Does grain make a difference in 9mm?
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No argument here. Some people are more sensitive than others, and like I said, the gun you shoot it in makes a big difference. With a 9mm with loads of similar power factor (bullet weight x velocity / 1000) there is not much difference, though the slide speed will still vary enough to perceive. With other calibers it seems more apparent though. Using a .40 with major loads (over 165 PF), the lighter bullets seem much more snappy to achieve the same PF as say, an 180grn bullet.
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A new shooter, maybe not. An exp shooter,yes you can feel the diff if there is a diff to feel. Its not being sensitive to recoil but being aware of recoil, diff thing to me. Even some powder produce a softer recoil response, pushing same bullets the same vel. It's subtle, but It can be felt in a target shooting environment where there are no other distractions. WST is one of those powders. Shooting the same vel in 40 minor or 45 major, the felt recoil is slightly less, like it is spread out over a longer duration.
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Yes... exactly this. One of the reasons I favor Silhouette is that, to me at least, it seems a bit softer shooting than many other powders at brisk loadings in various calibers compared to similar velocity loadings with other powders. Longshot also seems that way to me. WST is good in 40 Minor as a soft shooting powder, though I have never tried it for Major in .40 as it seems a bit fast for that to me, yet it has been done. Universal, on the other hand, though well within its limits even for .40 major, seems more harsh to me though it produces good results at the chrono and on the target. That is merely one example, but when you might shoot as many as 50,000rnds over one "season" for both practice and competition, a lot of gun gamer shooters are going to be picky about certain powder choices.
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I wish I had the time to shoot 50k rds a year!
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Me too! One reason a lot of people will never be "champions" is they cannot afford the time or the ammo to shoot enough to beat "the other guy". I was lucky to squeeze out 20,000 or a bit more per year when I was what you could jokingly call competing. Now that I am retired, I just mosey down to the range and perhaps pop off 10-12000rnds per year. I was always an "also ran", and my shirts don't look like formula 1 driver's shirts with all the adds and patches on them.I wish I had the time to shoot 50k rds a year!
If you shoot a 115gn and a 147gn bullet at the SAME pressure, the 147gn has more recoil.
If you shoot a 115gn and a 147gn bullet to the SAME power factor, the 147gn will be more push and the 115gn will be more of a snap. That does not mean that the 147gn has less recoil, just that the time of recoil is longer. I prefer the speed of the snap to quickly be back on target.
Just consider the difference in recoil of a 150n bullet in a .300 Win Mag vs a 158n bullet in a .38 Special. It isn't the weight of the bullet, it is the weight x velocity, and then the time the recoil has to act on the body.
If you shoot a 115gn and a 147gn bullet to the SAME power factor, the 147gn will be more push and the 115gn will be more of a snap. That does not mean that the 147gn has less recoil, just that the time of recoil is longer. I prefer the speed of the snap to quickly be back on target.
Just consider the difference in recoil of a 150n bullet in a .300 Win Mag vs a 158n bullet in a .38 Special. It isn't the weight of the bullet, it is the weight x velocity, and then the time the recoil has to act on the body.
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I think faster slide speeds induce more torque, which makes the recoil feel snappier. I can too you my 40 minor load using 180gr bullets is softer than 115g wwb 9mm.
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