while some of the ranger is +P and even +P+ not all are, the 9MM 147gr are std pressure IIRC, i dont think the 357SIG are +P+ or +P either, they do make a +P .45ACP & a std pressure also..
i have used a lot of it, in 9MM, .357SIG and .45ACP, in kahrs (K9, P9 & PM9), glocks (27, 27, 19, 32C & 33), SIG's (P220, 225 & 228) and kimber and ive never had any problems, none at all.
as far as if its the best, i dont know, for sure anyway, i know that i dont think anything is much better than the ranger, some might be equal but i dont know about better, its good stuff imho, the gold dot, golden sabre and HST is good too though, but better? i dont know about that, personally, i like the rangers best, the TX DPS and TX rangers issue it which is good enough for me, lots of other large departments do too ( and yes price can be a factor with who uses what, imho thats not as true with some folks, the tx rangers being one, maybe they just like the name lol?) and its got a good rep with the LEO community, i have yet to hear bad about it anyway and i know a few cops, is it the best? i would say one of the best for sure.
imho it would be just fine in most any modern, high quality firearm as long as the maker doesnt say "dont use +P+ or +P ammo in this", kahr, for one, says +P or +P+ ammo is fine in there pistols(even the "little pocket poly pistols" ie the P9/ PM9), same with glock and SIG, of course i wouldnt use it in my WW2 walther P38 or luger though, or any other old pistol, or any pistol which isnt meant for ammo like that, browning high powers comes to mind, along with others, recoil is of course greater with the smaller pistols, which is why i carry std pressure ranger 147gr in my PM9, but go with the 127gr +P+ in everything else, the +P+ is a little snappy in the PM9, and follow ups are faster with the 147gr, its not that i dont think the PM9 would stand up to the +P+ loads, i have put a few thru it with out a problem.
as far as 9BP 115gr federal, sure it was "ok" in its day, but remember thats a 25+ year old design, ammo technology has come a long ways in the last 10 yrs much less the last 25 its a long country mile from being a top contender nowadays, massad ayoob used to like it( but even he preffered the 115 +P+ "back in the day" and it really doesnt have sufficient penetration, but thats another subject) but i dont think ya can compare it to some of the modern std pressure loads ie speer 124gr and 147gr and ranger 147gr, the new designs just work better than the old stuff, new designs are why federal is doing away with the hydrashok to go with the HST, hydrashok is also getting old and the HST works better, and even the hydra's were supposedly better than std JHP loads.
as far as wear, sure a +P or +P+ is gonna wear faster than a std pressure load, but with modern stuff ya are talking 10s of thousands of rounds before it becomes a problem, most folks practice with ball and carry the +P anyway, and lotsa folks might not put 10K rounds thru something in a lifetime, i have yet to actually wear a pistol out lol, with a modern design i just dont sweat it.
the new designs are also designed with reliable functioning in mind, i have yet to find something which doesnt feed well with the rangers, or gold dots/golden sabres lol, i have had a few pistols which were balky with some of the old JHP designs, the new stuff functions better thats a fact.
edited to add: i am not in any way employed by or connected with the winchester -western ctge co. lol.
But there is no evidence to support the conclusion that the 115gr 9mm is so impotent that it should never be carried. Many bad guys have had their behavior changed, or their lives ended, with "lesser" calibers. Is there something better than 115gr? Maybe. But impotent it is not.
