I shot the 5946 yesterday. It's becoming a favorite.

15 rounds of 124gr Freedom Munitions FMJ and 15 rounds of 115gr PMC FMJ.

No FTF/FTE issues. But the grouping was telling.

The shots that are scattered around the target were the 124gr. The shots near and in the x-ring were the 115gr.

Are the 59 series pistols geared toward the lighter grain bullets?

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BTDT, Got The T-Shirt

Distance?

Off hand, one or two hands, from a rest?

I’m a five shot from a rest at 25 yards kinda guy. Hard to tell much worth knowing otherwise.

Ugh, my bad. 25 feet, 2 handed standing.

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BTDT, Got The T-Shirt

I’d suspect fatigue before I’d blame the ammo.

Hazarding a guess: did you shoot the 115 gr first?

No. There are huge differences in how accurate 9 mm bullets are. Note I wrote bullets, not cartridges. The big manufacturers in this country churn out enormous quantities of FMJ 9 mm bullets that are not accurate enough for me no matter how they are loaded. Also different guns are most accurate with different cartridges. That is part of what keeps reloading interesting.

Back in the 1990s used DAO third generation autos were not selling well. The market was flooded with police surplus and most buyers preferred traditional DA pistols. I bought a pre-owned but maybe not even fired 5946 still in its box for ~ $325 out the door. A few years later I started competing in indoor matches that required FMJ bullets to keep down the amount of air borne lead. Unable to use my home cast bullets I went to the least expensive way I had to fire FMJ, my 5946. Winchester and Remington FMJ factory cartridges were not very accurate. Neither were their FMJ bullets purchased separately. Wolf 115 gr. FMJ cartridges were available at $84 a thousand out the door. They were very accurate and never jammed in my 5946. I do not remember it ever jamming. As I got more 9 mm pistols I learned that the Wolf cartridges required a dry chamber for reliable functioning. The stuff is filthy and the filth clings to oil in a chamber. Try some Wolf if you can find any.

The best competitors in those matches fired ~ $2,000 1911s. Despite firing DA I won the 3rd place trophy in the second series that I competed in. I thought that was pretty damn good for a newbie. However, it was obvious that I had to more on to a SA pistol so I sold my 5946. I should have just kept it. A 100% reliable pistol is not a bad thing to have around.

I wouldn't say fatigue, as the 5946 was the 1st pistol I shot that day.

And no, I shot the 124gr first. That's why I was very surprised with the difference.

Also, if you notice, the PMC is an older box. I've had it for a while. I always had good results with PMC, either in a pistol or an AR.

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BTDT, Got The T-Shirt

Most of my S&W 9mm's seem to prefer the 124gr ammo . I can start off with 115gr and when I move to 124gr there is a marked improvement in accuracy . My range buddy has a 39-2 and his is the same , prefers 124gr . But we all know no two pistols are the same . Find what yours prefer and use it .

A few years ago I asked a Forum member and former S&W employee, Bob St. George (screen name: Printer), whose job it was to regulate sights, what ammo he used.

He explained that S&W used what they thought were the most popular rounds in each caliber.

Specifically, 115 grain 9mm; 180 grain 40s&w; and 230 grain 45acp.

All at 25 yds.

Surprising to me because so many Forum members insist that heavier 9mm bullets (124 and 147 grains) shoot to POA in their pistols and 115 shoots low.

Personally, I've never seen a difference at anything under 25 yards, but everyone shoots a pistol differently.

Here are links to the threads:

S&W "official" 3rd gen. test ammo?

establishing sight hights in the 80's

John

Of course you had some problems with the groups - you had to lay on your side to get the target oriented correctly. Still great stuff shooting DA freehand standing at 25 yards! I would be happy with that whole target all day, every day.

I dont see a spot that would not have brought a bad guy down.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

...if so, not. bad. I have a 5943 that I mostly shoot 124 grain in. My first mag of pistol at the range is usually a little off. Then I settle down and make some tighter groups. In a HD situation I'd have to tell an intruder to wait a bit while I went and warmed up at the range. And if it was night or a weekend he'd have to wait a while longer.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I have not had much accuracy success with 115 grain FMJ loads in a variety of 9x19 pistols. I have found that best accuracy with 115 grain bullets comes with JHP loads. 124 grain FMJ does better than 115 FMJ. 147 grain FMJ seems to have accuracy on par with that of JHP bullets.


My 6946 definitely does better with 147 grain loads. I tried 115, 124, and 147 grain bullets, but the 115 and even 124 shot too low at 25 yards.

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My 5906 doesn't seem to care what weight of bullet I shoot through it. It just puts the bullets through the paper where I aim.

My 6906 is almost as good. In large part that's because the Hogue finger groove grips fit my hands so well. I should take my 6946 to the range again and pay more attention to what works best, but I expect it will be the same.

The 39xx guns don't seem to like 115gr at all. They shoot very low with it. 124gr is much better, but 147gr is spot on for me.

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