147gr less perceived blast/sound than 115gr?

Slightly

Plugs and muffs for me even with 9mm

147s seem to produce a lower toned report, perhaps because they are usually subsonic....friend of mine loads them a little hotter than that, and they still a different tone than the 115s and 125s we usually shoot.

I've also found the recoil impulse significantly smoother when shot from full size guns.

When I still loaded 9s regularly, I ran 147mbcs with just enough 231 to cycle the actions of all my guns reliably, and I those were extremely pleasant to shoot.

Well...

Out of a 3" Sig P938, the 147 gr. std. pressure is subsonic.




GR

There is less muzzle blast because there is lmuch ess powder under a 147gr. 9mm bullet than a 115 gr. Sound is also a little lower because standard pressure 147gr. rounds are sub-sonic.

On paper yes. In the real world I don't think the difference is enough for me to feel or hear. I usually use 115's for punching paper at the range and have used 124 gr +p for carry. But I'll probably move to 147 gr eventually. After I use up the 124 gr loads I have.

I can feel and hear the difference. Much prefer shooting the heavier bullets.

I do, too, but gun "preferences" have got me loading mostly 124s.
Standard loads are still subsonic and they are perceptibly less harsh than 115s.

I can't say I notice much difference with most loads but I will say Speer Lawman 115 gr is the loudest 9MM ammo I have ever fired and seems to have more stout recoil compared to other 115 gr loads I have tried.

jmr40 said:

On paper yes. In the real world I don't think the difference is enough for me to feel or hear.

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I cannot and never could hear a difference. I can only feel the difference when shooting a smaller gun.

115gr WWB and Blazzer Brass are more comfortable to shoot than standard pressure 147gr HST when I'm shooting my Khar CM9.

I can't tell a difference in bullet weights when shooting my SAR B6P (CZ 75x copy)

In 9x19 most 115gn loads are supersonic and 147’s are subsonic, definitely a difference.

Combine 147’s with a very fast powder, like N310 and a suppressor and things become really quite. Even vs a normal speaking voice or impact on a target 100 yards away.

It depends...

This applies to handloads only! It's been a while since I shot 147 grain bullets. The last recollection I have of using 147 grain bullets was in a three gun match. These rounds functioned like butter. They were great! I keep thinking I should work up that load again. But I digress...

A 147 grain bullet is heavy for caliber for the 9mm. If loaded with enough charge of a slow burning powder to cycle the action "theoretically" the recoil impulse is distributed over the time the powder burns as the bullet moves down the barrel. With lighter bullets and quick burning powders, the recoil impulse is spread over a shorter period of time - more snap. The big unknown is how much of a difference this makes to the shooter.

There are examples above of where things worked out differently in the real world. YMMV

jmorris said:

In 9x19 most 115gn loads are supersonic and 147’s are subsonic, definitely a difference.

Combine 147’s with a very fast powder, like N310 and a suppressor and things become really quite. Even vs a normal speaking voice or impact on a target 100 yards away.

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Man that last one even landed quiet!

I definitely prefer 147 to 115grn. Not that 115s are unpleasant, but there’s noticeably less muzzle blast with the 147s that I’ve used.

Pre-panic the heavier bullets were only a couple cents/rnd more expensive when comparing 2 brass-case loads from the same manufacturer.

LoonWulf said:

Man that last one even landed quiet!

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Yeah, if I had editing equipment and skills I could have fixed that but then my videos would have a bunch of loud music no one likes and have 20 minutes of intro for 20 seconds of content. Like all the other videos I don’t watch.

I guess if I wasn’t trying to just record the sound from the target I could have gave it another try. Wouldn’t have mattered though, my wife already knows I’m not perfect.

jmorris said:

Yeah, if I had editing equipment and skills I could have fixed that but then my videos would have a bunch of loud music no one likes and have 20 minutes of intro for 20 seconds of content. Like all the other videos I don’t watch.

I guess if I wasn’t trying to just record the sound from the target I could have gave it another try. Wouldn’t have mattered though, my wife already knows I’m not perfect.

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Its amazing how quick they pick up on that........

Yes, I think there is a bit less blast with 147 gr. versus 115 gr. a little.
However, shooting 357 Sig versus 115 gr. 9mm, thats gonna be more noticeable.

Orion8472 said:

Title pretty much says it all. When comparing a 115gr to a 147gr, is there less blast/sound with the 147gr?

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Without hearing protection, both choices will permanently damage your hearing and any difference in the rate at which either achieves that end is likely to matter very little in the long term.

If you want to mitigate signature to near nothing, hearing protection in addition to a quality suppressor seems to be the best bet for those who are unusually sensitive to muzzle blast.

Either one will hurt your ears, especially fired inside unless you are wearing ear pro or have a can on it.

I have a bunch of 115gr rounds that I wish I could trade for 147gr.

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Sell the 115’s do someone that is in full panic mode right now and buy twice as many 147’s once the panic is over.

I sold a 650 right after Obama was re-elected and sandyhook on eBay for $1840. Had a new 1050 to replace it from Dillon in just 3 weeks...

Quite a large difference when fired out of a suppressed 9mm pistol, un-suppressed its academic as both will quickly cause hearing loss.