Any Defensive Ammo that Shoots to Point of Aim?

[tyler2you]

Hi all,

I just got my R9S and tried out 3 kinds of defensive ammo at the range.  I tried Federal 105 gr EFMJ, 124 gr Rem Golden Sabers, and 124 gr Speer Gold Dots.  All of them shot anywhere from 6 to 8 inches high at the 10 yd line and accuracy wasn't great.

When I tried the Winchester White Box, they shot to point of aim and were very accurate.

Is it just me, or does anyone else experience high shots with this type of ammo?  Any recommendations on something better?

Thanks.

[Iorndealer]

tyler2you,

I've found that my gun as the round count increases so does the accuracy!  I belive that a breakin of 50 rounds should get the pup shooting into the black.

[Aglifter]

147 gr. hydrshocks grouped and aimed wonderfully for me -- I was shooting at 25 ft, though -- some people have had problems w. them behaving -- and I didn't remember to check for key holing -- my assumption is that if the Bros. R recommend silvertips, they probably are pretty accurate out of the pup

[R9SCarry]

I forget without checking but - did find some differences (see link to ammo testing on my FAQ site).

My pup (both actually) tend to shoot low and left a bit but that could well be my personal grip technique - anyways it is not really enough to matter for me.  I do seem to recall ball ammo was better re POA-POI.

Because I see this gun as pretty much a very close range piece - I do not expect or feel I need total POA-POI parity.

[tyler2you]

Thanks everyone--I'll have to give the Silvertips a try.

[EdMan]

tyler2you,
I see you have tried the 124gr Speer GDHPs, but have you tried the 115gr Speer GDHPs? I use these in my R-9S and I find them to be very acurate. Also they expand well, with good penetration, when fired through 2 layers of denim into wet telephone books. I find the Speers to be quite a bit less expensive that the Silver Tips.
Good luck in your ammo quest.

Ed

[tyler2you]

Thanks Ed,

I haven't had any luck finding the 115 gr GDHPs locally.

I may have to order some.

[EdMan]

Tyler2you,
I got mine online from natcheszz.com or wholesalehunter.com. I've tried Midway but they won't ship any ammo to Cincinnati, Ohio. They say it's against Fed BATF rules. Which is very strange because 6 other on line stores have shipped ammo to me with no problem. I've also been on the BATF site and I can not find anything there that prohibits Midway from selling me ammo. I guess they just don't want my business. So I don't use their web store for anything. That's OK though because I've found ammo at other more cooperitive sites that is less expensive. So they actualy did me a favor by "driving me away."

Ed

[sslater]

Last week I fired 124 gr. Speer GDHP and 115 gr. Blazer Brass FMJ at 10 yards.  (They are owned by the same company.)  Both shot to point of aim.  I had several groups - nice round ones at that - of 1 1/2".   Very good for me !  I did it sitting down instead of the usual standing because my back was killing me.
My R9S has 250 rounds thru it.  

[EdMan]

sslater,
Good Shooting! I like the CCI/Speer products. I have even had good luck with their Blazer ammo. I don't reload at this time so I don't need the brass. I got a case of CCI/Blazer 9mm 115gr FMJ online at Natchezss.com for about $94 plus shipping. Thats about $4.70 for a box of 50. I just checked their site and I don't see the special case price I bought mine for, but it is still a good deal at $4.77 a box of 50.

Ed

[tyler2you]

Well, I think I found a winner.  This is 13 shots from my R9S at 10 yards.  115 gr Winchester Silvertips.

Still a touch high, but I think I can live with it

[sslater]

Well, I think I found a winner.  This is 13 shots from my R9S at 10 yards.  115 gr Winchester Silvertips.

tyler2you:
That'll do! for government work!  Nice shooting!  I may try Silvertips.  They used to be my favorite carry load, but I switched to Gold Dots when I got my R9S.  The first two hundred rounds worked fine.  Then I changed recoil spring and have been less than pleased with the Gold Dot's feeding.  

Steve

[tyler2you]

Forgot to mention--I also tried out a magazine full of 147 gr Rem Golden Sabers.  Won't make that mistake again.  I had 3 failure to feeds in that one mag.  They kept getting hung up on the feed ramp and jamming the slide open.  A sharp rap on the back of the slide fixed the problem, but I won't be carrying these.

I guess each gun has it's favorite load.  The Golden Sabers are the round of choice for my Kahr PM40.  They are extremely accurate and function flawlessly.  That pistol hates Federal Hydrashoks for some reason.

[R9SCarry]

Tyler - nice target!!  

Hey - it means you have more than done your bit too - because I doubt anyone would claim the R9 is exactly the easiest gun to shoot.  Kudos

Personally I did not find Silvertips and Sabers that good with expansion tests - basic in wetpack I know but GD's were for me the most consistent.  As ever tho - if gun performs well with one brand/type - probably safest to stick to it.

For those who ain't yet peaked - my FAQ site (sig line) has some links to test stuff too - and pics of expansion.

[tyler2you]

Damn you R9SCarry--I'm sitting here feeling all good about my experience with the Silvertips and you have to go and burst my bubble

You're right about the expansion results--not very impressive.  There is something to be said about reliability and accuracy though.  I think I'll stick with the Silvertips until I can get up to Denver and pick up some 115 gr Gold Dots for evaluation (the 124s shot high for me).

Seriously though--thanks for doing all the grunt work with the expansion tests and posting the results for all of us!

TG