We have all been there – you go to the range and you use up all of the bullets you got. You visit your favorite ammo website to purchase more and you enter 9mm in the search box … logical. You need 9 mm ammunition. Two days pass by and you get your package in the mail. You open it up and it is 9 mm Makarov ammunition. Oh, snap, you think to yourself: this won’t fit my firearm. You call and you find out there are no returns on ammunition and now you are stuck with the ammunition you can not use at all. Read this article we put together for you so you don’t find yourself in this situation. We will examine the most commonly confused calibers in the ammo world. This article will focus on 9 rounds. Sure you have heard it all before: “ I am going to the range to shoot some 9 .”
But is all 9 mm ammo as we know it the same?
The 9mm Luger, 9X19mm, is a rimless firearms cartridge. Very popular. It was originally designed in 1901 by Austrian firearm designer by the name of Georg Luger. It is easy to utilize and can work in a lot of different types of guns. Most of the firearms that are used by police forces generally rely on this type of bullet. This cartridge was created to work through the Liger semi-automatic pistol, but it can work through other types of handguns.
Similar names this bullet can be referred to are:
· 9 mm NATO
· 9 mm Parabellum
· 9×19 mm
· 9×19 mm NATO
One thing we don’t find here is 9 mm MAKAROV. Commonly confused, completely different.
The 9×18 Makarov, also known as the 9mm Makarov or 9x18mm PM, takes the reputation of the most popular Soviet submachine gun and pistol cartridge. It was developed at the end of World War II in 1946. Makarov was designed to be a cartridge that wouldn’t produce a lot of recoils. 9×18 Makarov was designed with a larger than average caliber, .365”, so that the Germans, were they ever to invade Russia again, could not use the rounds in their 9 mm weapons.
However, it wasn’t until 1951 that the 9×18 Makarov was accepted and used in the Soviet army. The standard load is 95 grains and muzzle velocity is 1050 ft./s, differing from 9×19 ammunition.
Target Sports USA sells both calibers, always check that you are indeed ordering the one you need. Keep in mind that with a Target Sports USA Prime membership you get a significant discount and free shipping on both calibers.