Light and heavy bullets

[Hardshell]

Some guys swear by light bullets going fast. Others want heavy bullets with more energy. I've tried both and honestly can't tell much difference on paper targets..

 

[URIT]

Many modern 9mm pistols are design for the 124gr cartridge. I use a 124gr JHP Speer Gold Dot for carry ammo, but train with the Speer Lawman TMJ 147gr round because my S&W 3953 performs better with that round. The Speer Lawman rounds tend to mimic their Gold Dot, which is a pocket book winner for me.

My local sheriff issues Speer Gold Dot 124gr for his deputies like half the LE agencies in the USA, so that's what I carry in my CCW. Hopefully using the same ammo as the deputies, I can avoid having to hire an expensive ballistics expert to testify in a criminal trial to defend my ammo choice should I use my weapon in a self-defense shooting.

 

[LimaCharlie]

JHP handgun bullets have come a very long way in the last couple of decades. Been loading and shooting long enough to recall a time when the only way to get most common handgun rounds (9mm, .38, .357, .45) to expand with the JHP's available then was to run the lightest bullets the fastest you safely could. If you've ever studied the earlier development of SD handgun ammo, you'd know that Super Vel was the pioneer of doing just that. That didn't always equate with good performance. Even then, there'd often be failures to expand. Standard or heavier weights was almost always a failure to expand.
Thankfully, such is no longer the case. In the above common handgun rounds now, both Speer Gold Dots and the Federal HST are the gold standard in SD rounds and have developed a damn good track record in LE circles.

 

[Supa_nova]

On paper, I could not see a big difference either. But I could feel it when I shot. The heavier bullets felt slower but had more power.

 

[I_am_Bulletproof]

When I'm shooting targets, I just use whatever groups best in my gun. It's fun to talk about ballistics, but the bullet holes do not lie.