115? 124? 147? JHP?

[RaylanGivens]

Loaded up some 9mm rounds with EGA 124gr JHP RN V2 bullets and 8.04gr (10 throws at 80.4) of HS6 at 1.165 OAL...  Chrono'd at 175.58pf in my TruBor with no poppel holes...

 

Shot about a hundred in rounds practice...  The gun feels noticeably different...  less violent, softer...  timing seems to be different, too...  Gun cycles faster - that's a good thing...  First time I've run anything at 176 powerfactor...  I would have thought that it would be extremely violent at that pf, but it's not.

 

So, of course my next step is to load up some 115's with HS6...  Thanks for all the tips!

[zzt]

I was perusing back issues of Front Sight this morning and noted that 81% of the Open shooters at the 2017 Nats used 124/125gr bullets.  81%.  There has to be a reason for that other than that's what they were told to use when they started.  I'd find it hard to believe that the pros didn't test out a bazillion different loads before they settled on what was best for them.

[theWacoKid]

zzt,

This is true.  I've spend good time with 115's.  And 121's.  I found I thought I really liked 115's.  Shot them a lot in practice, liked them, and then shot a lot of matches with them.  Somehow ended up trying 124's again and didn't notice any real difference until I shot a stage under the timer.   Been shooting 121's and 124's since.

 

Don't know what it is, but a lot of stuff, whenever it's "new" feels great in practice.  I found only the long run really told me what I liked, but determining it is a little bit of a commitment.  This holds for all ammo changes and most gun mods.  

 

Moral of the story, it really doesn't matter.

Edited November 8, 2017 by theWacoKid

[Maximis228]

11 minutes ago, theWacoKid said:

zzt,

This is true.  I've spend good time with 115's.  And 121's.  I found I thought I really liked 115's.  Shot them a lot in practice, liked them, and then shot a lot of matches with them.  Somehow ended up trying 124's again and didn't notice any real difference until I shot a stage under the timer.   Been shooting 121's and 124's since.

 

Don't know what it is, but a lot of stuff, whenever it's "new" feels great in practice.  I found only the long run really told me what I liked, but determining it is a little bit of a commitment.  This holds for all ammo changes and most gun mods.  

 

Moral of the story, it really doesn't matter.

 

In before @Gooldylocks tells you, you are wrong or some paid shill for BIG 124's!.

LOL

[theWacoKid]

13 minutes ago, Maximis228 said:

 

In before @Gooldylocks tells you, you are wrong or some paid shill for BIG 124's!.

LOL

 

It's all good.  I'm known to tinker more than the average bear.

[redfisher]

You scared away the OP, 4 pages later and he hasn’t come back since the first post.

[Balakay]

FWIW, I am an Open Newb who started shooting with 125g 38 Super.  After reading this thread, I got some  115 JHPs and headed to the range with the timer and chrono.

 

Zero 125g JHP 9.6g of 3N38 vs. MG 115 g JHP 10.4 3N38 yielded similar PF (169 vs. 170)

The 125s felt slightly softer, neither were particularly harsh

The dot movement with the 115s was appreciably better (for me)

The timer seemed to show an advantage to the 115s 

 

The velocity that I was recording was very similar to the published VV load data for 38 Super Lapua--10.4 g is listed as the maximum load

[Sarge]

On 11/8/2017 at 2:12 PM, zzt said:

I was perusing back issues of Front Sight this morning and noted that 81% of the Open shooters at the 2017 Nats used 124/125gr bullets.  81%.  There has to be a reason for that other than that's what they were told to use when they started.  I'd find it hard to believe that the pros didn't test out a bazillion different loads before they settled on what was best for them.

What did the article say about first time nationals shooters? Not all shooters at nats are s asoned pros.

[fatjoe123111]

I think you should try out both because then it will give you an idea what you like to shoot more. Maybe your gun will like the 115 over the 124. 

[zzt]

On 12/16/2017 at 10:35 AM, Sarge said:

What did the article say about first time nationals shooters? Not all shooters at nats are s asoned pros.

 

30% were first time attendees.  Even if all of them shot 124gr because "that's what they were told', the remaining 51% of multi-time attendees and pros shot 124s because they chose to.  There has to be a reason other than case capacity.

[lcs]

1 hour ago, zzt said:

 

30% were first time attendees.  Even if all of them shot 124gr because "that's what they were told', the remaining 51% of multi-time attendees and pros shot 124s because they chose to.  There has to be a reason other than case capacity.

 

There is....  snap versus push.    I think most like the soft push of a 124 versus the snap (kind of a sting) of 115s.   

 

115s take more powder and "should" produce more gas to work the comp, but I believe every comp has its limit and thus your just creating more straight back recoil.  Just my experience and theory

[Steelix]

I also think that's why some like 115 it is a snap and the gun comes back down faster. Just try them and shoot what your gun and you like the best. 

[echotango]

Loaded up some MG 115's and off to the range in the morning.....

[Sarge]

12 hours ago, Steelix said:

I also think that's why some like 115 it is a snap and the gun comes back down faster. Just try them and shoot what your gun and you like the best. 

115’s are harsh and unpleasant to shoot if you are doing groups or chrono. But on the clock my hits are generally closer together. This tells me the timing is better compared to heavier bullets.

[Chillywig]

21 minutes ago, Sarge said:

115’s are harsh and unpleasant to shoot if you are doing groups or chrono. But on the clock my hits are generally closer together. This tells me the timing is better compared to heavier bullets.

Doing some load development I asked the builder of my open gun about 115's. Since he also shot IPSC all he used were 124's. But did suggest 115 would get me increased slide velocity. I am leaning toward liking the 115's better but require more tinkering before getting there. Without a blind taste test so to speak it is a little hard to be objective...

[BiggMike]

For 115's, I have always heard harsh but flat. I use 124's but I have wanted to play with the 115's; honestly I don't want to mess with the 1050 (I know lazy).