9mm JSP - what's its purpose?

[RevolverRob]

I am generally suspicious of very light/very fast pistol caliber ammo.

Remembering, of course that light + fast = greater propensity to yaw. Mild deformity caused by soft points may well increase drag and make yaw even more likely. When you put these bullets through a 10" subgun barrel doing 16-1700fps, they work best. Much faster, though and you'll tend to fragment the whole bullet.

I've seen bullets do enough weird things that I like the idea of a cartridge with enough mass to resist deflection from flat bones (esp ribs, skull).

I concur, even better if they expand. Which is why I prefer 147-grain HST or bonded Winchester. Though I don't mind the lighter 115-grain Barnes bullets, because those deform even less than lead + copper jacketed rounds.

[LtDave]

Trying to return to discussing ammunition, and not New Jersey laws...

I recently discovered Sellier & Bellot makes 9mm soft points too. These ones have a more common bullet weight of 124 grains, and the bullet construction appears to be more of a SJSP, with exposed lead core beyond the metal jacket:

Attachment 32955

I don't know if I'm just weird, but I think if someone with access to the stuff were to do a gelatin test on these it would be really neat to see. Just because.

That S&B JSP shoots pretty good out of my VP9:

[That Guy]

That S&B JSP shoots pretty good out of my VP9:

That is pretty good!

I too bought a box and tried a few strings through a couple of pistols. I didn't have nearly as good results as you, though. That might just be due to the shooter, though. The amount of range time I have had access to has dropped from a previous decidedly pedestrian level when compared to most people here, to downright pathetic.

I did notice the ammunition is a lot louder and snappier than the typical FMJ I use at the range. Unfortunately did not chrono it though.