Why Lehigh 9mm Ammo for Self-Defense?
Check out part 1 of this test below to see why I chose Lehigh Extreme Defense as the best 9mm ammo for self-defense and how it performed.
9mm 90g Lehigh Extreme Defense Testing: Performance From a Compact Handgun Part 1
If you have never seen terminal performance from these bullets, check out MAC’s video on the subject.
Part 2 Objective: Velocity
The first test didn’t produce velocities as high as I was wanting, so I changed things up a bit. This time, I used a MagnetoSpeed Chronograph to get us true muzzle velocity, rather than velocity 15 feet from the muzzle. Only the max charge was fired in this video. The loads used in the first test, and their corresponding velocities, are listed below for reference. Loads were pulled directly from Lehigh’s Website.
WARNING: The loads shown are for informational purposes only. They are only safe in the rifle shown and may not be safe in yours. Consult appropriate load manuals prior to developing your own handloads. Risencitizen.com and its authors, do not assume any responsibility, directly or indirectly for the safety of the readers attempting to follow any instructions or perform any of the tasks shown, or the use or misuse of any information contained herein, on this website.
- BRASS – 9mm Starline +P (New)
- POWDER – CFE Pistol 5.3g – 6.1g
- BULLET – Lehigh Extreme Defense 90g
- PRIMER – Federal 100 Small Pistol
| Powder Charge | Recorded Velocity |
| 5.3g | 1116fps |
| 5.4g | 1158fps |
| 5.5g | 1174fps |
| 5.6g | 1183fps |
| 5.7g | 1209fps |
| 5.8g | 1190fps |
| 5.9g | 1230fps |
| 6.0g | 1259fps |
| 6.1g | 1269fps |
Secondly, I used a pistol with a longer barrel to increase our measured velocity. The pistol used in the first test has a 3.5″ barrel and the pistol used in this test is a 4.7″ barrel.
Final Results : 9mm Lehigh Extreme Velocities
The results of this test are listed in the table below.
| Series | 5 | Shots: | 6 |
| Min | 1396 | Max | 1414 |
| Avg | 1405 | S-D | 6.1 |
| ES | 18 | ||
| Series | Shot | Speed | |
| 5 | 1 | 1396 | ft/s |
| 5 | 2 | 1403 | ft/s |
| 5 | 3 | 1414 | ft/s |
| 5 | 4 | 1408 | ft/s |
| 5 | 5 | 1404 | ft/s |
| 5 | 6 | 1409 | ft/s |
Conclusion
Success! The max velocity from the first test was 1269fps and the average muzzle velocity from the same powder charge in this test was 1405fps! That is an increase of 136fps!
This is much closer to what we were hoping to see after reviewing Lehigh’s published load data and cross-referencing that with our results.
So, these bullets can be pushed pretty fast and they can likely be pushed much faster. However, I don’t like seeking out pressure issues with guns, and Lehigh gave good published load data to follow.
This is the load I am going to stick with. I would highly recommend these bullets to anyone who handloads or can find ammo loaded with these projectiles. Check back for more testing on terminal performance in the future!
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