Yavex 9mm ammo from Turkey

The Turkish arms industry is modern and normally produces a pretty good product. If I was in the market for 9mm I wouldn't hesitate to buy Turkish ammo. Guys on Midway review it pretty highly: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/7...m-luger-115-grain-full-metal-jacket-box-of-50

With the exact same price as Blaser, Speer & Magtech do you really want to find out just how "Turkish" it is?!?

I have not tried it, but it might well be worth a try. I imagine lots of good ammo is made outside the US. The Geco I have shot that is made in Hungary worked great.

If a guy in a basement drinking a beer can clean brass, dump in a little powder, seat a bullet and have a decent round using a $90 dollar press, I think a factory with modern machinery can likely produce a decent round. It's not rocket science.

If you are using the ammo for self defense or match shooting, that means you are going to be extra careful with your choice. But for basic range work, most ammos work well, and usually there are one or two that work especially well in a particular pistol.

Mizar said:

With the exact same price as Blaser, Speer & Magtech do you really want to find out just how "Turkish" it is?!?

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I got some of their 124 gr 9mm from Bud's not too long ago, when they were selling it on clearance, and was very impressed and pleased with it.

I have also shot Blazer Brass and Magtech.

To compare the 3 brands:

• Blazer Brass (both 115 and 124) seems the mildest load. Possibly the mildest current load around
• Magtech, of what I have shot, has seemed ok. Hotter than Blazer Brass, runs ok. Packaged in small (S&B sized) boxes.
• Yavex- now, keep in mind I don't have a chronograph, so this is going by feel and what I experience- considerably hotter. More noticeable "boom" than "bang", with a bright muzzle flash. This, coming out of a Sig P226, a CZ 75, and a Beretta 92FS (fullsized guns, not short barrels). The only rd I've noticed a flash coming out of the CZ, and the sound was more in line with a .45 than, say, Blazer 9mm. Stouter recoil too. I'd go so far as to say it had the most felt recoil of any commercial 9mm FMJ rd I have fired, and I have used S&B, Fiocchi, Magtech, Blazer, Aguila, Remington, WWB and PPU. The primers and cases are sealed with green lacquer. Was very accurate, and quite clean.

If they offer the 124 gr 9mm, I would not hesitate to buy it.

I bought some and its ok but I much prefer Reminton UMC 115. I dont believe I would buy it again there is much better training ammo out there for the same money. German made ammo is much better, so is Italian made ammo and of course usa ammo. My small 9's don't care for it, so I only shoot it in full size pistols.

cocojo said:

I bought some and its ok but I much prefer Reminton UMC 115. I dont believe I would buy it again there is much better training ammo out there for the same money. German made ammo is much better, so is Italian made ammo and of course usa ammo. My small 9's don't care for it, so I only shoot it in full size pistols.

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wow, that just goes to show how much difference perceptions and preferences are... UMC is about the absolute last brand I would use. I've always found it to be inconsistent and dirty.

UMC was more accurate in a friends Glock 26 than WWB...so you never know.

M

Update- I wonder if the parent company, Yavascalar, is trying to gain a foothold in the US market, or if some importer just had a bunch that they are trying to move now. But either way, this ammo is popping up at different places, and the prices range from good to great.

I just ordered some, from Selway Armory. They have it at $8.50 a box.

I know- the internet can easily tell a fairy tale, and a web site is only as good or bad as the guys who design the pages; but when I bought the 124 gr ammo, I did a little googling of the company, and they appear to be a very big company, not just a fly-by-night ammunition provider. Per the google translation, they are :

YAVAŞÇALAR A.Ş Yavaşçalar AS is a producer of raw materials, semi-finished products and products conforming to world standards with the brands of YAF, YAVEX and YAS belonging to the production of ammunition and explosives. It keeps high quality and safety standards in the foreground and is sensitive to gathering and environment and keeps stakeholders' expectations and satisfaction Meet at the highest level and fulfill the explosive and engineering services in accordance with the characteristics of the times and contribute to the opening of the Turkish Defense Industry to foreign markets

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In looking at their catalog and "about us" section, they have the home office in Turkey but several child companies in Africa etc, and have an extensive listing of products. Various military rounds, including tear gas and non-lethal projectiles, as well as explosives etc for the mining industries. A pretty comprehensive line of sporting/civilian ammo. When I looked before, they listed complete ammo, as well as all components- brass, bullets, primers etc.

