9mm Luger ammo - 115, 124, or 147 grain?

A

aarondhgraham

New member
The reason I am asking is because I am getting ready to order a substantial amount of 9mm ammo from sgammo.com.

I see 115 grain, 124 grain, and 147 grain.

I honestly don't know which to buy or avoid.

The 147 is Blazer aluminum case.

I'm thinking 115 or 124 grain,,,
Is there a functional difference between them,,,
It's just range fodder ammunition but I do want it to feed properly.

It will be used in a CZ-75B, Ruger LC9, and a Bersa UC-9

What essential knowledge am I missing here?

Aarond

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Sample in all your guns before buying in bulk.

For example, 147gr in your LC-9 will likely produce nastier recoil than 115gr or 124gr. That same 147gr pill in your CZ-75 may not be readily distinguishable from 124gr or 115gr. BTDT with a neighbor's stable of 9mm pistols.

Than there is reliability to consider.

Again, a box of each through each of your guns is advisable before buying a pallet.
 
Have you tried a box of each in your pistol? Do not buy anything in bulk without trying it first.
And you'll have to try the ammo in each pistol. No 2 will shoot the same ammo the same way.
The Al stuff is not reloadable. Only ever used it in .38 Special myself. It went bang every time, but wasn't particularly accurate.
The bullet weight doesn't make a lot of difference to functioning, but you will see some slight difference in the felt recoil. Not really enough to matter though. As in a 147 doesn't hurt to shoot any more than a 115.
The energy levels of Blazer 9mm in any of those weights is very close. The 115's are the fastest(1145 FPS) and have the most energy(335 ft-lbs), so the felt recoil of those will be the highest.
You will notice more felt recoil in the Ruger due to its weight. 17.2 ounces vs the 23 of the Bersa and 2.5 lbs of a full sized CZ.
 
Agree, try a box before you buy a case.

Georg Luger and DWM thought 124 was right.

The German army thought 115 was enough. Half a gram of lead and copper adds up when you are equipping an army. Probably the cheapest in commercial ammo.

The 147 was originally developed to keep power up at subsonic velocity in silenced weapons for sentry elimination.
 
Thanks gentlemen.

If I'm reading you correctly the 124 grain would be the "normal" round.

I thought I had heard of the 147 being for suppressed pistols,,,
But at my age I never know what is a real memory,,,
Or one from some movie I once watched. :p

Aarond

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T. O'Heir said:
The Al stuff is not reloadable.
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That isnt entirely correct. A lot of it can be reloaded and will shoot fine, you will just lose a few cases each time you load them, usually to split cases.

I wouldnt suggest that you buy the aluminum stuff specifically with reloading in mind, but in a pinch, it can be reloaded.

I normally use 124-127 grain bullets in my 9mm's, and load bullets in that weight for practice, with a load that approximates the ammo I carry. If I were to buy factory in bulk, Id do the same.
 
No, 124 was the original bullet weight, I think 115 is more common these days, especially in cheap practice ammo.

DWM = Deutsche Waffen und Muntionsfabriken (sic.) German Weapons and Ammunition Manufacturer. The big name in German guns and ammo in the Luger years.
For a long time, European ammo was commonly referred to by its DWM number.
9mm Parabellum is DWM 480C
 
115-grain is the most prevalent 9mm on the market today. My impression is that most 124-grain is +P. A friend (retired police chief, armorer, and police firearms instructor) recommends 147-grain for carry/self-defense use.
 
Different bullet weights may give different POI. Sight adjustments or aim adjustments may be necessary depending on what you usually shoot.
 
I bought a box of 100 gr for my .380 Bersa. I usually use 95 gr. The difference in recoil was quite noticeable and therefore I do not use the 100 gr for target
 
I settled on 124 for hand loading for the 9mm. Same load in my LC9, 92FS, Citadel 1911 and I've run a few thru a DW Valkyrie and G19. Don't shoot precision with 9mm but works fine for 25 yard and less as in IDPA. 115 Fed, Rem and WW white box also work fine in my guns. I have very limited experience with 147 gr. I agree with others who say to test them before buying a truck load.
 
I never fired 147 grain in my LC9s but it ate all of the different 115 and 124 grain varieties I fed it. I shot it in a class with hundreds of Magtech and Remington 115 grain ball and it never had a bobble with any of the magazines.

I'd probably buy whatever is cheapest for range use and use any potential bobbles as a malfunction drill opportunity.
 
I carry 115 grain Federal 9BPLE +P+ for social interactions.

Therefore, I practice with 115 grain as well.

That 9BPLE 115 +P+ has a lot of 'street cred" with LE.
 
124 is the original load and will generally work for your purposes as good as either of the other loads. Any 9mm should function just fine and shoot pretty close to the point of aim with the 124 grain loads.

The lighter bullet will usually be the fastest and is slightly cheaper to produce. The 147 grain load did gain popularity for being subsonic. The subsonic load will be quieter but it’s not anything I’ve ever noticed unless using a suppressor.
 
I had a Taurus a long long time ago that would shoot low with 115 grain. As I'd bump up in bullet weight, my POI would come up.
HST comes in 124 and 147, that's good for me. I buy my practice ammo from ammobypistolpete in the same weight as my carry ammo.
 
aarondhgraham said:
I see 115 grain, 124 grain, and 147 grain.
Click to expand...

You might find useful information in the article linked below that looks at various 9mm rounds. It list velocity and accuracy.

https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2019/1/18/38-different-9mm-loads

The velocity is of interest as it shows the speeds of various brands and how some might be faster/slower than others.

The accuracy only applies to the gun in that article. Your gun(s) might have different preferences.

There are also loads with 158 grain bullets, which your guns might like. There is a lot of variety with 9mm ammo!
 
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