IMI Samson ammo

IMI ammo has always been good to go for me. That's not bad by todays prices.

Bought some boxes of it at a gun show years ago. Worked good in my Hi-Power.

Primers crimped

I cannot tell if this goes for the 9mm-ammo they make, too...but the .45ACP ammo I had from IMI had heavily crimped primers.
The crimp is a real pain if you want to reload the cases.

I went through the trouble to ream and deburr the primer pockets but it has payed off, I admit: The IMI-cases are the best I have for the .45ACP (for a stout load).

Carsten

Their .45ACP Match ammo was some of the tightest grouping factory ammo that I have ever used. I used it in Colt Gold Cup, Combat Commander, and a Browning BDA and the groups were fantastic.

I remember a couple years ago I found a box of Samson 9x21 IMI 124gr FMJ-RN rounds at my local gun shop. Me and my father fired them from his HK P30 V3 and I can confirm they were really hot. They were well assembled rounds for sure. A friend of mine with alot of experience in firearms and reloading told me that if he was me he'd putted them in the safe instead of shooting them, knowing how well the Samson ammunition are made.

Their .45ACP Match ammo was some of the tightest grouping factory ammo that I have ever used. I used it in Colt Gold Cup, Combat Commander, and a Browning BDA and the groups were fantastic.

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Same here. I was on the shooting team for my Air National Guard unit and IMI .45 Match was what was issued to me. Since I was the only member who also shot in civilian bullseye and leg matches, they always gave me a lot of the stuff. Been retired since 2006 and still have a bit of it left.

They sure know how to make ammo in Israel. Never had any problems with it myself.

valnar,I haven't used any IMI 9MM in several years, simply becaues I never seem to run in to any. I did shoot a fair amount years ago, mostly the black tip "Carbine only" type. I shot it in several different 9MMs, i.e., FN/Browning Hi Powers, CZ75s, S&Ws, a SIG P210, SIG P226s and occasionally a Marlin Carbine. If I had not just purchased 9MM ammo, I would not hesitate to purchase that ammo at that price. I chronographed the ammo in several different guns and found it to be of high quality,accurate, low extreme velocity spreads and standard deviations, etc. Velocities with the 115 grain black tip type ball averaged 1250 FPS ( approx 399 fpe) or so in the CZ, Hi Power, SIG P210, Colt Government,etc. In the Marlin Carbine with approx. 16.5" barrel, it averaged 1430 FPS. While what I used is not exactly the same as you're looking at, I would not be surprised to learn that ballistics are similar. BTW, I think 9MM NATO must be becoming a generic term, as I don't think Israel is a NATO member, and the ammo shown does not appear to be headstamped with the NATO cross in circle. In case the IMI is actually is loaded to NATO specs, I just add that I have used thousands of rounds of Winchester Q4328 124 grain NATO ball in pistols, revolvers and carbines, with no trouble at all. Both the IMI I used, and the Winchester NATO, are a little warmer than SAAMI spec US ammo, but I never had any problems with either type...ymmv

BTW, I have also found the Blazer Brass 9MM ammo to be excellent...

IMI is some of the best production ammo that I ever shot. Back before reloading, I shot quite a bit of this 9mm and 5.56 ammo. 9mm felt significantly hotter than my benchmark at the time, Winchester White Box, and therefore slowed me down somewhat in competition. 5.56 was flawless as expected, significantly more accurate at 100 yards than LC mil-surp ammo, and I got some great brass out of it to get started in reloading.

BTW, Wideners has some 5.56 IMI ammo in stock right now at a slightly better price.

If you don't reload, stock up on IMI whenever you get a chance - you'll never be sorry to have a stash of such great ammo.

OK, having had such excellent luck with IMI ammo in past, I couldn't resist ordering some of the new production 9MM NATO from IMI. I was surprised to see the ammo actually does bear the NATO cross headstamp, with a "13" date code. I don't believe the ammo shown on the IMI website had the NATO cross headstamp. The ammo appears to be very fresh, no stained or corroded cases, no worn or damaged boxes, etc. Primers appear sealed, as on the Winchester NATO ammo, don't know about case mouths yet, but all looks good so far. Rain is forcast tomorrow for my area, so don't know if I'll get to the range to see if this stuff is as good as it used to be. As soon as I can though, I'm going to get out there to test, and Chronograph, this IMI ammo through several types of 9MM firearms,i.e., pistol, revolver and carbine. We shall see...

BTW, this is the best price I've seen on ammo of known quality in a very long time. I know some of the foreign, steel cased ammo, regional "factory" reloads, corrosive middle eastern, etc, ammo can be had a little cheaper, but I don't use it. I'll gladly pay a little more for the IMI...

Short range report on this ammo. I tested it in two semi-auto pistols, two revolvers, and a carbine with 16" barrel. Performance and ballistics were consistent with the Winchester Q4318 124 NATO ammo I've used for years. There were no malfunctions or issues of any kind in any of the five guns I tested the IMI NATO ammo in. Both primer and case mouth displayed eveidence of a sealant. Accuracy was very good, and the ammo was very consistent, with tight extreme velocity spreads and standard deviations in all the handguns, and looser extreme spreads in the carbine. Both the IMI,and Winchester, NATO ammo are a little warmer than most standard US 9MM ammo I've tested over the years.

Average velocities were::: Browning Hi Power with 4.6" Bbl=1246 fps, STI with 5" Bbl=1270 fps, Ruger revolver with 3"Bbl=1218fps, Ruger revolver with 4 5/8" Bbl=1305fps, Marlin carbine with 16" Bbl=1344 fps.

Very good ammo IMHO.

Ps, in looking through some of my old chronograph notes on the Winchester Q4318 9MM NATO, tested in various guns, it looks like the IMI NATO might actually display slightly higher velocities...