bought a new handgun...M&P Shield 9

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It's actually for my wife, she seems thrilled. I did buy her a novelty box of ammo...Hornady 9x19 100 grain?!? hollowpoints with pink tips, Critical Defense LITE for reduced recoil. Even the box is pink.

I will be curious if these really light weight bullets feed well, and whether recoil is reduced vs. more normal bullet weights.
 
Shields will eat anything including the critical defense 100 gr. The only problem I have with that ammo is that it's pretty weak, the standard 115 gr critical defense is already typically below the minimum FBI/IWBA penetration depth for effective self defense ammo and the 100 gr is even weaker... Basically bringing your 9 down into 380 ballistics

It's still better than a sharp stick but if they can handle it I would step up to hst 124 gr standard pressure. It's what I edc in my shield.





Here's the critical defense 115, the 100 isn't popular enough to get tested but we can surely bet it's not going to perform as well.
 
Originally Posted By: CincyDavid
It's actually for my wife, she seems thrilled. I did buy her a novelty box of ammo...Hornady 9x19 100 grain?!? hollowpoints with pink tips, Critical Defense LITE for reduced recoil. Even the box is pink.

I will be curious if these really light weight bullets feed well, and whether recoil is reduced vs. more normal bullet weights.




It will be fine without over penetration. Heck, even a 22lr would be good enough as long as you are not hunting bear, and even then,hit in the head it is dead.
 
Critical defense rounds. Wow in 380 a box of 20 or 25 I forget which cost me $22. Better save those for special occasions
mad.gif
. where their added swat is appreciated. Shoot those in 380 regularly and you need a new mortgage to cover the cost. . Good round overall. They look to bring the 380 up to the ballistics of the old [censored] Luger rounds. Plenty of penetration too and actually open up somewhat in 380. That’s a far cry from the typical ball rounds Ive cut out of a piece of wood in almost perfect shape. Those 9 Lugers in that bullet are plenty for close encounters against anything on 2 legs.
Those Smiths are known for not being hollow point fussy anyways. As far as I know the sole purpose of the plastic slug is simply to enhance feeding on the poorer feeders. The slug keeps the shape more like a ball round to satisfy those guns with the feed issues. Yours should inhale anything so you may want to blast away with Tula or similar cheap stuff as they all shoot the same more or less for practice.
 
Actually the ballistic tip on the Hornady handgun ammo is designed to prevent plugging of the cavity which facilities reliable expansion, unfortunately it has the opposite effect of what you would think on some handguns and causes feeding problems with the tacky rubber like material jamming on feed ramps. The shield however feeds most anything.
 
Originally Posted By: TTK

It will be fine without over penetration. Heck, even a 22lr would be good enough as long as you are not hunting bear, and even then,hit in the head it is dead.


Are you familiar with the Miami Dade shootout? The Winchester Silvertips used in the 9mm guns back then are good for about 9 inches of penetration into ordinance gel and they caused a lot of injuries and deaths due to their under performance. There's no reason to use an inferior overpriced round when we have the technology and quality rounds available. Federal hst typically penetrate 15-16 inches into ordinance gel which is considered perfect for causing incapacitating wounds if you do your part with shot placement.
 
Originally Posted By: TTK
It will be fine without over penetration. Heck, even a 22lr would be good enough as long as you are not hunting bear, and even then,hit in the head it is dead.


Right. In a self defense situation where a gun is fired the majority of people will be lucky to make a hit period much less intentionally a hit in the head.

The Lite 9mm has 281 ft/lbs compared to .380 at 200 ft/lbs, almost 1/3 more. Mini Mags have 135 ft/lbs out of a rifle.
 
Originally Posted By: TTK
Originally Posted By: CincyDavid
It's actually for my wife, she seems thrilled. I did buy her a novelty box of ammo...Hornady 9x19 100 grain?!? hollowpoints with pink tips, Critical Defense LITE for reduced recoil. Even the box is pink.

I will be curious if these really light weight bullets feed well, and whether recoil is reduced vs. more normal bullet weights.




It will be fine without over penetration. Heck, even a 22lr would be good enough as long as you are not hunting bear, and even then,hit in the head it is dead.


Headshots with a pistol against a moving target in a self defense scenario are pure fantasy without something like Air Marshall, SEAL, or SWAT-type Training, and the near daily practice to maintain that skill level.

Bad guy isn’t going to hold still. And if he really is threatening you, he’s closing on you rapidly.

And when the adrenaline is pumping, and you’re under the pressure to shoot, you're unlikely to achieve range-like accuracy.
 
