Winchester 124 grain NATO any good?

Yep.

Any junk ammo will work to break in a firearm. The cheaper the better so you can find if there are any under powered loads, primers your firearm doesn't like, etc. As much as some people hate them, I like to use WWB and Blazer to break in and practice.

It should be fine, but it is loaded hotter than standard ammo. I doubt anyone would ever wear a modern made firearm with it.

WWB 9mm NATO is my standard round for almost all 9mm platforms.

NATO spec 9mm is a +P load, but for some reason Winchester doesn't plainly state this on the box.

It's not weak stuff, it's just cheap.

My pistols generally shoot this well, so I agree you are good to go.

There are all kinds of threads out there on the internet about Winchester 124 Nato being too hot for regular use. You can find people laughing that idea off and claiming they have used it daily for two hundred years without a problem, and you can find people saying you will wear out your pistol using it.

I email Walther USA and asked about it. They said it was fine to use but might wear things out a little faster.

I emailed STI and asked if it was ok to shoot 150 rounds of it every week. They said no problem.

As I said, it generally shoots well out of the pistols I tried it in. So it seems you are certainly good to go to use it to break in a pistol.

Works great in my Ruger PC

It’s good enough stuff. Maybe 10% hotter than regular stuff. It feels more like +P in my Glocks than any other range ammo I use.

I have shot a lot of it and had overall very good luck with it. The one and only malfunction I experienced was with one round in my Beretta 92FS when in the middle of one magazine the slide failed to return to battery by about 1/16" or so, locking up the slide with a live round in the chamber. When I got the slide loose I checked the cartridge with a caliper and did the "plunk test" with the round in the barrel, and everything seemed to be in spec so I cannot explain that misfire. Perhaps some extraneous material jammed the cartridge case in the slide. But it was the one and only time I had an issue like that in that Beretta.

It is loaded a bit hotter than standard pressure 9 mm Luger, but it is my impression based on perceived recoil that it is not as hot as most true +P 9 mm Luger, which is loaded to a SAAMI standard maximum case pressure of up to 10% greater than standard pressure 9 mm. It is a bit difficult to determine exactly how much "hotter" 9 mm NATO is than standard pressure 9 mm, because NATO ammunition is loaded to meet C.I.P. standards, which utilize a completely different case pressure measurement standard than SAAMI. So it is not possibly to translate C.I.P. pressures to SAAMI pressures precisely. As near as I have been able to figure, the 9 mm NATO is approximately 7% "hotter" than standard pressure 9 mm, whereas 9 mm +P is around 10% hotter.

Works fine in my third gen Smiths. Actually like it better than standard 124 grain.

TTv2 said:

NATO spec 9mm is a +P load, but for some reason Winchester doesn't plainly state this on the box.

It's not weak stuff, it's just cheap.

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probably because it isn't plus P - only about halfway between standard and plus P

Merle1 said:

probably because it isn't plus P - only about halfway between standard and plus P

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Anything over max SAAMI pressure is overpressure and thus should be considered +P, even though it doesn't reach max pressures that SAAMI specifies for 9mm +P.

TTv2 said:

Anything over max SAAMI pressure is overpressure and thus should be considered +P, even though it doesn't reach max pressures that SAAMI specifies for 9mm +P.

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that's your opinion, but SAAMI doesn't agree with it.....

As a matter of fact this past Saturday I shot the Win 124 gr. NATO ammo and the regular WWB ammo through my Glock 17. Given a choice between the 2 Win ammos, I’d take the NATO stuff, but I do think there is better ammo to be had from other manufacturers, such as Fed AE, Fiocchi, and Blazer Brass if given the option at point-of-purchase.

I’ve been buying the UMC bulk packs. It shoots well enough for me. I think they are 300 round boxes. I shoot AE, PMC, Federal Champion, WWB, UMC, and Blazer Brass and for the most part cant tell the difference in any of them unless I look at the headstamp. I can notice the NATO Winchester being a little bit hotter, but not as hot as +p ammo as others have said. The AE and PMC May be a little more consistent but not by much. I buy whatever is cheaper. I normally don’t get UMC but the bulk packs are a good deal and I don’t have a problem with it. If I order online I like PMC or AE.

