165-grain vs 180-grain .40 S&W ammo? The slightly less short answer is that a heavier projectile has some on-paper "benefits" but that they might not add up to much in the real world. make perfect sense for plinking. All Rights Reserved. The closer to (or further over) supersonic velocities, the more noise.  A firearms education site built on trusted content by firearm enthusiasts and members of the special operations community. All rounds in this category are manufactured to tighter tolerances than Service or Value grade ammunition. p=(0.00745 kg)(350.52 m/s), which equals 2.6114 kg m/s. There is more to consider than simply the bullet weight. Is higher grain better or is lower better for a pistol - Answered by a verified Firearms Expert We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website. For hunting and any kind of defense shooting, a larger grain is generally better. It really depends on the bullet in question. For example, youâll find Federal American Eagle 9mm ammo in, 115 gr., 124 gr., and 147 gr. For example, a Hornady 180 grain round nosed.30 caliber bullet has a BC of.239, a Hornady 180 grain spire point bullet has a BC of.431 and a 180 grain Speer boat tail spitzer bullet has a BC of.540. When loaded into hunting rifles, a heavier bullet is more likely to deliver more energy into the target, resulting in a more humane shot. Specific brands that ⦠Why? Itâs no surprise that heavier bullets drop more quickly during flight, so bullet manufacturers must find a balance between stopping power and bullet trajectory. JSP rounds (right). Handguns may use a TMJ or JHP bullets so the base is encased for better accuracy. It is an extremely small unit. There are also some practical reasons why it might matter. That's part of what makes the muzzle rise! Paul Harrell's YouTube channel, for instance, has a good amount of ammunition testing, and there are some other sites around the web for you to do your own research. When your handgun skills improve to the point that this makes a difference, you should try a variety of ammo to find what each individual gun likes the best. This is especially important for people who shoot a suppressed pistol, and those who prefer a larger caliber than 9mm. Match grade ammo is produced to higher standards than standard ammo and can be relied upon to produce accurate, repeatable results. When it comes to efficacy on a hostile target? For instance, most 9mm loads are either 115, 124, or 147 grain, but occasionally you might see a 95 grain, 110 grain, or some other oddball load. Modern handgun ammunition, in the traditional calibers used for defense, tends to be roughly equally effective in the field when accurately placed. By shooting a heavier projectile, you'll actually feel a bit less recoil since you will have reduced slide velocity. The main thing that a larger grained bullet means is that it will drop faster than a smaller grain bullet during the trajectory. The Federal 115-grain 9mm ammo has a muzzle velocity of 1,180 fps, while the larger bullet is propelled at 1,000 fps. Lower grain will travel faster when shot but also has less weight pressure (knock down power) and a higher grain will not travel as fast but is has more weight pressure. The 115-grain bullet is loaded in the brass case and charged with fast and clean burning powder. .22 Long Rifle ammo is the most widely produced and most popular cartridge in the whole United States. Larger grain, heavier bullets, generally perform better inside a target. But keep in mind, that this is situation dependent and there is no definitive yes or no answer. Best 5.56 Ammo For 1/7 Twist: Prior to choosing our 5.56 ammo in this category, we made sure that is met a certain weight requirement. A 147-gr projectile with a velocity of 950 fps (ballpark for 147-gr 9mm) would have momentum of 2.757 kg m/s. (REEEE!) Remember also that bullet construction can offset some loss in mass. His varied interests and hobbies include camping, fishing, hunting, and spending time at the gun range as often as possible. And still has a surplus of energy 6-700 yards for North American medium game. Speaking of distance shooting, that segues nicely into our next shooting scenario. The point of running a can is to reduce the noise level of the report. FMJ rounds (left) and 95 gr. Therefore, you can tame the felt recoil of .40 S&W or .45 ACP by shooting the slower, heavier projectile. The designation SS109 means that this 62-grain bullet features a steel "penetrator" tip over a lead core with a partial jacket. Ultimately, when it comes to handgun ammunition, there is an on-paper/in-theory way that grain weight matters. Since the unit of momentum is kilogram meters per second, we have to use metric units. Some guns are better with different types of ammo. However, it really has nothing to do with that. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. .45 ACP doesn't result in quicker incapacitation from blood loss, and .44 Magnum will not take your head clean off. and 223 Rem. And range ammo and self-defense loads can often be quite different in terms of power, recoil, and accuracy, so itâs a good idea to familiarize yourself with it before your life depends on it. In my experience, S&B is the cleanest of the inexpensive range ammo brands. 9mm ammo can be divided into three classes: light, medium power and supersonics and heavyweights. So, to explain that, the faster a bullet leaves the barrel the faster the slide is sent traveling back. Not all of them are necessarily created equal. Where lead-free bullets must be used, the 35-grain Ballistic Silvertip LF in 22-250 Rem. The stuff you take out to the range to blow off a few magazines. 