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