12 Factory Loads For Your 9mm AR-15
AR-15 carbines chambered for the 9mm Parabellum pistol cartridge are more popular than ever. This is due in part to the lower cost of typical 9mm ammunition compared to 5.56mm/223 Remington ammunition as well as the relatively recent advent of “pistol braces” which allow shooters to use barrels that are shorter than 16” and still abide by the unconstitutional constraints on short-barreled rifles. Also, you can safely shoot at steel targets using copper-jacketed bullets at much closer distances than when using 5.56mm/223 Remington loads. Plus, 9mm AR-15s are just plain fun to shoot!
Since many people do not hand-load their own ammunition and are therefore limited to using factory loaded ammunition, I’m presenting in this article 12 factory loads that have functioned flawlessly in my 9mm AR-15 carbines. If your 9mm AR-15 won’t reliable cycle these loads it’s likely that the ammunition is not the problem. Most of the loads tested for this article produced good, to excellent accuracy/precision in my 9mm AR-15 carbines and several of these loads are also top performing self-defense loads
The precision of the following factory loads was tested from my bench-rest set-up at a distance of 25 yards. I used my Colt 6450 with a free-floated, 16” stainless-steel Noveske barrel. The barrel has a 1:12” twist. The set-up is pictured below.
All groups fired consisted of 10 shots each. I used one of my match-grade hand-loads topped with the Hornady 125 HAP as a control load to demonstrate the capabilities of the system. A 10-shot group of that load fired from the Noveske barreled upper at a distance of 25 yards had an extreme spread of 0.413”.
The Factory Loads . . .
Federal 9MS 147 grain JHP
The 10-shot group of the Federal 9MS had an extreme spread of 0.85”.
Speer Lawman 147 grain TMJ
The 10-shot group of the Speer 147 grain TMJ had an extreme spread of 1.56”.
GECO 124 grain Hexagon
The 10-shot group of the 124 grain Hexagon had an extreme spread of 1.15”
Nosler Defense 9mm Luger (+P) 124 Grain Bonded Tipped
The 10-shot group of the Nosler 124 grain Bonded Tipped had an extreme spread of 1.08”.
Federal 9BP 115 grain JHP
The 10-shot group of Federal 9BP had an extreme spread of 0.89”.
American Eagle 124 grain FMJ
The 10-shot group of 124 grain American Eagle had an extreme spread of 1.76”.
Winchester 147 grain Three Gun
The 10-shot group of Winchester 147 grain Three Gun had an extreme spread of 1.55”.
Speer 147 grain Gold Dot
The 10-shot group of the 147 grain Gold Dot had an extreme spread of 0.97”.
continued . . .
AR-15 carbines chambered for the 9mm Parabellum pistol cartridge are more popular than ever. This is due in part to the lower cost of typical 9mm ammunition compared to 5.56mm/223 Remington ammunition as well as the relatively recent advent of “pistol braces” which allow shooters to use barrels that are shorter than 16” and still abide by the unconstitutional constraints on short-barreled rifles. Also, you can safely shoot at steel targets using copper-jacketed bullets at much closer distances than when using 5.56mm/223 Remington loads. Plus, 9mm AR-15s are just plain fun to shoot!
Since many people do not hand-load their own ammunition and are therefore limited to using factory loaded ammunition, I’m presenting in this article 12 factory loads that have functioned flawlessly in my 9mm AR-15 carbines. If your 9mm AR-15 won’t reliable cycle these loads it’s likely that the ammunition is not the problem. Most of the loads tested for this article produced good, to excellent accuracy/precision in my 9mm AR-15 carbines and several of these loads are also top performing self-defense loads
The precision of the following factory loads was tested from my bench-rest set-up at a distance of 25 yards. I used my Colt 6450 with a free-floated, 16” stainless-steel Noveske barrel. The barrel has a 1:12” twist. The set-up is pictured below.
All groups fired consisted of 10 shots each. I used one of my match-grade hand-loads topped with the Hornady 125 HAP as a control load to demonstrate the capabilities of the system. A 10-shot group of that load fired from the Noveske barreled upper at a distance of 25 yards had an extreme spread of 0.413”.
The Factory Loads . . .
Federal 9MS 147 grain JHP
The 10-shot group of the Federal 9MS had an extreme spread of 0.85”.
Speer Lawman 147 grain TMJ
The 10-shot group of the Speer 147 grain TMJ had an extreme spread of 1.56”.
GECO 124 grain Hexagon
The 10-shot group of the 124 grain Hexagon had an extreme spread of 1.15”
Nosler Defense 9mm Luger (+P) 124 Grain Bonded Tipped
The 10-shot group of the Nosler 124 grain Bonded Tipped had an extreme spread of 1.08”.
Federal 9BP 115 grain JHP
The 10-shot group of Federal 9BP had an extreme spread of 0.89”.
American Eagle 124 grain FMJ
The 10-shot group of 124 grain American Eagle had an extreme spread of 1.76”.
Winchester 147 grain Three Gun
The 10-shot group of Winchester 147 grain Three Gun had an extreme spread of 1.55”.
Speer 147 grain Gold Dot
The 10-shot group of the 147 grain Gold Dot had an extreme spread of 0.97”.
continued . . .
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