We've all read about the miracle of the modern 9mm that happened in 2014. The encyclopedia article describes it like this, "The [FBI] report indicated that the new powders and more advanced bullet designs used in current 9mm defensive loads allowed for the caliber to deliver almost similar performance to other calibers, like the .45 ACP, and .40 S&W." The encyclopedia references a third party article which claims, "today’s 9mm ammunition is vastly superior..." and mentions the "incredible progress that has been made in ammunition technology [in the last 30 years]." A bullet point from the FBI report indicates, "Contemporary projectiles (since 2007) have dramatically increased the terminal effectiveness of many premium line law enforcement projectiles (emphasis on the 9mm Luger offerings)"
I am not interested in the caliber wars or whatever, and I don't think [9mm, .40, .45 etc.] comparisons need to be continued here. But I am interested in exactly what the dramatic gains in powder or projectile performance have been.
I'm not sure the FBI report actually made as many claims about powder as some of the re-reports did, but what great things have new powders achieved for handgun ammunition in the last 30 years? I looked at early ballistics of 9mm Luger. The mass and velocity was similar to what is published now. NATO overpressure loads have been going faster for a long time, but a lot of opinions are that the even higher +P cartridges offer a questionable advantage. Are there really powders that have made 9mm more effective in the last 30 years than it was before? How? Is there a modern miracle that gives us more velocity with less pressure and recoil?
The FBI report probably makes more claims about projectiles than powder. I remember back in 1991 when the "petal" type Black Talon jacketed hollow point was introduced, but although it looked cool, it doesn't seem to have made all other hollowpoint designs obsolete over the last 27 years. The encyclopedia has a list of "modern" hollowpoint technologies:
"Modern hollowpoint bullet designs use many different methods to provide controlled expansion, including:
The FBI really emphasizes penetration as essential to performance, probably more so than expansion. But 9mm has always had similar sectional density with comparable .45 bullets (115 vs 185 gr, or 147 vs 230 gr.) and because of the higher velocity, penetration has been good even historically.
Again, I'm not looking to compare 9mm to other cartridges, but to pin down exactly how 9mm has improved over the last 30 years. What advances have really made a difference? If it has anything to do with bullets or powder, how can I be sure to avail myself of those technologies in reloading?
I am not interested in the caliber wars or whatever, and I don't think [9mm, .40, .45 etc.] comparisons need to be continued here. But I am interested in exactly what the dramatic gains in powder or projectile performance have been.
I'm not sure the FBI report actually made as many claims about powder as some of the re-reports did, but what great things have new powders achieved for handgun ammunition in the last 30 years? I looked at early ballistics of 9mm Luger. The mass and velocity was similar to what is published now. NATO overpressure loads have been going faster for a long time, but a lot of opinions are that the even higher +P cartridges offer a questionable advantage. Are there really powders that have made 9mm more effective in the last 30 years than it was before? How? Is there a modern miracle that gives us more velocity with less pressure and recoil?
The FBI report probably makes more claims about projectiles than powder. I remember back in 1991 when the "petal" type Black Talon jacketed hollow point was introduced, but although it looked cool, it doesn't seem to have made all other hollowpoint designs obsolete over the last 27 years. The encyclopedia has a list of "modern" hollowpoint technologies:
"Modern hollowpoint bullet designs use many different methods to provide controlled expansion, including:
- Jackets that are thinner near the front than the rear to allow easy expansion at the beginning, then a reduced expansion rate.
- Partitions in the middle of the bullet core to stop expansion at a given point.
- Bonding the lead core to the copper jacket to prevent separation and fragmentation.
- Fluted or otherwise weakened jackets to encourage expansion or fragmentation.
- Posts in the hollow cavity to cause hydraulic expansion of the bullet in tissue. While very effective in lightly clothed targets, these bullet types tend to plug up with heavy clothing materials that results in the bullet not expanding.
- Solid copper hollow points, which are far stronger than jacketed lead, and provide controlled, uniform expansion even at high velocities.
- Plastic inserts in the hollow, which provide the same profile as a full-metal-jacketed round (such as the Hornady V-Max bullet). The plastic insert initiates the expansion of the bullet by being forced into the hollow cavity upon impact.
- Plastic inserts in the hollow to provide the same profile for feeding in semiautomatic and automatic weapons as a full-metal-jacketed round but that separate on firing while in flight or in the barrel (such as the German Geco "Action Safety" 9 mm round)"
The FBI really emphasizes penetration as essential to performance, probably more so than expansion. But 9mm has always had similar sectional density with comparable .45 bullets (115 vs 185 gr, or 147 vs 230 gr.) and because of the higher velocity, penetration has been good even historically.
Again, I'm not looking to compare 9mm to other cartridges, but to pin down exactly how 9mm has improved over the last 30 years. What advances have really made a difference? If it has anything to do with bullets or powder, how can I be sure to avail myself of those technologies in reloading?
