Ok, where are we at with this?
I got a Hellcat. Haven't fired it yet.
Reading up these 3 inch barrels are slow.
Many JHP's won't expand. Lightweight ones that will often are low on penetration. Basically a 3-inch standard pressure 9x19 is just one small step up from a 3.8 inch .380.
I don't want to use +P in this little gun because I want to train with it and not wear it out. Nor does it need any more recoil. (I also have a Shield 9mm for comparison)
Carry ammo? On my contender list are FMJ-FP, 124 gr Golden Sabre, and 124 gr Hornady XTP.
The Winchester Ranger was rated #1, followed closely by Federal HST 147, and then HST 124. Ammoquest.
As Georgib mentioned, ammo quest / ShootingTheBull410 did lots of testing on 9mm loads out of a 3 inch barrel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc5n_JsY3aw
Last edited by ViperTwoSix; 10-11-21 at 21:47. Reason: Corrected typo
Thanks guys.
Penetration is marginal. (My opinion) but not too bad.
I'll look through his tests and see if he tested any of the XTP or FMJ.
If you really want to know, you have to chrono the loads through your gun. Some barrels are faster, or slower, than others. The trouble with 'best for a 3inch 9mm" is without testing your particular gun, you don't actually know what kind of velocities you are getting. In a lot of cases, the difference between a 3inch and a 4 inch gun is going to be pretty marginal, especially when you consider a standard deviation of 30-50fps between ammo lots is not uncommon. Throw in weather, elevation, and a bunch of other variables and you might find you are splitting hairs. 9mm is pretty efficient round, so it tends to lose a little less in a short barrel than a .45 or .38.
OEF / OIR / OFS
Forgot about this.
I have a few more loads I can test but I did some Hornady 124 gr +P XTP's from my new HK P30SK V1.
They averaged about 1050 fps. Oh well, still probably better than the .32 & .380 fmj I'd been carrying in my Cheetah. (950 fps for the 95 gr .380 fmj, 1000 fps for the 73 gr .32 fmj, chronographed)
After watching MAC's video on Underwood Extreme Defense in 380, I was so impressed with how the round worked that the 9mm +p 68 grain Extreme Defender is now in my Glock 26 as well as all my 9mm guns.
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