Posted: 4/10/2006 9:50:51 PM EDT
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Sorry I know its been on here many times but I could not find it.. So I bought my wife a Kahr PM9 this weekend, now what ammo does she keep in it? I carry 180g Federal HST in my USPc 40, and will be putting Federal HST in her new Kahr just not sure on what grain 124 or 147. Any input on which one and why? Thanks ahead of time.. Terry |
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The best thing to do is have her try several different weight bullets and see what she shoots best. The 147's might recoil more than 124gr. I carry 127gr +p+ Winchester Ranger T's, but something like this may be too snappy for her. A good 115gr +p is always a good performer, and easy to handle. I prefer lighter, faster loads myself.....127+p+ in 9mm, and 165gr in .40. |
| In a short barrel like the PM9 has, the 147gr loads don't get much velocity going, and don't expand much . I believe the 124gr +P loads are best in the 3"-3.5" barrels (they perform like standard velocity 124 gr loads fired from a full length barrel). I use Speer Gold Dot SB 124 gr +P in my PM9. |
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Actually, most of the good 147gr loads will perform fine from a 3" barrel, they dont lose much, if any veloctiy compared to the same load fired in a 4" or 5" barrel. The difference is usually less than 50fps. Lighter bullet loads need more powder than the 147's, less powder in the 147's means it needs less barrel to burn that powder. I like 147gr Ranger T, but the HST looks good, and Gold Dots are good as well. That said, the 124gr +P Gold Dot or 127gr +P+ Ranger-T would likely perform well in the Khar also. I'm not sure the Khar is going to handle a lot of +P+ loads though. My picks: 124gr Gold Dot (+P or the short barrel stuff) or 147gr Ranger T |
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Why don’t you have your wife shoot both and pick the ones she's most comfortable shooting. Decisions on ammunition should never be made on the internet. Every firearms is going to launch bullets differently, what is accurate in mine may not be in yours, I like full powered loads, the wife doesn’t. Not trying to bust anyones bubble here but she should fire multiple rounds (from diffrent manufacturers) and decide what she and the gun likes. Then let her shoot a whole bunch of them :). |
Originally posted by Dr. Gary Roberts on tacticalforums: In our testing, the following currently produced 9 mm JHP’s offered acceptable terminal performance: Triton 115 gr +P JHP (TR9HVA) Fed 124 gr JHP (LE9T1) Speer 124 gr +P JHP (53617) Win 124 gr JHP (RA91P) Win 127 gr +P+ JHP (RA9TA) Fed 135 gr +P JHP (LE9T5) Rem 147 gr JHP (GS9MMC) Speer 147 gr JHP (53619) Win 147 gr JHP (RA9T) FWIW, the 147 gr Winchester RA9T remains the best performing 9mm load we have tested. |
| This link has a few caliber comparison charts. Scroll down to the 9mm one. |
This is what I carry in my HK USP Compact 9mm. Golden Sabers in 147gn: 
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From what I have read the 147 dont perform as well in real world shootings as the lighter. They over penatrate. I will look for the article when I get home. The article says yes they look good in gel but on the street you cant beat the 124-127 grain. FWIW  ETA: I cant find the article.......The only thing I know is that the 147's that I have tested didnt expand as large as the 124 +p GD bullets. This is not an accurate statement though because the 147's were of a diffrent brand. Use whatever you feel comfortable with. |
Thank you. If you look how much velocity is lost in 124 gr in a short barrel vs. the 147 gr., the 147 gr. hardly loses anything. I carry 147 gr. Gold Dots in my Kahr PM9. They perform well and most importantly, I am accurate with them. The Kahr PM9 w/ 124 gr.+P print all over the place for me. Lots more flash too. |
And that article would be nothing shrt of pure Bullshit |
Gun Rag mantra and dogma 
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Sigh.... Agreed! 
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because it's the damage done not the energy, the 147gr will go deeper which insures a vital hit. Damage done buy the width of the round will be the same, the temp cavity has been shown to have little effect |
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Read this : www.abaris.net/info/ballistics/handgun-stopping-power.htm Lighter bullets are the best man stoppers for 9mm. |
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"one shot stops" are pure utter bullshit. That said, the 147gr HST works fine in shot barrels. I've chrono'd 147gr HST out of my G17 and G26. The G26 loses 50fps, which is nothing to worry about. Also have shot 147gr HST into wet phone books from my G26, and the HST expanded just fine. |
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Even if the one-shot stop statistics hold any water, they only take into account folks who hit their target. Not the ones who missed because they're shooting a round they can't control. I think a table of one-shot HITS, would be more appropriate. Also, what kind of gun they used. |
HoodyHoo21, MuRDoC is 100% correct. A great read is MacPherson's book to better understand why heavier is better:  www.firearmstactical.com/bulletpenetration.htm But gel testing with 124 +P shows that it performs basically just as well.
No flame, but that link you posted is pure garbage. The 'lighter/fast' bullet theory is dated and has been debunked.
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Great load. It's all I ever carried when my G19 was my CCW. I bumped up to .40 with an HK USPc and now 165gr Golden Sabers are my new load of choice |
this is from 1997  , 9mm ammo is waaay better now. the 147g ranger is the best in the business. RANGER® 9mm "T" SERIES · (RA9T) - 5 SHOT AVERAGE Bare Gelatin 4 Layer Denim Heavy Cloth Wallboard Plywood Steel Autoglass Penetration (inches) 13.8 15.7 15.6 14.2 14.8 19.6 14.3 Retained Weight 98.0% 100% 98.0% 100% 100% 100% 81.0% Instrumented Velocity (fps) 1016 898 1024 1026 1021 1022 1019 Expansion (inches) 0.66 0.66 0.65 0.63 0.63 0.44 0.49 |