TTv2 said:

Anything over max SAAMI pressure is overpressure and thus should be considered +P, even though it doesn't reach max pressures that SAAMI specifies for 9mm +P.

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I think the reason it isn't marked +P is because 9x19mm NATO is considered a separate cartridge from 9mm Luger in actuality. Isn't this why .45 Super is marked as such and not marked with a +P even though it essentially is the same cartridge as .45ACP?

RevolvingGarbage said:

I think the reason it isn't marked +P is because 9x19mm NATO is considered a separate cartridge from 9mm Luger in actuality. Isn't this why .45 Super is marked as such and not marked with a +P even though it essentially is the same cartridge as .45ACP?

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It's the same dimensions as .45 ACP, but the case is thicker to prevent ruptures from the higher pressures. The headstamp is the biggest reason tho, it's a red flag saying "DO NOT SHOOT IN A .45 ACP." Winchester 9mm NATO doesn't say that.

I find it so odd that ammo makers will pump out weak loads forever because one gun made decades ago couldn't handle the full power of a cartridge and it's a safety issue, but a company like Winchester doesn't think to themselves, "Hey, what if someone shot the higher pressure NATO ammo in a Luger?"

TTv2 said:

I find it so odd that ammo makers will pump out weak loads forever because one gun made decades ago couldn't handle the full power of a cartridge and it's a safety issue, but a company like Winchester doesn't think to themselves, "Hey, what if someone shot the higher pressure NATO ammo in a Luger?"

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I believe such a round would likely break the gun, but I can't see even an original Luger having a full on kb from 9x19 NATO.
According to my googlefu, 9x19 NATO chamber pressure is listed as 36,500 psi. 9x19 Luger is 35,000 psi. and the proof loads used in European countries generate 44,000 psi.

I think it will be fine...I bought a case of it in a metal ammo can for $199. I have been shooting it in all my guns for a year.
It is rated at 1200 fps which is about the same as a 9mm +P ....but it feels a little lighter than +P. It kicks just a lil bit to let you know it is not 115 grain standard pressure 9.
I like it!

9x19 NATO is in general loaded to the warm side, but not necessarily +P (although it may be depending on the maker, even varying by lot). It is manufactured to meet specifications for velocity, penetration, accuracy and function in a range of weapons that are standard issue and substitute standard in NATO nations. This includes such "obsolete" firearms as the Walther P-1, Star, Browning High Power and a myriad of submachine guns. It should be safe in any modern 9mm and most well-made older firearms in good condition. IMHO, the Win/WCC/Olin military contract 9mm is among the best of the breed, second only to GECO/Ruag in my book.

I've shot 450 rounds through my HK VP9 and 1250 through my P30 without any problems. It's priced pretty well and seems to use a cleaner powder than WWB. I think (someone may correct me here) that the primer pockets are crimped, if that matters to you.

RevolvingGarbage said:

I believe such a round would likely break the gun, but I can't see even an original Luger having a full on kb from 9x19 NATO.
According to my googlefu, 9x19 NATO chamber pressure is listed as 36,500 psi. 9x19 Luger is 35,000 psi. and the proof loads used in European countries generate 44,000 psi.

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124 grain 9x19 mm NATO ammunition is loaded to a service pressure standard of 36,500 by the C.I.P. protocol. This does not equate to a case pressure of 36,500 psi per the SAAMI protocol. For example, standard pressure 9x19 mm ammunition is loaded to a maximum case pressure of 35,000 by the SAAMI protocol, but the same ammunition rates a Pmax of 34,100 per the C.I.P. protocol, about 2.5% lower. If you increase 36,500 by 2.5% you get a Pmax of about 37,400. Since SAAMI standards list a Pmax of 35,000 for standard pressure 9 mm Luger, and 38,500 psi for +P 9 mm Luger, this puts the NATO load a little more than halfway higher in pressure than the difference between P and +P.

TTv2 said:

NATO spec 9mm is a +P load, but for some reason Winchester doesn't plainly state this on the box.

It's not weak stuff, it's just cheap.

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From an old post by Luger_carbine:

9mm standard max pressure is 35,001 psi

124gr 9mm NATO max pressure is 36,500 psi

9mm +P max pressure is 38,500 psi

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