Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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I have been using Hornady Critical Defense for a number of years for self-defense ammunition, as it is readily in stock at a store not too far away from me. Granted, I know it isn't the most potent stuff out there (it was designed primarily for subcompact carry guns), but I have figured it was good enough. However, I am getting to the point where I am planning on getting more carry ammunition (I have fired off some of the older stuff and put some fresh stuff into the magazines I rotate). I have decided to try other things, and I have found that I can get Federal HST 9mm 124 gr. ammunition online much more cheaply than the Hornady, Speer, Federal Hydra Shok, and Winchester self-defense ammunition in a store (carriers like UPS have a tendency to show up when I am not home, and I have long bought from a place that is typically not too much more expensive than online for non-defense ammunition; I have considered the small price increase I pay as a "convenience tax". Furthermore, it isn't like I am buying self-defense ammunition batches as large as standard ammunition). However, the savings for the HST online are substantial (under $20 for a box of 50 before shipping); I will run to a UPS or FedEx facility in person if I have to for such savings.

From what I have gathered, Federal HST is widely used by police forces; it has a proven track record, and it meets FBI standards. The reviews are generally positive, and the performance seems sufficient. I am toying with the idea of getting an entire case of this ammunition with a portion of my tax return in the not-too-distant future (I will test some of it in my guns to make sure it functions reliably, and I should be able to get by slowly rotating the rest over a protracted period before having to buy more). I am planning on running the 124 grain ammunition in my Glock 17 and Glock 19. I will have to research how this performs in subcompact guns like my Smith and Wesson M&P Shield (I have noticed that there is a 150 gr. Federal "Micro" HST load, so perhaps the 124 gr. load isn't optimal for a subcompact gun).

Do any of you have experience with this ammunition? Does it live up to its hype, or is there something better I can get for a similar price?
"I have been saying for some time now that America only has one party - the property party. It's the party of big corporations, the party of money. It has two right-wings; one is Democrat and the other is Republican."
-Gore Vidal

Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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It's my carry ammo, it's good to go with all my pistols including the M&P9C. A lot of feds and local cops are carrying it.

HST 9mm runs a bit warm. I have the +P version in 124 grains, and it's clocked at 1200 fps out of a 4" barrel. From shorter barrels it's probably equivalent to non +P, which is still quite punchy.

They also sell the 147 grain version in bulk for roughly the same price. Get the +P version to compensate for shorter barrels, and you're good to go. Ignore the 150 grain version, it's sold in wildly overpriced small (20-round) boxes to store customers who is afraid of the internet. The bad guy is not gonna know you short him 3 grains of lead.
Glad that federal government is boring again.

Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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Stiff wrote:It's my carry ammo, it's good to go with all my pistols including the M&P9C. A lot of feds and local cops are carrying it.

HST 9mm runs a bit warm. I have the +P version in 124 grains, and it's clocked at 1200 fps out of a 4" barrel. From shorter barrels it's probably equivalent to non +P, which is still quite punchy.

They also sell the 147 grain version in bulk for roughly the same price. Get the +P version to compensate for shorter barrels, and you're good to go. Ignore the 150 grain version, it's sold in wildly overpriced small (20-round) boxes to store customers who is afraid of the internet. The bad guy is not gonna know you short him 3 grains of lead.
I also run 124gr in my Gen 1 M&P Shield. Works great. I have tried the 147gr and it gets very flippy and less accurate for me, at least out of the Shield and other compacts like the Kahr CM9.

A full-size 9mm (VP9, Beretta 92FS) is much more manageable with 147gr. but I still prefer 124gr. all around.
LGC Texas - Vice President

Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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Federal HST 124 grain (P9HST1S) and Hornady Critical Defense are excellent choices. Federal HST 147 grain (P9HST2S) is my favorite. Penetration and expansion are excellent. Federal's 147 grain has a 1000fps velocity whereas the 124 grain has a 1150 fps velocity. Nevertheless, 1000 fps offers ample terminal performance for a S-D round. But a key advantage of the 147 grain's somewhat slower velocity is it's likely reduced muzzle flip and more accurate follow-up shots.

Federal recently introduced HST in a 150 grain (marketed for very lightweight subcompacts), but its 900 fps velocity seems unduly slow in terms of terminal effectiveness.

