Decisions, decisions... (9mm ammo selection)

[Valorius]

I was carrying 9mm powrball in my P7 for a while. It's got really good velocity, almost 1500fps from a P7, and just shy of 500fpe. So it's also in the short barreled .357 magnum performance category. The only gel tests ive seen for the 9mm Powrball are 12.1" penetration and .65" caliber expansion against bare gel. That's solid, but not great performance. If Powrball used a bonded core bullet it would be a lot better, but it's still a pretty solid performer.

However, for the money, i think you're better off with either Federal 9BPLE+P+ or the 115gr+P+ Gold Dots. Bang for the buck wise, i don't think any load can beat the 9BPLE+P+ load.

If money is no object, the new Buffalo Bore unleaded 9mm+P+ loads are probably the best 9mm loads of all time. You can choose from either a 115gr Barnes solid copper hollowpoint TAC XP at 1400fps(500fpe) or a 95gr Barnes solid copper hollowpoint Tac XP at 1550fps (also about 500fps).

But at $30 to $34 per box of 20, you'd have to be Bill Gates to stockpile that stuff.

[leplat]

Id grab the gold dots. I prefer solid copper but for cost the gold dot wins. Add in 80 cal expansion,and you get epic win. Lets be honest, 10" of penetration is more than adequet to reach vital 99% of the time.

Preparing flame suit....

[Valorius]

Id grab the gold dots. I prefer solid copper but for cost the gold dot wins. Add in 80 cal expansion,and you get epic win. Lets be honest, 10" of penetration is more than adequet to reach vital 99% of the time.

Preparing flame suit....

No flames here, I agree with your assessment.

The 10.5" penetration is only against bare gel. Introduce any kind of medium that slows the rate of expansion, and penetration goes up pretty dramatically (as the expansion goes down accordingly).

BTW, according to Speer that 1300fps Mv rating for the 115gr+P+ Gold Dot is achieved with a 4" barrel, so in a lot of firearms it would be even higher.

When you consider that Buffalo Bore uses a 5" Browning High power to get it's top velocity ratings in it's 9mm loads (115fps @ 1425fps/515fpe) is what they advertised when they used to sell Gold Dot loads), the Speer round is very competitive, and again...at about half the price as the custom shop ammo.

My guess is that with a 5" barrel the Speer 115+P+ Gold Dot is probably about 1350-1400fps depending on the particular test weapon. I should probably see about 1350fps from my polygonal rifled 4.2" HK P7 barrel. Works for me.

[RandomTask]

Just throwing this in the ring.
I'm using Fiocchi Extrema 124-gr. Hornady XTP JHP in my P7; 1290fps/458ft-lbs.

[Valorius]

Agreed. Fiocchi also loads some darned hot loads for very reasonable prices.

The XTP is a proven controlled expansion performer. At the velocity Fiocchi is loading it at, it should be highly effective as well.

Sellier and Bellot, Geco, Fiocchi, pretty much all the Euro ammo companies load 9mm ammo much hotter than US companies do, and they don't even mark it as +P in most cases.

[Recon19]

So, i have 115gr Corbon DPX 9mm+P and Speer Gold Dot 115gr+P+ LE only ammo, and i'm having a hard time deciding which to use in my HK P7.

Corbon DPX: 1250fps, 399fpe
Speer Gold Dot +P+: 1300fps, 432fpe

I like the Barnes TAC XP bullet used in the DPX better, but the Gold Dot is LE only ammo, and made to extremely high QC standards. And while not a solid copper slug, it is still a bonded core design. The one area where there is a clear difference between the 2 is in bare gel penetration. The 115+P+ Gold Dot only penetrates 10.5" (The DPX is in the 12.5" range)....but opens to .83" diameter (Source: Speer ammo poster). The Speer round also has nickel plated casings.

I'm leaning toward the Gold Dot due to the superior QC and nickel plated case.

Both shoot equally well in my gun. The DPX has slightly less recoil than the Gold Dot +P+ round.

Out of those two I would select the Gold Dot +p+ load.