ck - I'm a 45 fan myself but have carried and shot a bunch of 9mms. Of all the loads that work the best, both in terms of handgun functioning and business end impact, either the 115 grain Remington +P+ (about 1250'/sec) or the 125 grain +Ps (at about 1200-1225), or the equivalent, work best.
The most effective bullet weights for the 9mm are in the 115-125 grain range. The 88-100 grain bullets are a bit light, especially during colder weather when your opponenet might be wearing multiple layers of heavy clothing. The 147 grain subsonic bullets are not really effective manstoppers, as the FBI determined after that horrendous Miami shootout where the 'it creates a fatal non-healing wound' 147 grain 9mms failed miserably to stop a determined opponent.
There are some handloads in the older Lyman manuals for the 9mm, using 158 or 160 grain round nose cast bullets that can be shot at better velocities than the 38 Special with the same bullet, if you want something healthy and fun to plink and/or practice with. I load those just to kick around a few cans and have some fun when one of my 9mm buddies and I head to the range.
The 9mm is a people caliber - that's what it was designed for. The British SAS uses the 9mm and trains for double taps. If they use anything other than the NATO 125 grain ball it's news to me but even with ball ammo, those guys and their 9mms don't fail. I think your best bet is to stay with what you have if the gun (and you) likes it. The heaviest I would go to for personal defense is the 125 grain. Your 92F might like that too.
Just Mikey and his two cents worth.
The most effective bullet weights for the 9mm are in the 115-125 grain range. The 88-100 grain bullets are a bit light, especially during colder weather when your opponenet might be wearing multiple layers of heavy clothing. The 147 grain subsonic bullets are not really effective manstoppers, as the FBI determined after that horrendous Miami shootout where the 'it creates a fatal non-healing wound' 147 grain 9mms failed miserably to stop a determined opponent.
There are some handloads in the older Lyman manuals for the 9mm, using 158 or 160 grain round nose cast bullets that can be shot at better velocities than the 38 Special with the same bullet, if you want something healthy and fun to plink and/or practice with. I load those just to kick around a few cans and have some fun when one of my 9mm buddies and I head to the range.
The 9mm is a people caliber - that's what it was designed for. The British SAS uses the 9mm and trains for double taps. If they use anything other than the NATO 125 grain ball it's news to me but even with ball ammo, those guys and their 9mms don't fail. I think your best bet is to stay with what you have if the gun (and you) likes it. The heaviest I would go to for personal defense is the 125 grain. Your 92F might like that too.
Just Mikey and his two cents worth.