7mm Backcountry
Experience the world’s most advanced 7mm rifle cartridge.
30 Super Carry
Hits like a 9mm Luger. Carries like a 380 Auto. Designed exclusively for defense.
Raptor Steel
Built in collaboration with Rob Roberts Custom Gunworks, these loads put more pellets on target through Raptor Series chokes.
FireStick
There’s never been a muzzleloading system like this. See all the benefits that set FireStick apart to provide the most convenient, safe and consistent performance ever.
Hydra-Shok® Component Bullets
The bullet that’s defined self-defense for a generation is now available as a component.
Federal X Duluth Pack
Check out the all-new lineup of Federal-branded Duluth Pack apparel and gear.
Model 2020 Waypoint Special Edition
We worked with engineers from Springfield Armory to create Custom Shop loads specifically designed for the utmost performance from the new Model 2020 Waypoint rifle.
More than 120 years after its introduction, the 9mm Luger is as popular and effective as ever. If you’re looking for the best 9mm ammo for defense, follow this guide to the loads that offer the ideal balance of penetration, expansion and reliability.
If you want the best 9mm ammo for short barrels, it only makes sense to start your search with the best bullet for defense. Federal Premium HST embodies the most important elements of effective protection: Consistent expansion and penetration to critical depths. But HST goes further in that it achieves these benchmarks though the rigid gauntlet of FBI barrier tests, in which bullets must perform through heavy clothing, steel, wallboard, auto glass and more. That’s why HST is the duty load of choice for law enforcement officers throughout the world.
Its specially designed hollow point won't plug while passing through barriers, and the bullet jacket and core hold together to provide nearly 100 percent weight retention through even the toughest materials. The bullet nose profile, nickel-plated case and high-performance primer provide the ultimate in function and reliability.
Shooters can choose between the 124- and 147-grain HST 9mm loads, or the 124-grain 9mm Luger +P.
Original Federal Premium Hydra-Shok made a name for itself back in 1989 with a distinctive hollow point nose with a center post. Hydra-Shok Deep builds off that time-tested design with a more robust center post and a core that penetrates to ideal depths through the barriers most commonly encountered in self-defense situations.
The 135-grain 9mm load penetrates 15 inches through bare ballistics gelatin—the ideal depth according to FBI standards. If you’re old school, you can still get original Hydra-Shok 9mm in a 124-grain load.
While HST and Hydra-Shok Deep got their start as law enforcement bullets that were later adapted to consumer self-defenders, Federal took a different approach to Punch. Rather than design a single bullet design that would excel in all FBI protocol tests through all cartridges, Federal engineers built Punch to answer the basic needs of real-world defense. This means hitting vital penetration depths through heavy clothing.
The bullet for each offering, including the 124-grain 9mm, is carefully selected and built to optimize terminal performance of the caliber for the most common situations. Plus, its quality brass and sealed primer deliver reliable feeding and ignition.
And while most of Federal’s self-defense 9mm bullets are built to hold together on impact, there is an outlier that takes a decidedly different path. Syntech Defense 9mm uses a hollow-point bullet that separates into three segments and a deep-penetrating core on impact. The core penetrates 12 to 18 inches through bare ballistics gel and heavy clothing—a critical benchmark in self-defense situations. The petals create three secondary wound channels, each more than 6 inches deep, adding to the terminal effect.
Like all Syntech loads, an advanced polymer jacket eliminates lead and copper fouling and drastically reduces damaging heat and friction in the barrel. Its Federal-exclusive Catalyst primer provides hot, extremely reliable ignition without the use of lead.