[Jetsurgeon]

Can someone shed some light on the different bullet weights for the 9mm?



I know 115, 124, and 147 seem to be the most popular. What would happen if I went UP in bullet weight? More felt recoil? Bullet shape? Etc..........



Please help I'm lost on this subject. What I'm looking for is the "Dummies Version" of this topic.



Also besides Rainier, and the Zero bullets any good?



Thx,

Jeff

 

[coltman1985]

For cheap reloading bullets those are the weights!! I like Berry's MFG for thier prefferred plated bullets. 1-800-269-7373



I use 124gr for practice and 147gr for match shooting.



What are you trying to accomplish?

 

[G56]

Standard bullet weight for 9mm has been 115 gr, in the last few years you have seen new heavier bullet weights coming out, I believe one of the initial reasons was for sub sonic ammo for suppressed weapons. As bullet weights go up, velocities go down, there are two different schools of thought on whether light and fast are better than slow and heavy, different people can argue all day long on that subject, generally light and fast does a better job than slow and heavy, but bullet placement outweighs all the discussion. My personal opinion goes to the 115 gr to 124 gr bullets being most effective in 9mm, there have been a few incidents involving the heavier 9mm bullets where they have performed poorly.



I've used Zero jacketed bullets and they have shot well on the range for me, one of the top choices for match use are the Berry's plated bullets, good performance for a reasonable price.

 

[Mousekiller]

There is also

the school of thought.. That lighter bullets produce a "snapier" felt recoil impulse where the heavier the bullet the recoil impulse is more of a "push"..



really depends on what you like when shooting.. some prefer the snappy feel some don't.



I'm sure with a little searching you could find litterally mounds of data on bullet performance.. Pick one that does not kill your budget and practice..

If you can't hit what you shootin at it don't really matter much what the bullet is doing

I personally prefer heavier bullets..



Good luck.



Mouse.

 

[Obiwan]

Once upon a time the best bullet designs needed velocity ...lot of velocity in order to perform



So needless to say the slow ones (heavy bullets) did very poorly



But....time and science march on



Today...in the better/best bullet designs, the 115gr tend to be the worst performers of them all



Some of them expand so fast they do not penetrate and others just break up or don't expand at all



The 147 gr do great at standard pressure and the 124 gr do well at +p and +P+



My personal preference is for the 147gr (RA9T)

 

[choochboost]

Once upon a time the best bullet designs needed velocity ...lot of velocity in order to perform



So needless to say the slow ones (heavy bullets) did very poorly



But....time and science march on



Today...in the better/best bullet designs, the 115gr tend to be the worst performers of them all



Some of them expand so fast they do not penetrate and others just break up or don't expand at all



The 147 gr do great at standard pressure and the 124 gr do well at +p and +P+



My personal preference is for the 147gr (RA9T)

I couldn't agree more with this post............even right down to the RA9T.

 

[LockNLoad]

Would it be safe to say that JHP, TMJ or FMJ plays a role in the bullet performance as well?

 

[YukonGlocker]

Would it be safe to say that JHP, TMJ or FMJ plays a role in the bullet performance as well?

Depends on what kind of performance you are seeking.