What Ammo for 9mm Kimber?

[Ken Rainey]

Hello, I've got a 9mm full size Kimber with fixed sights headed my way and was wondering if anyone here has one and what kind/type of ammo they have found that is the most accurate and reliable or what recipe they use to roll their own ... any info appreciated .... Ken

 

[loop]

If you reload, follow your normal methodology to find the best overall load.

If you don't reload then buy a wide variety of ammo and stick with what works best for you.

What works best out of one gun may suck out of another of the same make and model. Any recommendations you may get on other people's weapons is worthless in terms of figuring out what will work best for you in your gun.

That said, I like 147-grain Golden Sabers over an undisclosed amount of Unique powder. The bullets are kind of pricey, but they are incredibly accurate and expand reliably in a nice pattern. (They don't expand reliably under 930 FPS.)

 

[Racinbob]

Personally, my favorite 9mm load is 4.7 grains of Bullseye behind a 115 plated round nose. I only load for target. I only have the Bullseye and some 231 but for whatever reason I just like the Bullseye better in my SR9. I use the 231 for my wheel guns.

 

[rbernie]

I shoot just about ANYTHING thru my 9mm Kimbers and so far it's all worked just fine. My favorite plinkin' load for my 9mms is 4gr of Unique under a 125gr cast RN.

 

[Ken Rainey]

Thanks Racinbob and rbernie...Bullseye is my favorite powder for my .45 loads and I was hoping to hear of some loads using it....I've got some 115 JHPs and also a good supply of 125 LRN that I can use....thanks fellas....

Keep it comin' !

 

[Boba Fett]

What application are you going to use the ammo for? Plinking or defense?


+1 for reloading

 

[Ken Rainey]

Boba Fett, all of my pistols have to be able to do defensive duty as in be reliable and able to hit poa with a good load... This pistol's intended mission is to share training/target/bullseye duty with my .45 Kimber if possible... My .45 will put my handloaded 200 SWCs exactly where I want'em (as it will with some factory ammo - it just cost more!) and I was hoping for the same with this pistol but with less cost involved, especially with factory ammo....also, I figured that the 5 inch barrel would help with the velocity which would help the HP ammo open up when used. I'd be pleased as can be with a good accurate load using a 125 rnl bullet on top of whatever charge of Bullseye powder would make it that way... But knowing what factory ammo works great as far as function and accuracy goes would give me an idea of which direction to lean in when using factory loads...so any info from 5 inch 1911 (especially Kimber) shooters would be much appreciated....thanks for your help...

 

[SCKimberFan]

What Ammo for 9mm Kimber?

I'm thinking.... 9 mm

 

[Ken Rainey]

Anyone else....c'mon, I know there's some 1911 9mm shooter's around here somewhere !??

 

[Elvishead]

GDHP feed good

 

[Ken Rainey]

Range Report

Well, the rain finally let up and I got a chance to get to the range...I'd already disassembled and inspected the "new" 9mm Kimber Stainless II paying particular attention to the extractor's tension and the slide stop's engagement with all of the magazines as well as removing the recoil assembly and push feeding some rds thru it. I also put a GI type recoil spring guide rod and plug in place of the full length one, numbered the magazines and properly lubricated everything...

I ran a few Blazer aluminum 115s, UMC 124s, Fiocchi 124 TCs, Speer Lawman 147s, WWB 147s, Ranger T 147s, Ranger T 115 +P+s, but for some reason I forgot to try the Ranger T 127 +P+s, although I'm pretty sure they'll run just fine...anyway, this pistol does NOT like a 147 FMJ bullet...it consistently left an empty cartridge in the chamber and tried to feed another on top of it...I'm guessing the empty couldn't get out due to the nose profile of the next bullet in line ??? I didn't try the UMC 147s I had due to not wanting to potentially stress the extractor any more...I may get brave and try a few of them later on just to see if they'll run, but I don't have high hopes for'em. The 147 Ranger T HPs ran fine for the limited number of shots I tried - also, the original owner said he had fired 25 rds of 147 Gold Dots without problems....everything else ran fine. I only loaded three rds per magazine during this "testing" phase ...

My first three shots was from the 10 yd line with the Blazer 115 FMJs and produced a cloverleaf in the X ring making me a happy faced new pistol owner....

The Fiocchi 124 Truncated Cone FMJs didn't make a good groups past 15 yds, which was disappointing, being beat out by the "cheaper" UMC 124s...

I had hoped for better functioning with the 147 FMJs as their accuracy was good, but it just didn't happen...and even though it has ran fine on the 147 HPs so far, it does make me wonder if it'll lock up with them as well sometime.... ...

I've got a lot of 123 and 125 grain lead round nose and truncated round nose bullets as well as some 115 JHPs to load...so, if any of you have a favorite recipe , especially using Bullseye powder, I'd appreciate the info...also, I'd like to know what has been your most accurate factory loads....

