I've really been getting into the 9x39 the last couple of months and have gotten some really nice loads for it so far.
A few positives about the 9x39. For starters, it kicks 300 blk's rump where penetration is concerned.
Resists wind gusts better.
And has longer effective range.
And is more quiet out of the box even with wolf factory ammo.
Making it run with fast burning powders makes it even more quiet. Lets' face it, I thought blk sounded more like garbage can lids banging together with Federal 220 gr suppressor ammo and I was NOT impressed and expected so much more from all the hype you saw about it.
Several companies are going to be releasing 9x39 products soon from bullets to mags. Probably around shotshow 2020 if I were guessing, but one of the bullets that I am testing has shown more than 1 inch of expansion at 50 yards into water, and starting out with low 790 fps muzzle velocity while I was trying to find the floor of where it would start expansion. Needless to say, I didn't feel the need to shoot any more of them even slower. And even that low, they were stable and accurate despite a couple inches drop in POA which should be expected.
No, those bullets surely won't be cheap plinking ammo. Nor would I expect them to be. That's not what they're for. If you want cheap plinking ammo, buy a 10/22
I've been shooting a lot of the speer 270 gr hotcor soft points. They're $15/50 at midway right now. About 8.2 gr of titegroup sips the powder. And most of us already have a box of large rifle primers in the cabinet.
Haters gonna hate I guess.