Cartridge Consideration-9mm Luger

Nowadays, it seems there are new cartridges being introduced almost every month that seem to be the latest and greatest. With most shooting sports seeing an uptick in recent popularity and coupled with modern manufacturing technologies it takes a lot for cartridges to avoid going the way of the Dodo. The 9mm Luger introduced in 1902 has not only stood the test of time, it has been a cartridge that with modern advancements in bullet construction and gun powder has flourished. The 9mm diameter projectiles used in 9mm Luger cartridge are smaller and lighter than those used in both the 40 S&W and the .45 ACP, which allow the 9mm Luger shooter faster and keep a flatter trajectory with less recoil with most inexperienced shooters. With 9mm Lugers ability to be used in auto-loading firearms along with reduced recoil allows new shooters to learn and adapt to the 9mm very easily and has led the way for this cartridge to be adopted by military and law enforcement agencies around the world and even to be selected as the standard NATO pistol cartridge. This immense popularity among these communities has driven up ammunition availability and driven costs down which has made this cartridge very popular among civilian shooters as well.

The 9mm Luger (aka 9x19mm Parabellum) was originally developed by Georg Luger in Germany for the Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) and with its ability to be adapted to sub-machine guns quickly caught on with militaries around the globe. The 9mm Luger has seen action on battlefields for over a hundred years, through both World Wars, and has even been used in modern conflicts today such as the War on Terror in both theaters in Iraq and Afghanistan. The 9mm Lugers adaptability to be used in magazine fed weapon systems which allows for quicker reloading has been instrumental in converting many U.S. law enforcement agencies away from revolvers to auto-loading pistols in the 1980’s. With its impressive tactical background and modern advancements in self-defense technology the 9mm Luger is a very capable self-defense round and probably better today than it ever has been.

In response to the immense popularity of the 9mm Luger shooters also enjoy a widespread market for ammunition and firearms choices. The 9mm Luger can be loaded with a wide range of bullets from extremely light 65 grains to the heavy for caliber 158 grain weight range. 9mm bullets are most commonly loaded to velocities from 1100 to 1300 feet per second and have energy on target ranging from 350-450 foot pounds. which is extremely capable and flat shooting. Another positive note to shooting 9mm Luger is that there is a wide variety of firearms being made chambered for this cartridge to accommodate shooters looking for 9mm Luger firearms. This wide market coupled with an array of ammunition choices make finding the perfect handgun along with ammunition tailored to fit your needs fairly easy. Since 9mm is shooting a lighter bullet with reduced recoil this can also mean less wear and tear on firearms and increased firearm longevity and increased accuracy. This has also made the 9mm extremely popular in the competitive pistol shooting world.

The 9mm Luger is nothing if not versatile. It can be loaded light, heavy, or even shot out of an AR platform. It is equally at home in general plinking, shooting competitively, or in self-defense. With its well-rounded performance it is no wonder that this cartridge has not only endured but has had an increase in popularity over the past few years. Many shooters will always debate about which cartridge you should be shooting and there will always be people in the camp that say 9mm is too light of a self-defense round. However it has been used in that capacity for over a century and in other 99% of the time we are shooting pistols 9mm is a great choice. The most important thing to keep in mind when choosing your next handgun cartridge is that we are making the informed and right “balanced” decision for your shooting styles and needs.