P vs +P?

[Gun Fun]

Looking for opinons on P vs +P for target shooting and/or self-defense in connection with my FNX 9. Performance? Recoil? Accuracy? Bullet weight?
Thanks.

[Gos]

For self defense, I generally trust various recommendations from the gel studies that have been done. Most of these indicate that you "need" +P on most lighter hollow points to penetrate sufficiently. (Lighter for self defense = 124gr, heavier = 147gr for self defense) I can't tell any difference in recoil between the various bullet weights, I can barely feel +P as "hotter" from a recoil perspective. I suck at shooting handguns so all the ammo is more accurate than me.

Here's the link to arfcom's collected material: Best Choices for Self Defense Ammo

That being said, some bullets is better than no bullets in self defense. All their recommended ammo is *expensive*, over $0.50/ea in most cases, and I think some is LE/MIL only.

For target shooting I buy whatever I can find cheap. $200/case or less is about the normal price for me. This usually gets me Federal AE, PMC Bronze, or my last purchase was that bulk Cabelas discount on S&B Police 9mm for $175 per 1k. =P

[Vulcan71]

I am looking forward to this new product: Buffalo Bore Ammunition 9mm Luger +P+ 115 Grain Barnes TAC-XP Jacketed Hollow Point Lead-Free Box of 20

Product #: 813203 Buffalo Bore Ammunition #: 24H/20

Status: Coming Soon
Date expected in stock: 4/30/2012


Technical Information Caliber: 9mm Luger +P+
Bullet Weight: 115 Grains
Bullet Style: Barnes TAC-XP Jacketed Hollow Point
Case Type: Brass

Ballistics Information:
Muzzle Velocity: 1400 fps
Muzzle Energy: 500 ft. lbs.

This company makes many other products as well.

[Visceral_Malice]

9mm really doesn't shine until you start to get into the +p area with good jhp. A good defensive load needs to be +p to achieve adequate penetration.