EDC_Minded
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- Jun 23, 2025
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I'm on the hunt for a solid 9mm self-defense round. What's your go-to ammo for EDC, and how has it performed in real-life situations?
Best 9mm Carry Ammo Recommendations
- Thread starter EDC_Minded
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FelixD
Member
I carry Hornaday Critical Duty. Hope I never use it. For interesting watching on the subject Tools and Targets on YouTube provides some useful information. He chronographs various pistol ammunition and shoots jell blocks. The blocks are filmed and played at slow speed. As a test medium the jell blocks might not be the best to some people, but they are a consistent one. The comparisons are interesting.
David Howard
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I also have Hornady Critical Duty in my 9mm EDC, but I wonder if it really makes a difference what ammo is carried. No one wants to get shot with anything, and from what I have read, most self defense with a firearm involves the showing of the firearm without firing a shot. Even a semi-wadcutter 9mm round can do a lot of damage, and possibly constitute a fatal wound. By far, most of us will never find out if our ammunition is up to the task, and that is a good thing. But it keeps the ammo manufacturers in business and provides something for some of us to argue about.
Brad_in_IL
New member
I carry Hornady Critical Defense in a Shield Plus. The pistol has a 13-round mag, and I also carry a spare 15-rounder.
David Howard
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I have yet to read about a single incident, nationwide, in which a citizen needed an extra magazine during a self defense shooting. Maybe it happens, but even when I only carried a 5 round snubbie I never felt that I needed to have a speed strip or speed loader beyond the 5 rounds in the gun. But maybe that's just me. The guns that I use for daily carry have either 10 or 11 rounds total, depending on the gun, and I am confident that this will be enough.
FelixD
Member
Respectfully, I take a contrarian perspective on carrying extra ammunition. I'd rather not be faced with a need for more and not have it. Given the state of crime in Illinois it is not inconceivable that an incident requiring the legal use of a firearm may require it.
David Howard
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Carry whatever makes you comfortable. I can envision scenarios where ten 30 mags for your Ar-15 is not enough as you face off against a mob of 100 Antifa thugs carrying machetes, and the like. I think the 3/3/3 rule is still the likely self defense situation where you need 3 or fewer rounds within 3 seconds at a distance of 3 or less yards.
Brad_in_IL
New member
Felix, I'm with you. Take for example the typical car-jacking incident. The vehicle owner may be faced with two or three armed assailants, plus the get away driver. If shots are fired, you have to figure 3 or 4 shots (at least) per assailant before scoring a single stopping hit, multiple targets, and for good measure, roll in a magazine failure. All of a sudden, that 2nd mag with an additional 15 shots starts looking pretty good.
