Greetings, all:

We're looking into defensive loads for Mrs. Ron H.'s 9mm Sig P226, and a buddy on the local police force said they carry Speer Gold Dots. That seemed a reasonable starting point (I know zip about 9mm or the current crop of hollowpoints), so I picked up a couple boxes yesterday to test. One box is +P, and the other is standard pressure. Both use 124-grain bullets.

Assuming both cycle the gun correctly and are accurate, is there anything to recommend the +P load over the standard pressure? How much velocity difference are we talking about here?

Thanks, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

Ron-

Using the compare function at http://www.le.atk.com/general/speerproducts/handgun/GoldDot.aspx, it shows a claimed mv of 1150 for standard pressure loads and 1220 for the +P. (I'm assuming that you have Speer Gold Dot loads from Speer? Some other companies use Gold Dot bullets as well, with different claimed velocities. Double Tap offers a 124 gr +P offering with a claimed mv of 1350, loaded with Gold Dot bullets.)

A chronograph would be necessary to test what the muzzle velocity is out of your wife's P226, but that should give you a baseline for comparison.

The hotter loads will produce more kinetic energy on impact (which might or might not be of interest depending on which theory of stopping power that you believe in). Downsides are of course slightly accellerated wear and increased recoil. The wear issue should be so slight on a P226 that I don't know that I'd personally worry about it. Perhaps change the recoil spring just a bit sooner.

Penetration data is probably lurking on the web somewhere, but it's my understanding that the Speer 124 gr +P is very a popular choice for those who don't wish to use 147 grain loads.

Ron,

I ran these loads over chrono and was not impressed by the difference between Speer 9mm (23617) and 9mm +p (23618).

9mm:
Glock 19 - AVE 1156, SD 15, ES 47
M&P9 - AVE 1179, SD 28, ES 89

9mm +p:
Glock 19 - AVE 1193, SD 3, ES 8
M&P9 - AVE 1221, SD 29, ES 83
P226 - AVE 1188, SD 11, ES 28

Mike

I really like the 9mm Gold Dot as loaded by Black Hills, Buffalo Bore, and Double Tap. These +P loads yield 1,250 - 1,350 fps and offer enough extra oomph to raise the bar of 9mm performance. That is getting pretty close to the much talked about 125 gr. .357 Magnum defensive loads that so many authorities recommend. I carry the Black Hills version in my Kahr K9 and my wife has the same in her Lady K9. I'm not a huge 9mm fan, but when I pack the 9mm, that is the load I choose.