147 grain Gold Dot in a roland special
- Thread starter jaysenmgi
- Start date
Reliability wise it’s run fine in mine where other rounds have not. Maybe 400-500 rounds of 147 at this point. Oddly 115 GD has also functioned 100% in mine through about 300 rounds. While statistically not impressive, it was very unexpected given the rate of failure in other 115 grain ball offerings.
Yondering
Regular Member
Perhaps I misunderstood your statement, but 147gr does not mean "more pressure" compared to 124gr.
The comp will be more effective with 124 or 115gr if you want a flat shooting gun; 147gr standard pressure ammo is about the least effective way to utilize a comp, although the comp should still help a little bit.
rudukai13
Pro Internet User
I really think this should be stressed more as comped pistols become more popular outside of competition use. Comps work based on gas volume/gas pressure; Given a constant bullet weight, higher pressures will create more compensation effect. If you're intent on shooting a 147gr bullet, and specifically 147gr Gold Dot, you may want to look at the +P+ Underwood loading of the 147gr GD;
https://www.underwoodammo.com/colle...ded-jacket-hollow-point?variant=7865903775801
This load will allow your comp to work much better than the standard pressure version by Speer
ccw1911
Newbie
Shooting ammo that generates more recoil to make your compensator work better to control recoil doesn't make sense in lightweight carry type pistols. In simple terms if you increase the velocity for any given bullet weight you increase the recoil. I think some of the confusion stems from competition shooters in Production (compensators not allowed) have found 147 grain bullets hand loaded to the minimum allowed velocity for the power factor are "softer" shooting and easier to control. These same loads generate less gas pressure and so are not optimal for compensator use, the answer is not to burn more powder with a heavy for caliber bullet, the answer is to burn more powder with a lighter bullet. The simple power factor used in competition is velocity x bullet weight must equal 125,000 which is the minimum required for Production. This simple formula favors bullet weight especially when used with fast burning power and unjacketed bullets for softer felt recoil. In Open where compensators are allowed lighter bullets with slow burning powder take advantage of the power factor formula by generating more gas volume at the same power factor.
There are other factors but I've given the basics which have led to 147 -124 being the popular bullets for uncompensated Production and 115-124 the choice for Open compensated use.
There are other factors but I've given the basics which have led to 147 -124 being the popular bullets for uncompensated Production and 115-124 the choice for Open compensated use.
rudukai13
Pro Internet User
Unless you're referring to 3 Gun and Steel Challenge, Production and Open division have two different PF requirements. In USPSA Minor PF is as you stated 125,000 or 125 put more simply, while Major PF is 165. While yes, when you introduce a compensator the general rule of thumb is lighter bullet/more gas works in your favor, but they're not the same power factor.
I'd agree that adding more powder/gas to a given bullet weight just to get better compensation won't necessarily and in all cases result in an overall flatter/softer shooting pistol, but it may be worth comparing the two loads in the specified gun. Since in our defensive/carry guns we're generally not dealing with handloaded rounds where you personally can tweak the powder charge by fractions of a grain, it's entirely possible the higher pressure 147gr +P+ loads could give the shooter a more desired recoil impulse than the standard pressure 147gr loads. I found this to be the case recently in testing with my comped P320 - I actually like the recoil impulse of 124gr +P ammo better than standard pressure 124gr loads. It seems (to me personally at least) that the 124gr +P hits just the perfect ratio of bullet weight to gas volume with my chosen compensator to be the perfect solution for my personal shooting style and preferences.
Again this all goes back to the basic principles of selecting defensive ammunition in a handgun; Start by gathering a wide range of ammo with reputable track records, figure out what's really reliable in your specific gun from that overall pool, and from that pool of dependably reliable options narrow it down based on your personal preference. Adding a compensator just adds another variable that might give you a different preferred load as opposed to shooting the exact same gun minus comp
I'd agree that adding more powder/gas to a given bullet weight just to get better compensation won't necessarily and in all cases result in an overall flatter/softer shooting pistol, but it may be worth comparing the two loads in the specified gun. Since in our defensive/carry guns we're generally not dealing with handloaded rounds where you personally can tweak the powder charge by fractions of a grain, it's entirely possible the higher pressure 147gr +P+ loads could give the shooter a more desired recoil impulse than the standard pressure 147gr loads. I found this to be the case recently in testing with my comped P320 - I actually like the recoil impulse of 124gr +P ammo better than standard pressure 124gr loads. It seems (to me personally at least) that the 124gr +P hits just the perfect ratio of bullet weight to gas volume with my chosen compensator to be the perfect solution for my personal shooting style and preferences.
Again this all goes back to the basic principles of selecting defensive ammunition in a handgun; Start by gathering a wide range of ammo with reputable track records, figure out what's really reliable in your specific gun from that overall pool, and from that pool of dependably reliable options narrow it down based on your personal preference. Adding a compensator just adds another variable that might give you a different preferred load as opposed to shooting the exact same gun minus comp
rudukai13
Pro Internet User
This all also depends on the assumption that one is dead set on shooting a specific bullet weight, in this case 147gr. I think a more interesting comparison would be to test the "heavy/slow bullet vs light/fast bullet" differences as I did recently. And yes, even in our lightweight defensive/carry pistols, when you add a comp you are going to start tipping the scales of general preferred recoil characteristics towards the lighter bullets moving at higher velocity. It's the same reason why during my recent testing I found that I perceive 124gr +P ammo to have a softer/flatter recoil as compared to 147gr standard pressure ammo, and why I'll be selecting my few preferred hollowpoint loads from a selection of 124gr +P loads
I didn't state 147 meant more pressure lol. Standard load vs +p was the context.
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We did our initial testing in late 2014 with the compensated G19's (aka. Roland) using 147 gr HST's and 147 gr Fed AE9FP FMJ--they work quite well...
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?15857-G19-with-RMR06-and-KKM-compensator
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?15857-G19-with-RMR06-and-KKM-compensator