sellier & bellot 9mm 115 grain JHP in the RAMI

[kabic]

If I learned anything from watching Paul Harrell it is velocity is an important factor in hollow point expansion.

I was curious to see how Sellier & Bellot 9mm 115 grain  JHP would expand out of the short Rami barrel.  This is an affordable JHP option.



I setup 3 milk jugs full of water and fired from around 4 or 5 yards.  Close enough that i got a little water on me, but not too bad.

The round lost it jacket which i found pieces of in 2 of the jugs.  The lead  bullet was not in any of the jugs, but i found it on the ground.

[Wobbly]

Very interesting.

• And what was the diameter of the flared bullet ?

• Can you tell us where you found the bullet. You said it was "on the ground", but did it make it through all 3 jugs or veer out the side of jug #2 ?

• And tell us more about the jacket. Diameter, location, and photo.

• Lastly, sorry but I don't buy a lot of factory ammo. Can we get a photo of the box please. Are these marketed as "defensive" or sold as target ?

• Any ideas on the velocity out of the Rami ?

Thanks.

[kabic]

The diameter is about 15.5 mm on average.

Here is jug one, as you can see it is ripped apart good.




The back of jug 2 and front of jug 3 just had a small crack.  Here is front of jug 2



I don't think the bullet entered jug 2.  I think it stayed in jug 1 and got washed out with the water since the bottom blew out.



The jacket was in at least 3 pieces.  Im pretty sure a piece was in the second jug.  I didnt keep it so sorry no pictures.



Here is the box.  As I said it is afforable, i paid $16.53 for a box of 50.  I think shipping was around $10 for 7 boxes (2 of this S&B and 5 magtech FMJ)



I dont have a chronograph, so i have no idea of the velocity out of my Rami.  A velocity is not on the box either.  I did find some advertising that stated Muzzle Velocity: 1,237 FPS

[kabic]

Fyi, this is the round i tested.

https://www.sellierbellot.us/products/pistol-and-revolver-ammunition/pistol-and-revolver-cartridges/detail/288/

[Wobbly]

Thanks so much for the backfill of info. That was very fast. Highly appreciated.

An excellent defensive projectile.

So they (S&B) do promote this as SD ammo. Typically, in admittedly higher priced ammo, more would be done to keep the lead and the jacket together as a single unit. The weight of the lead being used to carry the sharp edged jacket deeper.

15.5mm is equal to ~0.610 inches, or nearly 5/8 inch. That's a respectable expansion of 1.7 times original size. Respectable.

Good stuff. Thanks again.

[Rcher]

I have S&B 115gr JHP in my stock This ammo is available from time to time on www.SGAMMO.com
My last purchase was about $0.21 per round for JHP !!! Crazy price.

I didn't check expansion and velocity, but it has very consistent and soft recoil, and it has the same accuracy as S&B FMJ.
I don't have much experience with SD ammo, but I can compare with IMI DiCut 115gr. S&B is clear winner!

[Vinny]

Interesting that others have discovered this S&B JHP too. I think it's been flying under the radar. 

S&B has been my go-to FMJ range ammo for my CZ's for years now but I started buying their JHP's a couple years ago after seeing several comparison tests along with much more expensive defensive ammo and the S&B JHP's stood tall among them.

Cheap enough to practice with and good enough for defense.  I've bought at least 5 cases and been very pleased.
I use the 115 JHP to achieve velocity in short barrels like RAMI and 124 in longer barrels like SP-01.
I've never velocity tested so I really Dunno if my theory is correct, but it can't be too far off.  JMO

[Wobbly]

Interesting that others have discovered this S&B JHP too. I think it's been flying under the radar. 

If you also reload, be sure and take a magnet with you. S&B offers some brass plated steel cases that look highly reloadable, but they aren't.

[kabic]

Did some more water jug testing today.  I was questioning if i indeed made it into the second jug.  The three tests i did today did go into the second jug.  One of them exited the second jug. It's expansion differed from the rest.

Again all the shots lost the jacket.

Also for two of the tests, 2 layers of denim was in front of first jug.  I will try to post the pitcures and measure expansion tommorrow.

[Rcher]

You might also love comparison with Speer Gold Dot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVqRErotWDE

[kabic]

I will have to update post with measurements later.

First test was pretty much a repeat of what i did when i started this thread.  Results are pretty similar except i found the round in the bottom of second jug.

16.5mm

[kabic]

2nd and 3rd test i had a piece of a leg from an old pair of jeans in front.

Jacket separation looks different on these.  Plus lopsided expansion on the one that exited jug.


13.5mm x 14mm


14.5 mm

[kabic]

Added some measurements above.

[Vinny]

Thanks Kabic for testing, and posting results.

I'm really not qualified to make an assessment; but to me the expansion looks impressive, especially from a 3" barrel. And especially from ammo that's 1/2 to 1/3 the price.
Near Perfect for my Beer Budget.  lol

I don't know if the jacket separation is a plus; or a minus??
It would seem to me that as long as the bullet itself fully penetrated and expanded, the added fragments of jacket would only help get the job done.  But I dunno.

Hopefully, someone experienced in Military/LEO ballistics evaluation will weigh in.

But until then, my RAMI is very happy.   

[Vinny]

Interesting that others have discovered this S&B JHP too. I think it's been flying under the radar. 

If you also reload, be sure and take a magnet with you. S&B offers some brass plated steel cases that look highly reloadable, but they aren't.

Wobbly, I haven't seen anything magnetic from S&B's 'brass' ammo in a long time.
Maybe left over from Soviet Union or Kosovo War??

It's still always good to check.  Ya never know how long those hoarders have been keep'in that stuff.