9mmSUB vs Winchester WWB FMJ Ammo Test

I compared Winchester 115gr White Box (WWB) with some very fast 9mmSUB reloaded ammo with 90 grain Hornady XTP hollow point bullets, 2020 FPS, 815 ft lbs, (right). Both were fired from the same Kel-Tec SUB-2000 9mm carbine.

The camera was a little too far back to get the entire effect, but the ginger ale bottle of water flew about 20 feet when hit and was shredded.

Kinetic energy is more important than most shooters seem to believe, especially with the newer hollow point bullet designs that expand like crazy and penetrate well if they have enough energy to do the work.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• 9mmSUB
• SUB-2000
• Kel-Tec
• reloading
• fast
• 9mm

[vyxaer]

Ok, well, thanks for the replies.

Btw, I found some of your old posts from 2006 re loading the Kel Tec fast for 9mm whilst nosing around the intertubes for carbine loads. Stuff sticks around.

Oh, and 9 mm +P brass is identical to 9mm brass other than the head stamp for sorting. Didn't know that either. Heck, didn't know anybody made +P 9mm. From what I found, .33 special brass is the same as .38 special +P brass also, while .45acp +P brass is actually different and stronger

[Liberty4Ever]

@vyxaer I was assured that the Starline 9mm+P brass has a thicker web. It looked thicker, just looking down into the open neck. I cross sectioned it and the web is clearly thicker. That means that there is a little less volume for powder, so pressures will spike faster. For "on the edge" stuff like this, it makes a difference.

[vyxaer]

@Liberty4Ever You are no doubt correct; however, at this point in time, Starline describes their brass like so:

9MM+P (Small Pistol primer) .748"-.754" O.A.L.

9MM+P has no difference from the standard 9mm Luger other than headstamp designation for load segregation. Due to standard case design, it will handle +P pressures with no problems.

[Liberty4Ever]

@vyxaer Thanks for the info. I verified it on the Starline website. The sectioning I did to compare Starline 9mm+P to 9mm was probably not done with Starline 9mm brass. Maybe Starline 9mm brass is actually 9mm+P? If so, wouldn't that increase pressure for non +P loads, given the slightly reduced case volume? I know that's an issue with 5.56 vs, .223. Hmmm.

VOTE FOR LIBERTY & TEA PARTY CANDIDATES NOVEMBER 2nd!

[Liberty4Ever]

@vyxaer I experimented with many powders. Power Pistol provided very good results. Ultimately, in this specific application, I found that Long Shot provided the best results. Keep in mind that this is a very specific maximum load and I shot less than 100 rounds to prove the concept but not verify the load for general use, so I can't make any recommendations. I proceeded VERY gradually when developing the loads. Pressures build exponentially in this range! I used new +P brass. Be careful!

[vyxaer]

@Liberty4Ever Hmh, not much data on a load like that around. I see folks liking Blue Dot, Quickload likes Power Pistol for safe pressure around 2000fps; Accurate 5 is in the burn rate area and looks to be dense. Mind if I ask what powder you used?

No mag or spring problems?

[Liberty4Ever]

@vyxaer See my comments below for an explanation, and there is some actual data in the video description as well.

Shooting stuff is fun!

[Liberty4Ever]

The lighter bullet can be accelerated faster in the longer barrel without exceeding maximum chamber pressure using a powder that was optimized for this application (slower and more controlled burn rate and higher energy density so the small powder volume in the pistol cartridge can store more energy), the velocity is much higher (Mach 2!), and the bullet's energy is proportional to the mass (22% less) times the velocity (about 83% more) squared.

[Liberty4Ever]

The result of a lighter but much faster bullet is a LOT more kinetic energy. And yes, the light JHP at those speeds pretty much explodes on impact, dumping all of its energy.

[vyxaer]

The difference is that the HP disintegrates on impact and the FMJ keeps going?