9mm: 115gr vs 124gr vs 147gr

[IDtheTarget]

I've been shooting the 115gr Winchester and CCI Blazer stuff in my G19. I was advised by our range master at work that I should shoot 147gr Gold Dot, like our agents do, so I bought a bunch. I noticed right away that the recoil was very different, more like a shove than a punch. I found that I like it much better than the 115 gr or even the 124gr stuff I've shot.

Has anybody else noticed a similar effect?

Now if I can only get the Academy Sports in Edmond to carry 147gr boxes for the same $4 price that they carry the 115gr for.... :gun1:

[J.P.]

Just shoot the 115gr Blazer and carry 147gr JHP.
But yes,I know exactly what you are talking about and I much prefer the recoil of 147gr rounds.

[IDtheTarget]

Just shoot the 115gr Blazer and carry 147gr JHP.
But yes,I know exactly what you are talking about and I much prefer the recoil of 147gr rounds.

Well, I'd prefer to train with the same stuff I'll be firing with in self defense. That way there are no surprises when it hits the fan...

[blake711]

Well, I'd prefer to train with the same stuff I'll be firing with in self defense. That way there are no surprises when it hits the fan...
Thats is a great idea but in reality if the SHTF you will more than likely have no idea what rounds you are shooting your adrinaline will be flowing so fast that you could have a 20# trigger and not notice that either as you fire off a few rounds. If you really think about it if you are in that situation the last thing that you will think is man these +P Hollow points sure do kick more than my blazer pratice ammo. Who really knows hopefully no one reading this will ever know the real answer.

Blake

[IDtheTarget]

Thats is a great idea but in reality if the SHTF you will more than likely have no idea what rounds you are shooting your adrinaline will be flowing so fast that you could have a 20# trigger and not notice that either as you fire off a few rounds. If you really think about it if you are in that situation the last thing that you will think is man these +P Hollow points sure do kick more than my blazer pratice ammo. Who really knows hopefully no one reading this will ever know the real answer.

Blake

I hope you're right that I'll never find out!

I'm not really thinking about the kick during an SHTF situation, I'm thinking about shot placement. I'm worried that I may get used to shot placement witht the 115gr, and have it different than the 147gr I'll be using if/when.

It's an old training maxim in the Army: "train as we fight". I want to get to the point where the draw, the stance, shot placement, etc. are literally automatic. It's been my experience that if you do it right about a thousand times (or more), then when SHTF, you do it the same way, out of reflex.

[okla-lawman]

Carry the 147 grains if you dont want to stop them. They have a dismal record on the street for expansion and stopping aggression. 124's or 115 are the way to go +p of course. Think about it. We use to complain about the lack of stopping power of a .38. It is a .355 caliber bullet going out at about
850-900 fps. It is a soft lead bullet. A 147 grain 9mm is a jacketed bullet, less weight traveling at the same speed...duh. I have seen 147 grains recovered from peeps that could of been reloaded and reshot due to the pristine condition. The whole 147 grain thing was started because the navy was issuing them. They needed the extra weight because the bullet had to be driven at slower speeds for their suppressed 9mm submachine guns. The Fbi then jumped on the band wagon after the Miami shootout. they were trying to blame everything for that mess. The specifically name the 115 grain Slivertip as not having enough penetration. Hmmm lets see it entered the left side, Transected throught the chest cavity hitting the heart and aeorta. The left lung and the right lung. It expanded to .63 caliber. According to the autopsy report it was a non survivable wound. To me it sounded like it did all it needed to do.

[J.P.]

Carry the 147 grains if you dont want to stop them. They have a dismal record on the street for expansion and stopping aggression. 124's or 115 are the way to go +p of course. -----

----it entered the left side, Transected throught the chest cavity hitting the heart and aeorta. The left lung and the right lung. It expanded to .63 caliber. According to the autopsy report it was a non survivable wound. To me it sounded like it did all it needed to do.


Please cite your source for the performance record of 147gr JHPs.


The account of the Miami shooting differs from what I have been led to believe.
I thought the bullet stopped short of the heart after hitting an arm and traversing the chest.
Are you wrong,or am I?