Ammunition & Hand Loading > General Ammunition Discussion

What is the 9mm Luger?

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Jay:
The 9mm Luger is one of the most widely used and available cartridges in the world. It can also be called 9 X 19mm, 9mm Para (Parabellum) and 9mm NATO. While there are less popular 9mm cartridges that are not interchangeable with this round, most of the time when someone is talking about a 9mm, the Luger is what they are talking about. The 9mm is often hotly debated as to it's effectiveness for personal defense, but the fact of the matter is it has been successfully used for many years throughout the world in both self defense and military applications. The affordability of practice ammunition, relatively low recoil, wide availability, capacity, and large array of loads make this such a popular round. For more information, check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_mm_Luger_Parabellum

Hatchet1961:
Yeah but its so little and leaves little holes. Just about every US service man wants a .45 ACP.

Hatchet1961:
On a slightly different tack, here are the various 9mm cartridges:

- 9x17 = 9mm Kurz = 9mm Short = .380 ACP = 9mm Corto = 9mm Browning. Bullet diameter = .356",
            weight is typically 87 to 95 gr.
- 9x18 = 9mm Makarov. Bullet diameter = .364", weight is typically 95 gr.
- 9x18Ultra = 9mm Police. Bullet diameter = .356" (used in some Walther pistols. Do not shoot this in your Makarov).
- 9x19 = 9mm = 9mm Parabellum = 9mm Luger= 9mm NATO. Bullet diameter = .356", weight runs from 115 to 147 gr.
- 9x21 - civilian version of 9x19, used in Italy and other countries where military calibers are banned.
- 9x23 = 9mm Largo = tons of names (http://www.9mmlargo.com/cartridge). Bullet diameter = .355"

If you want to have some fun next time you go to buy some ammunition ask for some 9x19 and watch there faces.

iiranger:
Little changes much. When I was young the debate ran, if you want to practice a .45 offer SO much more... It does, but more to handle... If you are short on practice, you are better off hitting with the less powerful but easier to handle 9mm in one of its many, many forms. Many, then, were available surplus, CHEEEP.

Outdoor Life rammed this home for me with an article on/by rabbit hunters, Michigan I think, with concern about sleeping black bears. Author carried a .357 Mag. Ruger. Companion carried a 9. Luger? Of course they disturbed a bear and had to shoot it out. Skinning the bear they found the .357 had penetrated through the body killing the bear, for sure. The 9mm slugs were all in the fat under the skin. !!

The other was in the Rifleman. Seyfreid, I think, was in the Canadian army. They were in winter battle dress. Side arms were the .38 S&W Webley revolvers. There was an accident. A soldier was shot with a revolver. They hurried him to medical. Turned out he was hit in the heavy leather belt around his middle. Bullet did not penetrate. Found under the belt. !!

Then there are the law dogs who say that .25's and .22's are good for softening them up for the fist fight to follow... ??

SeanN:
Thread necro, apologies.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with 9mm for defense against 2 legged animals, as long as you choose the right load. The Speer Gold Dot 124 +P or the heavier 147 gr loads are both excellent self-defense loads and expand very well in flesh to create large wounds. They aren't a whole lot smaller than similar .45 hollow point ammunition.

Don't get me wrong, .45ACP still puts larger holes, obviously, it's a bigger round. However, the advantages of 9mm are greater ammo capacity (in Glocks, .45ACP only gets 13 rounds, 9mm gets 17), easier recoil for generally faster follow-up shots and a lot cheaper to practice with. Heck, even the defensive ammo is a lot cheaper. The good .45ACP loadings were costing me about $1/round in the defensive stuff. You can pick up 500 rounds of 9mm gold dots for $275 shipped to your door.

More info on handgun calibers and ammo selection here: http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19887

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