drilling into brick vs mortar

[arnold.brn]

So I'm in a DIY pickle

I'm building shelves for my little boy, about 8lbs each. I'm working with tapcon screws, about 4 per shelf into brick. Our neighbor was kind enough to lend me his Hilti SF 6H A22 drill. Just the brick is really tough, it's been a struggle!

i commonly hear to drill into brick and not mortar but I did a test screw in mortar and it feels snugged and rock solid!

I just don't want a major "i told you so" moment later on and risk my family's safety. Has anyone been successful installing heavy load against the wall by drilling into mortar? or should i get a more powerful drill?

 

[llamapalooza]

i commonly hear to drill into brick and not mortar but I did a test screw in mortar and it feels snugged and rock solid!

My opinion, it's better to drill into mortar than in bricks. Because after all even when you're drilling into mortar you will still need to mount to bricks. Like in rock climbing for example.