I have a CS-9, bought it when they first came out with them. After shooting a lot of different brands(they're all good), the one that is the most accurate, with me behind the gun, is the plain ole federal classic 115gr. hollow point, so that's what I carry in it. I've only tried about half a dozen or so though, and there's a lot of choices out there now.

http://ammo.ar15.com/project/Self_Defense_Ammo_FAQ/index.htm

Byron

If you can find them: Federal 124gr, not the 105gr EFMJ (expanding full metal jacket), or 124gr Speer Gold Dot.
Both in +P.

Practice with Winchester 124gr NATO (which just happens to be a pretty good bullet in it's own right, for hardball).

First choice, if you can find it, would be Winchesters 127 +P+,. The 124 grain Gold Dot would be a top choice also.

Whatever 115 or 124 grain JHP your gun likes. I don't care for the heavier bullets in the 9mm. Most of mine like the plain ol' white box Winchester 115 grain JHP. Regardless of the FBI "tests" and the opinions of many, there's not a thing wrong with Winchester Silvertips for personal self-defense. Given your lifestyle, you are not likely to have to shoot through a car to get a bank robber on the other side.

As was pointed out in the linked article, there is not a great deal of difference in the terminal performance of most defense loads in the 9mm. It is much more inportant to try as many different loads as you can and use the one that is MOST RELIABLE in your particular gun, and easiest to control and make good hits with quickly.

Remember Rule 2: "Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap - life is expensive." The strong point of the 9mm is its ability to deliver multiple hits quickly.

I have numerous different kinds of 9mm ammo. We'll try a bunch of it and see what your new S&W likes. I'll show you a trick that will give you a good idea if a gun "likes" the feed characteristics of a particular round or not. It's not definitive, but I've found it works pretty well.

There are quite a few good 9mm loadings on the market right now. I carry a SIG P239 and have a Glock 17 at home and a Smith and Wesson 59 in the truck. All of them are 100% reliable with all ammo I have fired through them and give all the accuracy I need and want for a social pistol.

Right now, they are loaded with either the Cor-Bon DPX or Remington Golden Saber ammo.

To be honest, I long ago stopped being concerned about finding the magic bullet. It is where you hit them that will decide the result of the conflict.

I agree with the thought of going with whatever is reliable first, then accurate. I hate spending money on factory ammo and especially expensive defense ammo but it's kind of money that needs to be spent. I carry gold dots in my 9mm's. I know they make a short barrel load that might be worth looking into for the compact barrel you have.