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Old 06-03-2018, 11:03 PM
otis24 otis24 is offline
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Default 9MM bullet weights

I am familiar with .357 bullet weights. What would be the spectrum of bullet weights (light to heavy) for 9MM defense loads?
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Old 06-03-2018, 11:23 PM
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115, 124, and 147 are the common weights. There are some newer light weight bullets made from polymer and copper that go down to 65 grains and there are some loads with bullets up to 158 grains. There might be lighter or heavier bullets out there. I'm not sure what you consider a defense load but I wouldn't want to be shot by any of them.
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Old 06-03-2018, 11:29 PM
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I have loaded everything from the old Smith and Wesson 84 grain JHPs



to the really shiny X-Treme 165 grain Plated round nose



If using a non-suppressed, 9MM Parrabellum firearm my preferences are for a JHP around 124-125 grains moving fast.

When using a suppressed, 9MM Parrabellum firearm, I prefer the heaviest projectile that can be loaded to just below the speed of sound. I used to load the 158s until X-Treme came out with those 165s


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Old 06-04-2018, 06:23 AM
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Liberty Ammunition offers a 50 grain product.
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Old 06-04-2018, 06:58 AM
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These days, the most common bullet weights for self-defense 9x19 loads are 115, 124, and 147 grain JHP bullets. The 115 grain are likely to penetrate the least, the 147 grain loads the most. +P loads typically show more expansion, but less penetration than standard ammo. I think the most popular weights today are the 124 and 147 grain bullets.
Federal HST, Speer Gold Dot, and Winchester Ranger T are good ammo choices.
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Old 06-04-2018, 07:19 AM
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FWIW, when I reload, I often use 130 gr RN bullets designed for 38 Super. They hit the sweet spot in several of my 9mm handguns.
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Old 06-04-2018, 10:00 AM
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For what it is worth: The only thing that really matters is what cartridge works best in your pistol. The ammo must fit into the magazine properly. Feeding, firing, extraction, ejection must all be 100%. A final consideration, which I believe to be of utmost importance, is that the ammo must shoot to point of aim (this can be a real problem with pistols having fixed sights due to differing velocities, "barrel times", recoil impulses, etc, that can all cause significant differences).
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Old 06-04-2018, 10:31 AM
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Test out a bunch of loads and see what your pistol (s) like best.
I agree with Lobo that you need a load that feeds perfectly & shoots POA/POI in your pistol.

I prefer 124/5, but 147's are nice too. Buy a few boxes and test.
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Old 06-04-2018, 12:54 PM
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The 124/125 grain Truncated Cone was the original ammo for the Luger, but during WWI it was determined to kill too good and the Germans had to change it to the 115 gr. RN for "humanitarian" reasons.....which seems odd considering your killing each other...You can't kill the other guy too much ?

After much shooting I like the 124 TC as the best overall .
Gary
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Old 06-04-2018, 02:39 PM
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Smith & Wesson also makes revolvers in 9mm caliber, namely the 986 and 929. I own a 929 which prefers heavier 9mm bullets; 147 gr and up. So to some extent chose 9mm bullets that shoot best in your gun(s).

The most common range fodder sold retail is 115 gr hardball.
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Old 06-04-2018, 04:52 PM
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A local armorer for the PD says the 147 gr bullets are the way to make a 15 shot 38 special +p. Most defense loadings are found in the 115 -125 gr range.
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Old 06-05-2018, 01:43 AM
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As said, the 115gr, 124/125gr and more recently the 147gr bullets are the common bullet weights for the 9mm. The heavier 147gr bullets are new to the scene but I prefer the 124gr bullets best. It was the bullet weight used to develop the 9mm (I think) and the best compromise between bullet mass and speed.
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Old 06-05-2018, 06:23 PM
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+1 on a 115, 124 or 147gr JHP for a SD loading......
Just have to shoot them to see how they feed and hope for POA.

The problem is, that not all of the HP designs are close to being the same shape.
For example the Hornady has a JHP and a Plastic tip design that
is not close to the Remington or Winchester design, but they all
should feed properly.

100 straight is a good start.
Costly but one should want to trust the load being used.
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Old 06-05-2018, 08:12 PM
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Default 90 is about a minumum.....

I've see 90 gr. 9mm before but I don't mess with anything that light, or ever 115 gr for that matter. 124/125 grain is the standard load for me.

147 grains make great target bullets.

I did an experiment looking to see how heavy bullets behave so I tried 158 gr SWCHP but couldn't get decent expansion out of them. The largest wasn't any larger than the bullet dia.

As part of the same experiment I got some 165 grain JHPs that shot well out of my carbine, but I tried flattening the nose and drilling a hollow point. I got ONE to expand decently. They rest, almost none at all and they overpenetrated like crazy.

Part of the problem was only finding a very little loading data for these bullets. And I wasn't sure what the real maximum loads were, so I didn't take chances and only went by what I could find.
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Old 06-06-2018, 11:10 AM
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I had trouble making room with the Berry plated RN 147gr bullet................

How did you find room for powder in the case with that HUGE 165gr bullet ?? !!

I would think they are for S/Sonic target work.
Did you ever get them close to 1015 fps?

Last edited by Nevada Ed; 06-08-2018 at 08:04 PM.
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Old 06-07-2018, 12:12 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nevada Ed View Post
I had trouble making room with the Berry plated RN 147gr bullet................

How did you find room for powder in the case with that HUDE 165gr bullet ?? !!

I would think they are for S/Sonic target work.
Did you ever get them close to 1015 fps?
1015 with what barrel length?

These have a slight boat-tail to them and I can get enough AA#7 in the case to make it work.

I have recently moved and can not find my chrono data.

The 165s leave the handguns in the 900s with or without the can. I had them going faster, but the increased back pressure splatter was not worth the velocity increase.


Besides, I needed to keep them subsonic in the MP5s and AR platform carbines.

I really like the 165 in the 357 SIG MP5. It runs right at 1050. I just need some free time to build the suppressor for the MP5/357.

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