Which 9mm shoots the hottest ammunition?

[Southern Shooter]

Excluding personal preferences/opinions... Which 9mm semi-auto pistol would you choose based on 2 factors only (1) reliability with a widest range of ammo and (2) the ability to shoot large numbers of the hottest known 9mm ammo without significant wear? I am not concerned with refinements, quality of trigger pull, brand etc.

 

[P95Carry]

Well - I know many folks look down on Ruger but my P95 will digest any and all hot stuff with no hiccups!

My SIG 226 also will accept all I give it and that is stoked with +P GD's for carry.

Some older guns - instance BHP - were designed for mil/NATO ammo and so in fact, with the trend to downgrade ammo these days - are effectively OK for +P, as mil stuff is/was notoriously hot very often.

I daresay too a G19 or G17 will pretty much take any hot stuff too - with barely a whisper of complaint! I say that too as a non-Glocker!!!

 

[Jake]

Maybe a Ruger P-89. Those things are built like tanks.

 

[Johnny Guest]

As to tolerance of high pressure loads - -

I'd vote for the HK P9, the P7 (??), or the CZ52, converted to 9x19.

This might be a good time to state: I have NO experience loading any of thewse pistols up hot. It just stands to readon that the roller locked action should handle the pressures well. Stays locked until the pressure drops off.

Of course, I'm wiling to be proven wrong - - Just going by what seems logical.

It further stands to reason that the roller locked types will also handle the lightest loads - - Again, because the locking force is only applied so long as it is needed.

As it happens, my personal favorite 9mms are none of the above - - I prefer the Browning P35, the Glock 19, and the older S&W M39s.

Best,
Johnny

 

[greg531mi]

Try the Star Model 30, steel throughout, weighs a ton, standard firearm of the Spanish Military, and is NATO spec. Anything full size, fully supported chamber, and steel throughout, will probally outlast and shoot than any tupperware or alumium frame....A friend's Glock 19, couldn't handle my hot reloads, and they were under maxium!!!!

 

[antsi]

Just a guess, but I would imagine that a 1911 chambered in 9mm could handle hot loads. The same gun can be chambered for 10mm, so it ought to be able to handle any reasonable 9mm load.

As for reliability, you may be asking for contradictions. If a gun was set up for hot loads, it might not cycle as reliably with light loads.

 

[Morgan]

The HK USP, with its double spring recoil buffer, can run the hottest ammo without issue.

Since it has the buffer spring to reduce felt recoil and battering, the main recoil spring is lighter than it would have to be without the buffer, allowing it to cycle properly with very light loads as well.

Case in point - my USP9 has run thousands of rounds of 124gr +p without damage or problem, and will cycle cheap gunshow reloads (I know, I know...) that a Glock 17 will not eject due to them being underpowered.

 

[model 649]

Any 3rd gen. S&W. Tanks.
Josh

 

[CAnnoneer]

Ruger wrote in my KP89's manual that it can handle ANY factory 9mm!

Nough said

 

[denfoote]

Ruger states emphatically in their manual (This is the P95. The P89 has similar wording.) that:

The Ruger P-Series pistols are compatible with all factory ammunition loaded
to U.S. Industry Standards, including high-velocity and hollow-point loads,
loaded in brass, aluminum, or steel cartridge cases. No 9mm x 19 ammunition
manufactured in accordance with NATO, U.S., SAAMI, or CIP standards is known
to be beyond the design limits or known not to function in these pistols.

Ruger is the only maker that makes this statement as far as I know!!

That's why I have a P95, P89, and a P97!!!!

 

[PO2Hammer]

The Ruger and the S&W are tough pistols to be sure, but my money would be on an H&K USP 9mm. They are very heavy duty .40's to start with and they come as close to full case head support as I've seen.
My 1911 9mm does not handle +P 9mm well.
Shooting Corbon 115 +P jhp's, I got four pierced primers and four completly flattened primers in my one and only mag of them.
They shot very well in my Glock 17L though, which would be my second choice for tough 9mm's.

 

[Chuck Perry]

Glock 17. Avoid hot rounds in the BHP; for an all steel gun it is somewhat fragile, +P are ok for very limited use, +P+ are to be avoided all together. I learned this the hard way after first purchasing a new BHP and then doing my research Berettas and SIGS both run aluminum frames, so they would not be my first picks for extended heavy load use. Some of the CZ's come in steel frames, perhaps they might be ok?

 

[gc70]

Most of the usual suspects have been mentioned, but my vote in the modern categoy goes to the all-steel Sig P226ST.

In the historic category, the "widest range of ammo" and "hottest 9mm" nod would probably go to the Astra 400 in 9mm Largo (125 gr. @ 1,450 fps).

 

[jeff-10]

Another nod here for the P226ST and Ruger P89. I would imagine they can handle the hottest rounds.

 

[Crosshair]

The Hi-Point Carbine is rated for +P+.

 

[jlh26oo]

hah. nm you specified auto. but a revolver is the answer to the problem of reliability and hot loads as your only two criteria.

 

[Sunray]

How hot the ammo is doesn't matter if said ammo isn't accurate in a given pistol. Accuracy is far more important. However, any pistol will handle the hottest ammo by just changing the recoil spring. My Inglis High Power handles the .41AE with no fuss. Heavier recoil spring.
http://www.gunsprings.com/1ndex.html

 

[atblis]

Cz52

Didn't Clark have some interesting results with the CZ52? People are always making the statement that the CZ52s are extremely strong with no explanation/science/proof given. My experience with them has been that they are an utter piece of crap (but at 99 bucks they are amusing).

My vote goes to the G17 (I Wouldn't feel bad about blowing one up).

 

[10-Ring]

As per the HK USP manual, the pistol is rated to shoot +P+ ammo

 

[atblis]

Forgot about HK

Actually anything with a correctly made polymer frame should hold up nicely.

 

[Kestrel]

I learned this the hard way after first purchasing a new BHP and then doing my research

Chuck,

I'm curious - did you find out by shooting a lot of +P ammo in your BHP or by reading reports about it?

Just curious.

Thanks.

 

[nero45acp]

SIG P226ST



nero

 

[Chuck Perry]

kestrel,
By reading, thankfully. The BHP was nice, but I purchased it thinking that it was a steel frame 9 that could handle anything I could stuff into it. The general consensus is that although made of steel, the frame is too thin to take much abuse. The use of shock buffers will help, and possibly negate this. However at $8-10 per buffer, which should be changed every thousand rounds, I just moved on. I like my 1911's better anyways.

 

[Tman]

STI Trojan 5.0 in 9mm shoots like a 22lr. I actually like shooting +P better out of it since it gives a little more recoil (the regular 9mm cycles the slide somewhat slowly).

 

[mete]

The HK USP was first designed for the 40 ,then converted to the 9mm. Just the opposite of most guns. The USP will take it !!