Best type of ammo to avoid stoppages in 9mms ?

Bullet weight shouldn't be an issue if the load is correct. NATO uses 124's, so it's not unusual for a Glock tech to spout NATO doctrine. However, 115 has been the Commonwealth standard for BHP's and SMG's since 1941. Otherwise, it's how the pistol is made more than the ammo it uses. Some of 'em need feed ramp work. Some do not. No different than a 1911.
Federal makes American Eagle.
 
T. O'Heir said:
NATO uses 124's, so it's not unusual for a Glock tech to spout NATO doctrine. However, 115 has been the Commonwealth standard for BHP's and SMG's since 1941.
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FYI the NATO document that standardizes 9mm ammo—STANAG 4090—allows bullets "within the limits 7.0g (108 grains) to 8.3g (128 grains) inclusive."

The lower 108gr NATO limit is the primary basis for my earlier comment that 108gr is somewhat of a de facto general minimum, as most modern 9mm pistols are designed to run well on 9mm NATO. Another factor is that this bullet weight was often listed as commercially available in old issues of Gun Digest.

124gr has seemingly become the standard bullet weight for newer 9mm NATO commercial ammo made in the USA; I'm unaware of the precise reason, although I surmise U.S. military contract requirements. FWIW 124gr roughly corresponds to 8.0g. Also FWIW, I've read stories from several different posters here about Canadian Armed Forces - Land Force Command Canadian Army* surplus NATO ammo being sold in the USA in the 1980s and 1990s with 116gr bullets. :)

*I'm so glad Canada brought their old military branch names back. :D (Several family members are RCN veterans.)
 
My CZ75 SP01 is chewing through 115gr Federal FMJ 100rd packs and Freedom Munitions 124gr reman. Even though the manufacturer says it works best with 115gr NATO spec ammo, I don't think my gun knows the difference.
 
>>My CZ75 SP01 is chewing through 115gr Federal FMJ 100rd packs and Freedom Munitions 124gr reman. Even though the manufacturer says it works best with 115gr NATO spec ammo, I don't think my gun knows the difference.<<

I've got a CZp01 with 1292 rds. through it.
It's had 1 stoppage - a failure to extract that was very likely an under powered round (a Fiocchi 115g RN), not the gun itself.

I wish I could say the same about my G19g3 and a couple other pistols I've owned.
 
They may not be the most refined pistols but I've definitely fallen in love. Never imagined myself preferring some other gun to a 1911 but I'm there. I've tried Glocks, M&Ps, a Canik TP9SA, revolvers. Nothing has shot as well in my hands and inspired as much confidence as my SP01.
 
Stoppages in any caliber ....best ammo to help prevent it is to shoot a RN FMJ bullet....

But stoppages may be ammo related --- length, bullet shape ( HP, WC, ETC ) ... or it may be gun or mag related ... or shooter grip error, etc.....

Unless you reload yourself and know what you'really doing - stay away from reloads, even so called factory reloads...

In general - i'd also stay away from S&B and other eastern European cheap ammo - fed white box, blazer and others seem pretty good....and find out what guys are shooting locally - they will tell you about best buys.

All of my 9mm's .....sigh 239, sign 226, 5" and 4" 1911's. ..all run 100 % on my own reloads in 115gr or 124gr....with good mags ( clean ) ....and FMJ bullets. ...at common lengths...
 
Maybe it has been said already, but a recoil operated firearm works by the recoil of the slide overcoming the resistance to the action. It's always better to have enough recoil to cycle the action.

I've never had a failure due to light loads until I started using a .380, and using 100 grain bullets helped. I think that you should be fine using 115 grain loads. I personally use125 for carry purposes.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RAfiringline
I've had a Glock tech tell me 124g is better than 115g.
That Glock tech don't know what the he!! his talking about!:rolleyes:
When my family gets together for a group shoot we have about half a dozen or more different 9mm handguns of different makes and models.
All and I repeat all, will work just fine using any bullet weight 9mm we put in them. :D
 
To be fair, that is not what the guy said. As I just posted, a recoil system depends on recoil. More recoil will make it more reliable, less prone to failure from limp twisting, for example. Simple fact of physics.

The 115 should be reliable. It's the standard load weight. Glock, and every other maker will build and tune their guns to function reliably on the full range of available weights.

The spring itself must be strong enough to feed the new load. Back in the old days, before the current rules about power levels and the use of compensators, some shooters deliberately worked up extremely light loads for 1911,commonly known as softball. using softball didn't generate enough recoil to function properly, and generally, shooters who used ultra light ammo with a single handed grip had to get lighter springs to make those guns work.

The 115 is reliable. The heavier bullets generate more recoil and they will be marginally more reliable when conditions are not optimal. Such as shooting while in unusual positions, or using lightly charged "softball" loads.I've heard many times about bulk gun show ammo being unreliable, and sometimes the reason for it is that the things are reloads, and the guy skimped on the powder.
 
9mm Stoppages

Don't understand? Buy high quality pistols,then go on "safari" to find the Cheapest ammo on the planet! We are what we eat,applies to our pistols too.:eek::eek:.
 
Originally Posted by TunnelRat ...a modern pistol should feed and cycle with quality hollow point self defense ammo reliably, or there is likely something wrong with the pistol.
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Yep...

