Speer GDHP 147 gr

[riffraff]

Hello Everyone!

I am new to this forum but not to guns.  I have only had my gun to the range once and had severe jam and a few failure to fire problems.  But enough of that for now.
I have since picked up some Speer GDHP 115 gr and could not find any 124 gr but bought a box of the Speer 147 gr GDHP.  I have found a few 9mm's in the past that did not like the heavy bullets.  Autoloaders seem to prefer a lighter bullet so the slide receives a quick sharp smack so to speak.
Are their any issues, problems or recomendations on the Speer GDHP 147 gr?

I am a moderator on another gun forum.  From the reading I have done here, this seems like a good forum so far.  

I really really like my R9s but was extremely disapointed at my first range session.  With your help and as a last resort sending mine back to the factory I will get all issues resolved.
Ergonomically speaking the R9 is the most pleasant pistol I have had the pleasure of carrying.  Wel, thats enough rambling for now.  Type at you later.

riffraff

[Michigunner]

riffraff,

Welcome to the forum.  Glad to see you here.  Please come back often.

I hope your R9 problem is quickly resolved.

Mine was able to take the 147 grain rounds just fine.

Bill

[theirishguard]

riffraff, welcome from me as well. I hope your problems resolve themselves soon.
Tom

[MountainMan]

Welcome Riff

You didn't say what ammo you were using the first time out that caused the problems.

I have only used Golddots 115 and Winchester silvertips 115 - been happy with both.  I would not use the 147s but that is me.

[riffraff]

That is one of the things that has me worried.  I tried Sellier and Bellot 115gr FMJ, this is good quality ammo.  Federal 124gr FMJ(white box NATO spec.) and Black Hills 147 gr FMJ(this ammo is used by military special forces as it is subsonic/quiet in full size pistols and subguns).
If my gun would not feed any of these reliably, I am doubtful that it will feed the Speer GDHP any better but the ogive of the GDHP is a bit different than any FMJ so I will see.
I have a feeling I am going to be sending it back to the factory but I have been doing a lot of reading and I am going to try some of the suggestions and tips before I send it back.  If I can get it to fire 2 ful mags without a problem I will be confident enough to carry it.  One thing is for sure, this gun is made to carry a lot and fire a little.  This is not a gun you run two boxes of ammo thru everytime you go to the range.  It begs to be shot though.  It points beautifully, you don't get the "small auto thumb" cuts and the recoil is amazingly easy to handle.

riffraff

[theirishguard]

Riff, why not try the ammo the R- Bros suggest, instead of other ammo?
Tom

[MountainMan]

Riff - I highly agree with Tom - try a few boxes of the recommended ammo.  Gold Dots 115 or 124 - silvertips 115.

[Richard S]

Riff:

Welcome!  

Dave and Tom give good advice.  The R9 is what you might call "temperamental."  But so are fine sports cars and thoroughbred horses.  

Good luck with your "Pup."

[riffraff]

Thank You for tha ammo suggestions guys.  But lets be clear.  There are NO ammo recomendations that came with the documentation with my gun.  Or if it is in there I did not see it when I read the 2 pamplets.  I got on this forum AFTER I had problems.  The other thing is FMJ's are generally the most reliable to feed in any autoloader.  It is unusual for a gun to not feed FMJ's but to feed HP's.  I could not find any CCI Blazer HP's anywhere so I got the 115grSpeer GDHP for the next trip to the range.  And I could not find any 124gr GDHP so I got a box of the 147 GDHP. Things are busy here and it may be a couple of weeks before I can get back to the range but I will keep you posted. P.S.  I am also going to try to get a box of the Win 115gr Silvertips before I get to the range.

riffraff

[MountainMan]

Riff

All you say is absolutely true.  There is no ammo recommendations in the manual - that is too bad and Rohrbaugh would save themselves some grief if they did.  If you had not called the factory - or read this forum where the Rohrbaugh brothers have passed on their ammo recommendations through others you would not know.

It is also true that for most the autoloader the FMJ is the safe ammo.  I have a Colt that jams on anything but FMJ.  It just does not seem the cased with the R9.

On the Seecamp forum Larry Seecamp is constantly updating his ammo recommendations personally on the forum.

Maybe some day a new member will post and say - "Hi guys - this is Eric (or Carl) - the parents of the R9.  We decided to log on to answer some of your questions."  Oh well - Larry Seecamp has us spoiled.  But again the Seecamp was in production for many years before this happened.

[sslater]

riffraff,
My R9S has been pretty reliable with all the Speer GDHP loads, but I've had some issues with other premium brands as well as Winchester White Box FMJ (cheap stuff ).  
My conclusion is that the R9 feed ramp has been "tuned" for the particular shape of the GDHP (& Win SilverTip) bullets.  If you compare samples of the bullets side by side, you can see a noticeable difference in the "pointyness" of the various manufacturers' bullets.  

Speer GDHPs and CCI Blazer Brass FMJs (cheap stuff) are very consistent in overall length - at least for the rounds I've measured myself.

Getting back to your questions on the 147 gr. GDHPs - which worked fine in my particular gun - I went back to my local gun shop to pick up some more.  The owner is an older fellow who is also an old-time gunsmith.  He touted me off the 147 gr. load.  He said 124 is the classic load for 9 mm, 115 gr is okay if you are a faster-is-better type, but the 147 gr causes problems in lots of guns.  He handled my R9S and was very complimentary on the workmanship & fit of the gun.  I stripped it for him, and he was even more impressed, but said I'd probably find keyholing if I fired those 147s beyond 5 yards.  Just not enough barrel length to get the heavy bullet stabilized.
I'd also read that the Rohrbaughs purposely slowed the rate of twist to limit torquing of the little gun in the shooter's hand.  Next time I order something from Brownells I might get some cerrosafe so I can slug the barrel and measure the twist.  That's not really too high on my list of things to do.

I guess the bottom line is to feed the thing the round that is stone reliable.  A backup gun has to go bang every time you pull the trigger or you're better off carrying a one pound rock in your pocket.  And rocks are a hell of a lot cheaper.

Steve

[Michigunner]

I was able to fire 19 Ranger LEO 147 grain rounds with no problems.

At the risk of repeating earlier remarks, my R9S fired like a grand champion, until I carried it in the pocket for five months without cleaning.  Then, I had three magazines which each had a misfeed.

Now, I'm on a "clean often" kick when carrying, and plan to immediately clean before going to the range.

All I want is two perfect magazines each visit.  That's good enough for my kind of work, which is not Gun Fighter.

For what it's worth, I use Super-X 115 grains, because that's what the factory likes now.

Bill

[tracker]

Bill,
What is the reference point for the Super X 110 grain?
Is this a change from GDHP?

[Michigunner]

tracker,

One or both of the R-brothers are known to carry Super-X 115 grain Silvertips now.  That information was passed to the forum, most likely by Duane or Chris.

I remember seeing it the first time, but cannot now recall which post.

I sorta feel that Gold Dot is still recommended, but I intend to use what they use.

Bill

[theirishguard]

Over all length in a cartridge is an important measurement, thats why the FMJ have some problems, pointy bullets.
Tom