Disparity? I like the heavier ones. 124s can be loaded to minor PF, function any 9mm Glock reliably, and still be subsonic...and the recoil is milder than factory 115gr ammo. Same goes for 147s, but the reduction in recoil is more extreme.

 

115gn: higher velocity so JHPs open more reliably. Often considered more accurate.
124gn: traditional weight. For me, it has been more accurate than 115gn. Good weight for whatever you want a 9x19 to do.
147gn: action pistol shooting. A heavy, slow bullet produces a recoil that feels more like a push than a snap. Most love that. I prefer a snap that brings the sights quickly back on target. Each to their own.
Currently, everyone thinks the FBI knows something about ballistics, and 147gn is better for the higher penetration the FBI wants.
147gn has not been that accurate for me, but given the twist rate of 9x19 barrels, it really should be the most accurate.
Finally, 115gn is less expensive than 124gn which is less expensive than 147gn, if that matters at all.

 

The 9mm was designed around the 124-125gr bullet. I still prefer that weight for general use. A 115gr gives more vel for jhp expansion. The heavier 147gr jhp offers more bullet mass for greater expansion with penetration. The heavier bulllets often have a bit less felt recoil as well. To further muddy the water, lighter 90-100gr jhp were quite popular back in the day.

 

i am a big fan of 147gr. i also shoot a lot of 124gr but 147gr is my favorite. 147's just seem to have real mild recoil. As stated above, it feels more like a push instead of a snap. I feel like i can draw smiley faces when i shoot paper with 147's. very pleasant in my gen 4 g19. try them all and choose what is best for you.

 

I use 147's and 170's. The 170's are very soft shooting in USPSA shooting. I've also used them in GSSF matches with good results.

 

124/125gr bullets, especially JHPs, seem to be more accurate for me.

 

What are you gonna do with it?

 

I prefer 124 grain in standard pressure. Nice penetration and expansion with mild recoil.

 

my understanding is that the 124/125 grain is the standard for NATO so more than likely an fmj, lighter projectiles means higher velocity to achieve expansion with jhp, and 147 grain is to stay subsonic for suppressed weapons.

sig357fan

 

For me, 147 for penetration in the winter, 115 for summer

 

It all depends on what you want to use them for.

 

Was thinking 115 for practice due to affordability and 147 for competition...

 

I load thousands of 124 grain 9 mm rounds on my Dillon 650 every year. Occasionally I play with 147 but honestly I have no use for 115 grain bullets.

 

Fascinating thread. Does the tendency to less recoil with the heavier bullets apply to all pistol calibers?

 

Well, that depends... You can usually get higher Power Factor with a heavy bullet. For identical PF, you need less velocity. PF = (bullet weight in grains) * (velocity in fps) optionally divided by 1000 for convenience. PF is a measure of momentum.

From a point of view of momentum, a given PF produces the same momentum regardless of how you get there. But it doesn't seem that way in real life. The slow, heavy bullet will shoot softer than the fast, light bullet.

Suppose you were shooting a match where the minimum power factor is 165 (.45 ACP). With a 200 gr bullet, you need a velocity of 825 fps. For the 230 gr bullet, you need just 717 fps. The 230 will have a lot less felt recoil.

Same with the 9mm trying to reach a PF of 125. With a 115 gr bullet, the velocity needs to be 1087 fps whereas with a 147 gr bullet the velocity is just 850 fps. Again, a lot less felt recoil even though the momentum is the same.

The physics is what it is and Newton's Laws apply. I'm not sure why 'felt' recoil doesn't seem to line up.

The higher velocity is good for HP expansion, the lower velocity is likely useful for 'games'. Or, in the case of 9mm, pick the 124 gr. In fact, the Gen 4 Glocks seems to cycle better with actual NATO spec'd ammo - 124 gr at 1200 fps. That's a PF of 149 whereas the gamers want to be a lot closer to 125.

PF actually matters...

 

It's more of a bullet weight and powder combination.

 

Good advice so far, and I'll add my experience too.

I'll assume you load normally - Not flirting with handgun detonation in all bullet weight ranges...

These effects were REALLY noticeable with .40 cal and loading 180 / 200 / 220Gr bullets! It's significantly easeir to track the slide with a 220gr .40cal in my experience.

I have seen the guys running the 115Gr 9mm bullets just get clobbered with the malfunctions over my 16 years of USPA and other shooting sports. I run 124Gr and never have ammo issues.

Recoil, slide speed, and reliability are all dependent on bullet weight.