I'd add that the only guns I own that routinely show light primer strikes are my Sigs...the three that are DA/SA...P290, P220, and a P226 Mk25. I sent the P290 back for work on this and it came back reliable but still with a shallower firing pin mark than most any other brand. Just a Sig design quirk I guess. As a result, I reload all 9mm brass with Federal Small Pistol Primers [much softer that any other brand in my experience]. This is my only concession to a finicky pistol.

Rod
 
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Ammo or shooter related stoppages can occur with any type of ammo. They can be reduced by selecting a dependable brand of ammo and a pistol that is more tolerant of limp wristing. Feeding issues, with a few exceptions, can be eliminated with standard pressure 124 gr round nose ammo. A good modern day pistol, other than perhaps the ones trying to be the smallest in 9mm, should handle pretty much anything but a bad round.
 
>Feeding issues, with a few exceptions, can be eliminated with standard pressure 124 gr round nose ammo. <

That's what I'm thinking, and it's not a matter of guns that fail every other time.

I've got 2 9mms with failure rates of about 0.6% (a stoppage about every 160-170 rounds) based on a total of 1660 rds. of shooting . I've mostly been using 115g and to a lesser degree 124g. All the failures so far have been w/ 115g RN and 115g HP - none w/ 124g RN.

For the next few months I'm going use 124g RN only, and see where the failure rates go. I keep track of all this stuff and put the data into a spreadsheet after every range visit. I like figuring out how this stuff works.
 
I have a lot of 9mm guns and all of them eat anything I put in them, from the cheap Perfecta 115gr to the 142gr "self defense" rounds that, IMHO, are insanely overpriced. The last failure any of my guns had was when my Taurus PT111 G2 had a problem on it's third shot. I think my finger riding the slide was the cause, not any problem with the gun, as it's gone about 800+ rounds since then without missing a beat.

The last one before that was a defective round in my Beretta 92FS that had the case folded up under the bullet. I should have caught it when I loaded the mag, but I missed it. It kept the gun from going into battery.

It hasn't affected firing, but I've noticed that a fair amount of the 9mm I've bought lately, both from LGS and online, is really nasty looking. The worst is some Speer "Lawman" 9mm that looks like something spilled on them. They aren't green, but the "stain" is really dark and they just don't look good. They shoot fine though. I only have one box left, and it's on top of the pile, so it will probably be gone by next Wed. Some of the Blazer Brass is funky looking too, but not nearly as bad as the Speer is. I have a box of Winchester .25 that is like 30 years old, sitting in my drawer that looks better than the Blazer stuff does new.
 
Assuming you are using standard factory ammo, the problem is not the ammo. If you're getting any substantial amount of stoppages (I.e. More than one every few hundred) using standard factory ammo, then there are only two explanations. Either you are doing something wrong or there's something wrong with the gun.
I don't have tolerance for finicky guns in 9mm, and I don't think anyone else should tolerate it either. We should demand acceptable products and vote with our dollars to ensure that crappy gun manufacturers aren't in business for long. We should expect gun manufacturers to be sophisticated enough to build a gun that can reliably eat the great majority of ammo presently on the market. CZ, glock, Ruger, S&W, Sig, and many others have figured out how to do this.
If you are seeing any substantial amount of stoppages, after a break in period with your gun, have an experienced handgun shooter check you to see if youre doing anything wrong. If your fundamentals are good, either get the gun fixed of get rid of it. No need to tolerate that kind of a firearm.
 
Reloads from some unknown vendor at a gun show
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I've loaded my own ammunition since I was 16 yrs old...54 years now...and while I've had stopages occasionally due to overall round length or crimp variances, my loads when finalized are as close to 100% as good factory stuff.

That said, I won't shoot anybody else's handloads....not friends, not family, nada. I just don't trust anyone else to put the same attention to detail [read safety], that I do. It's a rule I've never broken. Reloads from a gunshow scare the hell out of me...

For a few pennies more, you can have bulk grade Remington, Federal, or Winchester and trust that your eyes and hands will remain intact through a range session. Yeah, I know big companies occasionally make a mistake, but it's extremely rare...but...YMMV.

Best Regards Rod
 
Gun show reloads should scare you. There's no way that a person can reload nine at a competitive price compared to white label. They use whatever range sweeping they can get. They will use tiny charges of fast powder. The things will be run on a Dillon press without any serious inspections of the product. Larger numbers like .45, .357, .44, since brass and other components will cost more, but price pressure will be lower, they can make more money, but the ammo will still be loaded to the lowest standards. Who in the world would seriously consider running a box of magnums through a thousand dollar pistol not knowing how it was put together?

This stands for gun show handloads, and factory "remanufactured". Factory will be less of a risk, but still, they aren't up to top standards. Used,any type of brass, low loads of poorly chosen powder, and the least expensive foreign sourced components possible.

Every time I've seen some crosseyed, snaggletoothed goober selling buggies of tarnished ammo on a table, in my minds eye, I see his Korean mail order bride running his secondhand press.
 
Personally, I'd be more concerned with which guns fire any ammo. You shouldn't have to worry about bullet shape or primer hardness and all guns should fire 115 & 124gr equally well. I use 115gr for practice and target shooting and 124 for SD. The recoil really doesn't vary based on bullet weight anyhow.

I was cleaning up the range a couple months back and found a 1/4 case of Herters down range. All were light strikes, some really light. I'm sure the guy went home cursing the quality of the ammo but the problem wasn't the ammo. I shoot everything, Winchester white box, Herters, Federal bulk, Magtech. I've had 1 misfire ever with 9mm and it went off with a second pull of the trigger. That's the way it should be.
 
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