PMC's 165-grain FMJ is the slow one of the 165-grain ball field: 989 fps and 358 ft-lbs at the muzzle. That makes a power factor of 163, 2 points under the 165 USPSA major floor and well over the 125 minor floor, so it is the only load in its set that shoots minor. From a 25-yard zero the bullet sits 1.8 inches low at 50 yards and 13.0 inches low at 100, holding 324 ft-lbs at 50.

Every comparison runs faster. Winchester Range 165 and Winchester's white box 165, the same load under two labels, leave 71 fps and 54 ft-lbs ahead and produce about 12 percent more recoil energy in the same pistol. Blazer 165 TMJ is 111 fps and 85 ft-lbs ahead with about 20 percent more recoil; at 50 yards it is still 66 fps faster and drops 0.3 inch less. American Eagle 165 and Remington UMC 165 leave 141 and 161 fps faster, with about 25 and 29 percent more recoil energy. Against the Federal at 100 yards the PMC arrives 68 fps slower with 47 ft-lbs less and 2.7 inches more drop, the widest gap in the set but not one that changes a hold at 25 yards.

Buy it for a new .40 shooter, a long session, or fundamentals work where the softest 165 helps. It is not a stand-in for a carry load: PMC Bronze 165 JHP leaves 51 fps faster and produces about 9 percent more recoil energy in the same pistol, and Winchester Range 165 is the ball load within about 3 percent of that hollow point. A USPSA shooter who needs major should skip this one; the power factor of 163 falls short, and Blazer 165 TMJ makes it at 182.