[Ninjamamaseeta]

I apologize if this is something that others have covered in previous threads. I didn't find anything while searching so I'm going to go out on a limb and post to see what sort of information might be available.

This weekend, I was talking to my husband about my disappointment with hand-loads I bought at a Gun and Knife show. I've since been forewarned by a few in this forum, not to trust hand-loads unless you load them yourself.

I had at least 4 jams - 3 on my H&K VP9 (which ran flawlessly on Winchester 124 gr and Browning 115 gr the previous 2 times I had it on its maiden voyage), and once on my G43 which as everyone here knows is supposed to be highly reliable. I say 'at least' because I posted earlier and thought about it afterwards. I think it may have been more. The Glock 43 had yet to have any jams until the hand loads and I was shocked when it happened. I guess it was good experience for me to get into the habit of magazine ejection, then slide actuation to clear the jam so I figure I've paid for this lesson. I got good enough at clearing jams, it was more of an expected part of my day yesterday so enough of that! Right?!

Being disappointed with hand-loads, I ordered some high quality ammo online today. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the other stuff. It's 115 gr and I'm going to write to the maker. He's a local businessman and has been doing loads for business for 4 years. Inspecting the rounds, they 'look' fine but something is off. Rims are a variety of sorts and they all 'look' dimensionally the same. Crimps look fine too, but something is definitely different or I wouldn't have had so many problems yesterday.

Here's what I ordered.

WINCHESTER AMMO WC92 WINCLEAN 9MM LUGER 124 GR BRASS ENCLOSED BASE (BULK PACK, 1000 TOTAL ROUNDS). I want to see if there's a noticeable difference in performance versus the lead based ammo (these are lead free).

And 2 boxes of these: HORNADY 90282 XTP 9MM HORNADY XTP JHP 147 GR (BOX, 25 TOTAL ROUNDS). I'm going to plan to use these in my EDC after my holster arrives but I also want to be sure the VP9 is good with them. I have to regain confidence that jams aren't going to happen with well known brands like Hornady, especially for personal protection.

Has anyone here noticed that certain firearms, particularly the H&K or Glock which you own have more of a liking to one manufacturer over another and if yours also has less tendency to have issues releasing the case?

Also, any comments about lead free ammo versus leaded and whether or not it's actually cleaner and has more controllable recoil?

 

[BuckyP]

Did the reloads you bought seem soft? They may have just been underpowered.

Don't know much about factory ammo, as I've been reloading for 24+ years. My only advice is try to stay away from 115s. If you're really into it, might even want to consider reloading your own at some point.

 

[Green Dragoon]

Hmm....my HK's and Glocks have never been ammo sensitive. Bucky might be on to something though. I did work up some 9mm loads once, that were too soft to cycle my G34....a couple of grains of Universal too short.

 

[Ninjamamaseeta]

Yes, a bit soft now that you mention it but wasn't sureif whatI was noticing had more to do with 124 gr vs 115 gr difference. I've only shot about 500 rds my whole life and all this has been within a month.

Reloads could be interesting to make but right now I want to focus on the user side of firearms so I can further develop safe habits, good muscle memory, and precision from 15-30 ft.

 

[Green Dragoon]

Yes, a bit soft now that you mention it but wasn't sureif whatI was noticing had more to do with 124 gr vs 115 gr difference. I've only shot about 500 rds my whole life and all this has been within a month.

Reloads could be interesting to make but right now I want to focus on the user side of firearms so I can further develop safe habits, good muscle memory, and precision from 15-30 ft.

ah...I see. Then as Bucky recommended, you may want to stick with 124 grain. FWIW, that is my load for competition....124 grain FMJ round nose over 3.8 grains of Universal.
In the factory loads you buy, you may find the 124 grains actually kick less than the 115 grains.

 

[Ninjamamaseeta]

Inte

ah...I see. Then as Bucky recommended, you may want to stick with 124 grain. FWIW, that is my load for competition....124 grain FMJ round nose over 3.8 grains of Universal.
In the factory loads you buy, you may find the 124 grains actually kick less than the 115 grains.

