1180fps from a 147gr 9mm

[WS6]

At least, that is what federal is claiming from the "XM9HA" round, which uses the 147gr HST projectile. Oh, it's not a +P round either, not according to the packaging.

[Marcus L.]

What is XM9HA ?
What are the specs and what bullet is used in it?

Response from Federal Ask the Expert 1/7/10,

Greetings,

The XM9HA is a product overrun from a government contract it is loaded
with our 147gr HST bullet with velocity at 1180FPS and 479 ft lbs of
energy.

Thank you


My guess is that this ammo was intended for submachine gun use. There are a number of European 9mm SMG loadings that are basically ++P++ in power level. SMG 9mm ammo is not designed to be used in handguns and it can be dangerous. Some guns have exploded after the first shot, and some have gone through a couple of thousand rounds of it. There are some Russian pistols that are designed for such high powered 9mm ammo, but they are marked accordingly. This 147gr ammo is a little more tame and would probably be okay, but performance wise it might have too much hydraulic force on the hollow point and break off the petals causing actually less wounding volume and over penetration. Regular HSTs already open up the hollow point enough to make the petals perpendicular to the bullet trunk........additional velocity will only fold them back more to either lay them flat up against the bullet trunk or break them off. The advantage of this load would be deeper penetration and better barrier penetration, but probably not better terminal effects.

[WS6]

What is XM9HA ?
What are the specs and what bullet is used in it?

Response from Federal Ask the Expert 1/7/10,

Greetings,

The XM9HA is a product overrun from a government contract it is loaded
with our 147gr HST bullet with velocity at 1180FPS and 479 ft lbs of
energy.

Thank you


My guess is that this ammo was intended for submachine gun use. There are a number of European 9mm SMG loadings that are basically ++P++ in power level. SMG 9mm ammo is not designed to be used in handguns and it can be dangerous. Some guns have exploded after the first shot, and some have gone through a couple of thousand rounds of it. There are some Russian pistols that are designed for such high powered 9mm ammo, but they are marked accordingly. This 147gr ammo is a little more tame and would probably be okay, but performance wise it might have too much hydraulic force on the hollow point and break off the petals causing actually less wounding volume and over penetration. Regular HSTs already open up the hollow point enough to make the petals perpendicular to the bullet trunk........additional velocity will only fold them back more to either lay them flat up against the bullet trunk or break them off. The advantage of this load would be deeper penetration and better barrier penetration, but probably not better terminal effects.

On Glock Talk there are photos of it fired into phone-books and it didn't appear to have sheared petals. As to the pressure, it is using 3n38 powder, which according to Vihtouri is capable of driving a 147gr 9mm to 1200fps using 6.9gr. Published load. Based on what I have read, the information is accurate according to those who have chronographed it.
http://www.brianenos.com/forums/inde...=74053&hl=3n38

[Marcus L.]

It's definately an interesting loading. It would be good for hunting or game protection if you choose to carry 9mm.

Negatives to the loading would be muzzle flash, blast, and recoil which will effect your combat performance. For me, the fastest I'd go with 147gr would be Federal's HST 147gr+P at 1050fps. It already penetrates an average of 15" with reliable expansion with good barrier penetration. It even penetrates steel as well as 9mm NATO as I've done with 1/8" sheets.

[WS6]

It's definately an interesting loading. It would be good for hunting or game protection if you choose to carry 9mm.

Negatives to the loading would be muzzle flash, blast, and recoil which will effect your combat performance. For me, the fastest I'd go with 147gr would be Federal's HST 147gr+P at 1050fps. It already penetrates an average of 15" with reliable expansion with good barrier penetration. It even penetrates steel as well as 9mm NATO as I've done with 1/8" sheets.

My interest in it is more academic than anything. My 357SIG will push a 147gr bullet plenty fast enough for me. I just thought it really interesting.

[ehryk]

A few questions on this load then. Sincethe Speer Gold Dot is also a bonded core bullet that performs pretty close to the HST, would the 147 Gold Dot also be suitable? I see on all the load datas available at loaddata.com that 124s max out at about 1240 or so. It appears to me this is more due to bullet limitations than to velocity limits, yes? As for the 147, is the cavity deeper or is the base just longer? Also, is the 147 designed to open at lower velocities that would make its usefulness at 1200 fps limited?

I have some 3N38 that I use for my 5.7, I may have to get some Gold Dot 147s and shoot the Perma-Gel to get an idea how the bullet may behave at those velocities.

[DocGKR]

While the Speer Gold Dot is a bonded bullet, the HST is NOT a bonded projectile; the Federal bonded handgun loads are labeled "Tactical Bonded" (LE9T1, LE9T5, LE357ST4, LE40T1, LE40T2, LE40T3, LE45T1).

Perma-gel is not the ideal media for testing projectile terminal performance nuances.

[ehryk]

aha, ok I did not realize that. Thank you Sir.

ETA: I know Perma-Gel is not ideal, but for what I can do at home and for what I am getting from it, its better than water or wet phone books When I got the Perma-Gel, I knew its limitations and I got it for what it was. Believe me, if I had the resources available to do proper gelatine, I would heheheh

[PA PATRIOT]

Whats a good source for this ammo?

[DaveC]

Here is the link that was on another forum,

https://surplusammo.com/index.php?ma...f26765f44ff608


Some talk on GT about this ammo having failures to fire.