[P226Navy]

If I buy the same brand name of ammo from the same manufacturer and shoot all three projectile weights in my P365, which will have the most felt recoil ? Some things I've been reading would lead me to believe the 124 grain would have less felt recoil than the 115 grain.

EDIT: To clarify... 9mm CCI Blazer Ammunition 115 grain, 124 grain , 147 grain

I have a small frame single stack that I broke in with cheap 115 grain ball ammo. I bought 147 grain JHP for carry and of course shot some to see if it produced more felt recoil and did it change the group. What I found is that it did not produce a noticeable felt recoil increase. My groups were a bit higher at 25 feet. (maybe 1 inch) however I shot tighter group with the 147s.

 

[Doug DeGraves]

When I first got interested in 9mm pistols I wondered about the same thing, but since I got my practice ammo at Walmart because of the price I shot 115 Federal aluminum. Now that Walmart is no longer selling pistol ammo I did some tests with the three weights, 115, 124 and 147. I used a SIG Legion SAO 9mm and a P225A1. With very careful shooting from a rest with the Legion, I noticed a very slight difference in the point of impact, but at self defense distances, negligible. I didn't really notice any difference in recoil either.

In the P225A1, maybe I could fell the difference, just maybe. Handheld, maybe just a little more difference in the point of impact. I tried mixing them up in the same magazine and could not tell the difference, until after a while I could, by the sound...

I had planned to standardize on one brand for both practice and self defense and I tried a lot of stuff. Winchester 147 Train and Defend is good stuff in my pistols, so is the SIG 365 115, they both shoot exactly the same. But since I buy whenever I see a good deal on good ammo, my standardization went out the window. And the way I shoot, it makes little difference. My 2 cents...

 

[steveac7531]

Heavier bullets 147 usually feel softer shooting due to a lower powder charge. I shoot 147g tcfp over 3.3 g of titegroup. Very soft shooting and will put 5 rounds into 3/4” in the ransom rest .

 

[Chuckbuck]

First of all I would Never Use CCI Blazer ammo in any gun that I own.
Not even a Revolver. I made that mistake 25 years ago.

Is this suppose to be “helpful” or does it have anything to do with the OP?
Curious ...

 

[Bourget117]

Blazer Aluminum is my favorite practice ammo, ever. What issue do you have with it?

As far as the 365, if you are looking for defense ammo, look no further than the Federal 150 HST Micro. They shoot softly, come in under 900 fps, penetrate 15" - 17" through denim, and expand to nearly 3/4" . After reading all the online tests, and testing for myself, that is the ONLY ammo that will be in my wife's G43.

Edit: I used to wonder if the 150 was just a repackaged 147, but they are some subtle differences. Both in appearance and performance.

147 HST - 1.1210"
150 HST - 1.1250"

I wonder what would happen if you use the 150 in a longer barrel. Say maybe a p226 instead of a small pocket gun for which it was intended for.

 

[steveac7531]

Typically a
Heavier bullet = less powder = less recoil.
Also I have ransom rest tested all of my P320 9mm and all have shot tighter groups at 25 yards with 147 g bullets.

 

[M-18]

147 grain have proven the most accurate and the most comfortable for me to shoot. It's only been fairly recent that the 147 grain became a reliable expander. Today my go to EDC is the Federal HST 147 +P.

 

[Cleveland B]

I went through the same exact thing you are talking about. It wasn’t until someone told me and I listened to their advice that I figured it out FOR ME. I bought 50 rounds of each and lined em up. I think i used a P320, and a P229 and then later used a P938. 147 grain range and SD ammo came out on top for me. It feels softer and more accurate. In the P938 115 grain gave me problems with feeding. So 90% of what I run is 147 grain unless I see a sweet deal in 124 grain.

All that being said I am most accurate with my P229 in 357 sig. That thing is a flame thrower out of the muzzle and there is nothing soft about that recoil.

Go buy yourself a bunch ammo and figure it out. It will be worth it. Good luck.

 

[dpadams6]

I went through the same exact thing you are talking about. It wasn’t until someone told me and I listened to their advice that I figured it out FOR ME. I bought 50 rounds of each and lined em up. I think i used a P320, and a P229 and then later used a P938. 147 grain range and SD ammo came out on top for me. It feels softer and more accurate. In the P938 115 grain gave me problems with feeding. So 90% of what I run is 147 grain unless I see a sweet deal in 124 grain.

