Fiocchi's Training Dynamics 115-grain FMJ leaves the muzzle at 1,200 fps with 368 ft-lbs, which gives a power factor of 138 and 13 points of room over the 125 minor floor. Zeroed at 25 yards it is 1.2 inches low at 50 and 9.2 inches low at 100, and it holds its speed better than anything else in this group: 1,087 fps at 50 yards and 1,008 fps at 100. Estimated recoil in a 1.9-pound compact pistol is 4.3 ft-lbs.

It sits second in velocity behind Sellier & Bellot's 1,280 fps, which is 80 fps and 50 ft-lbs ahead with about 12 percent more estimated recoil energy. Winchester's 115-grain FMJ is the near twin at 1,190 fps, 10 fps and 6 ft-lbs behind, with recoil estimates about 1 percent apart. The softer end of the group is PMC Bronze at 1,150 fps, Magtech at 1,135 and Federal Champion at 1,125, running 50 to 75 fps slower and 7 to 10 percent lighter in recoil. At 100 yards the Fiocchi drops 9.2 inches against 8.7 for S&B and 10.6 for Champion; at 50 yards the whole set is within 0.3 inch.

Pick this when you want a 115 that runs a little warm without going all the way to the S&B: it cycles stiff-sprung pistols with margin, makes minor with room, and stays about 12 percent below the S&B in recoil energy. The Winchester 115 does the same job 10 fps slower, so there is no ballistic reason to prefer one to the other. If you want the lightest recoil, Federal Champion or Magtech cut recoil energy by 9 to 10 percent and give up only a little over an inch of drop at 100 yards. If you actually want the hot one, that is Sellier & Bellot at 1,280 fps.