{"id":3712,"date":"2021-03-31T08:39:32","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T08:39:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/?p=3712"},"modified":"2021-06-02T17:49:18","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T17:49:18","slug":"9mm-home-defense-ammo-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/9mm-home-defense-ammo-test\/","title":{"rendered":"9mm Home Defense Ammo Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

Testing 9mm Home Defense Ammo<\/span><\/h1>\n

One of the reasons why sports utility vehicles have risen in popularity as of late is because they are so flexible. For instance, an SUV holds more stuff than a sedan, but it is more secure than the open bed of a pickup. They are sort of a \u201cdo it all\u201d vehicle that can be adapted to almost any task you ask of it. <\/span><\/p>\n

In many ways,\u00a0 the 9mm pistol is the sports utility vehicle of guns. There are better guns out there for close-range defense, and guns with much more power and longer range. But a pistol can always be near you and is there when you need it the most. It may not be ideal for any one task, such as home defense, but it does the job. Ammo is an important part of making sure your pistol is up to whatever task you ask of it, which is why we\u2019re looking at 9mm home defense ammo today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin with a reminder that you really want to use hollow point bullets for this sort of thing. A hollow point (JHP) round will open up as it hits tissue, dumping all its energy into the target. Full metal jacket (FMJ) rounds are not designed to do this. Rather, they\u2019re designed to sail through whatever they hit. FMJ rounds typically cost less than JHP rounds. That\u2019s why we practice with FMJ bullets, but carry JHP in our guns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What To Look For In 9mm Home Defense Ammo<\/span><\/h2>\n

There are two tasks that a round of 9mm home defense ammo needs to perform. The first is to stop the threat. The second is to inflict as little damage as possible if you miss. Time and time again, modern 9mm JHP rounds have proven themselves to be able to stop the threat and save innocent lives. A pistol round, any pistol round, is probably <\/span>not going to stop the fight with one shot<\/span><\/a>. More rounds headed downrange means more opportunities for a missed shot. This, in turn, means there are more chances for a round to hit someone and potentially cause a tragic outcome.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To see what happens if 9mm ammo<\/a> misses its intended target and goes through an interior wall, we\u2019re going to re-create the interior of a typical American home. We\u2019ll set up two 16 inch square sheets of \u00bd inch drywall separated by 2×4 studs as the first target. This will represent a typical wall found inside the home. One foot behind that wall is a block of Clear Ballistics gel, a very common testing medium which gives us an idea of what a round might do to a human body. Finally, there is a larger, four foot square interior wall placed 12 feet behind the first wall, a distance that represents the size of a typical American bedroom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

9mm Home Defense Ammo Interior Wall Penetration Test<\/span><\/h3>\n

We\u2019ll be using a stock Glock 19 in our test, firing at the first wall from 10 feet away. We\u2019ll also have a digital chronograph set up at the muzzle to measure the velocity of each round. The specific types of 9mm home defense ammo we\u2019ll be testing are:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n