 9s as all other calibers combined. Why? Because with a 120 grains of lead (I paid nothing for) Brass that for the most part I got free and a primer and 3 grains of powder I can shoot them as cheap as a 22lr. Sure you could about say the same for 40s but its more like 4 grains of powder and ive had to pay for most of my 40 brass. I also have two 9mm ar15s and they probably cost me a 1/4 as much per pull of the trigger then a 556. Anymore my 22s about collect dust. I own more 9mm pistols then any other caliber but will admit if held down and only could keep one it would be a hard call between my glock 23 and 19 but it would be the 23 that stayed. My wife would surely argue for her lc9 and truthfully for most guys (and girls) who don't shoot a lot a 9 is probably a better choice. Cheaper ammo and easier to shoot and it doesn't do you a bit of good to have a 500 Linebaugh if you cant hit someone with it.

[Graybeard]

I have several 9s but the .40 is the pistol I prefer for self defense. I do find myself carrying my S&W Shield I got from Bugeye more and more lately tho. It is so much lighter and easier on the hip that the full size M&P 40 it just seems to go with me when I get out more than the .40 does.

I haven't cast a bullet in so long I may have forgotten how. OK prolly not but still I just don't cast them these days.

I have 9s, .40s and .45s all that are part of my self/home defense rotation.

[Tom W.]

I've had several 9mm, as I fell into the Glock mania some years ago. The Glock 17 shot exceptionally well, and I'm not much of a fan of striker fired pistols. I got a glock 19 and a 30, and after my chemo I couldn't feel what I was doing too well and sold them. I still shot my Ruger 22/45 well, and bought a Ruger LC9s Pro that has a wonderful trigger, so I haven't abandoned striker fired pistols completely. However, I bought a CZ 75 SP01 and it has a hammer like my Colt Government model, and I love it. It's accurate, and when  found out what size bullets to shoot from it I was happy. One Lee bullet has to be sized to .357, but the other mold lets it shot a .358, which is what my former Glocks and my little Ruger shoot just fine.
At the indoor range that I'll go to
 there is once fired 9mm brass laying everywhere. I'll sweep it up into a pile and load it into a nylon sack that I have for collecting brass. That brass that I can't use goes into a 5 gallon bucket for a trip to the recycler or trade for non zinc COWW.
A few grains of Bullseye and I'm shooting again.......