With lighter bullets we see a decrease in reliability, an increase in slide speed, and some say the recoil is more intense. I just call it a *snappy* recoil. Slide speeds are faster so split times can be faster. But some pistols just don't like the "light and fast' projectiles. I suspect may involve the shooter, who's job is to be a solid recoil management platform. I have never set about to prove it.

With mid range bullet weights for the caliber the experience is a bit different. Reliability goes up, slide speed is moderate - fast enough for decent split times while retaining that reliability we enjoy. The recoil seems to balance the *snap* with more of a -push-.. Muzzle rise is more controllable with this range of bullet weight.

Then we have the big dog bullets. You will get a nice recoil from this bullet range - It's really now much more of a *PUSH* and the -snap- has all but disappeared. Very controllable. The slide speed has greatly reduced, and the pistol is still very reliable. With the greater mass of the bullet there is plenty of inertia for highly reliable function, and it's in no hurry (comparatively) like the light bullet range. Double taps seem slower to me with the heavy bullets, and they are more controllable too!.

So let me know if that helps you out, and how your experience goes with the different bullet weights.

Make it a Great Day

 

Then you have people like me that could care less about PF. I went from shooting 135 and 147 grain bullets because of having to knock over pepper poppers. To 124 and 90 grain bullets. But still using 200gr for the .45.

 

I have found the 124/125 grain to be the better "all-round" shooting weight for all of my 9's. I used to go with 115, 124, 135, & 147. I have a short barreled 9 that 147's will not stabilize well so they are all over the place but they work with everything else. It is very accurate with 124's as are the rest of my 9's. The price break also seems to be that the 124's are a dollar or two more per thousand than the 115 but the 135 and 147 there seems to be a much larger jump in the cost.

It has also gotten a bit simpler with only one weight of bullet. Loading plinking rounds with coated RN has the same perceived recoil as the match FMJ as well as the Hornady XTP's. I have fine tuned the various loads with the different styles of bullets I use and it is usually within .4 grains powder difference across the three types of bullets for my pet loads with a specific powder.

 

You are better off with sticking with one weight, type, make etc. bullet. I would go if you can the middle ground and use 124gr. Cuts down on inventory.

 

I have found the 124/125 grain to be the better "all-round" shooting weight for all of my 9's. I used to go with 115, 124, 135, & 147. I have a short barreled 9 that 147's will not stabilize well so they are all over the place but they work with everything else. It is very accurate with 124's as are the rest of my 9's. The price break also seems to be that the 124's are a dollar or two more per thousand than the 115 but the 135 and 147 there seems to be a much larger jump in the cost.

It has also gotten a bit simpler with only one weight of bullet. Loading plinking rounds with coated RN has the same perceived recoil as the match FMJ as well as the Hornady XTP's. I have fine tuned the various loads with the different styles of bullets I use and it is usually within .4 grains powder difference across the three types of bullets for my pet loads with a specific powder.

Very interesting statement regarding the 124's. Seems I read by someone else here who said the 9mm was really designed around that bullet..? What type gun is your short barreled 9 as I have a 43 for my BUG and am now wondering if I would realize the similar results...

 

True the 9mm was orginally designed around the 124/125g bullet. I have a G26 and I run 124g HP rounds through it.

 

Was thinking 115 for practice due to affordability and 147 for competition...

I used to shoot in the GSSF and in 9mm I settled on 124g bullets, they just worked out much better for me.

 

I've shot 20k of 9mm with 124 grain bullets - just bought 500 147 grain to try out as I've never shot them. Not looking to switch but it's just one of the positive things of reloading in that we can try different things without breaking the bank.

 

I

I'd be interested as to how you like them...

 

Put me in the 124gr crowd for 9mm... but I've loaded up 115gr and 147gr as well.. no problems, I just find I prefer 124gr. I don't think there's really a wrong answer for paper or plinking cans (now if you're getting into matches where you have PF's you have to meet, etc.. then you have to pay more attention)

 

Understood, thx!

 

Practicing with 115gr then switching to 147gr for a match, you may not get the best results as they shoot very differently, recoil-wise. As much as possible, practice with what you compete with.

I always shot 147gr as I prefered the recoil pulse over the lighter stuff.
If cost is an issue, shoot a coated bullet, I had great results with Bear Creek moly-coated bullets. Would like to try the Blue Bullets at some point.

 

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I carry 135 gr +P (Hornady Critical Duty 9mm). I practice with 115gr, 124gr, various range fodder and brands.. I do also practice with the Critical Duty as well, but only a box (to contain $ costs) each time from a cold start, and then I move on to the range ammo.

 

You don't need to shoot up your expensive carry ammo often. Most of us rotate carry ammo out annually, that is when I shoot mine. Practice with ammo sim in recoil, you will be fine & have more $$ for practice ammo.