Ideal Hornady ammunition for S&W M&P Shield?

[Charlies.Contingency]

Hey ammo guru's, has anybody played with the ballistics on the M&P Shield yet in 9mm? I'm used to only full size 4+in barrels, and shooting Critical Duty out of my Glocks, S&Ws, and Springfields. I'm taking a venture into the M&P Shield 9mm (No Safety), and I want to know if ya'll have already figured out the ideal load of the Hornady SD ammo. With such a short barrel, I can imagine that the Hornady Critical Defense will probably preform ideally in this handgun, but I've been wrong before. So if you guys can shed some light for me, I will greatly appreciate it!

Hornady only, but if none preform too ideally, I may venture out to a different manufacturer for this particular handgun. I'll be surfing the web looking at other people's results until I hear what I'm looking for. Thanks ya'll!

NOTE: I will be testing myself, but I will take good suggestions seriously, and invest in a box to test. I just wanted to create discussion about this topic. I never got on defensive carry .com before, but I'm glad I haven't. It seems users there can barely hold legible conversation. Thank you guys for being clear and informative!

[The Annoyed Man]

I don't know about 9mm, but the .45 ACP 185 grain Critical Defense load performs well in a 3.3" bbl (XDS).

That said, I carry Corbon 115 grain +P DPX in PM9, which has a 3" bbl. The Shield has a 3.1" bbl. This is just my opinion....but the advantage that a 9mm counts on is speed, because it is a much smaller bullet than a .45, and perhaps half the mass. But a 3.1 barrel doesn't allow the same velocity as a duty-sized barrel, so it would be my guess that a standard pressure load in a short barrel can't develop enough steam to be as stout as you want it to be, hence +P for short barrels.

Hornady posts ballistic figures for both 5" and 3" barrels for the 185 grain .45 load (LINKEY), but for the 9mm they don't do that. They offer a 100 grain and 115 grain loads with ballistic information for a 4" barrel. So you don't really know what is going to happen when you drop another inch off the barrel. However, if you try to keep the velocity up by going with the 100 grain bullet, you'll likely lose penetration, and you'll be knocking on the deck-hatch down into .380 territory.

So you could go with the +P 135 grain Critical Duty load, but that is formulated for duty weapons with longer barrels, so i don't know now it will perform in your 3.1" Shield barrel.

Corbon says, for their 115 grain +P DPX in a 4" barrel: 1250 fps/399 ft-lb
Hornady says, for the 135 grain +P Critical Duty in a duty length barrel: 1110 fps/369 ft-lb
Hornady says, for the 115 grain Critical Defense in a 4" barrel: 1140 fps/332 ft-lb
Hornady says, for the 100 grain Critical Defense in a 4" barrel: 1125 fps/281 ft-lb

Of those four loads, the Corbon produces the best results in a 4+" barrel. That's the one you've got to go with if you're going to cut an inch or more off your barrel length.

[Charlies.Contingency]

I don't know about 9mm, but the .45 ACP 185 grain Critical Defense load performs well in a 3.3" bbl (XDS).

That said, I carry Corbon 115 grain +P DPX in PM9, which has a 3" bbl. The Shield has a 3.1" bbl. This is just my opinion....but the advantage that a 9mm counts on is speed, because it is a much smaller bullet than a .45, and perhaps half the mass. But a 3.1 barrel doesn't allow the same velocity as a duty-sized barrel, so it would be my guess that a standard pressure load in a short barrel can't develop enough steam to be as stout as you want it to be, hence +P for short barrels.

Hornady posts ballistic figures for both 5" and 3" barrels for the 185 grain .45 load (LINKEY), but for the 9mm they don't do that. They offer a 100 grain and 115 grain loads with ballistic information for a 4" barrel. So you don't really know what is going to happen when you drop another inch off the barrel. However, if you try to keep the velocity up by going with the 100 grain bullet, you'll likely lose penetration, and you'll be knocking on the deck-hatch down into .380 territory.

So you could go with the +P 135 grain Critical Duty load, but that is formulated for duty weapons with longer barrels, so i don't know now it will perform in your 3.1" Shield barrel.

Corbon says, for their 115 grain +P DPX in a 4" barrel: 1250 fps/399 ft-lb
Hornady says, for the 135 grain +P Critical Duty in a duty length barrel: 1110 fps/369 ft-lb
Hornady says, for the 115 grain Critical Defense in a 4" barrel: 1140 fps/332 ft-lb
Hornady says, for the 100 grain Critical Defense in a 4" barrel: 1125 fps/281 ft-lb

Of those four loads, the Corbon produces the best results in a 4+" barrel. That's the one you've got to go with if you're going to cut an inch or more off your barrel length.