All that being said I am most accurate with my P229 in 357 sig. That thing is a flame thrower out of the muzzle and there is nothing soft about that recoil.

Go buy yourself a bunch ammo and figure it out. It will be worth it. Good luck.

I think the 226/229 tame the 357sig very well. It's like a 9mm in a polymer framed pistol.

 

[EMcx3]

The OP asked no question about which brand of ammo anyone thought was good or bad. He asked a question about which weight is likely to have less felt recoil.

Typically both 115 grain and 124 grain 9mm rounds produce about 360 ft-lbs of energy. I even have some 90 grain zinc rounds that are listed at 351 ft-lbs of energy. This certainly doesn't go for every ammo but is typical of the 9mm I see for sale.

Typically 147 grain rounds produce about 330 ft-lbs of energy. This is about 8% less energy of the 115/124g rounds.

To me the 147g rounds do have slightly less felt recoil. Whether a person will feel the difference depends on the person the, the weapon etc.

In contrast, Sigs 365 ammo is a 115g bullet and listed at 290 ft-lbs of energy and there is a noticeable difference in felt recoil. So much so that my PPQ Q4 doesn't always cycle this ammo unless I focus on a very firm grip.

 

[gsmith737]

I agree felt recoil depends on the person. To me, the 147 gr fells softer on all my pistols.

 

[sigsrok]

All of my 9mm guns eat 124 grain ammo....

 

[ibshane]

Yes!

 

[steveac7531]

All my 9mm p320s eat everything as well. They just all shoot tighter groups in the ransom rest loaded with 147s and produce less recoil due to less powder. It’s your choice though.

 

[Kerneldrop]

If I buy the same brand name of ammo from the same manufacturer and shoot all three projectile weights in my P365, which will have the most felt recoil ? Some things I've been reading would lead me to believe the 124 grain would have less felt recoil than the 115 grain.

EDIT: To clarify... 9mm CCI Blazer Ammunition 115 grain, 124 grain , 147 grain

In case the above posts didn’t clearly answer your question:

All things being equal, lighter weight bullets have less recoil. Physics proves this.

smaller caliber bullets recoil less than larger caliber bullets. Physics also proves this.

pocket pistols like the 365 will have more felt recoil than a Sig P229. Your hand will prove this.

Hold a high defensive grip, elbows out not down, and squeeze that bang lever. Recoil control is technique

Think of recoil as pressure. It takes less pressure to move 115gr than it does 124gr. Less pressure = less recoil.

 

[SigMHS]

If I buy the same brand name of ammo from the same manufacturer and shoot all three projectile weights in my P365, which will have the most felt recoil ? Some things I've been reading would lead me to believe the 124 grain would have less felt recoil than the 115 grain.

EDIT: To clarify... 9mm CCI Blazer Ammunition 115 grain, 124 grain , 147 grain

Push a heavier bullet slower through the barrel.
An increase in bullet weight combined with a reduction in muzzle velocity will yield a lower muzzle energy, and therefore reduced recoil (from a physics perspective - not perceived recoil perspective).

Blazer Brass FMJ 9mm, 115 gr, 1145 ft/sec.
Muzzle energy = 335 ft-lbs.

Federal Syntech 9mm, 150 gr, 890 ft/sec.
Muzzle energy = 264 ft-lbs. (21% less energy).

Syntech is engineered by Federal to reduce recoil for competition.
I practice with Blazer Brass and compete with Syntech, and I feel less recoil with the Syntech.

 

[George16]

In case the above posts didn’t clearly answer your question:

All things being equal, lighter weight bullets have less recoil. Physics proves this.

smaller caliber bullets recoil less than larger caliber bullets. Physics also proves this.

pocket pistols like the 365 will have more felt recoil than a Sig P229. Your hand will prove this.

Hold a high defensive grip, elbows out not down, and squeeze that bang lever. Recoil control is technique

Think of recoil as pressure. It takes less pressure to move 115gr than it does 124gr. Less pressure = less recoil.

What you haven’t taken into account is the fact that the 124/147 Gr bullets will get into the case deeper. This is because heavier bullets are longer compared to lighter bullets. With less volume In the case, pressure increases. Boyle’s law stated that at a constant temperature, volume is inversely proportional to pressure.