I could be wrong here, but my impression is that they are not just "some Turkish brand", - they seem to be THE Turkish munitions manufacturer. Considering that Turkey, politics aside, is a member of NATO and is heavily engaged in conflicts in that part of the world, I would think that any such ammo would be high quality stuff. My prior experience with it does match up with that- the ammo was clean, consistent, the primers were sealed, etc. The rounds themselves look nice, and so did the packaging.

At 17 cents a rd, that's pushing into Tula steel case prices, and commercial reloads like Freedom etc.

There are some good deals out there right now that I've seen on AmmoSeek. New name brand brass cased rounds, not just the small brand reloads.
Aguila, Armscor, S&B, Blazer, and Rem were in the 17 to 18 cent range.

Update for those interested- Selway Armory has Yavex 115 gr at $8.50 a box of 50. Reviews are good there, as they are at other vendors. And I can also attest that it's clean and hot from prior experience.
They are also running a deal where purchases over $300 ship free.

That's running less than reloads from a lot of places, less than steel-cased Russian a lot of the time too. I've seen Aguila for around that price, I've shot some of that before, and I prefer Yavex over Aguila.

I'm just a buyer, not affiliated with any store or maker- but the Selway deal is pretty solid. It's one of the few vendors that carries a wider selection of ammo, still runs good deals, and has a free shipping option at a certain point.
Note- I have some old surplus rifles, in 8mm Mauser, 7.65 Argentine, and 7.62 x 54R, in addition to 30/30, 7.62 x 39, and pistols in 9mm Luger, 9mm Makarov, .32 ACP, and .45 ACP. I can get orders over $300 pretty easily, and I USUALLY have to spread my business around in order to get the best deals on various calibers.

added- in addition to the Yavex 9mm, they have PPU .32 ACP @ $11.50 per box of 50, and PPU 8mm Mauser @ $16.99 box of 20.
Combining these various calibers, it isn't hard to make a great value purchase for some otherwise expensive calibers.

Range report time!


I took this ammo to the range, with a few of my full size duty guns. I shot at 15 yds (45 ft), standing, non-braced, just firing in a comfortable and relaxed manner (not as fast as I can, and not really bearing down). I figure a 15 rd magazine somewhere around 10-12 seconds on average, I fired again as soon as I got back on target.
A representative target, one 15 rd magazine in each.


I labeled for each pistol I shot: S&W, Star, CZ, Sig, Beretta.

The guns in question:






Indoor range, pretty warm (I was sweating, and that, combined with my fading 48+ yr old eyes, gave me some trouble picking up the sights).
When I say "warm", I mean:
South Louisiana, around 1 pm, the range is a concrete bunker with a couple of window AC units. They had the AC turned off, had an external door opened and had just hosed down the sand backstop. I think it was mid 90's with humidity to match).
As a lefty, I tend to push to the right, unless I really bear down. Today that wasn't my goal.

I think we may have shot about 350-400 rds (my son also brought his own CZ 75).

Impressions- FUN!. I previously ran some Yavex 124 gr, wanted to try the 115 this time. This stuff seems to run just as hot, from recoil and fireball noted. Very consistent, and all the guns pictured ate it without issue.
Impressive white fireball, particularly with the S&W. For this price, I am definitely game for some more!

Isudave , you have a really nice collection of handguns, I am little bit jealous .
Congrats !

peacebutready said:

Is the finish on the S&W from the factory or a re-coating?

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Y'know, I'm not real sure on that. I BELIEVE it's the original; I bought it on auction from an individual seller. He said his uncle was a S&W regional rep and distributor, and that's where he got it.

He said that's how it has the stainless small parts (was from a 5906), and his uncle gave it a trigger job (it's quite nice). It has the original frame anodizing for sure, there was a small scratch on the dustcover that I used some Birchwood Casey Aluminum black on, to hide. I think the slide is just the original matte blued, which I've tended to. However, it does also have Trijicon night sights, so maybe it's been refinished... although I don't think so, as I look at it.

It does look pretty nice for a Value Line gun

dekibg said:

Isudave , you have a really nice collection of handguns, I am little bit jealous .
Congrats !

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Thanks, I do like my 90's-era metal DA/SA duty pistols. Right now, it's a design feature that's out of fashion (everyone's gone polymer), but still too recent to start getting pricey yet. I have a couple more, and a few more on the list.

I forget what brand it was but I had some 9mm hollow point that I shot out of my new Shield. It had a pretty impressive Fireball. I can't say that recoil was any worse then the other ammo I tried.