Thanks, I figured you'd jump on this. That barrel length has been my concern with 9mm, as I've been struggling to find information on it. I was thinking that the 115 Critical Defense +P would be a good fit for the barrel length. I'm searching the Hornady sight now for a way to call and find out. We all know the Critical Defense expands very well, but fairly early. I'd hate to have it underpowered and not preform well. Shot placement is more important that ballistics, but I maximize both to my preference.

[Pawpaw]

You might try looking here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... dy+9mm+gel

The first one on that list helped confirm my decision to use Critical Defense in my P938, which has about the same barrel length as your Shield.

[The Annoyed Man]

You might try looking here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... dy+9mm+gel

The first one on that list helped confirm my decision to use Critical Defense in my P938, which has about the same barrel length as your Shield.

Same guy; Corbon 115 grain +P DPX; Kahr PM9 with 3" barrel (exactly like mine); 13.5"-15" penetration through both bare gel and gel + 4 layers of heavy denim:
[youtube][/youtube]

Don't get me wrong, I like the Critical Defense ammo in my .45 and in my S&W M&P340 .357 magnum. But any time I can get the kind of performance the DPX delivers out of a 3" barreled 9mm, I going to jump on it.

[Pawpaw]

You might try looking here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... dy+9mm+gel

The first one on that list helped confirm my decision to use Critical Defense in my P938, which has about the same barrel length as your Shield.

Same guy; Corbon 115 grain +P DPX; Kahr PM9 with 3" barrel (exactly like mine); 13.5"-15" penetration through both bare gel and gel + 4 layers of heavy denim:
[youtube][/youtube]

Don't get me wrong, I like the Critical Defense ammo in my .45 and in my S&W M&P340 .357 magnum. But any time I can get the kind of performance the DPX delivers out of a 3" barreled 9mm, I going to jump on it.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I was answering the OP's question.

I've sort of been keeping my eye open for the DPX ever since I first saw that video, but I have plenty of Critical Defense, so I'm not in a great rush.

[tomdavis]

I have a Shield 9mm and bought the Critical Duty 115 gn. Did not know there was a Critical Defense and now wonder why they sell both when the Duty is slower. I read the pages at Hornady's site but do not see the reason why the Duty would ever be chosen over the Defense round. What am I missing?

[The Annoyed Man]

I have a Shield 9mm and bought the Critical Duty 115 gn. Did not know there was a Critical Defense and now wonder why they sell both when the Duty is slower. I read the pages at Hornady's site but do not see the reason why the Duty would ever be chosen over the Defense round. What am I missing?

The "Duty" is slower because it's heavier, but heavier will penetrate deeply. It is designed to be barrier blind.......hence the LEO marketing.....but it doesn't expand as large as the "Defense" version. They are similar but NOT the same bullet. Both have a lead core, nickle-plated cases, copper jacketing, and a red polymer insert, but that is where the resemblance ends. Plus, the "Duty" version we're discussing here is a +P round.....so a lot more pop and recoil than the standard pressure loads.

The DPX pulls off +P by keeping the weight down, so it's not as hard to shoot.

[tomdavis]

The "Duty" is slower because it's heavier, but heavier will penetrate deeply.

What aspect of the load is heavier? The bullets are the same: 115 gn Duty vs. the 115 gn Defense. I would expect that the Defense, going faster, would expand more. Thanks for the insight that the bullets look the same but are different. I would think the higher velocity would be better but understand penetration is important.

[Pawpaw]

The "Duty" is slower because it's heavier, but heavier will penetrate deeply.

What aspect of the load is heavier? The bullets are the same: 115 gn Duty vs. the 115 gn Defense. I would expect that the Defense, going faster, would expand more. Thanks for the insight that the bullets look the same but are different. I would think the higher velocity would be better but understand penetration is important.

There are two 9mm Critical Duty loadings. One is +P and the other is not. They both have 135gr bullets.

There are two 9mm Critical Defense loadings. Neither is +P. One has a 115gr bullet and the other has 100gr.

[The Annoyed Man]

The "Duty" is slower because it's heavier, but heavier will penetrate deeply.

What aspect of the load is heavier? The bullets are the same: 115 gn Duty vs. the 115 gn Defense. I would expect that the Defense, going faster, would expand more. Thanks for the insight that the bullets look the same but are different. I would think the higher velocity would be better but understand penetration is important.

Both the +P and standard pressure Critical Duty loads are 135 grains, not 115. That's what I mean by heavier: http://www.hornady.com/store/searchammo ... &x=39&y=12, and http://www.hornady.com/store/searchammo ... &x=46&y=10.

But on top of being heavier, the Critical Duty bullets are actually constructed differently than the Critical Defense bullets. The two bullets aren't even named the same. The Duty is a "Flexlock", and the Defense is an "FTX". The Flexlock is barrier blind and will penetrate more deeply, but it doesn't expand quite as big and throw out the anchors the way the FTX does......one of the reasons it penetrates more deeply.

Read the pages on the Hornady site. The info is all there.