Ammo choice for FBI

[Blueline]

The new ammo for the FBI. 9mm-147gr.

[Future Triker]

I have never understood why agencies stick to a "specific" round such as this. This round when tested with ballistic gel only SUCKS (for lack of a more accurate and simple descriptive term). In some cases it fully penetrated 15" of gel with almost no deformation.

I know this ammo is designed as a barrier penetration round and to be effective as such and have zero issue with that. What I don't get is the logic in using this round exclusively. If they are not engaging someone who's "protected" behind a barrier, the chances of full penetration and minimal expansion is very high.

Perhaps I'm an oddball, but I carry defensive rounds in my firearm that are defensive rounds and offer maximum expansion through little resistance. My back up mag however is marked, and loaded with a duty based round that is designed to penetrate barriers (glass, walls, doors, etc). In my training and experience, if they are behind cover it means I am too and I have time to drop my mag and load my secondary to engage if the need arose. However, in the wide open, that is not a luxury we have. Personally, I would rather be prepared to effectively stop the threat quickly with maximum expansion without having to worry about my round passing through similarly to a target based round because it doesn't hit enough resistance to expand.

The attached picture shows the Speer G2 rounds in various forms of expansion through ballistic gel.

[tfdeputydawg]

I use Federal HydraShoks

[Future Triker]

I use Federal HydraShoks

AWESOME round!!! I have some of them for my .40. I have been carrying Hornady critical defense and duty for my others.

It is good to see the ammo manufacturers come around as much as they have in regards to quality defensive ammo for the "general public"!

[Blueline]

I have never understood why agencies stick to a "specific" round such as this. This round when tested with ballistic gel only SUCKS (for lack of a more accurate and simple descriptive term). In some cases it fully penetrated 15" of gel with almost no deformation.

I know this ammo is designed as a barrier penetration round and to be effective as such and have zero issue with that. What I don't get is the logic in using this round exclusively. If they are not engaging someone who's "protected" behind a barrier, the chances of full penetration and minimal expansion is very high.

Perhaps I'm an oddball, but I carry defensive rounds in my firearm that are defensive rounds and offer maximum expansion through little resistance. My back up mag however is marked, and loaded with a duty based round that is designed to penetrate barriers (glass, walls, doors, etc). In my training and experience, if they are behind cover it means I am too and I have time to drop my mag and load my secondary to engage if the need arose. However, in the wide open, that is not a luxury we have. Personally, I would rather be prepared to effectively stop the threat quickly with maximum expansion without having to worry about my round passing through similarly to a target based round because it doesn't hit enough resistance to expand.

The attached picture shows the Speer G2 rounds in various forms of expansion through ballistic gel.

The FBI does what they do because they can! This is not my choice either. Why do Air Marshalls use .357Sig ammo inside thin skinned aircraft? The net result of this though, is that more agencies will return to 9mm as a duty firearm. The FBI has chosen Glock.
Personally, I favor Hornady and Federal HST for carry loads.
9MM has come a long way. The new ARX Polymer ammo is basically frangible and has some significant penetration and is pretty close to defeating body armor.