Of course it's always prudent to test and confirm reliability of any S-D ammunition before employing it in any gun intended for duty or personal defense.
Illinois Concealed Carry Firearms Instructor | NRA Certified Pistol & CCW Instructor | Firearms Legal Consultant & Expert Witness | Illinois Licensed Private Security Officer

Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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jamhand wrote:How many rounds of defensive ammo do you fire through your pistol to test reliability? It’s expensive stuff.
Problems usually show up for the first few rounds or the last one of the magazine. I think you need to try with at least one full mag, two is much better.
Glad that federal government is boring again.

Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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jamhand wrote:How many rounds of defensive ammo do you fire through your pistol to test reliability? It’s expensive stuff.
I shot maybe 15 rnds of Hornaday and decided it was good. The Federal HST came in a box of 50rnds so I shot more like 25rnds. Mostly, I have confidence in the pistol. Rounds that have jammed the Ruger 9e or P89 have cycled flawlessly through the CZ75. For me, it's really just hypothetical since I don't carry at this point.
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Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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jamhand wrote:How many rounds of defensive ammo do you fire through your pistol to test reliability? It’s expensive stuff.
I ran around 250 rnds of FMJ the 50 rnds of defensive ammo when I first got my Shield. I now buy about 100 rnds/ year and cycle through that, but I mostly practice with ball ammo. I get Federal HSTs from GT Distributors for $20.

Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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jamhand wrote:How many rounds of defensive ammo do you fire through your pistol to test reliability? It’s expensive stuff.
I run a box through a well-broken in firearm. If the box runs through without a hitch on an already reliable gun, I call it good. Because expensive.
"I am not a number, I am a free man!" - Number Six

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Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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Thanks for the information. I am definitely planning on picking up a 1000 round case of HST. I haven’t decided whether I will go with 124 grain or 147 grain, but I will review the posted information again when my work schedule settles down a bit.

jamhand wrote:How many rounds of defensive ammo do you fire through your pistol to test reliability? It’s expensive stuff.
I have typically fired 50 rounds through several different magazines when it comes to testing a new load. I will probably do the same when I get some HST. My Glocks and Shield have flawlessly digested everything I have fed them, so I am not expecting any issues with HST (Glocks and HST are widely used by police, so if there were issues, we would have heard about it).



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"I have been saying for some time now that America only has one party - the property party. It's the party of big corporations, the party of money. It has two right-wings; one is Democrat and the other is Republican."
-Gore Vidal

Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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I ended up ordering a 1000 rounds case of 124 grain HST. I may have to wait a little over a week to test it (I will run it through my Glock 17, Glock 19 and M&P Shield), depending on when it arrives. FedEx has arrived while I am home fairly often, but I am dealing with UPS this time (they have a long history of showing up when I am not at home, and it doesn't help that I will be working overtime on a day I was initially expecting to have off from work).
"I have been saying for some time now that America only has one party - the property party. It's the party of big corporations, the party of money. It has two right-wings; one is Democrat and the other is Republican."
-Gore Vidal

Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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MaxWyatt wrote:Fwiw, you can have UPS hold the package and notify you when it arrives. I'm rarely home daytime, so that's what i do.

I ended up redirecting the package to a UPS facility, and I will pick it up after I get done with the overtime work. From now on, I am redirecting any UPS package I receive to a UPS facility by default.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
"I have been saying for some time now that America only has one party - the property party. It's the party of big corporations, the party of money. It has two right-wings; one is Democrat and the other is Republican."
-Gore Vidal

Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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I rarely shoot the JHP, because it's mainly for home defense (and I don't think my favorite ranges like it). So I have Speer Gold Dot 124 and Sig Sauer 124 JHP for the home.
For the range and, if the Zombie Apocalypse uses up the JHP, I'll use the FMJ 115. I like the Blazer Brass and Federal American Eagle, though I've had good luck with Aguila, too.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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I recently ran a box of 124gr HST through my Ruger SR-9 with no problem. Recoil was more noticeable than my Sellier & Belliot 115 gr JHP practice ammo (as you’d expect), but the time difference to get back on Target was negligible. I don’t know why the HST boxes don’t have ballistic data printed on them, but I looked it up online and got some anyways.
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Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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HuckleberryFun wrote:I recently ran a box of 124gr HST through my Ruger SR-9 with no problem. Recoil was more noticeable than my Sellier & Belliot 115 gr JHP practice ammo (as you’d expect), but the time difference to get back on Target was negligible. I don’t know why the HST boxes don’t have ballistic data printed on them, but I looked it up online and got some anyways.
The case of HST I picked up from the UPS store is one marked for law enforcement use (20 boxes containing 50 rounds each). There is ballistic data printed on these boxes, and I will put it below for everyone’s reference:

Velocity (at muzzle): 1150 FPS.
Velocity (at 25 yards): 1095 FPS.
Velocity (at 50 yards): 1049 FPS.

