Fiocchi's 158-grain FMJ is the heaviest bullet in this comparison, loaded to 850 fps with 253 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. Power factor is 134, nine points over the 125 floor for USPSA minor and IDPA. It is subsonic by 275 fps, so there is no sonic crack behind a suppressor. From a 25-yard zero it drops 2.6 inches at 50 yards and 17.9 inches at 100. Estimated recoil energy in a 1.9-pound compact pistol is 4.6 ft-lbs.

The velocity number undersells the recoil. Armscor 147-grain FMJ leaves at the same 850 fps, but with 11 fewer grains its power factor is 125 and its estimated recoil energy is 4.0 ft-lbs, about 13 percent less than the Fiocchi. Recoil follows momentum, which is bullet weight times velocity, so the heavier bullet at equal speed pushes harder. Speer Lawman 147-grain TMJ goes the other way: 985 fps, 317 ft-lbs, a power factor of 145, and about 10 percent more recoil than the Fiocchi in the same pistol. Drop at 50 yards is within an inch across the three, so holds do not change at pistol distances.

Buy this if you want the heaviest subsonic bullet for suppressed shooting and accept that it recoils more than a 147 at the same speed, or if you want a subsonic load that clears the 125 floor with some room to spare. If a soft subsonic load is the goal, Armscor 147-grain gives up 18 ft-lbs at the muzzle and cuts recoil energy by about 13 percent. If you want more speed for cycling margin, Speer Lawman 147 leaves 135 fps faster with 64 ft-lbs more energy and still stays under 1,125 fps.