Sellier & Bellot loads its 115-grain FMJ to 1,280 fps and 418 ft-lbs, the highest velocity and energy of any 115-grain ball load in this comparison. Power factor is 147, 22 points over the 125 minor floor and still 18 short of major. From a 25-yard zero, drop is 1.1 inches at 50 yards and 8.7 inches at 100, and the bullet is still doing about 1,106 fps at 50. Estimated recoil energy in a 1.9-pound compact pistol is 4.8 ft-lbs.

Nothing else here is close. Fiocchi Training Dynamics, the next fastest at 1,200 fps, is 80 fps and 50 ft-lbs behind and produces about 12 percent less recoil energy in the same pistol. ZSR at 1,148 fps and Magtech at 1,135 fps trail by 132 and 145 fps, and the Magtech's recoil estimate is about 23 percent lower. Downrange the extra speed buys less than the muzzle numbers suggest: drop at 50 yards is 1.1 inches against 1.4 for Magtech, and at 100 yards the difference is 1.7 inches. At 25 yards none of it shows.

This is the load for a shooter who wants a stiff 115 on purpose: a compensated pistol that needs gas, a gun that has stumbled on softer ammunition, or practice that should feel harder than the usual 115. For plain volume practice it is the wrong pick, because Magtech or ZSR give the same holds inside 50 yards for 21 to 23 percent less recoil energy, and Fiocchi Training Dynamics still clears minor by 13 points at a softer 4.3 ft-lbs. If you are recoil-sensitive, or you shoot a light subcompact, start with one of those.