Quote:
Originally Posted by bwh
Ispcapt,
Thanks for the reply! If I may ask, can you provide any info on the 9mm ammo first carried in the Model 39? Was it HP? FMJ? Were there any street issues with the carry ammo? Did it work as well as what it replaced?
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You're going to make my brain hurt trying to remember.
Until the late 70s the rds were round nose, soft point type ammo. W-W was the main supplier. W-W had a semi jacketed 125 gr round nose that had an exposed lead nose. The round nose design enabled better feeding but expansion was pretty iffy at best. There wasn't much HP ammo to choose from. In the late 70s we went to Federal 95 gr SP. It expanded really well and clocked at 1400 fps, sometimes a bit better on a given day. While it expanded well, it didn't hold up well when going against vehicle windshields and other tough barriers. In about 1980 we went with 115 Silvertip (same as the FBI used in their Miami shootout a few years later) for a few months until 2 Troops were involved in a shootout with a biker near Joliet, IL. The performance wasn't good but fortunately neither of our Troops were injured. The Silvertip was immediately pulled off the street and we went with Federal 115 BP and later BPLE. Can't recall the year but then W-W 115 HP and later developed the W-W 115 +P+. We carried the +P+ for several years, having very good success, until we went to .40.