9mm grain

Question
Good evening. My question us simple: What is the 'best' choice for a 9mm carry round when speaking of the bullet grain?

I prefer fedral Hydra-Shock rounds, but there are many choices in terms of grain. To make it even tougher on me, then there is the +P and +P+ rounds added to the mix.

I have to 9mm pistols, a Beretta 92 Vertec and a Kahr P9, so keep that in mind when answering. One thing I thought of is that + loads would be fine in the Beretta, but that the polymer of the Kahr may not be able to take the beating.

Your help would be great. Thanks alot,

Jason in Rochester, NY

Answer
Jason,

You do realize that if you sent this question to five different "experts" you'd get five different answers, right?

There's two general camps when it comes to bullet weight; proponents of slow and heavy bullets and those who think light and fast is the way to go. I'm among the latter group.

I'm no math expert, but the formula for energy is mass times velocity squared. If you trade a few grains of bullet weight for a few dozen fps more velocity, you gain energy in most cases. Furthermore, the faster a hollowpoint bullet is going, the more likely it is to expand fully. As such, I tend to prefer 115-grain loads for my 9mm, although most gun shops stock a better variety of 124-grain loads than they do 115-grain. Of course, when you factor +P and +P+ loads into the mix, you can trade up to heavier bullets because you're going to get more velocity anyway due to the larger powder charge.

I'd say your Beretta could certainly handle +P loads, though I'm not as sure of the Kahr. In any event, a call to Beretta USA and Kahr Arms on the subject is a good idea before using +P loads.

Looking at a ballistics chart, the top non-(filthy) Fiocchi load is a 115-grain +P JHP from Black Hills, which generates 431 ft./lbs of energy at the muzzle. Black Hills also loads a 124-grain JHP +P load that turns in 430 ft./lbs of energy at the muzzle.

Another good load that'll let you fill your mags on the cheap is the Winchester USA (white box) 115-grain JHP, which generates 383 ft./lbs of energy at the muzzle.

Federal's 135-grain Hydra-Shok turns in 330 ft./lbs of energy at the muzzle.

My chart doesn't have any listings for +P+ loads though many makers of such loads, especially Cor-Bon, puts the velocities right on the box.

I personally load the Winchester USA 115-grain JHPs in my S&W 5903. They feed reliably and at $11 per box of 50, I'll take 30 more rounds at a good price over the 48 ft./lbs I'm giving up versus the Black Hills +P loads.

Hopefully I've been of some help, if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

Kyle