Yep, I'm pleased with the pistol...nary a hiccup at all that wasn't the ammo's fault...BTW, the owner's manual does recommend round nosed ammunition as this is a 1911 style pistol...sigh... ... Also, the factory mag as well as the MetalForm "Springfield" type mags functioned perfectly. The original owner had put 100 blazer brass 115 FMJs as well as the 25 Gold Dot 147s without incident and my "check for function and accuracy" shooting added just 56 more rds for a total of 181 rds so far...yep, I think this one is good to go with no worries of it needing to be shot a lot to "break it in" .. ..

Keep those ammo suggestions coming....

 

[Just One Shot]

At this point..............


























whatever you can find!

 

[Ken Rainey]

Update...I got back to the range and low and behold, the Speer 147 FMJs ran without a hitch this time, only one failed to extract last trip. Also, I tried the UMC 147 FMJs this time and also only had one fail to extract. The WWB 147 FMJs failed to extract every shot this trip - they won't be tried again...sad, because I have a lot of them on hand ...

Ranger T 147s and 115 +P+s ran fine as did some WWB 147 HPs. The WWB 147 FMJs have the longest OAL and the UMCs the shortest, all of them have slightly different nose profiles with the UMCs being the most blunt and the Speer Lawman 147s the most pointed. I'm guessing that the OAL is critical in this pistol with a 147 FMJ. I'd really like to be able to pick up a factory loaded 147 FMJ and know it would run 100% but it don't look like it's gonna happen with this pistol...

Maybe a handloaded lead or jacketed 147 can be built that'll run in it ... BUT, since I've got lead 124s on hand, that'll be what gets the first try ... any more recipes for handloads using Bullseye powder (or any other powder) are welcomed ... as are any favorite factory loads ...

Something I've noticed that I really like about this pistol is that the point of impact with different ammunition is not as varied as it is with my Glock 17s or even my Browning Hi Powers. My Glocks and Brownings seem to prefer 124 weight bullets over all others for best accuracy and POA/POI, but this Kimber will stay close to POA with everything I've tried so far ...

 

[Elvishead]

About Ken Rainey
Biography
White male, Christian
Location
Ripley, MS
Interests
Handguns and Harleys
Occupation
FFL Dealer, Glock Armorer, LE Firearms Instructor
What I do for the RKBA and other civil liberties
Life member of the NRA - explain the truth about guns to unknowledgeable people.

Ken Rainey Hello, I've got a 9mm full size Kimber with fixed sights headed my way and was wondering if anyone here has one and what kind/type of ammo they have found that is the most accurate and reliable or what recipe they use to roll their own ... any info appreciated .... Ken

Why would somebody with your background ask trivial questions?

 

[Ken Rainey]

Trivial questions? How so Elvishead? Yep, I've been around a lot of pistols and instructed with different types on the range but they were mostly da, or da/sa "law enforcement" type handguns shooting a "law enforcement" course of fire. I've owned .45 caliber 1911s for years and taught with them as well, but I've never owned a 9mm 1911 and was wondering about other peoples ammo experience with this type of pistol....

I'm always interested in peoples experience with different ammunition in handguns, particularly ones that are like what I own....

So, have you got any experience with one of these you'd like to share or have you found any particular type or recipe of ammo that shoots the most accurate in one?

 

[rkamp]

After trying several 1911 9mm's I settled on the Kimber stainless II as my primary sidearm. It is accurate and reliable with Metlform "ramped" magazines.

For practice I use any 115gr fmj I can get my hands on. I bought a couple of cases of 124gr jhp Gold Dot +P a year ago for defense. I also have used the Winchester 127gr jhp +P+ with no problems. No experience with the 147gr. For my purposes I stick with the 115/124 grainers.

After all my buying and trading over the years I am down to two pistolas both 1911's.The 1911 in 9mm is a very practical combination for defensive purposes. When I need more power for hunting I use my Delta Elite.

 

[Ken Rainey]

Yep, rkamp that's it....I got several of the Metalform magazines as well, but the factory mag is running fine too. Glad to hear yours is runnin' good ...

 

[ROBBY.1911]

try rrarms.com for silver bear in 115 jhp and 145 jhp. they may be out right now, but for around $6 a box of fifty it's something to check on. you can leave your email address and they will notify you.

 

[Ken Rainey]

ROBBY.1911, Have you used any of it in a 9mm 1911 or any other 9mm pistol? How'd it run?

 

[Elvishead]

Ken Rainey:

Trivial questions?

So, have you got any experience with one of these you'd like to share or have you found any particular type or recipe of ammo that shoots the most accurate in one?

I have a K.I.S.S. system, I have just a few caliber's in my arsenal, 9mm, .357cals (.38s), and 22lr (I don't really count the Tok/7.62x25).

As far as 9mm goes, it seems I always shoot the hotter 9mm's better. I love the GDHP 124g +P but I'm getting low on them to the point I'm not shooting them as much. And I like Fiocchi 115g FMJ, but I always go to the range after a night off of work if ya know what I mean. So I just show up alive. Also I have some Fiocchi +P+ 115g those are really great.

But that's just from my experience.