Ammo Time Again

[Thunderbolt]

I know we're always looking for better or different chow for our pups. They're pickey little critters and always hungry. I've been looking at these Aguila IQ HP's with some interest ........ Has anyone tried them yet   ............... Inquiring minds want to know   .

http://www.aguilaammo.com/iq.htm

Regards,
Thunderbolt

[riffraff]

Thunderbolt,

Yes, they have been tried.  They are one of the few ammo types that will function perfectly in my R9's BUT at 15 yds they will keyhole everytime when fired from an R9.  They do not keyhole in my 2 other 9's

Mike

[dfsutton]

Not trying to hijack this thread, but does anyone has links to ballistic testing of these rounds? I just don't understand how they can claim to have that energy on such a low-weight bullet. Or maybe I just don't understand physics as well as I should.

[riffraff]

dfsutton,

The claimed energy of this ammo is probably exagerated.  Advertiseing is advertiseing after all.  I am sure this energy is from at least a full 4" length barrel.  There are two ways to look at energy in any one caliber of ammo,  heavy bullet and lower velocity or lighter bullet with higher velocity.  Most agree that the best happy medium for a 9mm is the 115gr JHP.  In my opinion the shorter your barrel the lower your bullet weight should be.

I am sorry I can't give you a link to the ballistic info. you asked about.  It probably doesn't exist in electronic form yet.

Mike

[tracker]

If one of the new ammo recommendations is Winchester
Personal Protection HP 115gr., it is quite reasonable, relatively
speaking, at Academy Sporting Goods in Houston at $11.29
for a box of 50. I am going to try it.

[Paveway]

F=M x A. That's all you need to know, IMO.

If I want to compare two types of ammo, I just multiply the grains by the   FPS. I don't know what type of units it results in, but the higher the number, the better. YMMV.

I've read over at Stephen A. Camp's site, Hi-Powers and Handguns, that if you have a 147 grain 9mm round out of a short barrel, you've basically  got a .38 Special when you compare velocity and energy.

Seems to me that if you go below 90 grains in a 9mm with a short barrel, you've got yourself a nice .380, maybe even a +P, but that's just my opinion. As for me, I'll stick with whatever flavor 115 gr JHP round that works in the pup with a good track record, not the latest "gimmick" bullet..

For me, my ideal load for the pup would be the Federal 9BP JHP (not the hydrashock) bullet at around 100-105 grains with a nickel case. Could this give the best performance and reliability for the R9 ? I would like to build it and find out, if I had the resources and time (And Federal does not market their bullets as components anyway). I arrived at this conclusion based upon what I've read from (ok, flame suit on) the Marshall and Sanow one shot stop numbers for the 9BP load. But I've just created a new load here on paper, so all of that data is probably not applicable in this instance.

[dfsutton]

Actually, its Force = Mass x Velocity.  

Just messing with ya.

But you support my initial impression. With a bullet weight that low, you'd have to have twice the velocity just to even out the Footpounds of energy delivered. So for there to be an increase in energy, there'd have to be a huge jump in velocity which seems to only be possible from a +P round. But they list this particular round as non +P with standard pressure. I'm calling shenanigans!

[dmobrien2001]

Actually, its Force = Mass x Velocity.

Actually it's Force = Mass x Velocity x Velocity

That's why these lightweight bullets gain so much "energy" because the velocity is squared.  Velocity becomes the main factor.  Handgun ammo is not a laser beam where "energy" is important.  It's all about the hOles.

[tracker]

Also: Kinetic energy equals one half mass times velocity
squared.

[groo]

Groo here
 have you tried winchester nt ?
 my pup liked it so much that I got a case.

[Seven]

OK, has anyone tried the Speer Frangible 90 grain ammo?  Information on frangible rounds is hard to come by generally, and there's precious little about this version at all. I've come across a good price on it, so I'm tempted to give it a go and see how it behaves in my R9.  Any thoughts or info would be welcome...

7

[Richard S]

Seven:

I read the following in Police & Security News, which may be the ammunition you have in mind.  (The comment is about 1/3 down the page at this link:

http://www.policeandsecuritynews.com/janfeb01/frangibleammunition.htm

[size=10]

Blount/Speer ZNT

"Blount/Speer offers frangible ammunition in two calibers, 100-grain 9mm Parabellum and 125-grain .40 S&W. These rounds are made with lead-free clean-fire primers and feature a newly designed projectile. The projectile has a fluted copper jacket combined with a cast zinc alloy core and is designed to break into small pieces upon impact with steel targets, backstops, or other similar objects. While ZNT projectiles look like conventional bullets, they contain zinc alloy instead of lead, which eliminates lead dust upon impact." [/size]

[Seven]

Richard, thanks for the lead.  I'm not sure it's the same thing, but could be.  I found this stuff:  http://www.ammoman.com/images2/9MM-SPR90-1.jpg

on the Ammoman 'close-out' page.  It's clearly labeled 90 grain.  Hmmm...

7

[tracker]

Groo has a good thought: Winchester Super Clean NT at
105 gr. looks promising; this came from Richard's link also.

[Richard S]

Seven:

I see what you mean.  It must be different ammunition.

I haven't found any other references to a 90-grain frangible 9mm round manufactured by Speer but I would assume that it would be a real "hot rod" primarily for use in training (where lead contamination of firing ranges is a concern) or in conditions requiring limited bullet penetration.  I see that American offers one for which they claim a velocity of 1300 FPS (length of test barrel not described):  

http://www.a-merc.com/cgi-local/webcat/products_page.cgi?action=view&item=9&reset=4448