Any time I obtain a new gun, I try to run a variety of ammo through it to find which combination shoots best. Different weight projectiles and various bullet profiles can have significantly altered trajectories, with no way to predict (infallibly) which a specific firearm will prefer. With that in mind, I picked up three types of 9mm ammo from Federal Ammunition to run through my new gen 3 Glock 19 and my older gen 3 Glock 17. Specifically, I picked up the very distinctively red-tipped American Eagle SYNTECH 115 gr and 124 gr, as well as the Federal Train + Protect (T+P) 115 gr hollow points. I also grabbed some American Eagle 124 gr Suppressor rounds, but those will appear in a different article.
Hitting the range, I first took out the chronograph to get some velocity numbers. The Syntech 115 gr’s came in at an average velocity of 1123 feet-per-second (fps), with a standard deviation (SD) of 14. The T+P rounds came in at an average of 1160 fps with a SD of 26. These are pretty standard velocities for 9mm, with the deviations ranging from “pretty good” to “middilin'” for factory ammo.
I’ve heard it from many reloaders though, that good standard deviation numbers don’t necessarily translate directly to a more accurate load. Bullet design, the weight-to-twist rate ratio and of course the shooter all factor in mightily. While I don’t have a ransom rest, I had a nice boulder to lean on in order to get a fairly stable shooting platform for group tests. Below are a couple of 10-round groups from each ammo brand, shot at 7 yards.
Both types of ammunition functioned 100% reliably within the 240 round sample size. Both were also run through a Glock 17, both with and without suppressor and continued to display excellent accuracy. While using the Glock 19, hitting a medium sized propane tank (~14″x 10″) at ~90 yards was routine. For a handgun, this is much farther than a defensive engagement and shows that the accuracy of the rounds are more than up to the task. I haven’t gel tested the T+P rounds yet, but I will get a video up when it’s done.
Reliable ammo for the range (Syntech) and for defensive carry (Train and Protect), Federal Premium ammunition is covering all the bases. The Syntech ammo can be found online at various stores for around $12.99/50 round box, while the versatile hollow-point Train and Protect runs about $40/100 rounds. These are all good rounds, well worth your time to check out.
all photos by author
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