Off the shelf ammo reliability?

[SIGfiend]

Federal, Winchester, Remington (UMC), CCI...

what's the verdict on these brands in terms of reliability? rate them from ist to 4th if you feel it's appropriate.

[justsurvivingincalifornia]

The only problem I had was with USA (generic winchester) brand sometime would not cycle 9mm and 45acp. One of my local range/store told be the samething. Not enough power for functioning autos.
That range and another store recomended American Eagle brand(generic Federal) for practice.

[larry starling]

No problems with any of them! Have noticed that Winchester seems to be real dirty though! :)

[BryanP]

I've never had reliability issues with any off-the-shelf ammo. Some was dirtier / smellier than others.

[Elmer]

Any of today's ammo is better made than ever before. With Remington's financial problems I usually steer clear of them, but that's just me.

[Shorts]

Federal, Rem UMC, Winchester (I don't buy), and CCI (run screaming from).

Fed and UMC are dirtier than PMC, which is what I prefer for range. I don't buy Winchester for the flat nose. And CCI are dirty and junky. My gun didn't like Win and CCI when it was new. Not sure about now.

As for reliability, PMC, Fed and Rem have been excellent.

[Elmer]

Just shows how YMMV.

I find Federal the cleanest, and I wouldn't shoot PMC if it were free, after seeing their quality control....

[MechAg94]

Hell, I have shot Winchester, UMC, and PMC probably the most. They were the ones I could always find good prices for. No problems with either. Never shot Federal except for hollow points.

[pezo]

Fiocchi, I found PMC to be rather dirty, :confused: American Eagle I found to be good, but Fiocchi 148 grain JHp .357. feels like a .357 should and doesnt leave the gun all that dirty after say 100 rounds in a session. Besides firing Fiocchi I've fired alot of federal and winchester with no problems. PMC seems dirty I still have a box left that I kinda dont want to shoot cause of the extra grime to clean, their 158 grain .357 jsp.

[SIGfiend]

I asked because I use off the shelf FMJ's for personal defence (to some this may seem unsound but HP's are ineffective against enemies with armor/or behind barricades, etc.)...so I wanted to know if their reliability can be depended upon otherwise.

[sixguns]

In my .45 ACP I use 230gr. FMJ; it worked for the military.

[JNewell]

Overall, I think factory ammo reliability is excellent or better.

A couple of years ago, I did have two incidents with PMC ammo.

First, a large quantity (cases) of 9x19 that was too weak to reliably cycle several SIGs.

Second, some very high pressure 6.5x55 Swede.

I think it's a coincidence that these two experiences both involved PMC ammo, however.

[whm1974]

I asked because I use off the shelf FMJ's for personal defence (to some this may seem unsound but HP's are ineffective against enemies with armor/or behind barricades, etc.)...so I wanted to know if their reliability can be depended upon otherwise.

ALL handgun cartiages are ineffective against body armor and behide barricades. Plus you have to worry about over penetraition with FMJ.

Federal does have EFMJ that soeems to work well in tests.

-Bill

[jlwatts3]

I use Win white box in .45 and 9mm the most. After that it is American Eagle and lastly Fiocchi. No problems with any of them though the Fiocchi tends to have more muzzle blast at least in .45.

[Elmer]

I think it's a coincidence that these two experiences both involved PMC ammo, however.

I don't...............

[Edmond]

Never used Federal but the other ammo has always went bang when I pulled the trigger.

[Shorts]

ALL handgun cartiages are ineffective against body armor and behide barricades. Plus you have to worry about over penetraition with FMJ.

+1. The LEO instructor in our course this past weekend was adamant about not using FMJs for carry. It would be much trouble if you killed the clerk because the FMJ went through the bad guy.

[whm1974]

+1. The LEO instructor in our course this past weekend was adamant about not using FMJs for carry. It would be much trouble if you killed the clerk because the FMJ went through the bad guy.

I read somewhere that a cop killed his partner due to his bullets going through a BG. He was behind the BG.
If I recall right the cop was using 158 RN .38 SPL.

-Bill

[newman32]

Typically, I'll buy the cheapest of either CCW blazers, UMC, or WWB for practice. I clean after each session, so the dirty factor doesn't bother me too much. As far as reliability, ive fount them to be all "pretty good" for practice. I wouldn't use them as my SD loads or any FMJs for that matter. I do use the fed EFMJ and they have been flawless as far as feeding and going bang each time.

[SIGfiend]

What's an EFMJ? Does it penetrate any better than a regular FMJ?

[whm1974]

What's an EFMJ? Does it penetrate any better than a regular FMJ?

Expaning Full Metal Jacket. It is basically a compramise betreen a HP and FMJ. Some guns can't handle HP and some places like the PRNJ they are illegal. This is were Federal's EMJ comes in.

-Bill

[newman32]

Bill's right about the EFMJ. They are supposed to feed like a FMJ would, maybe not start to expand upon hitting clothing or barriers like JHPs might.

I just have to mention that HPs are legal in NJ. It is a common misconception that they are not legal, but they are. Just don't commit a crime with them (each round possessed has an additional charge), and don't have them rolling around in your car. You are legally allowed to have them in your home, at the range, in transit to/from a range or in transit to/from the store you purchased them from.

[whm1974]

Ok HP are not legal to use for SD/HD in PRNJ. Or am I wrong about that?

-Bill

[heypete]

I've had really good luck with remanufactured ammo from Miwall (available at gun shows in the Western US, or from OutdoorMarksman.com). Better pricing than Wolf, extremely good performance, reliability, etc.

I've shot several thousand rounds of Federal American Eagle and Remington UMC. Both work just fine. Matter of preference and what works in your gun. I haven't shot Winchester yet, as there's no Wal-Mart around here and I mostly buy Miwall.

CCI Blazers (aluminum cased) worked fine for me in my Glock, but I don't like wasting aluminum -- you can't reload it, and it's more expensive than Wolf steel-cased stuff. It also is harder to sort out (steel can be sorted by a magnet). Sure, it can go in the scrap bucket, but it's not the same.

The only modern ammo that I've had problems with were PMC (6% failure rate). I had a few feeding problems with S&B when breaking in my Glock, but that's since worked itself out and I have about a thousand rounds of S&B in my closet next to several thousand rounds of Miwall.

[whm1974]

I've had really good luck with remanufactured ammo from Miwall (available at gun shows in the Western US, or from OutdoorMarksman.com). Better pricing than Wolf, extremely good performance, reliability, etc.

I just took a look at Miwall. At 1000 rounds it's only $20 cheaper then Walmart sells Winchester USA(9mm). Plus I don't have wait around to sign for it.

-Bill

[Berg01]

I've had some cycling problems with the .40 S&W Win Value Pack Ammo in my CZ 75B, so I just don't buy it anymore. The other factory ammo brands are all pretty decent.

[newman32]

Bill,

As long as the hd/sd is not interpreted as a "crime" and you are in your own home (one of the few places legally OK to have HPs) you should be good.

My fear is that a SD incident could be ruled a crime and then your posession of the HP's will get you the additional "per-round" charge.

So, I figure the EFMJ is the way to go until I can get out of here.

[whm1974]

Newman32 are hollpoints legal for hunting/shooting in the PRNJ? Just wondering, Walmart sells WWB 500 pack 37 grain HP .22LR for less then $10 after tax. It's cheap and works well in my S&W 22A.

-Bill