Stephen A. Camp
Moderator In Memoriam
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2002
- Messages
- 2,430
Hello. Over the last few months, I've been trying out some different 9mm ammunition in the Hi Power. One of these has been Corbon's 100-gr. PowRball. It is a +P load. The stuff's been consistent in performance when fired into water, "scientific" mud, and soaked newsprint. I have not yet shot any animals with it.
Those doing testing in 10% ballistic gelatin advise penetration right at 12" regardless of whether bare gelatin is hit or hit after passing through the dreaded 4-layers of denim test.
In water-soaked newsprint, it regularly went to about .62" in diameter. Shot to shot velocities have been consistent and average 1465 ft/sec. Accuracy has been surprisingly good. This ammunition in both 9mm and .38 Super has proven much more consistent than the first box or two I tried in .45 ACP. The forty-five PowRball was purchased right after it came out and ammo bought much more recently has been considerably more consistent so I THINK the load's been "fine tuned" to very acceptable levels.
This round should feed in about any Hi Power, humped feedramp or not.
It is +P so if you prefer not to shoot "hot" ammo in your Hi Power, I would opt for another load. On the other hand, this ammunition is not cheap and I personally cannot afford to shoot thousands of PowRball rounds.
I also tried some fast-N'-light Aguila IQ 65-gr hollow point ammunition. It doesn't cost nearly so much and is not marked +P anywhere on the cartridge or the box. I was surprised that it grouped quite acceptably. Recoil was noticeably less than with most 9mm rounds. It averaged just over 1500 ft/sec from the Hi Power and fed just fine. It is right on the edge of producing enough slide momentum to operate the Hi Power with an 18.5-lb recoil spring as I had a failure to eject; should work fine with the factory standard spring, 17-lbs. In every test I've tried involving soft targets, it has broken into three pieces not counting the base. It was designed to do this. Penetration in soaked newsprint is but 5." I'd be hesitant to use this for anything "serious," but think it would make a dandy pest or varmint load for critters in the raccoon to fox size.
This recovered IQ was fired into water from a Glock 26. Results are the same with the Hi Power. I don't trust this for defensive use.
I also tried some of Federal's "Personal Defense" Expanding FMJ ammunition. This is NOT the +P ammo initially brought out by Federal which weighed a bit more.
I'm not sure how this would feed from a humped feed ramp classic Hi Power, but it works fine in two Mk III pistols I tested it in. The stuff shot decent groups and expanded pretty consistently in various media. The bullet weighs 105-gr. It penetrated an about 6" in wet newsprint. I've not seen actual gelatin tests on this one. It reliably expanded to a bit over sixty-caliber. It is NOT +P. I tried it to see if any of this might be acceptable for folks not wanting to use +P. It is reported to penetrate from 10 to 12" in 10% ballistic gelatin.
I'm told that there's some controversy over whether or not the EFMJ "wounds" as effectively as regular JHP or PowRball due to the fact that when it strikes a target, the pre-stressed sides open and a hard, white silcone-like "bullet core" expands from between the slits. Some opine that its being softer and more rounded lessens its terminal effect. I've heard of but one shooting with the +P version. Supposedly, it worked just fine. The recovered bullet was reportedly in the neighborhood of sixty-caliber...a similar result seen in both water and soaked newsprint.
I'm doing quite a bit of "research" right now with LOTS of 9mm ammunition, some "old," and some "new." Thought ya'll might find this of interest.
Best.
Those doing testing in 10% ballistic gelatin advise penetration right at 12" regardless of whether bare gelatin is hit or hit after passing through the dreaded 4-layers of denim test.
In water-soaked newsprint, it regularly went to about .62" in diameter. Shot to shot velocities have been consistent and average 1465 ft/sec. Accuracy has been surprisingly good. This ammunition in both 9mm and .38 Super has proven much more consistent than the first box or two I tried in .45 ACP. The forty-five PowRball was purchased right after it came out and ammo bought much more recently has been considerably more consistent so I THINK the load's been "fine tuned" to very acceptable levels.
This round should feed in about any Hi Power, humped feedramp or not.
It is +P so if you prefer not to shoot "hot" ammo in your Hi Power, I would opt for another load. On the other hand, this ammunition is not cheap and I personally cannot afford to shoot thousands of PowRball rounds.
I also tried some fast-N'-light Aguila IQ 65-gr hollow point ammunition. It doesn't cost nearly so much and is not marked +P anywhere on the cartridge or the box. I was surprised that it grouped quite acceptably. Recoil was noticeably less than with most 9mm rounds. It averaged just over 1500 ft/sec from the Hi Power and fed just fine. It is right on the edge of producing enough slide momentum to operate the Hi Power with an 18.5-lb recoil spring as I had a failure to eject; should work fine with the factory standard spring, 17-lbs. In every test I've tried involving soft targets, it has broken into three pieces not counting the base. It was designed to do this. Penetration in soaked newsprint is but 5." I'd be hesitant to use this for anything "serious," but think it would make a dandy pest or varmint load for critters in the raccoon to fox size.
This recovered IQ was fired into water from a Glock 26. Results are the same with the Hi Power. I don't trust this for defensive use.
I also tried some of Federal's "Personal Defense" Expanding FMJ ammunition. This is NOT the +P ammo initially brought out by Federal which weighed a bit more.
I'm not sure how this would feed from a humped feed ramp classic Hi Power, but it works fine in two Mk III pistols I tested it in. The stuff shot decent groups and expanded pretty consistently in various media. The bullet weighs 105-gr. It penetrated an about 6" in wet newsprint. I've not seen actual gelatin tests on this one. It reliably expanded to a bit over sixty-caliber. It is NOT +P. I tried it to see if any of this might be acceptable for folks not wanting to use +P. It is reported to penetrate from 10 to 12" in 10% ballistic gelatin.
I'm told that there's some controversy over whether or not the EFMJ "wounds" as effectively as regular JHP or PowRball due to the fact that when it strikes a target, the pre-stressed sides open and a hard, white silcone-like "bullet core" expands from between the slits. Some opine that its being softer and more rounded lessens its terminal effect. I've heard of but one shooting with the +P version. Supposedly, it worked just fine. The recovered bullet was reportedly in the neighborhood of sixty-caliber...a similar result seen in both water and soaked newsprint.
I'm doing quite a bit of "research" right now with LOTS of 9mm ammunition, some "old," and some "new." Thought ya'll might find this of interest.
Best.