Much lighter 9mm loads

W

won-a-glock

New member
I'm not into reloading, but wondering if there is a significantly lighter / less recoil 9mm load I can buy for my wife's SW MP 9mm. Any recommendations appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
 
What is it about the recoil she doesn't like?

By definition, recoil is how much energy is pushed back against the gun/shooter when the bullet leaves the barrel.

However, there is also the muzzle rise which "technically" isn't recoil. (I *believe* this is more related to the bullet velocity than anything else.)

The lighter/faster bullets tend to have more "snap" to them, where as the heavier bullets tend to feel less "snappy." Therefore there is less muzzle rise when I shoot the heavier bullets. (Although it does tend to push back a little more, (more true recoil) which I prefer personally.)



*Note: This is my observation after shooting a good amount of 9mm ammunition. It is no means an attempt to answer the insanely complicated question of recoil vectors and impulses. (My Nomex is on.)
 
The 115 grain Gold Dot load seems to be a pretty good performer, considering how light it is. You'll want to shop around, but here is one place you can find it online, for instance:

http://www.sgammo.com/product/speer/50rds-9mm-speer-gold-dot-115gr-hollow-point-le

And while I don't have all the test data to validate it, the pricey 95 grain Cor-Bon DPX load should also be effective, I'd expect, and it has an even lighter recoil impulse:

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produ...hollow-point-ammo/cName/9mm-hollow-point-ammo
 
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rjrivero said:
By definition, recoil is how much energy is pushed back against the gun/shooter when the bullet leaves the barrel.
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Technically, it's the amount of momentum imparted to the shooter as opposed to energy, and this change in momentum is known as impulse. Felt or perceived recoil may be a different matter, however, and how it affects one's shooting could be yet another matter. The loads that I had suggested in a previous post were based on low recoil impulse, as well as what I thought would be most effective given the low impulse, of course.

rjrivero said:
However, there is also the muzzle rise which "technically" isn't recoil. (I *believe* this is more related to the bullet velocity than anything else.)
Click to expand...

It's a complex combination of a lot of things. :)

rjrivero said:
The lighter/faster bullets tend to have more "snap" to them, where as the heavier bullets tend to feel less "snappy."
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They may have more of a muzzle blast as well, but in my opinion once one gets down to light 9mm bullets, the snappiness doesn't bother most people much, and the lower impulse can be perceived. This does not apply to everybody, though, so some experimentation will be needed. It shouldn't be necessary to experiment with expensive defensive ammo unless you're considering +P loads--just try practice ammo of differing bullet weights until you find what works best for you.

rjrivero said:
Therefore there is less muzzle rise when I shoot the heavier bullets. (Although it does tend to push back a little more, (more true recoil) which I prefer personally.)
Click to expand...

The effect will differ between individuals, though. The OP's wife should try out 115 and 147 grain practice ammo to find out what suits her best with regard to recoil and overall shooting performance (and probably 124 grain for good measure). If she discovers that she prefers the lighter weight loads, then I would recommend the aforementioned 115 grain Gold Dot or even the 95 grain DPX if she finds that lighter bullets give her a significant advantage.

On the other hand, if it turns out that she prefers the heavier weight loads (as I do in virtually every caliber), then I would personally recommend any of the following 147 grain defensive loads: Federal HST, Speer Gold Dot, Winchester Ranger (T-series RA9T), or Winchester Ranger Bonded (RA9B, also conveniently available as PDX1 in stores if the online sources dry up). The Ranger T-series (based on the notorious Black Talon, but of higher performance now) is the one with nasty razor-sharp petals, if you're into that sort of thing ;), but they're all good loads. I'd go with either of the first two for now because Winchester has been having strange QC issues of late, but those will eventually be resolved I'm sure, and I wanted to give more options from the loads that I'm most familiar with since availability can vary.
 
Wow, complicated answers here to what sounds like a simple question.

won-a-glock: Lighter weight projectiles will recoil less. Standard velocity ammo will recoil less than +p or +p+.

But... you can't reliably go slower than standard velocity, because you need a certain amount of energy to get the slide to operate.

