Five Reasons the 9mm Dominates the Self-Defense Market

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If you’re itching to start a heated debate among handgun enthusiasts, the easiest way to do so is to start comparing cartridges for self-defense. In one camp you have the big-bore enthusiasts, the folks who feel that a big bullet at a mild muzzle velocity is the best all-around self-defense round. You also have a handful of handgun owners who still carry .22s for personal protection, whether the .22 LR or .22 WMR. The argument (which isn’t without merit) is that the .22s are easy to shoot and lethal. Still others may prefer revolvers in .38 Special, .357 Magnum, or the trendy .32 H&R Magnum. There are those who champion the .380 Auto, and there are a few outliers who prefer the 10mm Auto, .357 SIG, or .44 Special.

But the 9mm is the self-defense champion, and that isn’t going to change. The 9mm Luger is far and away the most popular handgun cartridge for self-defense. Even law enforcement agencies that turned away from the 9mm in favor of the more powerful .40 S&W have returned to pistols chambered for this round in modern times.

Is the 9mm really that good? The short answer is yes. It’s a solid choice for self-defense. In fact, it’s very likely the best choice, and here are five reasons why.

FBI Data Shows 9mms with Modern Ammo Are Effective

Following the infamous 1986 Miami Shootout, the FBI developed a comprehensive protocol for evaluating the effectiveness of handgun cartridges. The test parameters required bullets to penetrate between 12 and 18-inches in bare 10% gel and through various barriers. This meant that the bullet would penetrate sufficiently through heavy clothing or other items but wasn’t prone to overpenetration. The 9mm proved to be very effective in these tests, especially with modern bullets. When you need a round that you can count on to stop a threat without the risk of overpenetration, today’s 9mm defense bullets are highly effective, and there’s plenty of objective data to back that claim.

The 9mm Is Shootable

Not everyone who carries a self-defense pistol is a lifelong shooter with extensive training or military and law enforcement background, and even well-trained shooters are not insensitive to the effects of heavy recoil. The 9mm produces about 4 foot-pounds of recoil on average depending on gun weight, which is considered low to moderate recoil. That’s on par with the .38 Special in a light revolver and substantially lower than the 7+ foot-pounds of recoil generated by a .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP. The 9mm is at the upper threshold of manageable accuracy for the average shooter, and that makes it the most powerful self-defense cartridge that many gun owners can handle. If the gun you carry isn’t enjoyable to shoot, odds are you won’t practice regularly, and the 9mm’s moderate recoil means you won’t suffer from recoil fatigue after a couple magazines.

Ammo Selection Is Unmatched

Bullet design has improved substantially over the last 30 years, and today’s modern personal protection bullets are consistent and effective. Additionally, most every modern self-defense ammunition is loaded in 9mm so there are lots of options when choosing a personal protection load. Many, like Speer’s Gold Dot, Hornady’s Critical Defense, Remington’s Golden Saber, Federal’s HST and other loads have undergone extensive testing and have proven highly effective for self-defense applications.

There are also plenty of affordable 9mm training rounds available today as well. It’s often cost prohibitive to shoot a hundred rounds of premium self-defense ammunition at the range, but 9mm practice ammunition is widely available and affordable. It’s possible to find 9mm practice ammunition that costs under $.25 per round, and that’s considerably cheaper than .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and .38 Special practice ammo. It’s even cheaper than .380 ACP target ammunition in most instances. Additionally, there are plenty of low-recoil, subsonic, and frangible 9mm load options, too.

9mm Strikes a Balance of Portability, Power, and Capacity

If you’re going to carry a pistol every day, it must be portable, and there are lots of subcompact and micro-compact 9mm pistols that are suited for EDC. In recent years, gun companies have doubled down on micro 9mm capacities, though, and today’s 9mm carry guns routinely hold a dozen or more rounds while still fitting comfortably in an IWB holster. Springfield Armory’s Hellcat Pro measures just an inch wide and weighs 21.4 ounces unloaded, but it holds an impressive 17 rounds in the magazine. SIG’s P365 Fuse measures just .1 inches wider and comes with two 21-round magazines. This combination of small footprint and impressive capacity, along with the 9mm’s outstanding performance on gel tests, makes it a natural choice for self-defense.

There’s a 9mm for Every Application

Except for the .22 LR, there’s no cartridge that has been chambered in more platforms than the 9mm Luger. Most common are the 9mm semiauto pistols, but even that category is extraordinarily broad. If you’re looking for a really light, compact, easy-to-conceal pistol for deep cover you can select the Ruger Max-9, Sig’s P365, or the KelTec P15, all of which weigh under 19 ounces unloaded and are an inch or narrower. There are also plenty of compact pistol options like Ruger’s RXM, Springfield’s Echelon 4.0, or FN’s 509 Compact. Compact pistols like these and other remain concealable but offer a bit more weight and grip size to better handle recoil. Full-size 9mms and competition guns like the Springfield Echelon 4.5, Beretta’s M92, CZ’s 75 and P-09 F Nocturne, and 1911s like Kimber’s outstanding 2K11 double stack all offer high capacity, great accuracy potential and mild recoil.

But semiauto pistols are only one small segment of the 9mm market. There are some really great 9mm revolvers available, including Smith & Wesson’s 940 and Ruger’s LCR and LCRx. Because the 9mm cartridge is not rimmed like traditional revolver cartridges these guns are supplied with moon clips that act as speed loaders, which is an advantage of 9mm wheelguns. There are also a growing number of PCCs (pistol caliber carbines) chambered in 9mm including Ruger’s PC Carbine, Springfield’s new Kuna and the wood-stocked Homesteader blowback, and POF-USA offers their Tombstone 9mm lever-action. This means your home defense battery could include a subcompact semiauto carry pistol or revolver, a full-size target and home defense handgun, and a defensive carbine that all shoot the same ammunition.

Clearly, the 9mm is the king of today’s centerfire self-defense cartridges, and it doesn’t appear that will change anytime soon. The 9mm Luger earns this title by being easy to shoot, offering outstanding capacity, and available in a wider array of guns than any of its competitors. It truly is the best option for self-defense.

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