Ammo Quest 9mm: Remington Golden Saber 124 and 147 grain test

Thirty-First in a series of a quest to find the overall best defensive ammunition for modern 9mm pocket pistols (such as the Sig Sauer P938, Taurus PT709, the Ruger LC9, Kahr CM9, Beretta Nano, Kel-Tec PF9 or S&W Shield or any other popular 9mm micro-pistol using a barrel length of approximately 3").

In this installment, I am testing the 124-grain and 147-grain Remington Golden Saber jacketed hollowpoint (part #'s GS9MMB and GS9MMC).

I am chronographing the rounds as well as firing multiple rounds per block so that we get a more statistically relevant result, rather than the typical ammo test where only one round is fired. Ammo can behave a bit unpredictably, and the results of any one bullet are not necessarily representative of how the ammunition performs overall.

In this test, I fired three 124-grain bullets into a denim-covered gel block, and witnessed three lousy bullet performances, including complete jacket separations and overpenetration. I then fired two shots in bare gel, and saw excellent performance. Interestingly, when I went to test the 147-grain version, the results were nearly identical! Excellent performance in the bare gel, and jacket separation and overpenetration in the denim.

The Golden Sabers did great in bare gel, but they simply do not cope well with the stringent heavy denim test; because of that, and because there are several bullets on the market that pass the denim test with flying colors, I see no reason for someone to choose these non-bonded Golden Sabers over other, better-performing ammo.

Note: I'm not making any claims for these videos other than that these are the results I achieved, in my own testing, from the stated pistol. I have no intention to make a blanket endorsement or indictment of any product, only to review and report what I found in a given instance. Obviously it is incumbent upon each individual to conduct their own research and make up their own mind about which defensive ammunition is best for their own purposes, in their own firearms. Also keep in mind that individual firearms can be persnickety; my pistol may feed a particular round consistently whereas your pistol might jam on those rounds, so -- please conduct your own testing before trusting any particular ammo.

The purpose of this testing is to find which rounds of ammo perform well enough from a short 3" barrel that they can reliably deliver the penetration (with expansion) that has been documented and proven necessary in order for the bullet to be able to reach the vital organs of an attacker and deliver an incapacitating hit.

We are NOT talking about 12" of penetration through a body! We're talking about 12" of penetration through ballistic gel.

For those who don't understand why the 12" penetration distance is so important, please see my blog entries on the subject:
http://shootingthebull.net/blog/bulle...

http://shootingthebull.net/blog/bulle...

http://shootingthebull.net/blog/more-...

http://shootingthebull.net/blog/what-...

Subscribe to the channel here to see the rest of the episodes in this series, as well as other ammo tests and equipment reviews. And check out the blog at www.shootingthebull.net.