Energy (at muzzle): 364 foot-pounds.
Energy (at 25 yards): 330 foot-pounds.
Energy (at 50 yards): 303 foot pounds.

Bullet trajectory (at muzzle): [Blank]
Bullet trajectory (at 25 yards): [at point of aim]
Bullet trajectory (at 50 yards): -0.9 ( I surmise this is in inches).

I am planning on testing out this ammunition on the weekend in the aforementioned Glocks and Shield. The overtime delayed the testing, but after taxes and deductions, I cleared enough to almost pay for a 1000 round case of HST.


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"I have been saying for some time now that America only has one party - the property party. It's the party of big corporations, the party of money. It has two right-wings; one is Democrat and the other is Republican."
-Gore Vidal

Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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Isn't that data all based on a 4" barrel? You'd get higher #s from a PCC, and lower ones from sub-compact, if I'm correct.

I do believe that drop of .9 at 150' (50 yards) is in inches. Thumbnail figuring: At 1500fps constant speed, you'd have a drop of 16' in the first second. 150' is 1/10 of that, so it'd be 1.6' feet....but even that's wrong (I don't have the math at hand) because it's a drop of 32' per second squared, not 32fps so it'd be quite a bit less than 1.6', probably less than .9'.

But since the muzzle and final velocity is quite a bit less than that, it takes longer than .1 sec to reach 50 yards...hence the drop of .9.

Remember, before you jump all over me, I'm just ball-parking and thumb-nailing to see if a drop of .9' at 50 yards makes sense...and it does.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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YankeeTarheel wrote:Isn't that data all based on a 4" barrel? You'd get higher #s from a PCC, and lower ones from sub-compact, if I'm correct.

I do believe that drop of .9 at 150' (50 yards) is in inches. Thumbnail figuring: At 1500fps constant speed, you'd have a drop of 16' in the first second. 150' is 1/10 of that, so it'd be 1.6' feet....but even that's wrong (I don't have the math at hand) because it's a drop of 32' per second squared, not 32fps so it'd be quite a bit less than 1.6', probably less than .9'.

But since the muzzle and final velocity is quite a bit less than that, it takes longer than .1 sec to reach 50 yards...hence the drop of .9.

Remember, before you jump all over me, I'm just ball-parking and thumb-nailing to see if a drop of .9' at 50 yards makes sense...and it does.
I am not sure if it is based on a four inch barrel, but my primary carry gun (Glock 19) has a four inch barrel anyway. Furthermore, the aforementioned "9mm ammo quest videos" show this load performs quite well in guns with three inch barrels. I am confident it will get the job done in a defensive scenario, whether I am using my full-size Glock 17 in a home defense scenario or my M&P Shield outside on a hot summer day.

I fed 100 rounds through each of my defensive guns (Glock 17, Glock 19, Shield), and the ammunition fed flawlessly. The felt recoil and muzzle climb were slightly more noticeable than that of the various 115 grain loads I have used for plinking, but these attributes do not remotely interfere with my ability to get back on target. In terms of accuracy, the 124 grain HST is just as accurate as any other 9mm ammunition I have used; I wouldn't have any trouble stopping a threat with it if necessity dictated. I am quite pleased with my new primary defensive ammunition. I reiterate that it is difficult to argue with paying just over 40 cents per round for this proven ammunition. 8-)
"I have been saying for some time now that America only has one party - the property party. It's the party of big corporations, the party of money. It has two right-wings; one is Democrat and the other is Republican."
-Gore Vidal

Re: Federal HST 9mm 124 gr.

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Federal HST 124 gr JHP appears to be a top performer based on the research and testing I have seen online. I recently transitioned to HST in all of my full size 9mm semi-auto carry pistols. I put 150 rounds of it through each pistol to verify it feeds properly. I have 500 more rounds of HST ordered from SG Ammo on its way. Decent price of $19.95 / box of 50, plus shipping.

http://www.sgammo.com/product/federal/5 ... mmo-p9hst1

Very little flash with this ammo. Pistols were definitely less dirty after 100 or so rounds of HST at the range compared to my regular FMJ like Blazer Brass or Herters Brass.

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