question about 147gr ammo in a 9mm service

[armatron]

Out of all my hobbies (my bike.. 05 zx6r.. house.. car... computer..) I have been incredibly satisfied with my gun just the way it is.... I'm really bad about changing soo much stuff on things... the only thing I'd really like on my bi-tone service are TFO fiber optics... but not bad enough to be without it for a week lol...

Okay... My practice ammo is either winchester (from wal mart.. 100ct in the white box) or remington (I like how the bullets have a plastic holder... I actually save the boxes and use them to carry my wwb ammo)..

My protection ammo is federal hydro shok 147gr. It's in a steel or aluminium casing.. is this safe to shoot through the gun? The normal ammo I shoot is 115gr.. I've not shot any of the hydro shok through the gun for fear it might damage it...

[Bob Freddy]

Yes

Bob

[ichy_trigger]

Thats nickle plated brass
one reason they use it for premium ammo is that it doesnt corode as quickly and it tends to have a natural lubracicity to it that helps in feeding.

[Captain Ray]

The Federal Hydro Shok 147gr round is my primary carry round. I have been experimenting with Speer GoldDot 147gr GDHP bullets lately. Only because that round is so highly recommended by forum members here.

There was a thread a while ago that was very critical of th 147gr round.. but I didn't see any good reason in that thread to switch to a 115gr or 124gr bullet.

It's not the quickest bullet, but it does make an un-healthy hole in whatever you are shooting at. And I find that I shoot straighter, and the casings eject more consistently.

And no.. I have not suffered any damage to my pistol by shooting the Federal (or Speer) bullets.

Raymond

[Ron xd357]

Just a question how can you have ammo in your clips for personal protection that you have never shot. To me it seems you should go through a couple of boxes or so just to make sure your xd will eat it I am sure it will.. I have a bunch of these xd's I shoot them alot they all chew up and spit out anything I give them except for Sellio& Belliot ammo I guess all I am asking is should you shoot some of that ammo before you count on it?>

[XD BACKUP GUN]

Originally Posted by Ron xd357

Just a question how can you have ammo in your clips for personal protection that you have never shot. To me it seems you should go through a couple of boxes or so just to make sure your xd will eat it I am sure it will.. I have a bunch of these xd's I shoot them alot they all chew up and spit out anything I give them except for Sellio& Belliot ammo I guess all I am asking is should you shoot some of that ammo before you count on it?>

Well having ammo in clips for personal protection is not something I do I keep them in these things called magazines that work real well for holding bullets.


147 grain Hydra-Shoks used to be my primary carry round but I since switched to a combination Magtech First Defense 93 grain Solid Copper Hollow Points and Magtech Guardian Gold 124 grain +p Jacketed hollow Points. I load these in an alternating fashion in my MAGAZINES.

[JD McDorce]

Originally Posted by Ron xd357

I guess all I am asking is should you shoot some of that ammo before you count on it?

Definitely. Will the bullet feed properly? Will the case reliably extract and eject? Is the accuracy consistent with your practice rounds and, if not, how do you reconcile the difference? Does the recoil, report, and flash differ (potentially effecting follow-up shots)?

Hydra-shoks, Gold Dots, Golden Sabers, XTPs, XPBs, Ranger Ts, and all of the other premium defense bullets are designed to do their job once they're at the target. It's the job of the gun and the shooter to get them to the target. A 115 FMJ on target is better than a 147 Hydra-shok that either misses or fails to feed. While I realize that nobody really wants to send 20 rounds down the range that they just paid $15 for, especially when they can likely get target ammo at $6 for 50. However, it is much better to identify a potential problem on the range than it is facing a BG at home or on the street...

[armatron]

ok I will practice with some of these too.



So it is ok to use 147gr through a 9? that seems like a lot more powder than the 115's I target with

[JD McDorce]

Originally Posted by armatron

So it is ok to use 147gr through a 9?

Yes.

Originally Posted by armatron

that seems like a lot more powder than the 115's I target with

147gr refers to the weight of the bullet, not the weight (or amount) of powder. The amount of pressure generated with a specific cartridge is the key item of whether it is "ok" to use in a given gun (assuming proper caliber, construction, etc). If you take a look at some ballistics charts, velocities for factory loads in a given caliber typically decrease as the weight of the bullet increases. Not to dive too deeply into Physics, but pressure translates to force applied to the back of the bullet. Keeping pressure and force constant, an increase in bullet weight will result in a decrease in velocity and vice-versa.

You'll probably find that a 147gr Hydra-Shok travels much slower than your 115gr target round.