Does anyone shop on sportsman's guide, if so what is the best ammo for the above situation. thanks

Don't know what sportsman's guide is but my choice of ammo would be; Winchester Ranger (147,127+p) and Gold Dot (147,124+p). I prefer 147 grain but any would do.

One of the ammo Goddesses, well, the only one, said she carries the  127 grain +p+ Ranger-T

That's good enough for me.

TXL

(in no particular order)

Ranger "T"
Speer GD
Fed HST
Fed Tactical
Rem Golden Saber (esp. Bonded)

The above are all top tier and of the latest and greatest designs.  Some are easy to find, some are hard to find.  There are lots of other respectable choices too.

IMO, from a practical standpoint the difference between a decent load and the "best" load is quite small.  That said, I like Ranger "T", Federal HST, and GD in the medium to heavy wieghts.  Note that many smaller manufactures use Speer's Gold Dot in many of their JHP loadings (e.g. DoubleTap, Black Hills, Georgia Arms, etc.)  Also, Speer's Blazer line uses the same GD bullet in their Blazer JHP offerings as their more expensive premium lines.

One last thing.  I always shy away from 20 or 25 round boxes.  It's a rip-off, IMO.  I'm not aware of any mainstream cartridge that comes in a "boutique" box that is not also available in 50 rd boxes.  You just have to look elsewhere.

I use Speer GoldDot 9mm Luger 124gr. GDHP.

In my G17, and G19 I use:

COR-BON 115gr +P
GDHP        115gr +P+

Any good HP should do well.

I'm currently carrying with Federal Hydra-Shok 124gr +P+ however I have notbeen able to find anymore, and it's time to cycle out the ammo in my carry magazine.  I guess I'll look for the Ranger-T or some Gold Dot +P.



nsabjg, I'd really suggest that you go to a heavier load than the 115 grain.  You're going to deliver more kinetic energy to your target with a heavier load.  IMO a range for the 9mm is 124-135gr.

CMOS

I really like Federal's HST... truly a nasty upset.

Speer Gold Dot 124 gr. +P.

i use black hills 124 grain +p.  it's a gold dot bullet made by black hills- seems like it'd be hard to go wrong there.  i want to try some ranger- it's just too tricky to get ahold of.

I can't seem to find the Speer Gold Dot 124 gr +P (1220 fps).

The old FBI test data chart I found seems to show (in order from bullet that yields largest avg exp and wound volume)

Remington Golden Sabre 147 gr SS
Speer Gold Dot 115 gr
Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P
Speer Gold Dot 147 gr

What other commercially available 9mm cartridges are better for defensive purposes?

Quoted: I can't seem to find the Speer Gold Dot 124 gr +P (1220 fps). The old FBI test data chart I found seems to show (in order from bullet that yields largest avg exp and wound volume) Remington Golden Sabre 147 gr SS Speer Gold Dot 115 gr Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P Speer Gold Dot 147 gr What other commercially available 9mm cartridges are better for defensive purposes?

Winchester Ranger Ts

N/M, 147 gr it is.