It was good to have extended time with the Jericho; solid, soft shooting, accurate and best of all, it isn’t a striker. The only striker I would own at this time is a Ruger American Pistol because of its accuracy, excellent trigger and full size pistol balance which is not unlike the Jericho. There are a few handloads for the 40 S&W I like, component selection and performance, so I thought I would assemble some ammo and see how well it was handled by the Jericho although it’s not like handloading is a necessity for 40 S&W shooters.
The 40 S&W is a flexible cartridge. No, I don’t mean that it bends, but it does work with a good range of bullet weights and types and lots of different powders. A quick check of factory ammo shows 99 types across 24 brands, from 60 grain fragmenting to 200 grain expanding, in many weight increments and there are even shot load for good measure.
There are also ,many component bullets for handloaders; 135 grain to 200 grain, cast, jacketed and solid copper. There is lead core hollow point, FMJ and plated construction. Above, left to right, the four I load the most frequently: Speer 155 grain Gold Dot, 165 Grain Golden Saber, 180 Grain Golden Saber, and 200 Grain Hornady HP/XT. They are all on the list because they penetrate sufficiently, expand well… except for the 200 grain perhaps, and hold together.
I am sure you’ve seen greater penetration reported elsewhere, however, I tend to push velocity, which leads to greater expansion and less inches of penetration. I usually reserve the 200 grain Hornady for 10mm auto duty, but I thought I would throw it in for folks who like the slower moving, deeper penetration loads. On the average, the Speer ballistic gel penetration is 18″ to 20″ with velocity the cause of the penetration variations; higher velocity, greater expansion, less penetration. The two Remington bullets penetrate 13″ to 16″, the 200 grain Hornady 23″ to 27″. My favorite is the 180 grain Golden Saber, which performs similar to my 185 grain 45 Auto loads.
I suppose if I paid attention to exchanges in gun forums regarding “that well known jacket separation” or, “You can just push in the bullet in factory ammo” or, “there is no way to crimp them” I would never use Remington Golden Saber bullets. Fortunately, the real world and tangible results tells a different story. Years of use and ballistic media testing suggest that loaded within their designed impact velocity range, which is quite high, they expand larger than most type, typically twice original diameter, and they do not shed weight. Which is why I load them in any caliber when available.
The 165 grain Golden Saber, far left, offers a bit of latitude when setting COL; Remington does not provide this information, although it can be taken directly from loaded ammunition.
The raised band around the 165 grain shank is 0.225″ high and the 0.400″ diameter is the locating point for the taper crimp. The 180 grain version is a true bore rider; the shorter 0.170″ band is also 0.400″ diameter, groove diameter, but the forward portion of the shank is bore diameter which leaves a taper crimp unsupported by 0.010″
Setting both the 165 grain and 180 grain to 1.135″ allows for case tension and taper crimp to hold the bullet securely. The 180 grain is held by case tension, but the heel is also backed up against the initial taper of the case web. Both combine to make sure no bullet setback is experienced. I’ve read these wild stories of being able to push Golden Saber bullets of any weight back into their respect cases with slight thumb pressure, which suggests the person either has the thumb force of a jack hammer or, more lightly, they are suffering from a case of liar, liar, pants on fire.
Handload Data
 |
Warning: Bullet selections are specific, and loads are not valid with substitutions of different bullets of the same weight. Variations in bullet material and length will alter net case capacity, pressure and velocity results. Primer selection is specific and primer types are not interchangeable. These data represents maximum loads in our firearms and test equipment and may easily be excessive in other applications. All loads should be reduced by 3%, and developed following safe handloading practices as represented in established reloading manuals produced by component manufacturers. Presentation of these loads does not constitute a solicitation for their use, nor a recommendation.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CFE Pistol powder seemed the most sensitive to bullet weight and seating depth changes; not a good or bad thing, just something observed. There was one velocity anomaly with Longshot and the 200 grain powder that yielded 1200 fps velocity, however, multiple shots normalized closer to what is indicated on the table. The extra 0.4″ barrel length over typical does help a bit, but not by 200 fps.
Accuracy shot from a rest was excellent real world performance. What is posted was optimize; powder type and charges were bounced around and cartridge COL varied until they yielded this level of accuracy. I’ve been flogging Vectan powders for the past few months and I think I am ready to retire the brand. Accuracy has not been that good and velocity always seems well behind pressure, so those loads were not included on the table. Other powder tried that did well, but did not make the table either because of velocity or accuracy – HS 6 and 7, AA 5 and 7, Power Pistol. Longshot had to be backed off a bit from mainstream manuals and prior developed handload data as the lot I have runs a little warm.
This variety of Jericho 941 holds 12 rounds in the magazine. I would say that 10 rounds go in cooperatively and the last 2 can challenge your manliness or womanliness as the case pertains. I’ve seen the Jericho 941 referred to as a double stack model in print publications, however, it is not. The 941 is a staggered magazine pistol. A double stack 40, like the Baer H.C. 40, holds 18 rounds however, those pistols make for a very wide grip. For me, I’d rather trade the 6 rounds for a much more controllable grip.
Final Jericho impressions
Somewhere around the second magazine full, I realize this was somewhat of a special handgun. It fits right, it shoots right and it is a good looking firearm. The Jericho 941, out of the box, is an accurate and reliable firearm. It’s power is significantly greater than a 9mm, its power is not much less than a 45 Auto and the round can be handloaded for power across a wide spectrum.
Shooting the Jericho 941 was… routine in that it always did what it was supposed to do; no jams, incidences of failure to feed or parts falling off. Personally, I think it is a good looking firearm although I know many people state looks do not matter as long as a firearm works… which explains the presence of the Chevy Spark, Sonic, Cruz… and Volt.
Israel Weapon Industries’ Jericho 941 40 S&W Part 1
Feeding the Jericho 941 40 S&W Part II
Email Notification