Could post this in the ammo section, but the point is quietest shooting suppressed, so it's going here.

I bought some Aguila 147gr subsonic earlier this year. It shoots without issues, and it's really quiet. I ran through a good chunk of what I had, and not wanting to run out, ordered some more 147gr. This time, I got Federal American Eagle AE9FP because it was cheaper. Well, it's not supersonic in my PCC's, but it's noticeably louder than the Aguila. Bummer. Reading around, I'm also seeing that the colder it gets, the more likely it is to go supersonic, if the posts I'm reading are true. Given that I've been shooting it in 100+ degree weather and it's finally starting to cool off, I guess I'm going to find out soon. Kind of a disappointment.

I was going to go pick up a couple different boxes of subsonic 9mm ammo at the local, but I figured I'd ask what you guys like for this. I keep reading that Federal Syntech 150gr is great, and I like the idea of lead free primers with a totally jacketed round.

Watching this thread with interest.

I ran some Speer Lawman and Gold Dot 147gr through my Mojave 9, and I think some Federal HST 147gr, and they all worked fine. It was my first time at the range with the Mojave 9, and I don't have suppressor height sights on my P250, so I'm unable to gauge accuracy.

My go-tos are 150gr Syntech and Speer Lawman 147gr.

I do not reload, but one thing that might make me start is this.

A few of the guys over at nfatalk swear by loading up subsonic 124gr pills, which ends up being really quiet, while still cycling most service pistols.

Great for plinkin.

I have a Rock Chucker Supreme set I inherited. It's in a bin in the garage. I really need to clear out the clutter and build a reloading bench and learn this stuff. I went looking earlier and found load data for a variety of bullet weights. It's not a hell of a lot cheaper for standard plinker 9mm ammo, but for subsonic, I think it would be worth it.

Reloading 147gr 9mm is worth it. I load all of my subsonic on my Dillon, though a Rockchucker would be more than adequate. It's also the only round I'll use Titegroup powder in; it only takes 2.5-3.0gr per round, so the powder lasts a long time at 7000gr per lb. There's also a pretty nice variety of bullets to choose from- jacketed, plated, polymer coated, RN, FN, HP, etc.

Is that all I'd need to start working up my own version of that load? The powder type, charge, and projectile weight? Obviously I have a lot to learn about reloading, namely, all of it. I don't even know what questions to ask at this point.

Alrighty. In the meantime, I'm gonna try out a couple different boxes of other subsonic rounds and see what's quietest in my setup. One thing I'll be trying to shoot for when I start rolling my own is the cleanest burning combo possible, given the limitations. Sweet mercy does it get filthy fast. I haven't pulled that one mag apart yet, but I'm reasonably sure it's one that I hadn't run through the ultrasonic cleaner yet, and the follower is binding up on fouling.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Is that all I'd need to start working up my own version of that load? The powder type, charge, and projectile weight? Obviously I have a lot to learn about reloading, namely, all of it. I don't even know what questions to ask at this point.
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A good loading manual is also recommended. That gives you lots of load options with different bullets and powders. Those are the basics; as you noted, there is more! Most pistol cartridges aren't too picky about brass or primer types, so long as you use 9mm and small pistol primers.

I was shooting the 158 grain subsonics from Israeli Military Industries for decades but my supply dried up a few years ago

So I now load my own but I utilize a 165 grain projectile. It works very well in all of my suppressed 9MM firearms



I use 5.7 grains of #7 which runs around 900 in my handguns and remains subsonic in my UZI SMG

quote:

Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
A good loading manual is also recommended. That gives you lots of load options with different bullets and powders. Those are the basics; as you noted, there is more! Most pistol cartridges aren't too picky about brass or primer types, so long as you use 9mm and small pistol primers.

Thanks! I think I have two different Hornady reloading manuals I also brought back, I'll have to look. One of them was decades old, but the other was recent within a few years. Regardless, sounds like this is the way once I can get my setup going.

I picked up three boxes of Blazer aluminum cased 147gr TMJ. It's listed at 950fps, same as the Aguila I like. Ran it through my Stribog yesterday and it was very quiet. Again, noticeably quieter than the Federal stuff. The aluminum cases didn't give me any trouble, but it somehow blew a bunch of unburnt powder around my glasses and into my eyes. Only took about twenty five rounds to do that and I haven't opened up the gun yet to see how bad it is, but I'm not a big fan of that.

Still want to try something heavier than 150gr and see how that does. I don't have a chrono, and I'm pretty sure they list fps averages based on 4" barrels, so it's hard to say exactly how fast they're going out of an 8" barrel. I'm sure someone has a good answer to that, but based on some quick searching, the charts and graphs I'm looking at seem to indicate maybe around 100fps gain, give or take. If that's the case, trying to stay around 900fps listed, or a little under will give me a nice, quiet round. I kinda wonder if this Federal AE9FP is cruising just under the supersonic barrier out of my gun.

