First time today tried out some Fiocchi ammo. I got a few boxes of 9mm 124GRS. XTPHP, and ran a few rounds through my M&P Shield 9MM. I was also shooting Blazer 124G FMJ in same gun.

I started with the Blazer, and ran about 100 rounds of that through the gun, then loaded up a few mags of the Fiocchi. Wow, that Fiocchi sure makes a huge flash when it goes off.

I'm still a little new to this, so looking for comments about what makes a particular brand create a big flash (or particular load?) compared to one that doesn't.

I shoot the Blazer stuff a lot for range ammo, and I haven't noticed any big bright flashes using it. Is it the brand, or something else.

Unboxed my new 9mm Shield today, and am very happy with it.

I carry XTP bullets (usually either Fiocchi or Hornady) in all of my carry guns (9mm, 38, 380). I haven't noticed a difference in flash or recoil between Fiocchi and anything else.
I'm not disagreeing with you, just saying I haven't perceived a difference.

The main difference is the powder that is used. Some powders produce a lot more flash than others.

That and Fiocchi is loaded a bit "hotter" than Blazer.

I have over the years shot a boxes of Fiocchi Factory ammo and I have found them noticeably hotter than other brands. I've not Chronographed any of them but recoil, flash and feel is more pronounced. My experience with Fiocchi has been limited to .38 Spl, .45 acp and 38 Super. As an example I'd say the Fiocchi .38 Special standard velocity ammo is hotter than Remington or Winchesters +P in a similar weight bullet.

From what I have heard, Fiocchi goes by a European pressure standard rather than the SAAMI specs we use here - but that is just what I had heard and can't personally verify that - but after shooting a few boxes in different calibers it would make sense.

Yes big flash at dusk!

Fiocchi is very good, consistent ammo but it is not loaded with flash suppressed powders. Short barreled guns do not allow all the powder to burn in the barrel adding to the light show.

You may want to try Federal HST, Speer Gold Dot or Hornady Critical Duty loads, as they are loaded with flash suppressed powders. I use the Gold Dot in my Sig P938 and it has very little flash.

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Virtue,Liberty & Independence

Thanks for a great reply. I'll try those others.

Not surprising, since Fiocchi is an old European company, that only started manufacturing ammo here in the US in more recent years.
As already mentioned, I've also (happilly) found Fiocchi, both Euro and US-made, to be on the spicy side, and I just went and checked a box of their US-made 9mm, and it has the Euopean "CIP" emblem on it, so even the US-made stuff looks to be loaded to the hotter Euopean specs (which I didn't realize until just now).

With regards to Fiocchi and "hotter European" rounds...

I just bought a few boxes of 7.65 (.32 acp) Fiocchi for an old, in-good-condition European (not US made) pistol, a CZ 27. Haven't shot this yet, but it gets good reviews. The pistol did not like WWB, it had a number of failures.

With older guns I see 2 different thought processes online:

1. use (hotter) European rounds to make the old gun function as it should
2. use softer rounds to avoid beating up the gun

Which view is more correct?

I shoot a lot of Perfecta 9mm out of a 39-2 and 59.

With the factory springs the cases fly several feet from my shooting position without failures but with a heavier recoil spring I get a nice pile a few feet away without failures.

A clean and lubed pistol with correct weight recoil spring for the ammo used is IMO the way to go.

The ammo you choose for your EDC should work the slide and have no failures to feed,fire,extract or eject.

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

My first box of ammo from that company was for my .357.
The fps of the round was equal to my slower magnum powder.....
Same with the 38 special +P loads that I tried.

So I believe that the 9mm ammo that you have may be the full fps type and yes it will have more M flash than brands that use a quicker burning powder and maybe a little less speed, like Blazer ammo, that is usually at the lower end, which a lot of shooters like.

It is nice to have hot and cold ammo..............
it is also nice to know what your ammo does in case you have to shoot in the dark.
Some times 100% is not always the best in some ammo.

Tight groups.