BPS lists its 124-grain FMJ at 1,210 fps and 403 ft-lbs, the fastest 124-grain ball load here. Power factor is 150, a full 25 points over the 125 minor floor for USPSA and IDPA and 15 short of major. From a 25-yard zero it drops 1.2 inches at 50 yards and 9.2 inches at 100, still about 1,001 fps at 100. Recoil in a 1.9-pound compact pistol is an estimated 5.1 ft-lbs, the highest in the group.

Everything else here is slower. Fiocchi Shooting Dynamics and Maxxtech are closest at 1,150 fps, and the BPS produces about 9 percent more recoil energy than either in the same pistol. PMC Bronze gives up 100 fps, and the BPS kicks about 16 percent harder. Blazer Brass and Armscor 124 both list 1,090 fps, and the BPS kicks about 19 percent harder than they do. Ammo Inc's Total Metal Coating load at 1,017 fps is the soft end, and the BPS kicks about 34 percent harder than it. At 100 yards the BPS is 1.7 inches flatter than Blazer Brass and 3.4 inches flatter than the Ammo Inc; at 50 yards the whole group is within half an inch.

This is the load for shooters who want a 124-grain that hits steel harder and makes minor with a wide margin, even from a short barrel. It also suits anyone who wants practice ammo that kicks harder than a standard-pressure 124-grain carry load. For a new shooter or a subcompact, Blazer Brass or Armscor 124 run 1,090 fps, and this load kicks about 19 percent harder than either. If your range requires a fully plated bullet, Ammo Inc's TMC is the pick, and it is also the softest here at 3.8 ft-lbs of estimated recoil against 5.1.