Winchester "Service Grade" 9mm ammo

September 12, 2022, 02:12 PM

Just got an email from a company offering this ammo. What exactly does "Service Grade" mean? It doesn't say Plus P anywhere that I can see. The ammo is packaged in brown 50 rd boxes and bullet weight is 115 grain.
Not sure if it was allowed to mention the company name in a post referring to an advertisement. I'll be glad to pass on that info if permitted. Thank you.

September 12, 2022, 02:21 PM

TheFrontRange

I’ve had some of the same-branded ammo in .45 ACP. To me, it was more or less the same as any other typical 230-grain, standard-pressure, FMJ brass-cased round of that caliber, and I suspect the 9mm would be the same in 115-grain.

Supposedly the ammo is loaded to (paraphrasing the ‘Net here) at or near original military specifications.

Perhaps there is some significant difference between this ammo and, say, Winchester “White Box” rounds, but I suspect any differences would be minor.

If the deal on it looked good, I’d go for it, myself.

September 12, 2022, 03:02 PM

HRK

quote:
Winchester "Service Grade" 9mm ammo

What is Winchester 9mm service grade?

Service Grade Features

Winchester 9mm Service Grade ammunition is Winchester's newest addition to their line of Made in USA range and target shooting ammo. This new round features a full metal jacket, 115 grain bullet, loaded in brass cases, making it highly reloadable

September 12, 2022, 04:50 PM

hjs157

Some sources are publishing a muzzle velocity of 1190 fps w/ 362 ft lbs. of energy (the same as white box) for the 115 gr. while others list a muzzle velocity ~1300 fps. For comparison, the 124 gr. NATO round has a reported muzzle velocity of 1200 fps.

September 12, 2022, 05:04 PM

sgalczyn

quote:
Originally posted by HRK:
What is Winchester 9mm service grade?

Marketing.........................

Now off to the ammo section you go..........

September 12, 2022, 05:11 PM

davidjinks

quote:
Originally posted by kaschi:
Just got an email from a company offering this ammo. What exactly does "Service Grade" mean? It doesn't say Plus P anywhere that I can see. The ammo is packaged in brown 50 rd boxes and bullet weight is 115 grain.
Not sure if it was allowed to mention the company name in a post referring to an advertisement. I'll be glad to pass on that info if permitted. Thank you.

If it is being marketed as “SERVICE GRADE” it’s just a gimmick. I’ve shot tons of the .45 ACP DUTY GRADE and it was honestly no different the WWB 230 grain FMJ load.

If it’s the M1152 ammo that is the current issued FMJ loading for the military; 115 FMJ FP traveling at ~1,300 FPS (give or take a bad day at Winchester QC/QA). I personally like this round, however, I will not supply a steady diet of it to my pistols. I would say it like the old Winchester Ranger 115 +P+ round with maybe another half a +. I don’t remember the cup pressures but they were all in spec for what he MHS trials required.

If it’s Q4132 that would be Winchesters designation for their 124 grain 9MM NATO round. Of course, quite a few things have changed over the years with that round. I really miss the Ranger 124 NATO. That was the best stuff I shot.

September 12, 2022, 07:14 PM

sigfreund

All I know is what I read on the Internet (plus my guesses, of course), but if the claimed muzzle velocity of 1190 fps is correct, that’s hotter than the velocities I’ve measured for other 115 grain FMJ loads. It does have the same flat point bullet of the “Active Duty” M1152 115 grain FMJ load, but it is significantly milder than the latter whose average velocity I’ve measured from a full size P320 at 1370+ fps.

September 18, 2022, 08:59 AM

egregore

It looks like WWB in a different-colored box. WBB?

If feasible, try and compare the velocity ratings between WWB and WBB, which should be listed on the box. That might give you some idea of what pressure it is loaded to.

September 23, 2022, 10:34 PM

blueinterceptor

quote:
Originally posted by davidjinks:
quote:
Originally posted by kaschi:
Just got an email from a company offering this ammo. What exactly does "Service Grade" mean? It doesn't say Plus P anywhere that I can see. The ammo is packaged in brown 50 rd boxes and bullet weight is 115 grain.
Not sure if it was allowed to mention the company name in a post referring to an advertisement. I'll be glad to pass on that info if permitted. Thank you.

If it is being marketed as “SERVICE GRADE” it’s just a gimmick. I’ve shot tons of the .45 ACP DUTY GRADE and it was honestly no different the WWB 230 grain FMJ load.

If it’s the M1152 ammo that is the current issued FMJ loading for the military; 115 FMJ FP traveling at ~1,300 FPS (give or take a bad day at Winchester QC/QA). I personally like this round, however, I will not supply a steady diet of it to my pistols. I would say it like the old Winchester Ranger 115 +P+ round with maybe another half a +. I don’t remember the cup pressures but they were all in spec for what he MHS trials required.

If it’s Q4132 that would be Winchesters designation for their 124 grain 9MM NATO round. Of course, quite a few things have changed over the years with that round. I really miss the Ranger 124 NATO. That was the best stuff I shot.

Isn’t q4318 Winchester’s nato ammo. 124 gr fmj

September 23, 2022, 10:47 PM

sigfreund

quote:
Originally posted by blueinterceptor:
Isn’t q4318 Winchester’s nato ammo. 124 gr fmj

So they say. But that load is not particularly hot: From a 4.4" P226 I measured an average of 1130-1160 fps which was not much hotter than the Blaser aluminum 124 grain load at 1115 fps.