Interesting! Is the charge that different given eqivalent cases and primers or are those so varied from brand to brand that you really have to just experiment a while to know what difference to expect?

 

[BuckyP]

Inte


Interesting! Is the charge that different given eqivalent cases and primers or are those so varied from brand to brand that you really have to just experiment a while to know what difference to expect?

The charge on a 115 would need to be more to produce an equal amount of power / momentum.

 

[barth]

My VP9 has been flawless out of the box with quality brass cased 147 gr ammo.
300 FMJs, 200 Federal HSTs and 100 Winchester Ranger T-Series.
http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/#9mm
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2...10/ammo-quest-winchester-9mm-ranger-t-146-gr/

 

[Ninjamamaseeta]

My VP9 had been flawless out of the box with quality brass as well and I used both 115 gr and 124 gr FMJ at first (bought 500 rounds each and split them with my husband, roughly 60/40 - 60 for me, 40 for him!) I also shot personal defense through both just for squeaks and giggles to see if I could notice any difference in any aspect of these loads. I noticed a slightly crisper sound with the hollow-points versus round and that was more noticeable than any difference I noticed between ammo manufacturers or grain amounts. I'll have a look at Luckygunner's site. Thanks for the link!

 

[TeaDub]

Inte


Interesting! Is the charge that different given eqivalent cases and primers or are those so varied from brand to brand that you really have to just experiment a while to know what difference to expect?

The charge of powder (quantity and type) can vary widely with reloaded ammo. A newer gun can increase the problems. I would hang on to those reloads. After the gun is more properly broken in with quality factory ammunition, you may find that those reloads will function better. As far as the "lead-free" ammo, you can also buy any ammo that is listed as TMJ rather than FMJ. The "total metal jacket" covers the base of the lead projectile vs an exposed lead base of FMJ, thus reducing lead exposure.

Oh, and never buy gun show, reloaded ammo again.

There are some really good deals online for ammo. My personal favorite is SGAmmo. Here is a current list of their 9mm offerings. I'd stay away from steel cased ammo if your gun is a bit picky right now.

http://www.sgammo.com/catalog/pistol-ammo-sale/9mm-luger-ammo

 

[Ninjamamaseeta]

Holy cow, that ballistics test link is awesome! I hadn't taken time to look info up like that yet but it was on my list to go check out. I was curious to see what sort of spread these hollow points might reach based on the bullet designs. I've got the Sig Sauer 124 gr V-crown loaded in my G43 and spare mag currently. Nice to know it's in the same category as what the police officer recommended to me at the local Gun and Knife show based on what he uses. He's using Speer.

 

[Ninjamamaseeta]

The charge of powder (quantity and type) can vary widely with reloaded ammo. A newer gun can increase the problems. I would hang on to those reloads. After the gun is more properly broken in with quality factory ammunition, you may find that those reloads will function better. As far as the "lead-free" ammo, you can also buy any ammo that is listed as TMJ rather than FMJ. The "total metal jacket" covers the base of the lead projectile vs an exposed lead base of FMJ, thus reducing lead exposure.

Oh, and never buy gun show, reloaded ammo again.

There are some really good deals online for ammo. My personal favorite is SGAmmo. Here is a current list of their 9mm offerings. I'd stay away from steel cased ammo if your gun is a bit picky right now.

http://www.sgammo.com/catalog/pistol-ammo-sale/9mm-luger-ammo

I've already shot a box (or two) of steel cased ammo through the Glock 43 and had no problems. I think it's just the reloads in this case. Flawless operationi up until the reloads. I'm anxiously awaiting the well-known brand ammo to arrive so I can get through another 100-150 rounds in a session and have zero jams to see if my suspicion is correct based on what everyone has been saying, based on what I was expecting before I entered the reload test, and based on what I believe I'll see next. I'll know more in a day or so. I might just have to buy some of the 'good stuff' and head to the range at lunch tomorrow. My local range is 10 mins from where I work.

And... It will probably be a very very long time until I buy reload ammo again. Learned my lesson, but like I said in my OP, I got some practice clearing jams so in the heat of the moment should I ever encounter such an incident, I know exactly what to do now.