9mm Ammo Quest: MagTech Guardian Gold and First Defense

By Dan Zimmerman

In this latest installment of the 9mm Ammo Quest, I put three varieties of MagTech 9mm ammo through the 3″-barrel 9mm pistol. The tested varieties are the 92.6-grain First Defense, the 115+P Guardian Gold, and the 124-grain Guardian Gold. The recoil on the light 92.6-grain solid copper First Defense was noticeably mild. Velocities were all over the board, ranging from 1073 fps up to 1268. Three of the five bullets showed no expansion at all and two showed mild expansion. Overall penetration was excellent; expansion was minimal . . .

The 115+P performed mostly okay; four of the five shots traveled between 11.50″ and 12.50″, all expanded, and only one really showed any disintegration, the other three looked pretty good. But the second shot in bare gel was the problem; it traveled only 9.50″, far short of the bare minimum 12.00″ distance required by modern defensive ammunition standards. The bullet expanded to a quite large size for a 9mm (.621″ average diameter, with a maximum measurement of .697″) but it didn’t come close to meeting the minimum standard. Because of that, I’m not bullish on this round.

The 124-grain performed best overall, but was quite inconsistent, …read more

Source:: Truth About Guns