Pete....and Re-Pete
Here's the problem with full metal jackets.
Using ball ammo is not recommended for self-defense because it punches little holes right through people instead of expanding in size - that mushrooming effect caused when the hollow-point expands outwards from the force impacting the bullet's inside.
It dumps most of the bullet's kinetic energy into the target's body and the mashroomed jacket either stays intact, or with some HP's that have a lead core, that core becomes the projectile that's designed to penerate deep enough to reach a vital organ: 12" deep according to the FBI's performance protocols for defensive rounds along with a minimum of a 3 1/2" wide wound channel (but, don't quote me on it as I'm trying to recall it from memory).
Yes, those extra 9 grains do make a difference. If you look across the entire spectrum of 9mm handgun use, you will find that it was the lighter 115gr. ammo that played a part in the vast majority of cycling problem and firing issues - not just on the basis of round's popularity and frequency of use, but also proportionate use of each bullet size.
Somewhere, there is a statistic floating around that standardizes the # of failures
by the number of rounds chambered (x) divided by the number of guns chambering and firing them
. But, it's not a simple linear equation based on a normal distribution. Reliability equations are always logarithmic and nonlinear with the underlying distribution heavily skewed in one direction - as in the total number of rounds fired by the total number of guns.
A simpler way of putting it is, the more you fire a gun, the higher are the odds of a failure (assuming you're using the same ammo each time under the same conditions).
One thing about a certain brand of ammo is patently clear. The steel-cased Wolf and Tula have the absolute highest failure rate of any brand or type of ammo irrespective of caliber or the firearm platform used to shoot it.
It's failure-prone. It's dirty as hell. But, people buy it because it's cheap. Ball ammo is cheaper than hollow-points and that's why tghey buy it for taerget practice. But, you also have to devote a lot of practice time to your defensive ammo.
There have been significantly fewer instances of ammo-caused failures when 124 grain bullets were used. The extra weight and size (as well as the additional propellant that sends them out at velocities equal to the smaller 115gr.) makes them a lot easier to load and fire, and cycle the extract and feed sequence.
It is also the NATO standard for the same reasons.
Since kinetic energy is mass * velocity, a heavier bullet traveling at the same velocity as a lighter bullet will produce more kinetic energy. Let's take an extreme case of +P ammo.
Cor-Bon makes a 115gr and a 125gr JHP +P that travel at 1350fps and 1250fps respectively. Now, if you matched the speed of the 125 grain with that of the 115grain so that both travel at 1350 (like +P+ Buffalo Bore does), the 125grain bullet would produce 40 more FPE than the 115 grain, which is a big difference.
Also, larger bullets retain their energy for longer distances because they are less effected by the downward force of gravity (32fps * 32fps). At 50 yards, the 115grain bullet has lost 11fps in velocity when compared to its larger 125grain sibling which still has 38 FPE out of its original 40 FPE.
Ballistics aside, the most important thing is reliability putting enough energy in the right place and creating enough of a hurt on your assailant as to persuade him to stop his assault.
Besides the energy dump from an expanbding bullet and the wider wound cavity, there is also a shock effect. Not a "hydrostatic" shock, like Federal advertises, but a bioelectric shock to the body's nervous system.
THIS is what actually stops an attacker. Albeit, not instantly and permanently, unless you hit a physical part of the nervous system, like the spinal cord or the brain. But, it will be instantly and last long enough for you to escape or maintain the upper hand over your attacker.
In this definition of "stopping power," the idea is not to drop the man with one shot because that is just not going to happen in a realistic encounter (unless the perp is right on top of you) with a 9mm or even a .45ACP
The bullet is a "Man stopper" but not a "Man dropper." The bullet is designed to stop the man from doing what he was intending to do before a bullet shocked the **** out of him.
On the other hand, if the guy is so high that he feels no pain, then, like they teach cops at the academy, keep on firing until he does.
Anyway, that was my long-winded defense of the 124 grain 9mm.
Your results may vary (as they say on TV).
Thanks for the shout-out, Pete.
Hello fellow Pete. Not to nitpick, but...
A 115 gr 9mm FMJ will do the trick, just like a 40 gr solid .22 in the x-ring will. I gather from your initial statement that those extra 9 grains of weight is the deciding factor? Where is the line? Would a 119 gr bullet fail, while a 120 would work?