Originally Posted By: CincyDavid
It's actually for my wife, she seems thrilled. I did buy her a novelty box of ammo...Hornady 9x19 100 grain?!? hollowpoints with pink tips, Critical Defense LITE for reduced recoil. Even the box is pink.

I will be curious if these really light weight bullets feed well, and whether recoil is reduced vs. more normal bullet weights.





Nice pistol, by the way. Great choice.
 
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: TTK
It will be fine without over penetration. Heck, even a 22lr would be good enough as long as you are not hunting bear, and even then,hit in the head it is dead.


Right. In a self defense situation where a gun is fired the majority of people will be lucky to make a hit period much less intentionally a hit in the head.

The Lite 9mm has 281 ft/lbs compared to .380 at 200 ft/lbs, almost 1/3 more. Mini Mags have 135 ft/lbs out of a rifle.


Really the police stats in my city say the average distance in a gun confrontation is 13.5 feet.
 
My Shield doesn’t like WWB but devours any other ammo I feed it. I haven’t had a single hiccup since dumping the WWB. YMMV. S&W had a $75 rebate when I bought mine and I ended up paying roughly $225 for it. I’m very pleased with my Shield.
 
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: TTK
It will be fine without over penetration. Heck, even a 22lr would be good enough as long as you are not hunting bear, and even then,hit in the head it is dead.


Right. In a self defense situation where a gun is fired the majority of people will be lucky to make a hit period much less intentionally a hit in the head.

The Lite 9mm has 281 ft/lbs compared to .380 at 200 ft/lbs, almost 1/3 more. Mini Mags have 135 ft/lbs out of a rifle.


Really the police stats in my city say the average distance in a gun confrontation is 13.5 feet.


FOOT/LBS is not a measurement of distance. It's a unit of energy.
 
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
Originally Posted By: Astro14
Originally Posted By: TTK
Originally Posted By: CincyDavid
It's actually for my wife, she seems thrilled. I did buy her a novelty box of ammo...Hornady 9x19 100 grain?!? hollowpoints with pink tips, Critical Defense LITE for reduced recoil. Even the box is pink.

I will be curious if these really light weight bullets feed well, and whether recoil is reduced vs. more normal bullet weights.




It will be fine without over penetration. Heck, even a 22lr would be good enough as long as you are not hunting bear, and even then,hit in the head it is dead.


Headshots with a pistol against a moving target in a self defense scenario are pure fantasy without something like Air Marshall, SEAL, or SWAT-type Training, and the near daily practice to maintain that skill level.

Bad guy isn’t going to hold still. And if he really is threatening you, he’s closing on you rapidly.

And when the adrenaline is pumping, and you’re under the pressure to shoot, you're unlikely to achieve range-like accuracy.


Why you shouldn't take the shot until you are close enough for a head shot.
Keep your cool because in a active shooter situation or even a robbery your element if surprise is with you.
No warnings, clears leather and fire into the head.
Get as close as possible.


You’re not describing self defense.

What you’re describing is, at best, video game fantasy and, at worst, murder.

So, no, you’re not going to sneak up on a person threatening you and pop them in the head with a .22. That fantasy has no relevance to the OP’s question about the power of a given ammunition.
 
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: TTK
It will be fine without over penetration. Heck, even a 22lr would be good enough as long as you are not hunting bear, and even then,hit in the head it is dead.


Right. In a self defense situation where a gun is fired the majority of people will be lucky to make a hit period much less intentionally a hit in the head.

The Lite 9mm has 281 ft/lbs compared to .380 at 200 ft/lbs, almost 1/3 more. Mini Mags have 135 ft/lbs out of a rifle.


Really the police stats in my city say the average distance in a gun confrontation is 13.5 feet.


FOOT/LBS is not a measurement of distance. It's a unit of energy.


No but what more important hitting your target or missing it? 22LR's are great when you're trying to out run a bear and you shoot the guy running with you in the knee.
 
If all you can handle is a .22, perhaps because of hand strength, or other physical limitation, then, bring on the .22. It sure beats harsh language, or pointed stick, for self defense.

You want to select a caliber and weapon combination that allows the shooter to be successful in employing that weapon under stress. No point in selecting a weapon/caliber combination that your (wife, girlfriend, grandma) can’t handle. A hit with a small caliber, even a .25 ACP, sure beats a miss with anything else.

I see this mistake often: person selects a gun, often for a female, because it’s little, and fits the “little lady’s hand”...but that snubnose .357, or worse, is a real nasty gun to shoot, with harsh recoil, and the “little lady” hates it, and never shoots it.

She is worse than unarmed, she is armed with a weapon she can’t use effectively, giving her no chance of success.
 
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