Pistol caliber carbines are winning my soul - and they should win yours too

[PracticalRifleman]

Lucky Gunner article on 9mm loads from a 16" barrel. Personally I'll take the 124gr +P Gold Dots they show.

https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/s...iber-carbines/

Looking up some data, a 124gr +P JHP launching from a 16" barrel at ~1400fps should be around ~1130fps or so at 100yds. That would be the equivalent at 100yds of shooting someone point-blank with a standard pressure (non +P) bullet. I could live with that from a pistol round.

That seems all good and well, but what if the target is at 10 yards? Do you trust the bullet to be effective?

“9mm 124 gr Speer Gold Dot Carbine gel test results
The standard pressure 124-grain Gold Dots only penetrated 10 inches. The +Ps made it to 15 inches, but take a look at these bullets. This is beyond controlled expansion. This is uncontrolled deformation.

Expanded and deformed 9mm 124 gr Gold Dot ammo fired from carbine
Recovered bullets fired into Clear Ballistics bare gel from a 16.1″ Ruger PC Carbine.”

I believe the overall conclusion was that 147 gr loads were more consistent and predictable. That is consistent with other articles I’ve read over the years.


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