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Writer's pictureGraham Baates

Best Bang For Your Buck? 124gr 9mm Range Ammo Test & Comparison

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124gr loads included in this test
124gr loads included in this test

Last summer I set out to find the best bang for the buck among common 115gr 9mm range loads. That consisted of finding the consistency and energy generated as well as current market pricing. Eventually that test included 24 different loads and lots of math. After doing all of that many of you asked about comparing 124gr.

I happened to have seven different 124gr loads, so here's the beginning of what may be another "Best Bang For the Buck" series.


"NATO" 9mm is 124gr, but not all 124gr 9mm is "NATO"

NATO pressure specifications are 10% higher than SAAMI specifications. The American "+p" rating standard is also 10% higher pressure than SAAMI.

None of the loads tested were labled as "NATO" and you'll see their energy levels were equal to or lower than many of the 115gr loads previously tested.


Loads were tested via 5-shot groups through the same 4.25" barrel, measured at 7 yards. The test gun was the Grand Power Q100 Mk23. Using this gun makes these results fair to compare against the 115gr test results as it's the same barrel length and same barrel maker. This pistol was chosen to give the ammunition the best chance and that includes some advantages your pistol may not have, so please keep in mind the following factors:

  • A 4.25" barrel is longer than the 4" SAAMI specifications sets for a 9mm load, so velocities may be higher. Interestingly enough most of these loads did not acheive the advertised velocity.

  • Grand Power uses a stepped chamber which provides for a better seal and typically also results in slightly higher velocity.

  • Grand Power barrel surfaces are made to the highest standard I'm aware of being physically possible; so accuracy and velocity may be higher than you'll find from another barrel maker.


These tests were all coducted on the same day with an air temperature of 75 degrees and an elevation of about 187'. You may experience higher velocities at higher elevations.


The differences between these loads proved to be much smaller than the 115gr load test. This may be a result of the smaller samples size, or that the seven loads picked just happened to all be more similarly loaded.


I'm also surprised by how low some of the energy was. When we compared defensive load bullet weights 124gr seemed to be an overall winner, but Sig's rounds were hitting considerable harder than these range loads.


Winners

Most Consistent: Belom We used a case of Belom 124gr when we attended a Sentinel Concepts course and were impressed with how smoothly and consistently it felt. It was also very clean ammunition, both clean for handling and clean burning.


Most Powerful: TIE American Sniper: Loaded by ZSR in the Czech Republic, there have been multiple reports of ZSR ammunition being "too hot" in some loads.

Matching the American Sniper was Magtech as both acheived 325 ft/lbs. While Magtech hit that number, it was also the least consistent of the bunch.


Softest Shooting (least energy): PMC Bronze While PMC's 115gr load was a mid performer for energy, this 124gr load produced less energy than the 115gr equivalent.


Lowest Cost Per Round: Belom Beating out even the double-branded "match" ammunition with a standard deviation of just 7.42 it is also the most consistent, but priced under half what the match ammunition goes for!


Raw Data

Load List Alphabetically

(priced as of day article was written, click links for current pricing)

American Sniper 124gr
American Sniper 124gr

American Sniper 124gr This "American" load was produced in the Czech Republic by ZSR and there have been multiple reports online of issues with their rifle ammunition. I have been unable to find the 9mm load at any of the majore retailers anymore. Test Video

This load appears to no longer be on the market.


Belom 124gr
Belom 124gr

Belom 124gr Imported by Global Ordnance, I've found this load to be clean in oth handling and burning and Teya and I went through a case of it during a training event without any malfunctions in either of our guns. Test Video


Colt National Match by Doubletap 124gr
Colt National Match by Doubletap 124gr

Colt National Match by Doubletap 124gr This ammunition performed very well in the test with two pairs of matched velocity, but the fifth round was different enough to throw off the standard deviation. Test Video


Fiocchi Training Dynamics 124gr
Fiocchi Training Dynamics 124gr

Fiocchi Training Dynamics 124gr Despite Fiocchi's 115gr load being one of the weakest from that test series, it was one of the most power out of this batch. Note: My box was labeled "Training Dynamics". I do not know if that is truly different from the "Shooting Dynamics" or "Range Dynamics" loads or if those are just rebrandings; the advertised velocity is the same. Test Video


Magtech 124gr
Magtech 124gr

Magtech 124gr This load hit hardest with 325 ft/lbs, but was also the least consistent. With my recent hang-fire/under-powered load experience with Magtech steel cased I'm afraid we're discovering a pattern of poor quality control at the moment with Magtech. Test Video


PMC Bronze 124gr
PMC Bronze 124gr

PMC Bronze 124gr This load wsa very consistent, and also the softest shooting as it produced only 299 ft/lbs of energy. Test Video


Speer Lawman 124gr
Speer Lawman 124gr

Speer Lawman 124gr Middle of the pack energy and consistency. I think it's Speer Lawman is a safe fallback or middle-ground choice. Test Video


As stated above, I'm a bit surprised by these results. We've seen that not all loads fromt he same manufacturer are created equally, and also seen that these seem to perform much differently from the Sig ammunition used in another test. With time I will collect another batch of 124gr loads to see if these are an anomoly or a fair representation.

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6 Comments


Caanuride
Aug 24

Really like this info! I would definately like to see Blazer Brass and Federal added to this test. Blazer can often be found a little cheaper, and I have found it reliable. It would be interesting to see how it measures up. I have no idea why it stared underlining my text!!

Edited
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Pete
Aug 23

This is helpful work. Thanks!

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What are your thoughts on 124gr Blazer Brass cased? I have no problems with it personally and have been reloading with it

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Replying to

I've not shot it with comparison in mind. I'll add it to the most for the next batch.

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elsullo2
elsullo2
Aug 23

OH! I forgot to commend your clear explanation of NATO ammo being the equal of +P here in Yankeeland. It is still amazing to see out in TubeLand how so many young shooters have feeding trouble with their European pistols, send them back for repair, but get them back with comments like, "No problem found." The Tubers probably use ONLY the cheapest (weakest, lightest) bulk box ammo from some FartMart store and blame it on the pistol but not the ammo! Nobody told them that EUROPEAN GUNS WANT NATO EUROPEAN AMMO STANDARDS--+P! Sorry, I needed to rant.........................elsullo

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elsullo2
elsullo2
Aug 23

Thanks folks for another useful test! I hope it was fun to produce too. It's always interesting how manufacturers' numbers are so shamefully OFF and often so inconsistent. I agree about Speer Range Ammo: a good middle of the bunch choice---with a US flag on the box!.....................elsullo

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