part 1:
part 2:
Ive finished testing all the 147 gr 9mm ammo at my disposal.
I tried to maintain the same methodology throughout the test. All shots were chronographed, results posted in p1 p2 and this thread. Pics of typical, best and worst 5 shot groups were also taken.
Continuing where we left off a few days back.
SPEER LAWMAN 147gr 9mm
Conditions were good, calm winds, mid 70s again.
Chronoed very well, low spread and standard deviation. Very consistent.
Unfortunately it did not group very well.
All 5 shot groups had roughly the same distribution.
some better, some worse.
none were exemplary.
next was Fiocchi 9mm JHP.
This was the only JHP in my group.
Conditions were again quite good, low 70s, winds under 5mph with some gusts. I waited until winds were calm to take my shots.
This ammo grouped the best, head and shoulders better than any other in my test group.
This is a 5 shot group.
This was a 10 shot group.
I know I pulled that flyer at 5-oclock.
It chronoed incredibly well as well.
Very consistent. Hotter than some of the others, but group sizes were great.
next was winchester t-train lead-free.
conditions were hot today. 85F and 5-10mph winds. I tried to wait until they settled down before taking shots.
this stuff was loaded lighter than any other ammo in the test group.
Fairly consistent.
grouped fairly well.
Typical groups looked like pic.
best group of the afternoon in pic.
Last ammo was American Eagle 147gr FMJ.
Conditions were still warm at about 80F, winds calm to 10mph gusts.
AE did not chrono particularly well compared to others.
AE did group pretty well.
best group of the bunch.
Typical groups looked like pic.
> Fiocchi
> Not being shit ammo for once
CONCLUSIONS
Fiocchi JHP outperformed all others in my test group and was the only one to meet my acceptance criteria.
Second place would be Win-Super-X or AE. Win T-Train might be worth honorable mention, but it metered slower than the others.
I think any of these three would suffice for my purposes, but I'll be ordering a several cases of Fiocchi JHP 147gr. Will likely last me several years.
I hope fellow subsonic 9mm shooters found these posts useful.
is that a custom rifle or something you bought? what model is it, if you bought it?
base action is 22-TCM. It was rebarreled to 9mm and integrally silenced by SIA.
Stock is completely custom.
color me surprised too.
>I hope fellow subsonic 9mm shooters found these posts useful.
I did. Thanks user.
Looks like an ideal feral cat dispatcher
how long was turn around from when you ordered it, paid, and received it?
Is that a Novem brother?
It is, he said so in a prior thread.
Thanks bud! You're a legend! This deserves to be archived. Wil you be doing lighter 9mm loads as well in the future?
Probably on the order of 6 or 7 months for it to reach my NFA dealer, then another 6 months for it to reach me. I took delivery in 2017 so memory is a little fuzzy on the specifics.
Sadly SIA has retired from the business.
If you're interested in a silent raccoon dispatcher, I'd talk to SRT Arms or Liberty Suppressors. They can probably do one as a custom job.
given that I only shoot suppressed, unfortunately I probably will not.
I will characterize 5.45x39 out of my bolt gun once I get a new scope for it.
I may repeat this for 223 as well, out of my fuddington 700. Last time around I had phenomenal accuracy from 69 gr australian outback ammo in my 1:9 twist barrel.
Also I need to characterize 308, at some point. FAL's suppressor is fixed and has been sitting idle far too long.
I appreciate the interest gentlemen.
Great info man, appreciate the quality content.
Do you guys prefer 115gr or 124gr for standard ammo? Also disappointed in the speer because I love gold dots and the regular lawman.
Gold dot terminal performance is still phenominal, who cares about 4 or 5 inches at 50 yards?
OP here. At self-defense engagement distances of 10Y or less it doesn't matter much. Its clear manufacturers of hand gun ammo are not trying for rifle level of consistency or accuracy, with the exception of Fiocchi and maybe winchester super-x.
But for those of us looking to hit targets farther away, most ammo is not suitable. I'll fully admit I've got a very tight requirement with a niche gun that I'm trying to fill, but it may apply to any PCC shooter looking for tight groups out of 9mm.
Have you considered hand loading ammunition?
Federal has an excellent 147 grain HST that should expand down to 950 fps. From a 5" you should be easily able to reach 1050 or more fps.
There are also a lot of match bullets that might not do so hot but would be way more accurate.
I've done it long ago at a friends place. He was heavily into reloading. At the moment my attention is frayed between too many projects and hobbies to add another. Given that I'm a bit OCD, I'd probably end up weighing all the projectiles down to the 0.1 gram level, sorting them, then finding out the exact volume of each case, sorting them. I can totally see it getting to be a monumental undertaking. Unfortunately sometimes it takes the fun out of just shooting, so I find factory ammo that works well and buy it in bulk.