Lancer Ammo Part 2

Hello!

I am new to handguns, new to Steyr, and new to Steyr Club, and I've been reading and trying to get up to speed. After reading TFL and THR recommendations, I bought an M9 from CDNN as my first handgun for self/home defense and, well, just for fun (I needed a new hobby). I've put 50 rounds through it "by committee" and I'm quite pleased with it so far. I was a little surprised at how "snappy" it felt - not terrible, but more muzzle flip than I expected - with the PMC and WWB 115 gr loads I was shooting. To make a long story short, after reading jnp1226 and others, I'm interested in the subsonic Lancer 147 gr ammo to make the pistol a little more user friendly, hopefully enough so that my wife might try her hand.

My question - would the 147 gr JHP make a good defense round? It seems like practicing with your defense round or something with similar charateristics would be a good idea, but I can't get a handle on whether the subsonic rounds would have adequate penetration or expansion. Mike at Lancer says they haven't done any gelatin testing, but he recommends the higher velocity 124 gr loads. I may get both to compare shooting characteristics, but maybe not if the 147 gr rounds don't have decent stopping power.

Any thoughts?

Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance, and happy to part of the Club!

 

In my 9 i shoot the lancer 147 and carry the gold dot 147

 

I shoot the Lancer 124 gr. in my M9 and CCW 124 +P's Speer Gold Dots that I also practice with in bulk.

In my Kahr PM9, I shoot the Lancer 147 gr's and carry the 147 Speer Gold Dots.

Lancer is excellent ammo, IMHO.

 

Climb14er -

I shot a Kahr P9 Covert with 115 gr PMC and found it unpleasantly snappy. Do you think the 147 gr loads tame your PM9 a bit?

I ordered some of the Lancer 147 gr FMJ to compare to the 115 WWB I have now. I may put them both in the same magazine to make the difference more apparent.

 

WK, I did a test some months ago on various loads for the Kahr PM9 I shot the 115 Wally World, 115 Corbon, 115 and 124 Pro Load, 115 Gold Dots, 124 GD's, 124 +P GD's, Lancer 124 and 147, Speer Lawman, 147 Gold Dots plus assorted other ammo.

The most comfortable and accurate round for (my) Kahr is the 147gr. Speer Gold Dot.

There are other mfg's 147's that have excellent reputation but I personally like the Speer products inc. their Lawman series for target ammo.

The 147 has less recoil, is totally reliable and is more accurate (than I am). I feel extremely 'protected' with the newer and recent versions of the 147gr.

I've read test reports re: the 147 and have seen the expansion as well.

While I like the Gold Dot 124gr. +P in the M9, the 147 is THE round for me in the smaller and shorter PM9.

Hope this helps.

 

Climb14er -

Thanks - that's great information. I'm looking forward to doing some of my own testing, but I'd just as soon not reinvent the wheel!

I'm waiting on my S9 to arrive (any day I hope) and I'll be taking it and my M9 out to compare the WWB 115 gr to the Lancer if it comes soon, or another subsonic 147 gr round if I get too impatient.

My greatest goal in this quest is to make the M9 or the S9 tame enough that Mrs. Waffle will take a liking to one or the other.

Thanks again!

 

WK, I forgot to mention. I also found the 147gr to have less muzzle flash than either the 115 +P or the 124 +P rounds. Probably cause it's a standard load. Though it travels at less velocity than the 115/124 +P's, it's a much more comfortable round to shoot.

I also shot the 147gr in the M9 and it was excellent in all respects. Being that there's a four inch barrel on the M9, I thought it could easily handle the 124 +P's and to me, this is a more 'powerful' round in the larger pistol.

In the Kahr which as a short barrel, the 147gr was more comfy, at least to me. Others swear by the 115/124's. Heck, everyone to their own choice, eh? :wink:

 

WK, the 147's are THE load for the smaller Kahr, IMHO and through tests I've done. I've got three mags loaded with them right now; one in the pistol and two for backup. Speer Gold Dot 147gr's. The Lancer 147 target ammo is what I shoot through it.

The Pm9 handled the 115 and 124's fine but when it came to the +P's, yes, it was too snappy for me. The 147's took the snap away.