gun_slinger_boy
.338 Win Mag
I know there are some people that are absolutely obsessed with solid copper projectiles @Willjr75 so I decided to give them a try. My girlfriend is finally starting to get serious about carrying and I think these would be best for her EDC. The reason being, she will be carrying a short barrel 38 special. Velocity is of course the key for hollow points to open up consistently and I feel the 38 isn't up to the task. Sure you could get +p but even that is a crap shoot with the marginal velocity gains in a short barrel 38. Also, my girlfriend prefers normal loadings better than the +p for accurate shooting. It' more comfortable for her.
I went ahead a did a ladder test for 9mm rounds to see what I could shake out. Yes this is more for my girlfriends 38 but I always carry so I want to test them in 9mm first. A poor nonsensical excuse I know but this is for science
The projectile used was the Lehigh Defense 90 grain 9mm Extreme Defender. I used their load data and rolled low, medium and +p charge rounds using CFE Pistol. Here's what I got on my chronograph at 10 feet.
5.4 grains 5.7 grains 6.1 grains
1098 1186 1334
1117 1178 1297
1132 1225 1325
1136 1285 1311
1110 1206 Err
Hi 1136 1285 1334
Lo 1098 1178 1297
AV 1118 1216 1316
ES 38 107 37
SD 15 42 16
The testing was done with a G19 stock barrel and as you can see it's quite consistent across the board. At the middle of the road charges the extreme spread was a little high but with those 2 errant rounds it could have been anything. Or it could actually be that the middle charge does something weird but I doubt it. More testing would have to be done but nothing I would worry about if you chose this load. Lehigh's testing was done with 5 inch barrel and the +p velocity was 1430 which seems about right compared to my testing.
Function: All 3 loads functioned flawlessly and locked back the slide.
Pressure signs: Across all loadings there were no extreme pressure signs. No cracking or flattened primers.
Recoil: Shit it's a 9mm. Normal 124 grain ammo has seemingly no recoil so you know 90 grain projectiles should have even less. I didn't feel a difference and I shot some 124 grain ball rounds right before chronographing to warm and foul the barrel. Was there a noticeable difference between the two weights? No. Maybe?But there was definitely no difference in recoil across the 90 grain loads. So if I were to carry these I would go with the +P for the extra velocity.
Accuracy: I will do this test next as I got tired of fighting with the knee high snow in my yard before doing this testing. I did play around a little with a few from each ladder and shot into cardboard at 10 feet and they are lazer beams. I want to test at 7 yards (and maybe further) but I have a strong feeling the accuracy will still be excellent.
Flash: I did this testing in the day time but didn't notice any flash. CFE pistol seems to be a pretty good powder to not get much if any flash. I may do some night time testing with the +p loads if I'm motivated enough.
As far as changing to the G19 that is coming full circle and we can discuss that if you'd like. For now enjoy the book I wrote above. Until the next test...
I went ahead a did a ladder test for 9mm rounds to see what I could shake out. Yes this is more for my girlfriends 38 but I always carry so I want to test them in 9mm first. A poor nonsensical excuse I know but this is for science
The projectile used was the Lehigh Defense 90 grain 9mm Extreme Defender. I used their load data and rolled low, medium and +p charge rounds using CFE Pistol. Here's what I got on my chronograph at 10 feet.
5.4 grains 5.7 grains 6.1 grains
1098 1186 1334
1117 1178 1297
1132 1225 1325
1136 1285 1311
1110 1206 Err
Hi 1136 1285 1334
Lo 1098 1178 1297
AV 1118 1216 1316
ES 38 107 37
SD 15 42 16
The testing was done with a G19 stock barrel and as you can see it's quite consistent across the board. At the middle of the road charges the extreme spread was a little high but with those 2 errant rounds it could have been anything. Or it could actually be that the middle charge does something weird but I doubt it. More testing would have to be done but nothing I would worry about if you chose this load. Lehigh's testing was done with 5 inch barrel and the +p velocity was 1430 which seems about right compared to my testing.
Function: All 3 loads functioned flawlessly and locked back the slide.
Pressure signs: Across all loadings there were no extreme pressure signs. No cracking or flattened primers.
Recoil: Shit it's a 9mm. Normal 124 grain ammo has seemingly no recoil so you know 90 grain projectiles should have even less. I didn't feel a difference and I shot some 124 grain ball rounds right before chronographing to warm and foul the barrel. Was there a noticeable difference between the two weights? No. Maybe?But there was definitely no difference in recoil across the 90 grain loads. So if I were to carry these I would go with the +P for the extra velocity.
Accuracy: I will do this test next as I got tired of fighting with the knee high snow in my yard before doing this testing. I did play around a little with a few from each ladder and shot into cardboard at 10 feet and they are lazer beams. I want to test at 7 yards (and maybe further) but I have a strong feeling the accuracy will still be excellent.
Flash: I did this testing in the day time but didn't notice any flash. CFE pistol seems to be a pretty good powder to not get much if any flash. I may do some night time testing with the +p loads if I'm motivated enough.
As far as changing to the G19 that is coming full circle and we can discuss that if you'd like. For now enjoy the book I wrote above. Until the next test...
