Doc - this was surprising to me. I would have bet on the 124gr stuff. Is this an indication that the manufacturers are designing the 147gr bullets to expand at slower velocities now, enough so that the shorter barrels don't negate that benefit?
Seems like I also read somewhere that the heavier bullets are more comfortable in recoil from the mini 9's too. Gonna have to give 'em a try, I guess.
FreeMe... I don't think you can go wrong with the 124 gr to 127 gr midrange 9mm ammo in any size autopistol, actually. The PM9 in my pocket as I type this is stoked with RT 127 gr loads. I have lots of them on hand and they work great in this pistol. I might go with a 147 gr load when I deplete my stock of RAT's, but I will probably stay with the 124-127's. Sort of fits with my philosophy of picking a middlin'-sized bullet in most of my calibers (140 gr in 270, 165 gr in 308, 180 gr in 30-06, 270 gr in 375 H&H or Ruger).
The virtue of the 147 gr bonded bullets is that, yes, they
are designed to reliably expand at low velocities, which means they're somewhat more reliable out of a 3" bbl than the 124-127 gr bullets. Also, as Birdwatcher and others have noted, the 147's are SCARY accurate out of just about any pistol you can name.
The 115 gr bullets, which used to be the go-to bullet in 9mm before the better JHP bullets like GDHP and WW RT came alone, typicall rely on high velocity to expand, and as such are not a good choice in a small 9mm pistol. That's not to say they won't work if conditions are right... I killed a whitetail doe about 10 years ago on an ag-tag with a 115 gr Cor-Bon out of a Kahr K9 when I shot her in the head as she walked under my box stand at a range of about 5 feet.
I wouldn't say the 147 grainers are "more comfortable" to shoot out of a micro-nine. I have shot 124's, 127's, and 147's out of my PM9 as well as other small 9mm pistols... the recoil really isn't objectionable in any of them, and in my subjective opinion really no different.
