9mm SARO doesn't like 115 gr factory ammo?

My SARO 9mm (all factory) and I went to the range with some sandbags and 9mm Blazer factory ammo shot at 50 ft to sight in (not 50 yds).  The results were really bad.  Very inconsistent.  I'm wondering if anyone has similar experience, and would flyers and horrible grouping be "cured" or improved with heavier bullets?  Or maybe its just a bad lot of ammo?  The gun is practically new, so its not shot out.  Could be the barrel is crap I suppose, but wouldn't think so.  Most SA is pretty decent.  I have a .38 Super Comp barrel that I usually shoot in this pistol and accuracy is very good with Atlanta Arms ammo.

Cliff, when I played around with 9mm 1911's (before I got into Bullseye) I found that most of the cheap factory 115 ammo did not group, even at 50 feet. I then tried Atlanta Arms match grade 115. Huge difference.

I then sent my SIG 1911 to Dave Salyer. New barrel and full upgrade. No doubt very accurate with AA 115 Match ammo, but the very snappy recoil did not suit me. I switched to a basically stock SIG P210 with softer 147JHP ammo and got most of my SP points with that gun/ammo.

But cheap 115 factory was no good in any of the 9mm guns I tried.

Eventually I gave up on 9mm and now use various 45ACP 1911's for SP. KISS!

YMMV

That gun was horrible for me, and many others …the throat was so long there’s no way standard ammo would shoot, same results as you; knuckleballs.  

I could chamber 148 HBWC and even 158 swc….I rebarreled but the company should have addressit

My 9mm SA RO was immediately re-barreled with a 1:10 twist just like the Euro pistols use. Also fitted a new angle-bore bushing. Groups 147 gr JHPs at 50 yds off of a bench/rest, loaded in the 900 fps range. Typical group (with a rail/dot installed)...the 4 o'clock flier was on call. If you don't hand-load, Atlanta Arms sells a similar factory round. I like having the same grip and trigger as my SA .45. The 9 mm 147 gr low-speed round is soft shooting (I have hand issues) and it seems like I can recover the sights a little quicker than my .45. It also shoots the lighter bullets well, but you have to step up the powder charge to cycle properly. I'm working on 115 and 125 short line (coated Brazos) rounds, to save a little money. Will test more in Spring.

Tovaert: What was your 147 load please? Did you try 147 lead too?
Thanks

croesler wrote:My SARO 9mm (all factory) and I went to the range with some sandbags and 9mm Blazer factory ammo shot at 50 ft to sight in (not 50 yds).  The results were really bad.  Very inconsistent.  I'm wondering if anyone has similar experience, and would flyers and horrible grouping be "cured" or improved with heavier bullets?  Or maybe its just a bad lot of ammo?  The gun is practically new, so its not shot out.  Could be the barrel is crap I suppose, but wouldn't think so.  Most SA is pretty decent.  I have a .38 Super Comp barrel that I usually shoot in this pistol and accuracy is very good with Atlanta Arms ammo.

FWIW, I have found 9mm Blazer not worth shooting at 50 yds. I have recently used some Winchester white box ammo. It was 115gr FMJ and noted as Target/Practice ammo. For an inexpensive factory 9mm round it was quite good. I have seen it package 50rds to box and I think 100 rds or maybe it was 200 rds per box. I have seen it for about $260-270 per case of 1,000. Not bad these days @ $.27 per round since primers and bullets alone will account to about $.18 per round. Add powder, cases and time to that.

https://www.sgammo.com/product/9mm-luger-ammo/1000-round-case-9mm-luger-winchester-fmj-115-grain-value-pack-ammo-usa9mmvp

bruce martindale wrote:Tovaert: What was your 147 load please? Did you try 147 lead too?
Thanks

(8# recoil, 16# mainspring, 4# trigger)

50 yards, factory sights: 147 gr Hornady XTP: 3.1 gr Alliant e^3, Fed 100 primer, Starline brass, 1.110" OAL, no crimp...as a last step I re-size the upper 0.10" of the case. That puts the neck roughly at 0.376", ~875 fps MV. 

25 yards, factory sights: 147 gr Brazos CRN, 2.7 gr Alliant e^3, Fed 100 primer, Starline brass, 1.130" OAL, same sizing/neck as above, ~830 fps MV. 

50 yards, full-length rail and Bushnell TRS-25 dot installed: 147 gr Hornady XTP: 3.5 gr Alliant e^3, Fed 100 primer, Starline brass, 1.110" OAL, same sizing/neck as above, ~935 fps MV. 

25 yards, full-length rail and Bushnell TRS-25 dot installed: 147 gr Brazos CRN, 3.4 gr Alliant e^3, Fed 100 primer, Starline brass, 1.130" OAL, same sizing/neck as above, ~940 fps MV.

I've also tried the 150 gr CSWC (Brazos, Acme) for 50 yards. They are too long (must be seated far into the case) and don't feed reliably. 

The Hornady 147 gr XTP performs a bit better than the Zero or Magnus 147 gr JHP, perhaps because it is a boat-tail bullet. 

I have not tried lead...only Hi-Tek-coated lead.

I tried some Winchester 147 gr JHP today through same pistol.  Remarkable difference and much more consistent, with 10 shot group at 50 ft of about 2.5 inches, shot freehand.  It was a good group for me with any gun, but a clear and definitive improvement over the 115 grain Blazer.  I'm going to try some 124 gr and see what results I get, but it seems the quicker twist likes the heavy bullets a lot better.  

Thanks for the post of the reloading formulas!  That is super helpful!  Cliff

Truncated cone 9mm bullets seem to shoot better for me as there’s a clearly defined shoulder and you can set the jump. I noticed that seating RN in any caliber can be hit and miss, pardon the pun.

I tried the truncated cone bullets but I could not get a consistent load @ 50 yards. Okay at 25. Have you found a good formula for 50 yards?