January 04, 2019
By Greg Rodriguez
George Luger designed the 9x19mm (a.k.a. 9mm Luger, 9mm Parabellum, or simply, 9mm) just after the turn of the last century, and the Imperial German Army adopted it as its handgun round in 1908. Its popularity soared after World War II, and the U.S. military adopted the 9x19mm as its service pistol round in 1985. Today, it is a popular military and law enforcement handgun cartridge.
Early on, its pointy full-metal-jacket rounds gave the 9x19mm a reputation as a horrible antipersonnel round. But the advent of reliable, fast-expanding hollowpoints - particularly hotter +P-type loads - elevated the 9x19mm to true manstopper status. Low recoil, inexpensive ammunition, and a wide variety of handguns and carbines chambered for it have made the 9x19mm very popular for plinking and target shooting, too.
Special Considerations: The 9x19mm headspaces on the case mouth, trimming must be uniform. Do not shorten cases beyond specified trim-to-length. Do not roll crimp or it will not allow the cartridge to headspace properly. A modest taper crimp will do the job nicely. Use near-max load data and bullets of 127 grains or less for the best performance in carbines. The SAAMI Maximum Average Pressure for the 9x19mm is 35,000 psi. Favorite 9mm Luger Loads BULLET POWDER STARTING LOAD MAX LOAD C.U.P. COMMENT Charge (grs.) Velocity(fps) Charge (grs.) Velocity (fps) Speer 115-gr. Gold Dot SP HS-6 6.7 1171 7.0 1234 29,400 Self-defense load Universal 4.5 1029 5.0 1149 31,200 Lyman #356637 147-gr. Cast Universal 3.0 875 3.4 969 31,000 Accurate, plinker Bullseye 2.8 780 3.5 942 31,600 SIE 125-gr. FMJ HS-6 6.4 1131 6.8 1169 27,100 Auto-Comp 4.7 1055 5.2 1120 33,300 Great carbine load
