9mm for hunting

[emsemt911]

I have a 9mm RRA with 16 inch barrel. I am shooting standard 9mm rounds and know the ballistics to 100 yds.
Now the questions: How far is its effectiveness for a clean kill?
I ask this question because I would like to use the gun for hunting coyotes and simular sized animals. Also the possibility of using it on 125-150 lb exotic rams in Texas.

[Ridgerunner665]

The effective (ethical) range of 9mm carbine for deer sized game is about 50 yards with high performance ammo....coyotes, however far you can hit them.

At what distance can you place a round exactly where you want it?

I have cleanly taken deer with a 4.25 inch 1911 45acp out to 40 yards...but thats a heavier bullet, carrying more momentum...shot placement is the key...as always.

[Bud White]

The effective (ethical) range of 9mm carbine is about 50 yards with high performance ammo....

At what distance can you place a round exactly where you want it?

I have cleanly taken deer with a 4.25 inch 1911 45acp out to 40 yards...but thats a heavier bullet, carrying more momentum...shot placement is the key...as always.


RidgeRunner Pretty much hit it.. For hunting with a 9mm i would go with a heavy bullet as fast as it can go ..

But i wouldn't use it myself

[Robb Jensen]

A good friend of mine used a suppressed 9mm Colt to take a pretty small doe several years ago, I helped him track it and drag it out, the deer went 150yds after the first two hits.

It took 5 thoracic (if that what the chest area is called on a deer too) hits from 147gr Winchester Silvertip to take the deer down. After the movie Me, Myself and Irene came out with Jim Carrey and the cow scene I told my friend that it reminded me of him and the doe.

If you want to hunt deer with an AR there are much better calibers like 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC, 7.62x39mm .458 SOCOM and .50 Beowulf to name a few. IMHO the 9mm is too weak for hunting and IMHO not humane enough for a clean kill.

[Buckaroo]

A good friend of mine used a suppressed 9mm Colt to take a pretty small doe several years ago, I helped him track it and drag it out, the deer went 150yds after the first two hits.

It took 5 thoracic (if that what the chest area is called on a deer too) hits from 147gr Winchester Silvertip to take the deer down. After the movie Me, Myself and Irene came out with Jim Carrey and the cow scene I told my friend that it reminded me of him and the doe.

If you want to hunt deer with an AR there are much better calibers like 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC, 7.62x39mm .458 SOCOM and .50 Beowulf to name a few. IMHO the 9mm is too weak for hunting and IMHO not humane enough for a clean kill.

Man that was a great scene in that movie!

I would hate to be in that situation. Better rounds are easily available.

Buckaroo

[Hootiewho]

I would advse against the 9mm as a hunting round out of the AR. It will do the jobif the shot is placed right, but +80% of the time in the field, you will not have a perfect shot opportunity and you don't want to wound an animal. If it is jsut for coyotes and you are looking to irradicate them and be quiet, go ahead with the 9mm. If you are going after pelts and need to recover the animal for any reason, go with something else. If you need subsonic think .300 whisper, .338 spectre.

[Ridgerunner665]

Hunting deer sized game with rounds such as 45acp and 9mm is very much like bowhunting (and I love to bowhunt)...meaning the whole point is to get CLOSE...its a stealth game....its not about how far you can shoot, but it is about how well you can place a bullet...at a given distance.

Can you hit a softball sized target at 50 yards...consistently?

And are you willing to let a 12 point buck walk away if he's just a little out of range? <<<This is the challenge most people fail miserably....

You will often have to watch a nice buck walk away only 55 - 60 yards out...some people may take that shot with a bow or pistol... I MIGHT take it with a bow, if the situation is right...no obstructions such as tree limbs in the way, no wind, broadside shot, deer standing still. EDIT TO ADD: and if the deer wasn't paying attention...if a deer hears a shot from a bow at this distance and is already alerted he has time to react... duck the arrow...or jump over it
But I would NEVER try it with a pistol unless it was a hot 45 Colt or something like that.

I enjoyed using my 1911 for deer this past season...I put 3 deer in the freezer with it. 2 of them went about 30 yards after the shot...1 dropped where it stood, kicked a few times and died.

If anybody is interested heres a link to the story on another forum...
http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=186035

[emsemt911]

I do not plan on using it on deer, I prefere the 6.8 or my .270 for that. Occassionally the .223.

I want to try it on coyotes and rams in Texas.

[Ridgerunner665]

The same basics will apply to those rams...shot placement, knowing which shot to take, and when to take it.