9mm Perfomance tests

[DocH]

Good day,everyone.It's another beautiful and blessed day where I am and I hope the day finds each of you healthy and prosperous and with gunshot residue all over your hands.
This begins my report on the 9mm ammo testing.Unfortunately this thread is going to be necessarilly long and rather detailed.I will post the basic figures for each load and then do a rundown on each one with my own observations and opinions.For this reason I would like to respectfully request that no one respond to the thread until it is complete.

The photos are being loaded and the post will continue later this evening and possibly into tomorrow morning.Just busy yourselves telling Friday night lies until then.

There has been a lot of hoopla and discussion of the Federal HST loads all over the internet in the last year.Because of that my original intent was to run these in comparison to the two proven Winchester ranger loads.
It turned into more than that.I happened to have a supply of several popular 9mm loads on hand,so I decided it would be interesting to test them all since I had never done so before,and to compare the results.

I tested seven popular loads that included the following: Winchester 147 gr.RA9T,Win 127gr +P+ RA9TA,Speer Gold Dot 124 gr +P,Speer Gold Dot 147 gr.,Federal 147 gr. HST,Remington 124 gr.Bonded Golden Sabre,and Remington 147 gr. Golden Sabre. I thought it would be nice to see first hand how the middle weights performed when compared to the newer 147's.

The testing included chronographing of all loads in addition to testing in wetpack for expansion and penetration characteristics.
I performed chronographing of all the loads,on two separate occasions,once using an Oehler 35 chronograph,and the second time with a little Shooting Chrony. The figures obtained on both occasions were almost identical,indicating to me that I was getting true readings.

The penetration and expansion testing was done using wetpack,which as you know,is simply stacked newsprint soaked in water for 24 hrs.and then allowed to drain for 30 minutes prior to shooting.
A couple of notes on the wetpack. This is a good and cheap(actually free)medium for testing.A lot of people use pastic jugs filled with water and stacked one behind the other for expansion testing. The problem with this is that just the plain water itself often causes the bullet to open up more than it normally would in tissue,and the pressure of the plain water can also cause the jacket to separate from the core as the water is forced between the two
in non bonded bullets,whereas separation would not normally occur in tissue for most of these loads.
Whether jacket separation is good or bad is something I cannot say for sure,but I prefer mine to stay intact,as I believe most people do,as I believe that gives the best results. I wanted to approximate as closely as possible what could be expected of these bullets in a real shoot.

There are a couple of things that are important to keep in mind when conducting and discussing wetpack tests.

1. Expansion in wetpack very closely correlates with expansion in gelatin and tissue.
2. WETPACK UNDERSTATES PENETRATION!

Because WETPACK UNDERSTATES PENETRATION, there is a generally accepted and simple formula for calculation of actual penetration.
After shooting into wetpack a dowel rod is used by inserting it into the entrance hole all the way to the base of the bullet.The rod is then marked and measured and the depth then multiplied x3,and then devided x2.
This is the method I used and calculated the penetration to the nearest 1/8th of an inch. The figures I obtained using this method corresponded extremely closely to published penetration results of the same loads in gelatin.

When chronographing the loads I measured the velocities 5 feet from the muzzle.The reason for doing this is because I wanted to determine the velocities that could be expected at close range self defense distances and not necessarily AT the muzzle. Likewise the shooting into the wetpack was also performed at 5 feet for the same reasons. We know that velocity begins to drop immediately upon the bullet exiting the barrel,and few feet farther or closer is not going to make much difference in practical terms,but again it was my desire to approximate actual performane as closely as possible in informal testing.

Measurement of the expanded bullets was done with a digital dial caliper that I purchased at Auto Zone.I then took the labelled and bagged bullets to Sgt.Perry Maynard,an evidence technician with the Floyd County Police Dept.and a true ballistician in his own right,because I am picky and a little OCD about such things. His resulting measurements corresponded so closely with mine that the minute differences were negligible,and of no importance. He's pickier than I am and I trust his findings completely.Two measurements were taken of each recovered slug at the narrowist and widest point to obtain the average expansion.

Listed below are the results of each loads performance. I will do a further rundown on each load along with photos,and my own observations,opinions,and my own personal choices,and why. I ran these loads from a Glock 19 and a Glock 26,as these are the two 9mm's that are most often carried in my own household.


Results from a 13 year old heavily used Glock 19:
__________________________________________________ ______________Win.RA9TA-Vel/Avg.1231/High 1254/Pen.12 1/4 in./ Rec.Diam.0.671
__________________________________________________ ______________
Win.RA9T 147/Vel.Avg.938/High 953/Pen.13 5/8 in./Rec. Diam.0.589
__________________________________________________ ______________
Fed.147 gr.HST/Vel.Avg.987/High 1002/Pen.11 in./Rec.Diam.0.711
__________________________________________________ _______________
Rem.124gr.+P bonded/Vel.Avg.1157/High 1164/Pen.12 1/8 in/Rec.Diam.0.595
__________________________________________________ _______________
Speer 124gr.+P Gold Dot/Vel.Avg.1205/High 1210/Pen.12 in./Rec.Diam.0.571
__________________________________________________ _______________
Rem.147gr.Golden Sabre/Vel Avg.1028/High 1044/Pen.13 1/2 in./Diam.0.6235
__________________________________________________ _______________
Speer 147gr.GD/Vel.Avg.1200/High 1205/Pen.12 in./Rec.Diam.0.5525
__________________________________________________ _______________


