The lower recoil of the standard pressure 147gr loadings does several things for you. The lower recoil decreases your shot-to-shot recovery time and throws you off target less. In order to get your shots on target, you must reaquire your point of aim and/or sights and maintain that through your next trigger pull. Often times, when you are shooting for time it takes a lot of mental effort to slow down your shots to ensure good placement. So, with a faster recoil recovery it not only translates into faster shooting but more accurate shooting.
Then there is the concept of recoil anticipation. If you train on a platform with less recoil, your natural muscle memory under stress will have less anticipated flinch and trigger jerk.
Contrary to Internet Folklore, M882, the 124 grain 9mm NATO load is no “hotter” than a typical modern standard pressure 124 grain 9x19mm load. The pressures posted for NATO and SAAMI loads are not an apples to apples comparison as different methods are used to measure the those pressures.
Standard pressure 124 grain Speer Gold Dots fired from a 5" barreled Beretta had a velocity of 1114 fps. M882 fired from the same Beretta had a velocity of 1108 fps; that’s 6 fps slower than the standard pressure Gold Dot load.
The different test fixtures and location of transducer (or copper piston) are a nightmare to “translate”.
STANAG 4090 is the NATO Standard for 9 Para, and it is pretty loose to say the least. According to Ed. 2, 1982:
test barrel 7.85" long
bullet weight anywhere 108 to 128 gr
muzzle energy 400 to 600 ft-lbs
pressure 42,700 psi piezo, 37,000 CUP
Just to note how important is the testing procedure and fixture, this is the current recommended way of pressure testing, with C.I.P. design barrel and transducer at mid case position:
Especially with the new gen 4 Glocks, but this applies to many other service sized 9mms as well, +P ammo gives you a reliability buffer in the real world where you might not have a prefect grip on the gun, you might be shooting one handed, you might have already been shot, etc.
Thanks to everyone who posted up some great info. The main issue I had with the +P+ is the lack of a “standard” for the ammo across the industry. The more I read about the Ranger load, the better it sounds. As I said before, I just wanted to hear the thoughts about the ability of the gun to keep up with the round.
The 147 also looks promising in the Ranger line. From other agencies locally, I have heard mixed reviews. They all seam really sold on the 127g offering (agencies that carry Ranger).
I wonder if there will ever be a SAMMI spec for the +P+ loading like the +P’s.
As to the one post that said I did not look, not sure what you are talking about. I could not find any info directly talking about the +P+ pressure raitings of different hand guns, and the gains/risk of the higher pressure round. Thanks for the contribution pal.
Just wanted to add that according to the NATO 9 mm Para specs, and with velocities corrected for a 8" barrel (4" barrel should be aprox. 120-140 fps less):
115 gr @ 1255 fps –> 402 ft/lbs, in spec. Pretty soft load.
124 gr @ 1475 fps –> 599 ft/lbs, in spec. VERY hot load, probably difficult to achieve with normal powders and their pressure specs.
My department gives its Officers 100rds of ammunition a day to train with and supplies the range time morning, noon and night so every tour of duty has access. For the Officers that take advantage of this opportunity round counts in the Glocks they carry can exceeded 50,000rds over a course of a career. I don’t think I have every heard of a PPD Officer wearing a Glock down to the point were it needed to be retired, but I always tried with my trusty Glock Model-17 with 21 years of heavy use until I gave her a semi-retirement and started to carry a Glock .45acp for duty.
Wow, a 100 rounds a day! My agency gives me 100 rounds a month, and I thought I was pretty lucky to get that. It is good to see police departments encouraging their officers to shoot that often.
You are lucky to get that. I have to beg for a box a month and sometimes I’m lucky to get anything. We’re down to only two qualifications a year, and we can only use duty ammo on one of those. All other quals or training has to be with green ammo which does not feel and function like duty ammo.
