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

Before you buy, as suggested test small amounts in your weapons. But ask yourself this as well:

Is this for pure plinking pleasure or am I training my skills / do I conceal carry?

Pure plinking? Simple.. try each weight in your toys and then choose the best results
Training? Whatever you carry in terms of defense bullets is what you should mimic in your training. They will very likely not have the same POI as your carry rounds but you will get yourself accustomed to the recoil etc of similar sized bullets. Further more get the one that’s closest to the muzzle velocity as your carry rounds. This doesn’t mean training with a lighter or heavier pill won’t help either but it’s all about getting as close as possible so that you eliminate as many variables in the gear/equipment and can focus on external factors when you train ( stress additives , time etc)
 
I have 5-9mm, ranging from a 15 ounce SCCY to a 40 ounce 1911. I shoot mostly 115 in them and I have never had a malfunction in any of them. 115 is the cheapest and easiest to find.
 
The original bullet weight was 124gr. The original load was 1050fps from a 4" (100mm) barrel.

A bit before WW I the load was changed to a 115gr bullet at 1150fps from the same barrel length.

The 147gr load was developed much later, well after WW II with the intent (and original usage) of being an effective SUBSONIC load in suppressed submachine guns.

Blazer ammo is aluminum cased. It is not reloadable, nor meant to be. Aluminum is not brass. It has a different elasticity and a different coefficient of friction (among other things). It works tolerably well in most 9mm guns BUT may not be flawless in YOUR particular gun. TEST some before buying any significant quantity.
 
115 & 124 feed equally well in my 9's [4 Sigs, a Colt & Ruger 1911, and a Browning HP], but the 124's are more accurate, both in FMJ range fodder and JHP's. Contrary to a lot of shooters here on the forum, I don' t find 147's more accurate, nor do I feel they're a better choice for CC use.

As I'm a reloader, I buy only brass cased ammunition, and then 90% of the time it's Federal American Eagle just to keep all the head stamps the same for uniformity.

Here's Stephen Camp's treatise on Federal's venerable 9mm JHP load [Federal 9BP] in the Browning HP. It's a good read from THE Browning HP man and useful for us every day shooters. The round is not +P, a factor that endears it to those of us who treasure original MKl & ll HP's, but it's still doing 1177 fps in his chrono testing. It's pretty much what I carry when any of my 9's are riding along. https://hipowersandhandguns.com/HiPowerFederal115.htm

YMMv, Rod
 
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44 AMP said:
Blazer ammo is aluminum cased. It is not reloadable, nor meant to be. Aluminum is not brass. It has a different elasticity and a different coefficient of friction (among other things).
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Again, this is not entirely true. While the Blazer is berdan primed, Federal aluminum is boxer primed and readily reloadable, and actually holds up fairly well to multiple loadings too.

I still wouldnt buy it with that in mind, but it will work in a pinch if its all you got.
 
Not all Blazer ammo is aluminum cased, they produce brass cased ammo too, and their brass is reasonable for reloading.

Aluminum cases , however, are not suitable for reloading. A lot of aluminum is no longer Berdan primed. Folks reload aluminum anyway and get by with it mostly by shooting light target loads, but they will crack/split without warning. Full charge loads typically fail on first reload or soon after, but light loads fail relatively soon too.
 
Again, this is not entirely true. While the Blazer is berdan primed, Federal aluminum is boxer primed and readily reloadable, and actually holds up fairly well to multiple loadings too.
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Is Federal ammo "BLAZER" from CCI?? I don't think it is.


Not all Blazer ammo is aluminum cased, they produce brass cased ammo too, and their brass is reasonable for reloading.
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BLAZER .22LR is brass cased. (and not reloadable)

BLAZER centerfire ammo is aluminum cased, (and not reloadable)

BLAZER BRASS is brass cased.

BLAZER and BLAZER BRASS are similar sounding but not the same thing.
 
Maybe I'm weird, but I've shot a mixture of weights through multiple guns of different sizes and brands, even mixing the grain weights within a magazine, and in no case could I ever discern any difference in recoil or point of impact. Unless it was specifically loaded to a higher pressure.
 
CCI and Federal are both divisions of the same conglomerate, looks like the current iteration is Orbital ATK. I doubt there are two aluminum case production lines.
 
For practice, I shoot either 115 gr FMJ or 124 gr FMJ. My preference is for 124 gr because that is what my defensive use ammo is (normally, 124 gr standard pressure Gold Dots or HST). Nevertheless, I haven't noticed a big difference in point of impact at "normal" defensive distances (no more than 25 yards). Plus, the 115 gr ammo is normally a tad less expensive. I have never used 147 gr rounds for range fodder for two reasons. They are typically more expensive and I have seen reports here and there that specific models of pistols did not feed them well. This may be on the pistol and not the round, but I just never thought the extra weight, extra expense, and extra recoil were worth it anyway.

