Armando Arriaga from Costa Rica says “These are my common choices for EDC for a normal day. I like some redundancy as well as keeping sizes small while covering everything I may need in a day.”

Among his carry items are a Zero Tolerance Hinderer carbon fiber knife and a CJ Knives mini pry bar. His gun of choice is a Smith and Wesson M&P Shield chambered in 9mm.

There have been a lot of 9mm EDCs but people rarely mention their defensive ammo of choice. So I’m asking: what ammo do all you 9mm carry guys prefer?

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52 COMMENTS

        • The other part of why I prefer this round is that I get a significant discount on the price from my LGS, which means more bangs for the buck – and that reduces my training/practice expenses, since I believe in practicing with my carry ammo, instead of cheaping out on some low end ammo. 🙂

      • Best 9mm ammo on the planet is like fastest go kart or best knife under $8. I keep dropping 9 into the chamber of my .44 Mag and they just slide out the barrel case and all.

        • I guess you missed the 100 hp super karts that can go 150 mph, and beat many race cars on a twisty track?

        • Yeah I used to be a .44mag tough guy, carried and qualified 4 times annually for 15years. Now I can barely grip anything very tightly due to damage to both thumbs. Wish I would have learned that lesson before the permanent damage was done.

    • Same in my P938.

      Would also use it in my CZ P-07 Duty if I carried that but would also consider Critical Defense 115gr or Critical Duty 135gr.

    • Too bad Vista/Federal is starting to crack down on sellers of low price ‘law enforcement’ 50rd boxes of HST.
      You might be able to keep buying it for $30, but they don’t want you buying it for $20 without ‘first responder’ or military credentials anymore.

      What they really want is for us to pay $20+ for 20rd boxes.
      Because, really, who needs to practice with or even function test the ammo they bet their lives on, unless of course they belong to the privileged classes which makes their lives worth more than yours? 20rd is two more than you need to fill a G17, so who could ask for anything more?

    • I’ve got regular barrel 124+P. That goes in the carry out of the house guns. 147 Gold Dots in the “inside the house” guns. Figured having some subsonics inside would be better for the ears.

      • Speer Gold Dot 124 grain +P is standard issue for the NYPD. Considering the freaks they deal with in the urban jungle, it must be good. It’s my 9mm load of choice, too.

  6. 124 grain standard pressure HST. Great reliable expansion out of any length barrel. Plus it can be had for $23 per box of 50.

  7. 147 grain HST is the only 9x19mm I will carry. I even make sure all my family members who have 9mm pistols carry it too.

    • Federal did a very nice job on the 9mm HST line, reliable expansion regardless of barrel length. 147 here as well

  9. Any ammo in any gun beats not carrying anything at all… just sayin’…
    HST or Critical Duty…any weight…or whatever works best in your gun.

  10. Winchester Ranger 147 gr. It’s worked well for us in several shootings.

    We had the Hornady 135 gr +P for a couple of years. And it did poorly against car bodies. I know the test results say otherwise. But, a Chevy Cobalt and several postal delivery trucks beg to differ…

  12. I Have No Less Than 6 Diferent Boxes From Various Brands and Various Grains – Black Hills, Hornaday Critical Defense, Buffalo Bore, Sig Saur V-Crown, and Barnes TAC XPD.

  13. GDW Legend Pro solid copper hollow points, out of a Bersa TPR9C.

    The GDW Legend Pro is a short-barreled specialist, and it will probably over-penetrate from a full-sized barrel. However, from my “almost-BUG” TPR9C, it’s an incredible expander and penetrator, from what tests I’ve seen run with it.

  14. Austrian, Hirtenberger, 100gr, truncated cone metal jacket. The 100% exposed flat lead point never touches the feed ramp….good trajectory, low recoil and combat accurate, muzzle velocity somewhere out there way past 1,200 fps from a 4-5 inch bbl. Fed through my Glock 19 and my WW II bringback Radom with no problems at all. Penetrates, tumbles and generally messes up anything you hit and flattens out on wallboard type barriers. Interesting stuff, that’s probably why it doesn’t seem to be imported anymore. Haven’t seen any since the mid ’90s. -30-

  15. Any I’ve got. I honestly can’t remember a single fail to fire with 9mm. Not one. Lots a 22s, but 9 no.

  18. Winchester Ranger 127gr +p+. If you are going to do something, over do it. Plus, I bought a case of it about a decade ago for an unbelievable price. So, I have plenty of it.

  19. When I carry 9mm, Underwood Xtreme Defender +p+. Also have an ammo can full of HSTs of all weights and pressures for my just in case supply 😎

  20. HST 124 grain +P in my Shield, or whatever becomes my Winter carry. Number 4 buck in the home defence shotgun.

  23. Here in New Jersey it’s illegal to carry a gun. (They dont give out permits) out of 9 million residents there are less than 1,200 legal permits issued. So since I can’t carry a 9mm or a .9mm or a 90mm i carry the very next best thing. I carry a cop.

  27. the summer carry gun liberty 50gr/ 2000fps (yeah, sure).
    the winter carry gun critical defense.
    house gun critical duty.
    i will try some hst as well.

  28. Speer Gold Dot 124gr + P SB In a XDs 9mm 3.3in . Otherwise, carry Speer Gold Dot 135gr SB .357mag in a SP-101, 2.25in DAO.for that extra when needed.

  29. Rule of thumb use whatever your local PD is using. You can’t go wrong especially if you do have to go to court.

    In my opinion the best are Speer Gold Dot 124 +P, Federal HST 124 +P and if you want more penetration Hornady 135 +P critical duty.

  30. All those little pocket tool things like the pry bars and crazy screwdriver attachments you can barely use with two fingers are a terrible edition to anyones EDC… makes me cringe every time I see them. The rest of the EDC can be amazing, but the second I see those things, I’m out.

  31. My wife usually uses the 100gr Hornady Critical Defense Light. I use 115gr Nosler hollow points I picked up on sale pretty cheap at my lgs a while back. I’ve been meaning to get some Critical Duty or Defense, but haven’t gotten around to it.

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