subsonic and suppressed 9mm loads

[cmillard]

just curious if anyone out there has ever cooked up any cast heavy bullet loads for 9x19 out of a semi auto pistol. was thinking of something like 150+ grain bullets at around 700 fps. how did it work? thanks

[coldtriggerfinger]

The 147 gr load at 940 fps is subsonic. Kind of a standard 9mm Parrabelem load.

[bula]

I've never seen them, but understand there is or was a 156gr loading, meant for SMG's that would also be subsonic from a handgun even if at +P or Nato pressures. 

[seancass]

I've made up sub-sonic loads using Hornady XTP-147's, standard load from the book, probably bottom-end load. They cycled my buddy's CZ P07 suppressor host. Also: Crazy accurate! He had standard sights, so they're completely blocked by the suppressor. That didn't stop us from point-shooting the 100 yard gong one-after-another! That was a don't believe my own eyes/ears moment for us both.

You can try 160's, but regular ol' 147's work, so... I tired 160's in the 9mm wheel gun. They didn't do anything special for me, so i stopped experimenting.

[41freak]

I have done some load development for the 165gr plated bulet as well as a cast bullet from a custom mold that drops @ 180gr with my lead mix. I have not run them thru a pistol yet but they run great in my 10.5" DI 9mm AR15. Here is a pic of the 180gr as cast, I also HyTec coat them before shooting.

I hope to get more load development done soon as well as work up loads with a 160gr cast bullet mold I just picked up.

[cmillard]

This is what im talking about! How was stability at 100 yards?

[zeus]

I shoot 147 and 158s subsonic. I’m not gonna shoot lubed ones in my cans. I guess you could try PC version?

[cmillard]

What kind of powder is preferred and what velocity are you pushing those at?

[bradshaw]

Dec 23, 2017 16:49:22 GMT -5 cmillard said:

just curious if anyone out there has ever cooked up any cast heavy bullet loads for 9x19 out of a semi auto pistol. was thinking of something like 150+ grain bullets at around 700 fps. how did it work? thanks

*****

cmillard... redundant to call 9mm Luger ammo loaded with heavy bullets “subsonic.” To start with it is subsonic. Modus operandi of ammo makers was to market 9mm Luger ammo for silencer use with excellent reliability and their objective was reached with “heavy” bullets. Accuracy also being a criteria with twists in 9mm Luger barrels of 1:8” to 1:16”. Your goal of 700 fps may require heavier than 150 grains in some guns. Took a SIG/Sauer Pistole 226 to an IHMSA match some years ago. Brought along Winchester 9mm Luger 147 JHP “Subsonic." Going in cold with dead stock pistol factory fixed sights and guessing at trajectory, I came out with 25x40 or 26x40. Interest peaked along the firing line as I lay down Creedmoor to take on rams @ 200 yards (the range could not accommodate 200 meters). Holding a chunk of front sight----about half that required for a SIG P220 .45 ACP with similar 4.4-inch barrel----the aluminum frame SIG hit six rams. The Winchester 147 JHP tilted 5x10 rams off the clean, level rail. Had the rams been warped or stood on muddy feet, there would have been more ringers. Critical target measurement on rams is 12-inches, back-to-belly. Thinking 900 fps.

Most 9mm 147 JHP i’ve tried shoots very well @ 100 yards, with Winchester doing very well @ 200 yards. Do I think this or any other 9mm Luger load possesses muscle appropriate for the kind of deer hunting I tend to get into? Absolutely not.

Pistols for the 9mm Luger vary in strength. Aside from pressure, slide acceleration should not be allowed to grow wild, since hot loads inflict damage on some guns very quickly. As an example, we waded into jackrabbits with 9mm pistols before the Glock and the circus of todays’s 9mm’s came along. Pistols included a piece of inaccurate, jammamatic junk made by Smith & Wesson, and an old commercial Browning Hi Power of mine. We quickly had to download for the Smith before it beat itself to death. Despite what my friend Ben Kilham describes as “soft steel” in the Browning, the Belgian pistol easily took a half-grain more Unique than the S&W.

While some examples of the old Luger P-08 exhibit exquisite accuracy, it should not be fed hot loads.

Separate brass by make for this caper. Neck thickness and tension on the bullet can very considerably with 9mm brass.
David Bradshaw

[cmillard]

Thanks Bradshaw. I cant remember who made it, IIRC it was rimrock bullets, but a 160 grain .356 bullet that i was eyeballing and it made me think a little

[41freak]

Dec 25, 2017 21:21:10 GMT -5 zeus said:

I shoot 147 and 158s subsonic. I’m not gonna shoot lubed ones in my cans. I guess you could try PC version?

Not sure yet, I have only shot them @ 25yds so far. I am still working on load development and once I get that worked out I will be trying them further out. So far the test loads I have shot have been good @ about 2" @ 25yds with a red dot scope, when I start accuracy tuning the load I will have a better scope on it to see what it will really do.

[cmillard]

Well, resurrecting this thread. Just ordered a feddersen extended and threaded match barrel for my Glock 19. The factory barrel proved to be exceptionally accurate at 25 yards with 124 Speer GDHP and longshot powder. This is the first Glock I have ever been able to get sub 2” groups at 25 yards with. It shot the 147 GDHP well, but not as good as the 124s. I have also been testing the 165 xtremes with longshot powder, and accuracy has been about 3-3.5” at 15 yard, which is ok. I can’t wait to see what the feddersen will do. Have any of you tried the GT bullets 165 cast hollow point (.38 bullet) in .356 diameter? The nose profile looks like it may work. Thanks

[cmillard]

These 2 bullets I was thinking about trying. Thoughts?

www.gtbullets.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=23

www.gtbullets.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=6

[cmillard]

Well, here is the barrel in the G19. Hopefully going to shoot it tonight if the wind settles down a bit

[cmillard]

Well, the barrel is showing promise. At 25 yards without load tuning and with 147 GDHP, I ran a 2 inch group. I'm hoping with some load tuning, I can shave that down a bit.