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, delivering penetration between 11.50″ and 18.25″. Through the bare gel, expansion was very good, and they penetrated almost deep enough to make the minimum (11.50″). The denim bullets look like they’re from a completely different line of ammo though. They didn’t expand nearly as much and penetrated deeply (13.50″), really deeply (16.25″), and extremely deeply (18.25″). That’s great, delivering on the single most important factor of defensive bullet performance (sufficient penetration). But while that’s all well and good, it’s completely underwhelming when compared to today’s premium defensive offerings.
Take a glance at an HST, or a Gold Dot, or Winchester’s Defend or Ranger-T, and you’ll see what a modern bullet design can do. Winchester Defend penetrated a consistent 16″ from this same gun, with consistent expansion, each and every time, with and without denim. While these MagTech bullets would indeed be effective, I just have a hard time understanding why I’d want to give up the superior consistent performance possible from other ammunition, and settle for bullet performance that looks more like what was typical in the 1990’s.
In summary — the copper First Defense penetrated great, but didn’t expand consistently (or even much at all even when they did expand) from the 3″ barrel. I’d probably suggest saving these for a longer barrel gun where they might deliver more consistent expansion and performance. So while penetration was good, there’s other ammo out there (like HST and Defend) that penetrate just as deeply but do so with bigger-expanding bullets.
The 115+P was a shallow performer. It expanded well, but the bullets hovered around the bare minimum depth, and one of the five bullets didn’t make the minimum. I’d have a hard time trusting a round that doesn’t meet the minimums consistently, so I’d say pass on that one.
The 124 was the best performer through denim, delivering great penetration and some (but not much) expansion. Through bare gel they delivered better expansion, but slightly insufficient penetration. As compared to the other two, I think the 124 might be the best overall performer, but it doesn’t compare well to premium modern defensive ammunition.
Magtech makes some outstanding value range training 9mm that I buy in bulk. It performs flawlessly. Their personal defense ammo looks like it leaves a lot to be desired. I suspect this stuff is probably very inexpensive (I don’t know as I’ve never priced it) and it’s performance probably tracks close to the price point. For me, price is not a major factor when choosing my PD ammo. Another fantastic 9mm Ammo Quest. I love these!
I use mag tech ammo as practice ammo. I don’t use it for any other reason.
Thanks for the info. I’m still going with the HST 124 grain +P in 9mm, but from 4″ or longer barrels. Velocity from the LWD 4″ conversion barrel from a Glock 23 averages 1240 FPS, and 1260 FPS from my 4.4″ barrel Sig 226. I’m curious what my 5.3″ barrel Glock 35 LWD conversion barrel will do.
Looks like I’m getting 100 plus more FPE than what the 9mm subcompact produces. I didn’t expect much from Magtech as a defensive ammo choice.
I’ll always found STB videos to be interesting and informative.
Sure wish he had a large and varied EDC rotation.
I certainly hope that the mentioned medical issues are not insurmountable.
Regards,
DJ
Still waiting for the test of Buffalo Bore .380+P JHP ammo, not the hardcast stuff that was designed to over penetrate.
You need 2000fps to get consistent and reliable bullet expansion. No handgun can produce that that I know about.
Nope. Plenty of 9mm – .45 JHP ammo expands just fine at 800-1200 FPS. Even through denim. Just use a quality JHP like HST, Ranger, PDX, Critcal Duty, etc.
Bullet construction for the expected terminal vel is everything when it comes to expansion and penetration depth. Consider 22 LR expand at hundreds of fps but some hunting mag bullets only full expand at over 2500 fps. Then 45 acp 230 gr can expand to 1″ hitting at 900 fps or even less. But some 9mm bullets need 1100 fps to fully expand as that is inside there terminal vel range. You can make soft lead bullets that will expand at 500 fps.
Now other things come into play that are a combo of frontal section area and vel of the bullet and this is why you see such devastating would from relatively small caliber rifle loads such as a 5.56 @55 gr vs say a 9mm@ 147 gr. The 5.56 creates sig more damage thru the effects of pressure displacement/transfer from the much higher impact vel. But given the same vel a larger frontal area bullet will do more damage which is why soft tip and expanding bullets are popular for this kind of effect.
There is a relative threshold for this kind of high vel damage. It seems to be as you approach the 2K fps range depending again on bullet frontal area. Its one of the reasons the tiny 22 tcm bullets leave such a disproportionate damage cavity compared to the same weight bullet used in a 22 lr or 22 mag. The 22 tcm 40gr is 2100 fps+/- and soft for easy expansion/fragmentation.
In reference to the 92.6 jhp magtech, luckgunner site did the same test and got very different results. https://www.luckygunner.com/9mm-926-grain-jhp-magtech-first-defense-20-rounds#geltest
Almost polar opposite.
Very consistent vel spread good expansion except one of the 5 but all expanded. Penetration was 11-14″ and inline with vel.
There is so much variation in gel setup error rates in chronos etc it draws into question many results testers get. Gel need to be at a certain temp and calibrated with a shot bb depth test. How many are actually doing this. How many are using radar or highly accurate chrono properly? Very very few.
Loved this article. I’ve been testing .45 auto ammo for nearly a year now. Everything from almost 30 doffered brands and every line of ammo they have. The magtech guardian gold performed very well and has been the most accurate defense load I’ve ran through my p227. However do you know if they still make it? Locally all I’m finding and cratered their regular jhp and the first defense. I went to their site, but it isn’t listed. Any info on these would be great! Thanks again
Comments are closed.