Below are the results from a 10 year old Glock 26:

__________________________________________________ _______________
Win.RA9TA/Vel.Avg.1226/High 1235/Pen.12 in./Rec.Diam.0.613
__________________________________________________ _______________Win.RA9T/Avg.Vel.901/High 918/Pen.13 1/2 /Rec.Diam.0.575
__________________________________________________ _______________
Fed.147gr.HST/Vel.Avg.949/High 965/Pen.10 1/2 in./Rec.Diam.0.692
__________________________________________________ _______________
Rem.124gr.+P Bonded GS/Vel.Avg.1124/High 1155/Pen.12 1/4 in/Diam.0.586
__________________________________________________ _______________
Speer 124g.+P GD/Vel.Avg.1200/High 1205/Pen.12 in/LOST BULLET
__________________________________________________ _______________
Rem.147gr.GS/Vel.Avg.1010/High 1028/Pen.13 in./Rec.Diam.0.590
__________________________________________________ _______________
Speer 147gr. Gold Dot/Vel.Avg.989/High 1025/Pen.13 in./Rec.Diam.0.574
__________________________________________________ _______________

Note on Gold Dot: The velocities on the Gold Dots were extremely consistent.
As with some other loads to be discussed later,there was hardly any varience between the G19 and the G26 with these loads.

The above are the basic figures for all the loads but there are some things that bear discussion about the performance. As I stated previously,we will do a breakdown and analysis for each load later this evening.My even be continued into Saturday. Thanks agai n for your patience.

Doc

TO BE CONTINUED

[JMusic]

Doc, I tried to get some Rangers when I bought my Kahr. All they had was the 124 GDHP's Short Barrel. I had not heard of these before. Is that what you were shooting?

Jim

[DocH]

I did not shoot the short barrel loads,just the 124gr+P.I don't think you'll see a marked difference between the two,especially from a G26.This little gun is a performer with everything!
I order my Rangers from jerry kirkpatrick in Jacksonville,Fl.Good prices and case discounts.I believe Brownie uses Jerry also.
jwkpatrick@yahoo.com

[Brownie]

Great posting of results so far Doc, really looking forward to the discussion this brings after all is sadi and done with your reporting results and the determinations from this testing.

Yes, Jerry Kirkpatrick who can be contacted here @ jwkpatrick@yahoo.com is the source of my Ranger ammo and has been for almost two years now. He's a good one to deal with, sending the ammo with tracking number and keeping you up to date via email on where you are in the system.

[DocH]

While preparing to continue with this post,I have just discovered that I accidentally transposed the figures for the 147gr. Gold Dot.The results for the G19 are posted under the G26 results and vice versa,with the exception of the recovered diameters which are in the right place.I apologize for that.
Guess I need to slow down.All others are correct.

[Brownie]

Doc,

Just go into that post and edit it would be my suggestion. That way people won't be want to misinterpret the valuable info you are providing. If you want me to take care of it, I'd be happy to do it.

[DocH]

NOW FOR THE BIG SURPRISE!
Naked medium tells us some things,but not everything.When testing bullet performance it is imperative that clothing be used to get more realistic results. I will be the first to admit that here in the south we do have some long haired,redneck chest beaters who like to run outside and confront responding officers with no shirt on.(They are usually greeted with 50,000 volts of electric persuasion )
I think we can all agree,though,that most decent and normal people,and even most indecent and abnormal people wear clothes most of the time unless they're strolling the beach or mowing the lawn.
The four layer denim test conceived by the FBI is a misunderstood thing.
The test was conceived to test hollowpoint bullets for plugging ,causing expansion failure.If anything will do that,four layers of 8 oz.denim will.
It was created for that purpose alone,simply a test of a bullet's propensity to either expand or not expand when fired into this medium.It was NOT meant to simulate heavy clothing,as some people insist. Besides,how many peolple do you know who wear four layers of denim?

Even in cold,cold climates,people wear clothing that's more warm and fuzzy and thick than denim on their upper torsos.
For this reason clothing was used in the tests,YES,each of the tested rounds was fired through wetpack which was covered with a well used T shirt(undershirt)and a flannel shirt(one of the four that I received during the 12 days of Christmas. )
This more realistically simulates clothing that is worn by most folks,and really helps to test the bullets ability to do the job. I was going to add a jacket,but didn't have one that I was willing to shoot holes through.I am very
pleased with the results of all the loads tested with the added light barrier of clothing,and I consider the performance of all of them to be superb with this added obstacle.

When the bullets were recovered from the wetpack,they were bagged and tagged by my best friend,Kate.I then took them inside and washed them with hot water and a fingernail brush,being careful not to cause any deformation of their original recovered condition.I then used a toothpick to remove any small shreds of wetpack and clothing that remained under the jacket petals or "talons." At that point the original measurements were taken of the recovered diameters.


TO BE CONTINUED

[DocH]

Brownie,if you could do that and don't mind,I'd appreciate it I have a small mountain of info I'm dealing with right now.Thanks!

[Brownie]

No problem at all Doc

Edited to add: The post now reflects the correct information for the g19 and g26 147 GD's

[DocH]

Following are photos of the bullets.