9mm bullet weights range from 115 to 147 grains and velocities from 1,200 to 1,000. Okay, so the first part: what you gain and lose with lighter-for-caliber bullets compared to heavy-for-caliber bullets. Then thereâs range ammunition. by Tier1arms | May 13, 2020 | Rifles | 0 comments. CZ 83 The Goal of Defensive Ammo Defensive ammunition is purpose-built to shoot people, animals, and the occasional overtly aggressive watermelons that are trying to cause you harm. The short answer is that it really depends. The 9mm has the advantage of higher capacity without enlarging a firearm's grip. A very small unit of weight measurement, in fact. Inexpensive FMJs like the 147-grain in 308 Win and 30-06 or the 55-grain in 223 Rem. It determines how fast the bullet will travel too. What are Handgun Suppressor Sights and Why Would I Need Them. A 147-gr projectile with a velocity of 950 fps (ballpark for 147-gr 9mm) would have momentum of 2.757 kg m/s. Have a look, for instance, at Lucky Gunner Labs ammunition tests. So in this instance, lighter is better. Action length doesn't matter. This is because the Accubond has a boat tail base, a sharper tip, and a ⦠For example, one ounce is equal to 437.5 grains. I have also gone to 147-150 grain for my long barrel handguns. The .300 Ultra pushes the 150's wayyyy too fast to achive reliable terminal performance and is much better suited to the 200 and 220 grain loads. Not every gun can handle every manufacturerâs ammunition. In ⦠If you are using the same amount and type of gun powder in a smaller grain as a higher grain of bullet the smaller grain will go faster. As far as weight is concerned, I agree that (IMHO) my 9mm's shoot better with 124 grain. If you are into competition shooting at long distances, you know how important selecting the right ammunition can be. Bolt face doesn't matter. However, they are inexpensive, reliable brands that should be your first choice when selecting ammo for practice or competition. When you go to the range, remember to run some self-defense ammo through your self-defense guns. The 147 and 124 grain are bullet weights. Through YouTube, I learned about Minuteman Ammunitions, based in Carson, WA. For more than 100 years, it has served the needs of hunters and sport shooters, law enforcement and even the military. number comes in at .444 while the AccuBond's is rated much higher at .588. For this purpose, bullet grain is not a big factor in your decision. This is repeated in Winchesterâs Power Max cartridges. Being that my XD has a 3" barrel, I would rather not use a 147gr as it won't get accelerated very much. A grain is a unit of measurement for mass. There is still much debate on how many grains are better for what purpose. Do you know of this company and what are your opinions on 95 grain ammo for self defense? Police departments issue and have had good results with a variety of grain weights. Other people believe that the bigger the wound channel, the more rapid the blood loss and thus incapacitation will be, and thus more reliable expansion is more desirable. So unless you know what ammo to use, you might as well be shooting a Glock 22 and be able to carry a smaller lighter, gun, or a Glock 24 if you want a long slide. If youâre hunting from distances over 300 yards, bullet drop is a real factor. Performance wise, the 7x57 performed much better than I had anticipated. Because stopping power is not a consideration in target shooting, lighter grain ammunition tends to shoot with a flatter trajectory than heavier bullets. Penetration depth is right in the middle of the zone, great expansion, and ⦠However, thereâs a lot more to consider. Common Bullet Weights Two different 9mm bullet weights and types: 147 gr. For instance, most 9mm loads are either 115, 124, or 147 grain, but occasionally you might see a 95 grain, 110 grain, or some other oddball load. These traits make it ideal for hunting at long ranges, or for use in rifle competitions. As you can see by these back-of-the-envelope calculations, a heavier-for-caliber projectile has slightly more momentum than a lighter-for-caliber projectile sitting over the same charge of powder. And never over 2-3/4â high inside of 300. The 150-grain ELD-X bullet stayed supersonic past 1,200 yards while the 162-grain ELD Match was supersonic to almost 1,400 yards. When shooting match grade ammo, itâs a good idea to try several different manufacturers and different grains to see which combination gives you the best results. More powder is necessary when the bullet is heavier due to the larger mass needing to be moved. It helps to look at a few scenarios. This misconception effects those new to shooting, but can also confuse those who have been shooting for years. So a higher grain can be louder, and also have more recoil/kick than a lower grain It helps to look at a few scenarios. This is impressive. Parse the 9mm ammunition, for instance, and look at when a particular load (same projectile manufacturer, design) that has data for the various grain weights. 9mm ammo by Tula Ammo is non-reloadable and non-corrosive ammo with Berdan primer Most people go with the cheapest ammo they can find for range day. A heavier bullet will have more stopping power, but a hollow point has the best stopping power of them all due to the energy transfer. They use a very similar protocol to the FBI's (just minus the barrier tests) using calibrated ballistic gelatin and catalog the results. So a 55gr bullet weighs (approximately) 0.13 ounces. For this purpose. You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser to utilize the functionality of this website. If the bullet weighs 62 grain or more, then it has the ability to fire in an AR-15 that has a 1:7 barrel twist. In others, there wasn't any difference except the heavier bullet was slower, such as in the case of Hornady's XTP loads. For example, if other factors are equal, a 150 grain .270 bullet will penetrate better than a 150 grain .35 caliber bullet. The same 180-grain bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2,450 fps will perform almost identically. Heavier bullets are slower and are often subsonic, meaning an even greater noise reduction is achieved if shooting, say, 147-grain 9mm ammunition (already subsonic) or 230-grain.45 ACP ammunition, also subsonic. Accuracy will suffer with a velocity of 1,180 fps, while the Swift. Shot size in hunting that doesnât matter in the real world travel at faster! No answer the barrel the faster a bullet leaves the barrel the faster the slide is sent back. Such as the 147, 158, 165, and spending time at the gun as! 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