In you’re example of all things equal (same powder weight, bullet weight and OAL etc), you’ll find out that the heavier bullets are longer compared to the lighter ones and will seat deeper into the case when you set the OAL the same. It’s for this decreased in volume inside the case that increases pressure. However, reloaders like me (and even manufacturers) don’t use the same OAL without making changes to the powder weight. Either I decrease the amount of powder If I want to use the same OAL I’m using for lighter bullets or increase the OAL (while maintaining same powder weight) for heavier bullets. This is done to prevent risks of over pressure. Fast powders provides a bigger spike in pressure compared to slow powders when using the same weight of powder, bullets and OAL.

It’s for these reason heavier bullets have less recoil compared to the lighter bullets.

 

[Kerneldrop]

What you haven’t taken into account is the fact that the 124/147 Gr bullets will get into the case deeper. This is because heavier bullets are longer compared to lighter bullets. With less volume In the case, pressure increases. Boyle’s law stated that at a constant temperature, volume is inversely proportional to pressure.

In you’re example of all things equal (same powder weight, bullet weight and OAL etc), you’ll find out that the heavier bullets are longer compared to the lighter ones and will seat deeper into the case when you set the OAL the same. It’s for this decreased in volume inside the case that increases pressure. However, reloaders like me (and even manufacturers) don’t use the same OAL without making changes to the powder weight. Either I decrease the amount of powder If I want to use the same OAL I’m using for lighter bullets or increase the OAL (while maintaining same powder weight) for heavier bullets. This is done to prevent risks of over pressure. Fast powders provides a bigger spike in pressure compared to slow powders when using the same weight of powder, bullets and OAL.

It’s for these reason heavier bullets have less recoil compared to the lighter bullets.

The momentum formula M1V1/M2 = V2 proves the answer to the question is it depends on how fast your 115 and 147gr are going. When a 115 124 147 all goes the same 1,200 fps, the 115gr will recoil less. When velocities change momentum changes, but now you're changing a variable and the formula needs to be recomputed.

You can also use a free-recoil formula to prove that lighter weight bullets recoil less than heavier weight bullets, given the same velocity. And again, the equation must be recomputed when differing velocities exists.

Berger has an article on how volume affects pressure and velocity. (https://bergerbullets.com/effects-o...ects-of-cartridge-over-all-length-coal-and-cartridge-base-to-ogive-cbto-part-1/). I admit my experience is with benchrest reloading. I would assume the same physics that apply in rifles apply for pistols. I can shoot next to my labradar and see that if I seat the bullet longer my velocity will decrease with the same powder charge. I can add powder, gain velocity, and my free-recoiling 6mm has the same felt recoil. Berger claims that is because the pressure is the same, whether there's free-space or no space.


Based on the momentum formula, a 115gr bullet traveling 1,278fps will have the same momentum as a 147gr traveling 1,000fps. So recoil can be more or less depending on velocities. But if your 115gr is slower than 1,278, or 147 is faster than 1,000 then your 115gr will have less recoil.

 

[CZSIG-Vinny]

115 grain vs 124 grain vs 147 grain question.

I have fired a variety of 115, 124, and 147 grain FMJ 9X19mm (several brands) in both a P228 and a 9mm AR and honestly I could not tell the difference in recoil or muzzle flip. Both guns ate this mix of loads/brands without issue.

If you are looking for decent lower cost practice loads in 9X19mm there are many choices; my current practice load is the S&B 124 grain.

+1 ^^^^on the S&B 124 grain. It's on the hotter side of practice ammo at 1181 fps and 384ftlb; and closer to my SD ammo. My CZ's and Sigs love it. Accuracy and quicker follow-ups. At least for me. My objective is to practice with what I might have to defend myself with; not lowest PF for competition.

However, with a short barrel pistol; I sometimes use 115 gr S&B at 1280fps to get higher velocity. My theory is that without achieving necessary velocity, a HP won't expand properly. The difference between a 3-3.5" barrel and a 5-6" barrel velocity difference can be as much as 15-20%.

Just a theory.

 

[StiflersMom]

Interesting discussion.

I took a box of 115 gr Blazer Brass and a box of 147 gr Federal to the range yesterday and wanted to see if I could tell the difference in accuracy.

Used the CCI 115gr on head shots of my target and was dialed right in at 7yds. Spread was very tight.

On the 147gr Federal I was mildly wild, not in one specific direction but just sort a much bigger spread than the 115. I finally dialed it in on the last mag or two by adjusting the strength of my left hand grip (I'm a righty). The much stronger LH grip did the trick.

Has anyone else experienced this?