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need advice on 9mm and 38spl ammo

lvpatt
could u please advise me what differences there are and are they suitable for my guns.
9mm, i will be shooting,taurus pt 609 titanium,s&w model sw9c,kel tec pf9.
the ammo is 9mm nato mil spec 124gr+p
9mm blazer brass 115gr
9mm luger federal 115gr
38spl i will be shooting ruger lcr and s&w airweight
the ammo is winchester 38spl+p 125gr
magtech 38spl 158gr
i know nothing about ammo,so easy,simplistic answers will be appreciated with as much detail as possible.
tks
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Comments

8 comments

Date Votes
  • perry shooter
    In My opinion the ammo chosen for all guns listed seems like a reasonable choice and I see no problem would not run thousands of rounds of +p stuff but other then that go practice and enjoy.
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  • beantownshootah
    +P ammo is loaded to higher pressures than "ordinary" ammo, and is generally meant for defensive/personal protection use.

    While some older guns cannot safely handle +P ammo, most modern guns can handle it.

    Most shooters will only use +P ammo for carry and occasional practice because in general its a lot more expensive than ordinary practice/target ammo.

    In your case, the Taurus, SW auto, SW revolver, and Ruger revolvers should all be OK with as much +P ammo as you want to use. I'm not so sure about the Kel-Tec PF-9. (Contact the manufacturer, or check their website).

    While a few rounds aren't likely to "blow up" the gun, a lot of the +P ammo through that gun could batter the frame and lead to premature wear.

    If I were you, I'd save the +P ammo for carry or defensive use, and shoot the "ordinary" ammo for practice and fun at the range. Just shoot enough of the +P ammo to make sure it runs reliably in your guns and get a feel for it.

    Any of the guns you listed should be fine to shoot unlimited amounts of the "ordinary" (ie NON +P) ammo.

    Unless you were a serious competitive target shooter, I doubt you'd notice much difference beween ordinary 9mm blazer, and federal 115 grain ammo. This is just usual-type 9mm stuff.

    Magtech makes good ammo, but it tends to be a little more costly than some of the competitors.
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  • mark christian
    While your 9mm choices are all fine, my opinion has always been that if you really need +P .38 you should have bought a .357 magnum.
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  • gunnut505
    First off, fine choices of firearms. The ammo is the twig in the sandwich here.
    Lots of folks use smaller, lighter guns for carry without realizing that by that very act; they are subjecting themselves to more felt recoil in those 2 calibers than is desireable or necessary by employing higher-pressure-rated ammo to make up for a shorter barrel.
    Well, I guess that's 3 causes.
    Generally speaking(BS Detectors ON),Plain ol' 9mm ammo around 124gr. in a short, light piece will be accurate, flash less and bark/kick less than any +P load from the same gun.
    38 Special is almost the same thing; 125-148gr loads at about 800-1000fps are used as Target loads with deep-penetration Lead bullets; the +P stuff is supposed to make up for velocity loss from a shorter barrel, and kick up the pressures (if not the velocities), which induces more recoil and flash.
    In other words, use the 9mm 115gr stuff to see how it feeds and shoots, be cautious about using the +P exclusively in the KelTec, and find some 125gr 38 Special to compare against the Magtech-to get a feel of where you'd have to aim with differing weight bullets.
    Better yet, find a reloader in your area and spend some time with him/her learning a little more about what could become one of the biggest decisions in your life.
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by mark christian
    While your 9mm choices are all fine, my opinion has always been that if you really need +P .38 you should have bought a .357 magnum.

    I don't think its a question of what you should have done after the fact, but rather, how are you going to optimize performance from the platform of a .38 snubnose type (or even non-snubnose) revolver.

    Despite the hype about increased wear and recoil, +P .38s really aren't much more powerful than "ordinary" .38s, nor do they really generate substantially more recoil.

    And given that pretty much any modern .38 special gun can handle pressures FAR in excess of ordinary .38 special (let alone "mere" .38+P which is only 10% hotter than ordinary .38), I don't see why you *wouldn't* want to carry .38+P ammo, if its available to you.

    Conversely, I can think of reasons why you would NOT want to carry full .357 magnum rounds from a lightweight snubnose revolver, for example.

    What I'd like to see is some "intermediate" +P+ round that's roughly midway in-between a .38 and the .357. Of course in the "real world" no manufacturer would dare put out such a round, because of fears of liability associated blowing up some ancient marginal gun with the ammo.

    Curiously, the "9mm luger +P" ballistics are just right about there (if the pressures are not), but unfortunately, you can't run 9mm out of most wheelguns, and attempts to create a rimmed version were disastrous for exactly the above reason (ie it would blow up older guns intended for .38SW).
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  • select-fire
    A good ol' .38 has about 200 ft. pounds of energy at the muzzle
    A .38+p has about 295 ft. pounds......
    A .357 has about 535 ft. pounds....

    What every one forgets is Barrel length. A 2" snubby is not going to reach the figures above when the test barrels are 4". This would be 158 gr. bullets on the above. Your test results may vary.

    Welcome back Mark.
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  • beantownshootah
    We're getting away a little bit from the question, but in a way, this answers it even better:

    quote:Select fire:
    A good ol' .38 has about 200 ft. pounds of energy at the muzzle
    A .38+p has about 295 ft. pounds......
    A .357 has about 535 ft. pounds....
    Well, if so, that's some pretty impressive .38+P. While I don't doubt that such ammo exists, I don't think you're going to find it on the shelf at Walmart!

    These are the data I have for muzzle velocity/energy, using similar bullet weights from the same manufacturer (ie Winchester), to facilitate apples-to-apples comparison:

    125 grain .38 special = 850 fps, 201 ft-lbs
    125 grain .38 special +P = 945 fps, 245 ft-lbs

    125 grain .357 magnum (soft point) = 1370 fps, 521 ft-lbs
    125 grain .357 magnum (hollow point) 1450 fps, 583 ft-lbs

    124 grain 9mm (FMJ) = 1140 fps, 358 ft-lbs.

    The numbers will vary a bit based on manufacturer, but in my experience they're going to be fairly similar between the major manufacturers, like Remington, Winchester, Speer, etc.

    As mentioned, some of the smaller manufacturers of "Super-premium" ammo like Corbon and Buffalo Bore do put out hotter ammo.

    Note that .38 +P yields only 11% more velocity, and about 22% more energy (since energy is proportionate the square of velocity).

    You probably won't see those absolute number from a snubnose, but I bet you would see the same *proportions* (ie about 10-12% more velocity, and 20-25% more energy with +P .38 ammo).

    The main point is that while the .38+P is clearly more powerful, the difference between it and the "ordinary" .38s really isn't very great.

    The next (and equally important) point is that in terms of pure ballistics, "ordinary" 9mm luger beats the tar out of +P .38 special ammo!

    Now, it might be the case that bullet DESIGN can help make up the difference, but at a first level, 9mm is the far better round. If you go to premium 9mm+P ammo (or super-premium ammo), the 9mm is going to look even better, getting closer to the .357 ballistics.
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  • partisan
    Your picks are ok. Carry the +P ammo, but don't feed your lighter guns a steady diet of the +P's.
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