9mm bullets, 115 or 124gr??

I USE BOTH. BUT I REALLY LIKE THE 124 GR TRUNCATED CONE FROM RMR. GOOD QUALITY GREAT PRICE. JP

Ditto on the 124gr.
I really love the RMR 124s with the BE86 that many recommend

Mostly 124/125 gr here. I'm not sure how much it helps me in accuracy, but I've had decent loads with an assortment of cast, plated, and jacketed.

I just recently got 1k of 147 gr. to try out.

IMO, there's really only 3 reasons to fool with 115's: 1) you are going to drive them very fast and want to generate enough gas to run a compensator; 2) you have an oddball gun that has sights regulated for 115's or just happens to love them in terms of accuracy (rare); or 3) you are going to make really soft, sub-minor ammo that won't even cycle a gun without going to a 6 or 8 lb recoil spring.

Other than those, the question is 124, 135, or 147.

For range ammo, there is little difference. I use mostly 115, but I'll buy 125 if they're on sale.

I like 115 for SD/HD

Walkalong said:

3rd was cost, I always bought them because they were cheaper and I was a poor young lad, but then one day I discovered 124s and never looked back.

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Or you're frugal and you buy the cheapest crap ammo you can find.

I do this as a source of brass. I figure if I can pick up a box of ammo, shoot it and then reload it the shooting part really is a bonus.

Mostly 124s. Mostly drawn by the ability to handload 124plateds (for practice) that mirror the performance of my SD/HD 124gr GoldDot handloads.

I do, however, still have a PILE of 115gr LSWC (that I got cheap from the real Wideners years ago) that I use periodically for rolling plinking loads. Also, a 1k sack of 115gr FMJ bullets that I got somewhere long ago and haven't yet opened.

Recently, I have started thinking about working up a lower-pulse, subsonic load using my old supply of 147gr Xtreme heavy-plate.

147's (and, to a lesser extent, 135's) are pretty popular among people shooting games with power factor (PF) requirements in the 120-130 range. You can put a tiny charge of fast powder under the bullets and make PF with a softer feel and objectively less recoil than if you drive the 124's or certainly the 115's hard enough to make PF. Some people don't like that soft feel because they perceive the gun as being "sluggish" in cycling, but a lot of people find they can hold the gun flatter with minor PF 147's than with 124's. And nobody but rank n00bs uses 115's for minor PF in uncompensated guns... they're just needlessly blasty and bounce the gun around too much.

ETA: Per the USPSA's Nationals equipment survey, people shooting in production division (where basically everyone is shooting uncompensated 9mm's), 147 grains was the most popular weight (40%), with another 14% reporting 150 grains (basically the same thing). Together, you've got 54% of the field shooting the "heavy" stuff. 124 is the next most common, at 31%. When I say "nobody" shoots 115 grains, perhaps I am slighting the 6% of shooters who used it. But not by much!

I also load only 124/125be bullets in the 9mm. They just shoot better and are more accurate for me most times.

I also miss "the real Wideners" for sure. I especially miss the 150gr .308" surplus bullets!

I like 147s for Minor in USPSA and IDPA. My only application for 115s is self defense - I don't want to have to go to the trouble and expense to get comfortable with a different load - and the longer shots in GSSF because the guns are sighted for light bullets.

Between 115 and 124, I would use 124s. Standard loads are subsonic and less harsh to shoot.

I do hear and read a lot of people who use 115 gr 9mm strictly because they cost less.

I use Blue Bullet 124 RN for target shooting and do quite well, if I do say so myself.

I’d rather have the extra mass if ever I really need it.

Most of my 9mm prefer the 124s over the 115s. 124s seem to shoot to POA, 115s seem to shoot low

either or, I buy whatever is on sale. Or at least I use to. before the Cabela's buy-out they would regularly have very nice sales on either Barry's or Xtreme and the store was close enough I could just drive there and get them. Or at that same time frame Xtreme regularly held sales or free shipping.

Finally to the point I'm going to need more so I don't know how I'm proceed.

George P said:

Most of my 9mm prefer the 124s over the 115s. 124s seem to shoot to POA, 115s seem to shoot low

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That is similar to .38 Special revolvers when shooting 125gr and 158gr bullets. The manufacturer has to sight their guns for a chosen bullet weight, the 124gr bullet seems to be for the 9mm and the 158gr bullet for the .38 Special.

kmw1954 said:

Finally to the point I'm going to need more so I don't know how I'm proceed.

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I recently bought 124gr coated bullets from Missouri Bullets for the 9mm and was very surprised how well they held up in the 9mm. I intentionally pushed them to the highest velocities I could safely generate using Longshot and none of the bullets failed. There was no lead in the barrel at all. The chrono tells me all 20 rounds were over 1,200fps. http://missouribullet.com

I also tested them in a Glock 19 and they fired fine. It seems coated bullets are a good substitute for plated bullets.

If you want FMJ or other jacketed bullets give RMR a try. There are several threads going right now about their Match Winner bullets and their MPR bullets too. https://www.rmrbullets.com

Shoot .40 or .41 or .44(.429) or .45 projectiles for a while. Get used to buying those. Come back to 9mm and you'll giggle at the notion that 124's or 147's are somehow "expensive." It's all crazy cheap compared to the other calibers!

ATLDave said:

Shoot .40 or .41 or .44(.429) or .45 projectiles for a while. Get used to buying those. Come back to 9mm and you'll giggle at the notion that 124's or 147's are somehow "expensive." It's all crazy cheap compared to the other calibers!

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Rule3 said:

What weight do most folks shoot?

This is not a Brand question, nor a cast vs plated, FMJ issue.

115gr or 124gr??

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Compared to 45ACP/40S&W bullets with longer bullet base (bearing surface that engages and rides the rifling), 9mm bullets with shorter bullet base suffer from neck tension issue and benefit from longer bullet base.

This is why many lead/coated lead bullet manufacturers moved away from longer pointed nose profile with short "stepped" base to shorter rounder nose profile which increased bullet base length. As to plated/jacketed bullets, FP/JHP bullets are popular with match shooters as shorter FP nose increased the bullet base length. Some manufacturers like Federal/Berry's even make deep hollow base bullets which increased the bullet base length.

So 124 gr bullet will generally have longer bullet base than 115 gr and if all things were same (type, nose profile, etc.), 124 gr bullet "should" produce greater accuracy.

Exception to this is powder and charge used.

I generally need to push 115 gr bullets harder (high to near max load data) to reliably cycle the slides and produce accuracy. But with 124 gr bullet, I can get reliable slide cycling at mid range load data along with accuracy. So if mid-range load data was used with some 124 gr bullets with "average" accuracy, near max load data used with some 115 gr bullets with "optimal" accuracy could produce smaller groups.

Rule3 said:

115gr or 124gr??

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Just pick one....it doesn't matter for plinking.

Rule3 said:

I would order some RMR but am waiting to see what the BIG News will be.

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You better order some now because once the big news hit, there may not be any bullets left for us to buy as I anticipate many match shooters will be buying up RMR bullets afterwards.

Rule3 said:

So what I am read is just stay with 124 grain.

I am not a "match" shooter so good bullets are good enough .I just don't used plated.

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If you just need reliable slide functioning load that is accurate enough, 124 gr bullets can do that with mid range load data. With 115 gr bullets, you many need to push above high range load data so 124 gr bullets will give you more flexibility in loads.