# 9mm ammo 124gn over 147gn?



## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

I'm shopping for 9mm ammo and I have been told that 124gn would be the best for a 9mm pistol.
I have ran in to some good deals on the 147gn. I know the 147gn is a little slower but would it make a
good choice for self defense? What is the down side to the 147gn over the 147gn?

Would this be a good ammo to stock up on for SHTF?


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

budgetprepp-n said:


> I'm shopping for 9mm ammo and I have been told that 124gn would be the best for a 9mm pistol.
> I have ran in to some good deals on the 147gn. I know the 147gn is a little slower but would it make a
> good choice for self defense? What is the down side to the 147gn over the 147gn?
> 
> Would this be a good ammo to stock up on for SHTF?


I'm going with the 124 grain. Heavier bullet means less powder and better recoil control. It's still a fast round. Great compromise.


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## RedLion (Sep 23, 2015)

I generally prefer 124grn (what I reload as well), but I am not opposed to using 115grn or 147grn as well.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

budgetprepp-n said:


> I'm shopping for 9mm ammo and I have been told that 124gn would be the best for a 9mm pistol.
> I have ran in to some good deals on the 147gn. I know the 147gn is a little slower but would it make a
> good choice for self defense? What is the down side to the 147gn over the 147gn?
> 
> Would this be a good ammo to stock up on for SHTF?


Your handgun will tell you which to shoot. Load it up with both and see which shoots the better groups and you shall have your answer. Other wise its just a guess by golly.


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## RedLion (Sep 23, 2015)

hawgrider said:


> Your handgun will tell you which to shoot. Load it up with both and see which shoots the better groups and you shall have your answer. Other wise its just a guess by golly.


Very true. Some guns even like the cheaper steel cased ammo that can save quite a bit of $ if you are planning to stock ammo.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

General guide line small weapon low gr larger weapon higher gr. The 124gr mid size to smaller


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

hawgrider said:


> Your handgun will tell you which to shoot. Load it up with both and see which shoots the better groups and you shall have your answer. Other wise its just a guess by golly.


What Hawg said. Don't stock up on ammo that limits you to barn sized targets. Get a couple of boxes of what you are considering and do some range time. Make sure it cycles well and don't jam. When you find a keeper, stock up and store it well. 20mm GI army cans can hold quite a bit.


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

Mad Trapper said:


> What Hawg said. Don't stock up on ammo that limits you to barn sized targets. Get a couple of boxes of what you are considering and do some range time. Make sure it cycles well and don't jam. When you find a keeper, stock up and store it well. 20mm GI army cans can hold quite a bit.


I must admit that I keep most of my cans at 500rds ---Stuff is just to heavy


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## stevekozak (Oct 4, 2015)

Smitty901 said:


> General guide line small weapon low gr larger weapon higher gr. The 124gr mid size to smaller


With all due respect, this makes little sense. Heavier projectiles tend to do better in smaller pistols and yield less recoil which is useful in short barreled guns.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

stevekozak said:


> With all due respect, this makes little sense. Heavier projectiles tend to do better in smaller pistols and yield less recoil which is useful in short barreled guns.


Shorter barrels do not make as good a use of the heavier rounds. The thinking there is a bit backwards Larger heavier hand guns produce less recoil.


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## stevekozak (Oct 4, 2015)

Smitty901 said:


> Shorter barrels do not make as good a use of the heavier rounds. The thinking there is a bit backwards Larger heavier hand guns produce less recoil.


Heavier guns handle recoil better(ie: weight dampens the felt recoil of a given round). That was not my point. A heavier projectile, in this case, 147 grn vs 124 grn, tends to create less felt recoil in a given gun (ie: less felt recoil in a smaller and lighter pistol). I shoot a lot of rounds through a lot of pistols, both big and small. You can tell the difference. In regards to to op, though, someone earlier got it right: find out what you shoot well in your pistol and stock up.


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

While I have plenty of 115 grain I have settled on 124 for the most part. I seem to get better grouping with it in most of the 9mm I have and have zero issues with feeding.


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