Stole from another forum and looking for input here.
9mm. It has several names but it’s the same cartridge
9mm
9mm Luger
9x19mm
9mm NATO
9mm Parabellum.
They’re all the EXACT SAME AMMO.
9mm is the short name for the 9x19mm round developed by the DMW (Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken) a German arms manufacturing company for the P-08 Luger. During World War 1 the cartridge became the standard round for the German Government. There other 2 Sidearms would be rechambered (the Bercheart C-93, the Mauser C-96 (broomhandle Mauser)). In the interwar years the 9mm cartridge would become the standard pistol and later submachine gun ammunition in most European countries. After world war 2 the former Allied powers joined with many of the European axis nation’s to counter Warsaw Pact forces and form NATO. In order to make interoperability easier the NATO nations decided to standardize things like magazines, letter, frequencies, and ammunition types. 1st was the rifle cartridge .308 which became the 7.62x51 NATO round still in limited use with all NATO nations. Later they’d adopt the US 5.56mm based of the US .223 Remington cartridge. Also the US military adopted the metric system. Now the European standard cartridge became the 9mm Parabellum or 9x19mm. The US would adopt this in 1985 with the formal replacement of the .45 caliber 1911 with the Italian M9 Beretta in 9mm. So TLDR: THE WEAPON WILL TELL YOU WHAT IT TAKES, If it says 9x19 then get 9x19/9mm Parabellum/9mm Luger. They are the EXACT same round just a different names based on your location.
One comment:
NATO has made its own standard for 9mm -> 124 grain FMJ, loaded to 36,5K psi, which makes the round overpressured and gives higher projectile’s speed.
I’m not sure that’s entirely true. As I understand, all rounds are the same but the round 9mm Luger was just paying homage to Georg Luger who invented the pistol. The 9mm para bellum was later adopted as 9mm Para after DWM, the company that created the cartridge, held the motto, “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum” which means “if you seek peace, prepare for war.” Para Bellum roughly translates as preparing for war in latin. Though, not all 9mm is actually the same as you might get some 9x18 or 9x23 rounds thanks to other popular models from other countries.
There are a lot of 9 MM rounds - but taking the shape and dimensions, all listed by @KillJoy are the same.
As I mentioned, NATO version has higher energy, but fits 9mm chamber.
Perhaps the topic is not right, but my guess is that we are talking about 9mm, as short name of 9x19 mm - which is the most common round on the World right now.
These are “other” 9mm rounds… but we never name them as simple 9mm!
A week or so ago a guy at the range tried to put 9mm Browning ammo into a 9mm Luger.
Not sure why they put the 9 mm Browning on the box since it confuses folks who buy the .380 pistols
Do not mix up “9mm +P” [or “9mm +P+”] with “9mm NATO” - these are not the same. Even they are very close with preasurre and energy, regular “9mm NATO” round is still not +P rated.