The data I see is that a 147g round is gaining about 50fps out of an 8" barrel versus a 4" barrel.

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
The data I see is that a 147g round is gaining about 50fps out of an 8" barrel versus a 4" barrel.

Thank you! So, the Federal round being listed at 1k fps and gaining 50ish is flirting with being closer to that magic 1,100fps mark than I’d like for something I want to shoot quietly, given the natural variances and all that. That 950fps mark seems more appealing to me. Syntech 150gr listed at 890 makes a lot of sense now with people liking it for suppressed use.

https://ultimatereloader.com/2...oad-hard-to-believe/

This load is pretty quiet, comparatively, in an non supressed pistol and shoots nicely.

As a bonus, the Berrys Bullet has no exposed lead on the base.

I've shot several thousand rounds of Freedom Munitions 147 grain remanufactured stuff and have found it to be among the quietest. Not the Hush line...just the standard stuff. It only makes about 930 fps in a 5" barreled gun. For the money, it's the best performing round I have found.

quote:

Originally posted by DaBigBR:
I've shot several thousand rounds of Freedom Munitions 147 grain remanufactured stuff and have found it to be among the quietest. Not the Hush line...just the standard stuff. It only makes about 930 fps in a 5" barreled gun. For the money, it's the best performing round I have found.

What he said. I have run thousands of rounds of their 147 grain 9mm ammo through several different pistols and my MPX with a 4 inch barrel. Always cycles well and is very quiet.

I have had some cycling issues with Remington and Winchester 147 gr ammo.

I guess I'll order some, then. That's ten cents a round cheaper than I've been averaging so far, and I'm not opposed to shooting remanufactured stuff, even through my pistol can. I still have some of every kind of ammo I've tried in the search for the best mix of quiet, clean burning, and cheap to compare them with, so this should be fun.

* Edit - Their shipping prices kinda suck. I was gonna buy 200rds to give it a fair shake. $46 with a 10% off coupon seems pretty good, right? $24 shipping brings it to the same price I'm paying per round for a thirty minute round trip drive to True Shot. 1,000rd case brings it up to $0.29/rd, but at that point, I'm still paying $45 in shipping, which kinda sticks in my craw and that's well past "just try it out" amounts. I still have most of a case of this AE9FP crap sitting behind me that was a disappointment.

I guess I'll see if a few friends wanna go in on an ammo buy. $300 for a thousand rounds of reman when they're shooting B&T's is gonna be a tough sell. I don't think Freedom Munitions is gonna work out for me, sadly.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P220 Smudge,

nothing about this ammo per se. I'm not running reman in my guns. But in the end for ammo isn't it just what is the price per round. I don't care how much of the price is the product and how much is the shipping. Different vendors choose different ways to spread the real cost of shipping. And it always sucks in small quantities. But when you compare do you add the costs of driving to get it? Most think a good number of cost/mile is $1. So that 200 rounds you drive for has a .30/cost per round adder. Right now when I log on to Freedom its free shipping on 1000 rounds. But my point is what matters is total cost not the components of cost.

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
Right now when I log on to Freedom its free shipping on 1000 rounds.

I just checked again, and at the checkout page where it wants me to enter my credit card info, shipping is still $45.67 and still brings it to $298.50 to my door, even with a 10% off coupon code applied. I know that's not a big deal for a lot of folks, but right now, it is for me. I'd rather spend about $50 or so at the local place and a couple gallons on gas to try out different types of ammo than drop $300 on an unknown at this point. Once I figure out what I like best, yes, I'll be buying in bulk wherever that works out best overall.

I started this thread because I had the uninformed misbelief that 147gr ammo was all going to perform more or less the same in terms of sound and was disappointed to learn that it doesn't. It's a learning process, and I have a case of ammo I'm not super impressed with and wanted to avoid doing it again. That's really the heart of the issue here.

Currently, these are my best priced local choices on subsonic 9mm:
https://trueshotammo.com/produ...-grain&orderby=price

I have to drive past there today anyways, so I'm thinking I'll stop in and pick up some of the S&B 150gr and PMC Bronze 147gr to try out. Those come out to $0.26/rd and $0.28/rd, respectively, at case prices when in stock. That's not a bad deal if they don't run as dirty as the CCI I tried.

The answer is still likely just reloading my own, but my garage is still in a state of disarray from moving and I'm nowhere near even having a bench for my reloading setup, let alone a space to unpack it all and sort out exactly what I have and what I'm missing. My goal is to get to that point and start learning this stuff this winter.

I reload my own and they are loaded to 1050 fps.