CALIBER WIKI
What is 9mm Luger?
9×19mm Parabellum — The world's most popular pistol round — restricted in India.
9×19mm Parabellum (9mm Luger) is the world’s most widely used military and police pistol cartridge, designed in 1901. It balances power, capacity and cost better than almost anything else.
Important for Indian buyers: 9mm is a prohibited bore for civilian licenses in India, so 9mm firearms are generally not available to civilians.
Quick facts
- Bullet diameter: 9.02 mm
- Typical bullet: 115–124 grain
- Famous guns: Glock 17/19, Beretta 92
- Status in India: prohibited bore for civilians
Prohibited bore in India — civilian arms licenses are generally not issued for 9mm firearms.
Buying guides
Technical specifications
Representative standard loading: Standard 115 gr FMJ. Figures from Wikipedia.
| Bullet diameter | 9.01 mm |
|---|---|
| Case length | 19.15 mm |
| Bullet weight | 7.45 g FMJ (115 gr) |
| Muzzle velocity | 360 m/s (1,180 ft/s) |
| Muzzle energy | 481 J (355 ft·lbf) |
| Origin | German Empire |
| Designer | Georg Luger |
| Test barrel | 118 mm (4.65 in) test barrel |
9mm Luger vs other well-known calibers
Typical muzzle energy — bars to scale. A .177 airgun pellet hits with roughly 1/25th the energy of a 9mm round.
| Caliber | 9mm Luger | .45 ACP | .357 Magnum | .380 ACP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullet Ø | 9.01 mm | 11.43 mm (.452 in) | 9.07 mm (.357 in) | 9.0 mm (.355 in) |
| Bullet weight | 7.45 g FMJ (115 gr) | 230 gr FMJ (14.9 g) | 158 gr JHP (10.2 g) | 95 gr FMJ (6.2 g) |
| Velocity | 360 m/s (1,180 ft/s) | 255 m/s (835 ft/s) | 378 m/s (1,240 ft/s) | 299 m/s (980 ft/s) |
| Energy | 481 J (355 ft·lbf) | 483 J (356 ft·lbf) | 731 J (539 ft·lbf) | 275 J (203 ft·lbf) |
Bullet size, to scale
Front view of each bullet at true relative size.
9mm Luger 9.01 mm
.45 ACP 11.43 mm
.357 Magnum 9.07 mm
.380 ACP 9.02 mm