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9mm SD ammo.

6K views 32 replies 10 participants last post by  Bullseye1911 
#1 ·
Any thoughts or information on the 115 grain Gold Dot's ... standard pressure rounds? Considering some different home defense and carry rounds for my 9's. Im still using Federal Classic 115 gr. and Im considering some newer tech alternatives.

Thanks
 
#2 · (Edited)
Funny you should ask this. My wife and I went out in the woods yesterday afternoon and shot a bunch of different ammo through four layers of denim and into wet newspaper. One of the loads was 115gr. Gold Dot through her Glock 26.
I was disappointed. It did expand, however the penetration wasn't very deep and the expansion was not very large. I haven't had time to process much of our collected data yet, and I do not have it with me this morning. However I do have this pic I took with my phone. I marked the 115gr. Gold Dot and also the Federal Hydro-shok 124gr. for comparison.


I do not like Federal Hydro-Shok at all. I think its old unreliable technology. However in yesterday's unscientific test, it clearly beat my 115gr. Gold Dot. This actually surprised me. I am a huge fan of the 230gr. 45 Gold Dot and consider it my preferred load in 45, so I was expecting a better show in the 9mm. I'm thinking now that I will either purchase some 147gr Gold Dots to try in the 9mm or some Federal 147gr. HST's if I can find some. This test just reiterated why the Doc at M4carbine.net does not have the light 9mm Gold DOt's on the approved list.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I can see it. Thanks for that info on the 115 GD. Saw a sim test through 4 denim layers that showed deep penetration but similiar expansion but everything shot seemed to penetrate deep so it was all suspect. Is that a .45 Golden Saber round second up from the bottom on the left?

Also considering the Golden Sabers in 124 gr. and the Winchester Ranger Bonded in 147 gr. but always was leary of 147 eventhough technology seems to be moving forward and some swear by that round. Oh, and the HST's in 124.
 
#7 ·
Thanks DeltaK, Ive seen it. Most if not all of the ammo I listed is on the list I think including the GD 124 gr. which I dont think I mentioned. I was just curious about the lighter 115 gr. round.
I know the research of Doc Roberts (and others) is extensive but unfortunately it cannot possibly be all inclusive.
 
#10 ·
I just upgraded to the 147 gr standard pressure Federal HST. I am very happy with my new sd ammo and my Glock 17 doesn't seem to care what 18 rounds its loaded with, like a good dog, it eats everything. :D
 
#12 ·
I just ordered a box of Federal HST 147 grain +P 9mm (P9HST4) to test next. My thought is that the +P will help to offset the shorter barrel of the Glock 26. This will be the first HST I've ever purchased. I believe it will be a huge upgrade from my 115gr. Gold Dots and 124gr. Hydro-Shoks
 
#14 · (Edited)
Yeah, I like the standard pressure HST 147's. That's what I own, along with some Winchester mid-weight +P+.

Good info on the 115's. I'll stop recommending them in standard pressure. I like +P+ in 115gr.

I still favor the heavier bullets for penetration.

The Underwood .45's darned-near turned inside-out, eh? They're a Gold Dot loaded to 1000fps. The Winchester's look nice, as always in .45.
 
#15 ·
Im always kinda surprised when I see the non bonded Golden Sabers on these lists. They always seem "guilty" of jacket seperation or partial seperation in every weight and caliber and they have a reputation for that. Always thought seperation was a bad thing. Looking at the rounds that are partially seperated, they do look dangerous, like mini circular saw blades, in the small likelyhood that those sharp edges end up on a vessel or vital organ anyway. I like the rounds though, especially bonded but very hard to find 9mm bonded Golden Sabers.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I have been happy with the standard pressure 124gr Golden Sabers, but have experienced the jacket separation previously mentioned. Below is picture of my bedside gun, with bullets fired into water filled milk jugs. the bullet on the bottom of the picture is a WWB 115gr FMJ, and the other is the 124gr Remington Golden Saber (standard pressure). Both recovered pieces went completely through the 1 gallon jug with water, the 115gr FMJ was a plain through-and-through with holes equivalent to the size of the lead, the Golden Saber had a similar entry, but blew-out a much larger hole in the back of the jug and split it open.
 
#19 ·
The Golden Sabers are brass jacketed. Brass being a harder metal than copper, I want to guess that is what contributes to the seemingly high rate of jacket-core separation in the non bonded Golden Sabers. But maybe the separation rate isnt as high in real life situations or maybe it hasnt been statistically signifigant in terms of limiting the effectiveness of the round.
Just guessing here because they've been around a while, Remington doesnt change them and they often make the "lists".
 
#20 ·
Aside from the bonded loads, very few if any major agencies use the Golden Sabers these days. They make the list mostly because of the historical use of the round. There are many much better loads available, many with as good of or better reputations.
 
#24 ·
Hey Dieselman,

You don't happen to have some OAL measurements for all those 9mm SD rounds you tested in you notebook do you?

I can't find squat on line for factory OAL specs from anyone and I hate to just keep doing the "buy and try" thing.
 
#28 ·
Okay so here is the info Jim that I can provide



The only three 9mm loads that I have left are the Speer 124gr standard pressure Gold Dot, Speer 115gr. +P+ Gold Dot and Federal 124gr. Hydro-shok standard pressure. All the other stuff I had has been shot up. In fact the only thing I have left right now is 4 rounds of the Hydro-Shok, 2 rounds of the 115+P+ and about 100 rounds of the standard pressure 124gr Gold Dot.

OAL:

Hydro-Shok = 1.101"

Gold Dot 115+P+ = 1.114"

Gold Dot 124 = 1.118"

 
#32 · (Edited)
I wonder if they are going to discontinue the Hi-Shok. Ive seen a bunch of it around lately at good prices. A couple months back I bought several boxes of the 185 gr .45 for something like $17 a box of 50. Good range ammo and no problems in any of my guns. The ammo, atleast in some calibers, used to be pretty well regarded. I have read that the 115 gr. had a pretty effective history on the street but dont know how true it is. I have been carrying it for a long time. Ive seen all types of amateur ballistics tests running from the rounds acting almost like ball, to jacket seperation to looking pretty effective. So, atleast in the 115 gr. I have to assume that it's inconsistent. But again, it's old tech. If the 115 gr. does have the tendency to fail to expand (again, dont know if it's true) I can only imagine what the +P+ would act like. I dont know which calibers and loadings were considered good, ok or poor. I just know that the 115 gr was, atleast at one time, considered good SD ammo. Or atleast that was the word. Probably why it's been my SD load forever in my 9mm's and Im just now looking to upgrade.
 
#33 ·
In 9mm my choice is Gold Dot 147s or 124+p
 
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