Theoretically you could start handloading and go below the threshold to have the slide operate with the standard recoil spring, and then put a lighter recoil spring in. But, you don't handload so that isn't an option. And it would be a more advanced concept for a handloader to tackle and not safe or suitable for a novice to attempt, IMO.
 
The easiest (but most expensive solution) is to get a heavier gun. Not sure which model of the S&W 9mm you have, but in general lighter guns kick harder.
 
You can get very light loads - the issue then becomes, with a semi pistol, is the ability of the gun to function properly.

A heavier gun, as mentioned, or a revolver in your chosen cartridge, would allow you to help mitigate the recoil issue
 
azredhawk44 said:
Wow, complicated answers here to what sounds like a simple question.
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The whole subject is inherently complex, but my suggestions were exceedingly simple: have her try both 115 and 147 grain practice ammo to see which she prefers, then buy one of these two loads (see my first post) if it's 115, or one of these four loads (see my second post) if it's 147. Anybody can simply follow these suggestions if they don't want to go any deeper into theory.

Buying a heavier gun is certainly a valid option, but obviously that's a greater investment in time, effort, and cost, and has its own tradeoffs, as well.
 
Try the SP Load

Buy any new Fed. Win. Rem. factory loads and tell wife, no wait, convince your wife you did extensive internet research and you discoverd this new SP load, that only a few informed persons know about, and is just has powerfull as any 9mm but without the recoil. That is right; a magic bullet. Doctors use this SP load, I mean pill, on us all the time.

If you can't find the SP, Sugar Pill, load, then look for the BS brand. It is a favorite seller in gunshops near you. :mad::mad::mad:
 
I'm not into reloading, but wondering if there is a significantly lighter / less recoil 9mm load I can buy for my wife's SW MP 9mm. Any recommendations appreciated.
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What ammo is she shooting now?

What problem is she having while shooting that leads her to believe that a lighter load will help?

tipoc
 
Once I got a box of 158g 9mm FMJ from Prvi Partizan. they had a really light recoil, but I'm not sure were to find some and I don't think you can get 158g HPs.
 
Hornady Critical Defense has fairly low recoil. Federal may have a Reduced Recoil in 9mm, but I don't think so. A lighter 9mm would be a .380. Try a few loads reccomended here and see what's tolerable. Good luck.
 
I think there needs to be some discussion on what problems she's having shooting. The 9mm is not a heavy recoiling weapon, even with +P ammo. This isn't a statement coming from a big, muscular guy who shoots hand cannons all day long. I suspect that shooting technique will be the biggest factor in getting the recoil reduced.
 
Won-a-glock

What ammo are you using now? There is certainly a range of energy and momentum that various 9mm rounds generate when fired. You should be able to find information for most of the common rounds on-line, look for the ones with the lowest momentum, weight of bullet times its muzzle velocity. This is for range practice, for actual defensive use you should be able to use higher power ammo. Just make sure your wife practices occasionally with the more powerful stuff.
 
wally626 said:
This is for range practice, for actual defensive use you should be able to use higher power ammo. Just make sure your wife practices occasionally with the more powerful stuff.
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Hmmm...I don't know about that.... I realize this is a common practice, but personally I'd rather train with ammo that closely matches what I'd actually use for defensive purposes, otherwise I may be less proficient than usual when my life may actually be at stake. :eek:

Using far less powerful ammo such as .22 LR or even Airsoft has its purposes, but using ammo that is almost like one's defensive ammo but still has noticeably less kick is effectively tricking oneself into believing that shooting one's defensive handgun is easier than it really will be in a real defensive situation. I'm not even that sensitive to recoil, but to those who are the difference may be important.
 
For factory ammo, find a mild 115gr target load.

Back when I was teaching my girlfriend (now wife) how to shoot, I had her shooting a CZ compact with a lighter recoil spring and hand loads in the 90-100 PF range (mv * grains/1000), or a 115gr at about 800-900 fps.

I found that many stock autopistols would start to work around 100 PF. You can go lower if you use a weaker recoil spring.
 
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