If you haven't seen my update in my other thread I ordered a G19 and should have it this weekend.

Now I just need to get some ammo for it. What ammo are you guys having good results with in your G19's? What do you think is the best defensive load? Thanks!

I've shot and carried the following in my G19:

- Corbon Pow'R Ball 100gr +P
- Federal Hydra-Shok 135gr
- Winchester STX 147gr

I've been very satisfied with the reliability of each of those rounds in my G19.  I'd like to try some Golden Saber next because I've heard good things.

I carry the Speer 124g +p GDHP. Since I get it for cheap, that has helped my decision some.

Thanks for the suggestions. What does +P mean? Is it just loaded hotter or does it have to do with the bullet design?

Quoted: I carry the Speer 124g +p GDHP. Since I get it for cheap, that has helped my decision some.

I carry Rem GS 124 g +p or the speer load.  Both work well in my 9's.

I carry Speer Gold Dot, 124 +p.  Other good rounds for defense include Remington Golden Saber 124 +p and Winchester Ranger, 127 +p+.

Chris

Quoted: I carry Speer Gold Dot, 124 +p.  Other good rounds for defense include Remington Golden Saber 124 +p Chris

same, or corbon 124's.   I shoot what I carry at least every two months, so it sometimes varies.

Winchester Ranger SXT 115 Grain +p+

+p means it is loaded hotter.

Wincheter Ranger SXT +P+"
Remington Golden Saber +P"s
Speer Gold Dots
All excellent performers I am just partiel to the performance of the Black Talon Winchester Rangers.
Another very excellent round that i starting to gain some well deserved attention are the Federal Premium Expandind Full Metal Jackets. Thee round have been proven time and time again to provide significant results and are very reliable, I use thee rounds in MP-5 style weopens that do not feed HP's very well.

I appreciate all the responses. I'm sure I will have lots of fun shooting many different loads as soon as I pick up my new G19 this weekend

Speer Gold Dot 124 +p

The only and I mean only defensive ammo I will shoot out of my 9's are
Federal HST's 124gr

For carry I use PowR'ball  100gr +P and for range use I usally use UMC 115gr or WWB 115gr.

The PowR'ball is a little hot compared to non + P ammo but it's not uncontrolable.  One of the things that I like so much about it is that it works like a HP but it feeds extremely smooth like a FMJ

Quoted: Thanks for the suggestions. What does +P mean? Is it just loaded hotter or does it have to do with the bullet design?

+P means that the ammo is loaded to higher velocities, it has nothing to do with the bullet design.

I'm not 100% positive on what it means but I think +P means + Pressure.  I could be completely wrong on that but I read a long time ago what it meant and for whatever reason thats what I remember.

Quoted: I carry the Speer 124g +p GDHP. Since I get it for cheap, that has helped my decision some.

Where are you getting it cheap...?  (My stash is almost used up.)

The only/best answer for handguns....Speer GoldDot.

Quoted: WW Ranger SXT 127gr. +P+ Around 1250fps with excellent terminal ballistics.

Big +1 that's my load, too.

I went to it over the 124gr +P GDHP for two reasons:

1) the RA9TA exhibited better accuracy...not saying the GD was bad, but the Ranger is spot-on.

2) Could not find a reliable source of the GD round - all the ammo I kept seeing was "reclassified". I soon gave up on the round since I couldn't seem to find anything but these factory seconds. Also, I like 50rd boxes, not 20s. I can get factory-fresh 50rd boxes of RA9TA all day long; not so Speer.

Have a G19, and G17.

Shoot and carry:
                          COR-BON 115gr +P
                          GDHP         115gr +P+

Quoted: The only/best answer for handguns....Speer GoldDot.

+ one million

Speer GoldDot is what I use in ALL my handguns.

Speer Gold Dot 124 grain +p.

I have two G19s loaded up, I'm usually carrying one or the other.

One has Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P HP
One has RBCD Preformance Plus Platinum "H" 50gr TFSP

Quoted: Quoted: Thanks for the suggestions. What does +P mean? Is it just loaded hotter or does it have to do with the bullet design? +P means that the ammo is loaded to higher velocities, it has nothing to do with the bullet design. I'm not 100% positive on what it means but I think +P means + Pressure.  I could be completely wrong on that but I read a long time ago what it meant and for whatever reason that’s what I remember.

I minor point, but...

+P does not necessarily mean higher velocities compared to a standard pressure round.  Generally, higher velocities result but not always.  +P and +P+ simply mean the cartridge is loaded to higher PEAK pressures.  In some cases higher peak pressure might result from the use of low flash powders.  With such powders higher PEAK pressures might be recorded due to burn rates and whatnot.  But the resultant bullet velocity might only equal that of some other cartridge with lower peak pressure (but has a longer-burning, higher flash powder, for example).  ETA: I'm sure there's a clearer way to say that.  Hope you can make sense of it.

Federal's old P9HS3G1 (124gr +P+ Hydra-Shok) is a decent example of this.  It's got high peak pressures, low flash, and unexceptional velocity.

The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) pressure specifications:
9mm = 35,000psi peak
9mm +P = 38,500psi peak
9mm +P+ = no standardized SAAMI pressure.  In other words, it is whatever the manufacture chooses it to be.  However, I believe there to be a "general industry agreement" that +P+ stays under about 42,000psi peak.  One source lists Speer GD 115 +P+ as 40,700psi peak, for example.
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To address the original question, the "best" 9mm breaks down to something like this:

In no particular order:

Federal Tactical (hard to get)
Federal HST (pretty easy to get)
Remington Golden Saber (easy to get)
Speer Gold Dot (easy to get)
Winchester Ranger T (fairly easy to get)

(My availability assessments are based on my personal experiences.)

The above are all top tier and the greatest and latest bullet designs.  I lean towards the 147gr loadings, as they tend to stay together and penetrate more deeply (from the tests I've seen).  124/127 gr are pretty good too but I'm getting away from my older preference of light and fast bullets.  I wouldn't feel under armed with Federal's 9PBLE (Hi-Shok 115gr +P+), but I'd rather have something else.  After placement, I believe that penetration is THE MOST important factor.  The 147grainers excel at penetration and they expand nicely too.

Incidentally, IMO the difference between the very best cartridge and an OK or pretty decent cartridge is quite small on a practical level.  Nonetheless, I do prefer the top tier stuff.  Why not use the best? For me, there isn't a good reason not to use the loads that test the best.  For others maybe there is a good reason (i.e. cost, availability, some personal preference I don't agree with or understand, etc.).

Basically, some cartridges (the top tier) come out on top in the currently preferred testing protocols but there are lots of (perhaps) respectable choices.  Some people love 9BPLE because there is such a long track record of successful use.  Some like WWB 147gr JHP because they feel it's 99 percent as good as anything else and cheap enough to practice with exclusively.

Quoted: I can get factory-fresh 50rd boxes of RA9TA all day long; not so Speer.

Ummm... care to say where???

Currently all my 9mm (G17,G19, Beretta 92,HKP7M8+M13) get Fed 9BPLE 115 +P+.  

FB

Quoted: Where are you getting it cheap...?  (My stash is almost used up.)

I do some work on the side for a LE distributor. I can IM you with some prices.

Winchester Ranger Talon 147gr

or

Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P

Winchester Ranger T's 147 gr.