I would stick with any brass-cased mainstream brand in 115 or 124 grains --- Federal, Remington, Winchester, Blazer, Speer, etc. I've never had reliability issues with any of the mainstream brands in any of my 9mm pistols. I have 1911s in 9mm, SW M&P and Shield, SW 3913, Kahr CM 9, and a couple of Star pistols (not counting my revolvers).
 
I must be getting old; have found I prefer softer recoil. There are two brands of 9mm ammo in 147 gr that shoot softer than either 115 gr, or 124 gr. They are Freedom and Minuteman Munitions. I've tried both of these brands in several pistols I own, with never a problem. Minuteman Munitions have a blue poly cover on the bullet. Recently, they've only had reman stuff available. Normally, I don't use reman ammo, but have run a 1,000 rounds so far without a hiccup.
 
and the impression I was getting from your post was, you cant reload aluminum.
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Apologies if I gave you the wrong impression. I said Blazer and all I meant was Blazer. CCI intended Blazer to be non-reloadable (using the ordinary methods) which is why they use a Berdan primer. And, while I'm not certain I think its a size of Berdan primer not commercially available to the US market in general.
It might even be proprietary. I've never bothered to ask.

Yes, it is possible to reload aluminum cases, and steel cases, and its even possible to reload rimfire cases. Results are inferior to brass in several important ways, which include case life, and cost/effectiveness.

Aluminum, steel and berdan primed brass in common calibers is considered "fire and forget" ammo, meaning its not worth the time, trouble and cost to reload it.
 
I bought a couple thousand CCI 115 gr speer fmj RN--shoots well out of pistols and carbines alike; more importantly it's always there to satisfy the urge to shoot when I'm out of ammo or handloads for all other calibers. probably not a good choice for SD--wouldn't want to be hit by one nonetheless.
 
Hello,

Before I switched to .45acp, I used 124grn +P Gold Dot in my full-sized pistol.

When I grab another 9mm, I'll go with the same load for defense.

Regards,
Josh
 
I solved my own dilemma about choice,,,

I solved my own dilemma about choice,,,
And it was so easy I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it. :o

I went into my ammo cabinet and looked at what I had.

The ammo I had for 25 ACP was Fiocchi,,,
It works in my Taurus 22-PLY so I ordered 250 more rounds of the same.

The ammo I had for my 380 and 9mm included a lot of Blazer Brass,,,
It works well in all of my 9mm pistols so I ordered 500/1000 rounds respectively.

The 32 ACP ammo that ran very well in my Beretta 81 was Aguilla,,,
SGAMMO didn't have any so I decided to take a chance,,,
I ordered a few boxes of Sellier & Bellot to try.

I've used Sellier & Bellot before in 9mm,,,
I figure it's a decent name brand,,,
I'll just cross my fingers in hope.

I also ordered a few boxes of ammo for some of my other guns,,,
That added about $100 to the total.

This will give me a decent bench stock to shoot from,,,
If I am diligent and replenish it religiously,,,
I should be set for range fodder ammo.

I tell ya though,,,
That order (with insurance, shipping, and state tax) was 581.48,,,
It took about 5 minutes to make my finger click the "Place Your Order" button.

Now it's all about the waiting.

Aarond

.
 
I've shot thousands of rounds of Sellier & Bellot, without ever having a single failure. Cabela's "Herter's" ammo was manufactured by S&B for years, although recently the packaging has changed at it appears to be from a different manufacturer now.
 
I'm a little late to the game (story of my life), but FWIW, I bought 124 grain the last time I bought 9mm. I only have two 9mms, a Shield and a G19. Neither is what you'd call picky. They pretty much eat anything and everything. But who knows? I might stumble on a great deal on another 9mm soon and wind up with a 3rd 9mm. So I figured it made sense to get a middle-of-the-road weight. Besides, I carry 124 grain.
 
I joined Target Sports a year ago. One of the best investments I have made. Not only in Price, but shipping. Since every gun is a individual and likes or prefers a certain ammo, I can buy many different varieties of ammo. Even if just one box, I get free shipping to door. I have quite a bit of different brands and weights for different caliber handguns. Like experimenting with all of them for my EDC guns. Also a lot of Buckshot etc. I have ammo coming in a few times each week.
Personally, I do not think you can pick just one ammo for all guns, . Try them all out.

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