P7M8 Ammo

[ts]

What ammo should I use with a P7M8?

I heard that 115 - 123 grain is the best. I have also heard things about not using lead ammo. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good defense round? What about target shooting ammo?

[CrippledPidgeon]

You don't want to use lead ammo because then lead will shave off into the gas cylinder and cause problems.

[JoeyBones]

I stay with 115gr. or 124gr. at the range, 124 +p for carry (and occasional function-testing, of course; Speer Gold Dot, BTW).
The manual says to use 100gr. or heavier, and I have heard of people encountering feeding problems with 147gr. as well as 95gr. frangible. So the 'optimal' window seems to be: >100, but <147.
FWIW, I have yet to experience any malfunctions in either of my P7's since I began using them for CCW (several thousand rounds, maybe +/- 3,000), and I have used mostly WWB 115, BlazerBrass 115, Gold Dot 124+p, and Cor-Bon 125+p.

ETA: +1 on avoiding lead. Stay w/ the jacketed stuff.

-Bones

[ts]

Thanks Fellas - anymore recommendations would be very welcome!

[GARY1911A1]

Just because it's FMJ doesn't mean there isn't an exposed lead base on the bullet. I tend to shoot my own reloads and use bullets with a jacketed base. I think some factory JHPs' have jacketed bases, but I don't know which ones.

[Danner]

Just because it's FMJ doesn't mean there isn't an exposed lead base on the bullet. I tend to shoot my own reloads and use bullets with a jacketed base. I think some factory JHPs' have jacketed bases, but I don't know which ones.

This is a good point. I was shooting some Blazer jacketed ammo with an exposed lead base for IDPA. The lead was fouling the gas system and caused some binding. I have since switched to FMJ and JHP ammo, and all of it runs fine. 115gr, 124gr, 127g and even some 147. For IDPA, I mostly shoot 115g WWB, and have thousands of rounds down the tube of my P7M8 without issue. Also, a fair bit of S&B and Magtech. The M8 is happy with all of it. My carry ammo is Winchester Ranger SXT 127g +P+, which has been flawless. I've also shot 124g Gold Dots and Hornady TAP in various bullet weights without issue. The P7 series guns were originally designed with NATO ball ammo in mind, which is 124g +P (roughly speaking). The only issues I have ever heard of (on the Internet) was using heavy bullets, like 147g, but I have my doubts that the bullet weight was really at issue. In well over 5000 rounds through my M8, have have never had a single FTF, FTE or any kind of cyclic jam. The only issue I have ever had was gas system binding, which has been totally cured by attention to cleaning, avoiding lubrication of the gas system, and avoiding any bullets that expose the gas system to lead fouling. The P7 series pistols are the BEST handgun ever designed, IMHO.

[JoeyBones]

Doesn't WWB FMJ have an exposed base? I thought that the only Win. plinking ammo (non-JHP) w/ the enclosed base was the WinClean BEB (?). I thought that most factory "FMJ" rounds have the exposed lead base (at least most that I have used)...

But anyway, what I was saying is that you want at least true "jacketed" bullets, as opposed to the "FMC" full metal case/"fully-metal-coated" crap.

That stuff -looks- like FMJ, but only has a light coating of copper over the lead, and WILL cause your gas system to bind MUCH more quickly than true jacketed (in my experience). And of course, if it is an option, the brass-enclosed base ammo will keep you running that much longer before your slide begins to 'stick' due to a dirty gas system...

-Bones

[Danner]

Bones, you are correct. I just pulled the bullet out of a WWB cardridge, and sure enough, the lead is exposed.

But this I can say for sure. WWB runs in my P7M8 just fine, thousands of times.

[HK_Lova]

No problems with WWB here. An exposed lead base will only release tiny amounts of lead into the air, mostly in vapor form. For a JHP I like Magtech. Haven't had any problems with it either.