+P+ in Model 15

[WR Moore]

(Of almost equal amusement is the fact if you load the same bullet at the same velocity in a 9mm case, it won't kill anything. It will barely exit the gun, and if it does, it will fall on your foot and roll away, leaving you at the mercy of the mythical 300 pound raging psycopath. It must be true, because Corporal Ed said so.)

Back when, I was given 2 boxes of 147 gr 9mm when it was really, hush-hush stuff. I took some to the range and fired it and found it functioned well, grouped acceptably and had mild recoil & muzzle blast. Then, I went looking for empties and couldn't find them. Extremely puzzled, I found my foot prints, loaded a mag and watched the empties eject. To my horror, I watched the empties just roll out of the ejection port and drop right in front of my boot toe. Which is where I found all the brass I couldn't find earlier.

Oddly enough, when tested in tissue equivilent, it did expand quite well. When I talked to the dude who gave me the stuff he did mention that it was loaded to clock it's just subsonic velocity from an 8 inch subgun barrel. I never did clock it for velocity out of my pistol. Most commercial 147 9mm has a ejection pattern that suggests it's much more energetic. Hopefully, the actual production version of what I was given was also more muscular.

 

[jbull380]

Could you give the bullet weight and velocity, if you have the data from the company or chronographed?

Federal Tactical +P+ .38 Special 147 Gr Hydra Shock. 900 FPS at 22,800 PSI.

We have just decided not to use it in the Model 15 and keep it restricted to the Model 19 etc.

 

[stiab]

Wrong question. Does anyone have proof positive that it doesn't?

It is difficult to find definitive info on this subject, but the book indicates in a couple places that the M19 frame was different. If you look at the page discussing the Model 547, they make reference to the Magnum frames from those guns being used for .357s after the 547 went out of production. That seems to indicate there was a difference between the frames, but good info is hard to find on this subject.