9mm Carry vs Practice Ammo

[Falconeer]

Greets folks.

I'd like to find a compatible load for practice vs carry. The main difference I'd be looking at was a FMJ vs JHP bullet. My goal is to keep accuracy, felt recoil, muzzle flash, etc as close to each other as possible. The old 'practice the way you fight' concept.

I buy 1000 rds of Winchester 115grn FMJ flat base for $47 delivered. I want the practice ammo to be as cheap as possible so I can shoot a lot of it, but be close to a viable 'carry' round. I have the remains of some 124grn Hornady XTP I loaded, but I'm slowly shooting them off.

Suggestions on powder, bullet, etc? Any suggestions would be most helpful.

Also, as an aside is there a way to determine the 'recipes' for popular 'carry' rounds such as Golden Sabers or HyrdoShoks, where the individual bullets are available? It would be nice to be able to 'home grow' my own golden saber rounds and practice with those, if cheap enough.

 

[kimbernut]

Falconeer

Haven't checked lately -still have a good supply but Midway USA used to have 124 gr. Golden Sabers @ $6/hundred in lots of 500 IIRC.(+shipping)
Bullseye,W231,Titegroup all work well and are all pretty economical.I've settled on Titegroup for most everything but I've got quite a bit of AA#2 to work through as well.
If you can buy 115 gr. Win FMJ @ $47 delivered why practice with anything else- you certainly can't load them that economically.

 

[Falconeer]

Thanks for the info. The $47 is per 1000 bullets. Not loaded rounds. I'll look into the Golden Sabers when I get home (I can get to THR from work, but not MidwayUSA... go figure ). I purchased a pound of Titegroup last time I ran out, but haven't shot it yet. Hopefully this weekend (along with my new P239).

Haven't checked lately -still have a good supply but Midway USA used to have 124 gr. Golden Sabers @ $6/hundred in lots of 500 IIRC.(+shipping)
Bullseye,W231,Titegroup all work well and are all pretty economical.I've settled on Titegroup for most everything but I've got quite a bit of AA#2 to work through as well.
If you can buy 115 gr. Win FMJ @ $47 delivered why practice with anything else- you certainly can't load them that economically.

 

[kimbernut]

Falconeer

Welcome to THR by the way. Lots of good folks here and tons of experience and opinions- I'm surprised you haven't had more responses. I'm local to your area,if I can help PM me. You shoot at Tenoroc or elsewhere? Our LRPC Gun Show is coming up 1/21/06- if you're not in a hurry you may see some good supplies and prices there.

 

[darwin-t]

I'd say buy a chronograh and test the "carry" ammo. Then work your loads up until they match the results.

Chronographs can be found for under a hundred bucks.

 

[Falconeer]

Thanks kindly! I think everyone is afraid of the getting involved in yet another 9mm discussion.

PM sent!

Welcome to THR by the way. Lots of good folks here and tons of experience and opinions- I'm surprised you haven't had more responses. I'm local to your area,if I can help PM me. You shoot at Tenoroc or elsewhere? Our LRPC Gun Show is coming up 1/21/06- if you're not in a hurry you may see some good supplies and prices there.

 

[Falconeer]

That's certainly something I want to do. However I just purchased a Sig P239, and I'm going to need to get some more hubby points before I can do any more big gun spending.

I'd say buy a chronograh and test the "carry" ammo. Then work your loads up until they match the results.

Chronographs can be found for under a hundred bucks.

 

[armoredman]

I'd say buy a chronograh and test the "carry" ammo. Then work your loads up until they match the results.

Chronographs can be found for under a hundred bucks.

That's what I need - Sportsman's Warehouse has a Chrony F-1 for $70.

 

[Falconeer]

Most snazzy... MidwayUSA has it for $64 at present. I'm familar with the concept, but just how does one use a chronograph? It's essentially shoot through the 'bars', right?

That's what I need - Sportsman's Warehouse has a Chrony F-1 for $70.

 

[dzimmerm]

F1 Chrony

I just got my first Chronograph, a rebuilt F1 Chrony from Shooting Chrony. They have a website and offer rebuilt, non upgradable F1s for $50.00. Counting shipping it came to $56.13

Since this is my first chronograph I figured I would go inexpensive to get a feel for using one.

They were quick in shipping. I ordered it on a Monday morning, via their 800 number and it came on Friday! It looks to be in fine shape, nothing missing, and the display worked fine when I put in the 9 Volt Battery. I have not had a chance to use it yet, as I live in a big city. Hopefully I will be able to in the next few weeks.

I am working on determing if the present hand loads I have been doing for my Makarov are of sufficient velocity to allow the hornady XPTs to do their expansion thing. They seem to have a lot less recoil than the factory target loads I have been using but they shoot and point the same as the factory loads at 50 feet so I am not sure. Only a chrono will tell the story.

Don't forget to check the manufacturer's websites as they often have better deals than regualar merchants.

dzimmerm

 

[Falconeer]

Thanks much for the info. Where on their site did you find the rebuilt items? I looked around but didn't see it. Thanks!

I just got my first Chronograph, a rebuilt F1 Chrony from Shooting Chrony. They have a website and offer rebuilt, non upgradable F1s for $50.00. Counting shipping it came to $56.13

Since this is my first chronograph I figured I would go inexpensive to get a feel for using one.

They were quick in shipping. I ordered it on a Monday morning, via their 800 number and it came on Friday! It looks to be in fine shape, nothing missing, and the display worked fine when I put in the 9 Volt Battery. I have not had a chance to use it yet, as I live in a big city. Hopefully I will be able to in the next few weeks.

I am working on determing if the present hand loads I have been doing for my Makarov are of sufficient velocity to allow the hornady XPTs to do their expansion thing. They seem to have a lot less recoil than the factory target loads I have been using but they shoot and point the same as the factory loads at 50 feet so I am not sure. Only a chrono will tell the story.

Don't forget to check the manufacturer's websites as they often have better deals than regualar merchants.

dzimmerm