What's the difference between NATO and regular ammo?

[bg226]

What is the difference between 9mm NATO and [insert brand] 124gr FMJ?

 

[justsurvivingincalifornia]

NATO spec. means military standard ammo. This ammunition is frequently loaded to higher pressure than civilian ammo.

The majority of consumer civilian ammunition is slightly download to protect people from shooting higher powered ammo in older and sometime guns in poor condition.

It’s impossible to know what people have when they buy ammo.

Is it safe to shoot 9mm NATO ammo in the gun I own?
That depends on the model of gun you own. I own a Glock 19 which I have fired some mill-spec ammo in it. I have had no problems with it. There is more muzzle flash, noise and maybe more recoil.

Also much of the 9mm NATO is designed to be fire from submachine guns.

 

[JERRY]

NATO ammo is how the round was meant to be, and still is,

todays American made regular ammo is watered down for the ignorant masses who dont invest any research in their guns, who just load up and and go so to speak...

you will also notice that European ammo is "hotter" generally than American ammo that isnt rated as +p. this is because they left the ammo alone, and we've watered it down...they dont load it hotter, they actually load it right.

 

[Man With A Gun]

GREAT QUESTION. I did not know, until recently that .223 NATO rounds are NOT the same as the stuff you get off the shelf.

9mm NATO is good stuff but has the BALL bullet on it.

I have shot 9mm made for the UZI ( black bands on the bullet tip) and they were plenty hot.

New issue pistol, especially the SOCOM guns, will handle the NATO round with no problem.

 

[Rattlesnake]

GREAT QUESTION. I did not know, until recently that .223 NATO rounds are NOT the same as the stuff you get off the shelf.

Oh yeah. American Eagle .223 is loaded to Nato spec. So is XM193 by Federal. Look for a circle and crosshairs stamp on the base of the cartridge.

 

[Deer Hunter]

NATO spec is normal pressure. Everything else is downloaded for liability purposes.

 

[Steve C]

Page on the 9mm from Janes Military Small Arms. Good information on what the NATO standard really is and what are the ballistics of some of the variants used by different countries including the USA. 9mmNATO.pdf

You will have to do the metric to English conversions. Ballistics do not indicate length of test barrel but its likely longer than standard pistol length. More than likely 10" or more like a typical sub machine gun has.

 

[GRIZ22]

NATO spec ammo made for the military will have a cross in a circle on the headstamp regardless of the caliber or manufacturer. That's how you recognize NATO spec ammo.

 

[ARTiger]

NATO spec converts to 115 grain FMJ at 1300 FPS. By comparison, Winchester USA 9mm 115 grain is loaded to achieve 1190 fps, Remington's version makes 1135 FPS. Sellier & Bellot 115 gr. FMJ goes 1279 FPS, much closer to NATO spec.

 

[DogBonz]

No offence, but...

NATO ammo is how the round was meant to be, and still is,

Some calibers that now have that moniker, such as the 9mm, were invented prior to NATO. NATO was established in 1949. The 9mm parabelum was introduced in 1902, more than 47 years before NATO, so it could not be "how the round was meant to be".