9mm Luger

9mm pistols are the most popular handguns today. It is due to the extraordinary performance and specs of the 9mm Luger cartridge that “wonder nines” are standard-issue sidearms in U.S. law enforcement agencies. Many civilians also love and respect 9mm pistols for the numerous advantages they provide.

Such popularity prompted the creation of 9mm Luger handguns of all kinds, so no doubt you’ll find what suits you best no matter the intended use.

Most shooters buy a handgun for either concealed carry or home defense. These two kinds have to comply with different requirements to show the most effective performance in a particular situation. Let’s enlarge on this matter.

Concealed carry

EDC handguns need to be small and lightweight to ensure comfortable carrying for several hours. Thanks to technological advancement, today shooters can choose from a broad variety of compact 9mm pistols.

Pistols with a single-stack frame do a better job at concealment. Double-stack designs, on the other hand, aren’t slim enough which makes them print through clothing.

With a single-stack frame, you won’t be able to feed many rounds and the grip in such a design can be too short for some people. So for better handling and higher capacity, consider an extended base plate for the magazine.

When buying a subcompact handgun, you shouldn’t forget that as the dimensions and weight of a handgun decrease, so does the recoil control. Thankfully, compared to .45 ACP and .40 S&W, the 9mm cartridge generally offers lower recoil while meeting them in terminal performance. This is why it was chosen over other cartridges used by law enforcement agencies before.

Home defense

A handgun intended for home defense can be as big as you’d like it to be. Actually, the bigger the better.

Double-stack design allows for higher magazine capacity. For example, a standard Glock 17 9mm handgun holds 17+1 rounds. As the grip is big enough, people with big hands won’t be uncomfortable handling a 9mm. Still, it won’t go amiss if you try a pistol at a range before the purchase.

With a heavyweight handgun, recoil comes lighter and softer ensuring more accurate follow-up shots because of the shorter sight recovery time.

As you see, the powerful capabilities of the modern 9mm cartridge have contributed to the diversity of 9mm pistol designs. Now, “wonder nines” can meet your special requirements and needs in the best possible way. On GritrSports.com, you’ll find a whole world of 9mm semi-automatic pistols produced by such industry-leading firearm brands as Glock, FN America, CZ, Shadow Systems, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory, and many others.

Is there a difference between 9x19 and 9mm Luger?

✅ There is no difference at all! It's just various names used for the same round (and firearms using it). The 9x19mm Parabellum was designed by Georg Luger in 1901. Luger developed the 9mm Parabellum from his earlier design - a 7.65x21mm Parabellum. The 9mm Parabellum is a rimless, tapered round that fires a 9 mm diameter bullet.

Why is 9mm Luger so popular?

✅ Due to the low cost of 9mm ammo, its light recoil and overall high performance, 9mm Luger became a go-to round for military and police forces, eventually coming to popularity for civilian self-defense. Another benefit of 9mm is its compact size relative to .45 ACP or .40S&W, which allows you to utilize higher-capacity magazines while enjoying much more compact handgun designs.

Does 9mm have enough stopping power?

✅ There have been various studies about handgun stopping power, which proved that 9mm usually requires 2 shots to stop the attacker, which is comparable to other popular handgun types such as .45ACP and .40S&W. Even though 9mm Luger provides less force than mentioned calibers, low recoil grants the ability to land shots faster due to increased accuracy.

Which 9mm ammo to use: FMJ or JHP?

✅ Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) ammo is a lot cheaper compared to Jacketed Hollow Point(JHP), which makes it an excellent ammo for target shooting and practice. JHP, on the other hand, is more expensive, but also much more effective for self-defense due to its ability to expand, inflicting more damage and reducing chances of over-penetration. In short, FMJ is superior for target shooting and JHP is superior for self-defense.