Worrying about ammo can be done at home or on the internet and requires less time and effort than going to the range.
There is nothing wrong with trying to select good performing ammo.
My philosophy of selecting ammo has changed over the years.
At one point I wanted the +P plusiest ammo that performed decently.
Now I look for something off DocGKR's list that, and the first most important factor is that it shoots to point of aim at 25 yards. The second being that it shoots the second the tightest groups.
I actually prefer standard velocity 124 grain Federal HST over the +P kind because I am more concerned with faster follow-up shots. The 124 Federal HST Grain ammo seems to shoot point of aim or closest to it at 25 yards in a wider variety of 9mms that I own, so I go with that. I have some guns that seem to shoot to point of aim with the 147 grain HST, and on others it seems to shoot high or doesn't group well. Of course some of these guns have been relegated to the gunsafe for several years, so where they shoot is largely academic.
The lone exception to this is the Kahr PM-9, a pocket gun that seems to shoot best and is most controllable with the Federal 115 grain Tac-XP. It is listed as a +P load but does not feel like it. It seems to have less recoil than the Federal 124 grain HST, and this is an important factor in controlling a tiny 9mm with a tiny grip.
Last edited by Odin Bravo One; 07-30-2018 at 11:49 PM.
You can get much more of what you want with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone.
In reading this thread after the time to edit has elapsed, I came across my over-edited post reads like something written by a bad translator program:
For example:
What I meant was that the first most important criteria is that it shoots as close to point of aim as possible at 25 yards. Of course I shoot it at closer distances as well.
The second criteria is that it shoots the best groups of the competing loads at that distance. The competing ammo is selected from DOCGKR's list.
I also wrote:
That should be the Black Hills Tac-XP, not the Federal since Federal doesn't manufacture this ammo.The lone exception to this is the Kahr PM-9, a pocket gun that seems to shoot best and is most controllable with the Federal 115 grain Tac-XP. It is listed as a +P load but does not feel like it. It seems to have less recoil than the Federal 124 grain HST, and this is an important factor in controlling a tiny 9mm with a tiny grip.
Last edited by Ed L; 07-31-2018 at 02:00 AM.
Velocity isn’t meaningless. Energy isn’t meaningless. Momentum isn’t meaningless. If any of that were true, there’d be no +P offerings, and there’d certainly be no +P offerings.
Of course there are other factors involved, and at some point added velocity isn’t worth the extra X, Y, or Z.
As for the payoff, if one round shows better performance in one gun, and another round in another gun, and have plenty of both on hand, why wouldn’t I use the best for each? Point of impact between the two is negligible (not meaningless). As for recoil, I’m using the lower recoiling round in the gun where it matters more, and is more noticeable. In the larger 92, it’s hard to tell the difference between the two.
Last edited by Odin Bravo One; 07-31-2018 at 06:50 AM.
You can get much more of what you want with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone.