Any reviews of these new/unknown ammo brands?

[lsudave]

I know this is technically an ammo thread and not a firearm question, but I wanted to put it out somewhere to get responses.

Prior to the panic shortages, we all had our favorite brands, and usually a pecking order of best to worst. For me, mostly in 9mm, I would buy Sellier & Bellot first, then probably Fiocchi, if everything was the same price. Geco was next, then probably Blazer Brass. I liked PMC and American Eagle, but they generally cost a dollar or 2 more and weren't 'better' to me. Magtech was ok but lower on the list. I tried to avoid Winchester White Box, and did avoid Remington UMC... to this day I think Russian steel case is better than those.

Ok, stepping off the soapbox now- that's all out the window. Everything disappeared, and we've been seeing all sorts of different brands we never saw before. Igman, Mesko, Sterling, Belom, Maxxtech (I vaguely remember Maxxtech as being bottom of the barrel, sold at Walmart in clear plastic bottles like Cheese Puffs). I've bought some Norma, which is a known 'brand'... but I'd never seen 9mm from them before. If it fits in the magazine and goes 'bang', we're likely to grab it if the price is right.

Has anyone shot any of this stuff enough to form a fair review of it? Are any ok, anything junk etc?
Prices are silly high everywhere (but that may be the new norm), and I've just browsed around looking. I see Global Ordnance with a free shipping deal, and they have Tula $299 a case, Igman $349, Belom $399, and some brass with their own name for $450. Sadly enough, the only stuff I have a direct experience with is Tula, which has been ok. From one case, I've so far had 1 bad round (primer fell out), out of maybe 500 or so rds. That used to be a 'never again' moment, but we know you take what you get now. I will shoot the rest of that case off.
I know Belom is supposed to be connected to PPU, so I assume those are similar. Outside of that, I literally know nothing about any of those brands (including the Norma I bought).

Anyone?

 

[DTL]

I've been shooting mainly Norma 115 gr. FMJ, bought from the Norma Shooting site shipped free if ordering over $150 which is reasonable. Recently bought 124 gr. because FMJ 115's not available. Never had luck with Geco 9mm too many fliers, and won't shoot Russian ammo at all. My pre-panic choice was American Eagle or regular Federal Range& Target 115 gr. My Canik, Springfield 1911A-1, Shield Plus and Beretta APX all do well with the Norma in either weight.

 

[gifbohane]

I could not decap BELOM. Got about 300 directly from a guy next to me. I got one spent primer out with an ice pick but the rest would not budge. Thought that they may be Berdans but as I remember, no.

Scrapped them all.

Funny that you like S & B, they are in my "when I have nothing else left can" along with the Wolf carts

 

[45CalPal]

I buy good quality brands to stockpile at home..
If I go to the range, I usually get a few boxes of whatever cheap "new" stuff they have on hand. I dont see the point in buying premium ammo to just throw it dow the range lanes.
but I do understand it if your competing, then it makes sense to me to have that premium round.

 

[lsudave]

Funny that you like S & B, they are in my "when I have nothing else left can" along with the Wolf carts

to each their own, I guess .
I'm not reloading, so I get what goes bang nicely and my guns like. I have a lot of older, metal-framed DA/SA and SA guns, no polymer or striker. For my CZ 75, Sig P226 and Beretta 92FS (and similar), 124gr S&B fmj runs well and is clean. For guns I'm a bit worried about beating up (i.e. Stars etc) Blazer Brass seems a little milder. Both are consistent in feel (no chrono here), it feels like the S&B and Fiocchi are a little hotter than Blazer Brass.

I could not decap BELOM. Got about 300 directly from a guy next to me. I got one spent primer out with an ice pick but the rest would not budge

Hmm. I understand Belom to be a PPU company, and I've heard PPU brass is good. Weird. --- I've heard S&B brass can be a little finicky, is that your complaint?

If I go to the range, I usually get a few boxes of whatever cheap "new" stuff they have on hand. I dont see the point in buying premium ammo to just throw it dow the range lane

to be fair, no 9mm fmj falls into "premium" in my opinion. The S&B I loved was coming at $180 a case to the door, or better, before the panic.
And also- current range ammo is priced above "premium" in my opinion.... I got a case of Gold Dot for $399 in 2020, before SHTF. The range I go to sells Tula for that price, or higher.
I'm not going to shoot the Gold Dots at the range, but it would be more economical than buying what they offer.

 

[45CalPal]

Ammo cost to me (for the brands I want) I see as a comparison to fuel for my truck. I have to have it, so I might as well stock up every time its found at a deal cost.

I currently have about 4k rounds of various brands at home, mostly in 9mm and 380... mostly.

 

[lsudave]

oh, I've got a few rounds tucked away. I caved in and bought a case of Norma at $300, but didn't need it.... unless that IS the new price going forward. And that was the reason I bought it, hedging that it may be. Still, it'll be years before I get to that.

If I go to the range, I usually get a few boxes of whatever cheap "new" stuff they have on hand

What have you bought and shot? I've seen Belom boxes at my range, don't think I've seen any Mesko or Igman. Was curious how those perform.

 

[jonnyc]

I don't know where you've been, but if "Igman, Mesko, and Sterling" are new to you, you don't get out much.

 

[daniel craig]

to each their own, I guess .
I'm not reloading, so I get what goes bang nicely and my guns like. I have a lot of older, metal-framed DA/SA and SA guns, no polymer or striker. For my CZ 75, Sig P226 and Beretta 92FS (and similar), 124gr S&B fmj runs well and is clean. For guns I'm a bit worried about beating up (i.e. Stars etc) Blazer Brass seems a little milder. Both are consistent in feel (no chrono here), it feels like the S&B and Fiocchi are a little hotter than Blazer Brass.

Hmm. I understand Belom to be a PPU company, and I've heard PPU brass is good. Weird. --- I've heard S&B brass can be a little finicky, is that your complaint?

to be fair, no 9mm fmj falls into "premium" in my opinion. The S&B I loved was coming at $180 a case to the door, or better, before the panic.
And also- current range ammo is priced above "premium" in my opinion.... I got a case of Gold Dot for $399 in 2020, before SHTF. The range I go to sells Tula for that price, or higher.
I'm not going to shoot the Gold Dots at the range, but it would be more economical than buying what they offer.

I'm in other supporter of s&b. Also privy partisan. Mostly because they're pretty much the only manufacturers that are making ammo in the calendar that I want but I think they do a pretty good job you got to remember that at least one of them supply ammo for European militaries. Or at least they did at one point.

 

[Mars5l]

I bought some Sterling factory reloads once last year when ammo was really bad. Was $25 a box, and I had issues with 1 box that locked up 2 guns that needed to be pounded out. I used some of their factory new and it all went bang. No issues with Belom either, I've bought quite a bit in 7.62x39 since it was about the same price as steel 7.62. I regret not buying a small case when a LGS had on sale for $120 for a case of 480 rounds.

 

[wvfarrier]

I bought a box of Igman in 38 special and it was horrendous...ooked like I was shooting black powderloads.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Ive shot up 100 rounds of Belom 124gr JHP 9mm recently from several different guns. It all went bang, fed and ejected fine, but accuracy wasn't great. Could have something to do with most of my guns being rifled for 115gr bullets I suppose.

Ive always had excellent results from S&B.

 

[LiveLife]

to be fair, no 9mm fmj falls into "premium" in my opinion.

Eley makes "premium" 9mm match ammunition $20/50 rounds and in stock - https://www.killoughshootingsports.com/223-minor-9mm-ammo

Accuracy of Eley centerfire ammunition 1.0" average groups at 25 yards - https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2019/9/20/review-eley-38-super-comp-ammunition/​

Atlanta Arms match 9mm - https://atlantaarms.com/products/elite-9mm-115gr-fmj-match-amu.html

"This ammunition is designed for extreme accuracy at 50 yards.

This ammo is used by the Army Marksmanship Unit and the Marine Service Pistol team for service pistol matches.

Accuracy test requirement: 5 ten-shot groups at 50 yards with an average group size not to exceed 1.5 inches."​

 

[lsudave]

I don't know where you've been, but if "Igman, Mesko, and Sterling" are new to you, you don't get out much.

Huh? I guess I don't, then. I don't ever remember seeing Igman or Mesko advertised before this all started. Or maybe, I just never looked at them. I've been getting S&B and Fiocchi for over a decade for under $10 a box forever, from one of Sgammo, Targetsportsusa, Brownells, Selway, Buds, Palmetto, etc. Those have been both my preferred brands, and usually the cheapest stuff anyway.
I bought by the case, so it completely blew away any prices you might find at LGS. Note, I was predominantly a 9mm buyer.

I have had a lot of different brands over the years- S&B, Fiocchi, Magtech, PMC, PPU, Blazer, Federal, IMI, Yavex, Aguila, Geco, MEN, WWB, Remington UMC, Armscor, now Norma, and of course I am familiar with the steel Russian brands (Tula, Wolf, Bear etc). I've seen Maxxtech, and I remember seeing Hotshot (steel) for a few handgun calibers, don't recall if in 9mm. I remember seeing Freedom (both places, both new and reman), some stuff in a blue box called Independence I think. This all in 9mm fmj, range fodder.

I am aware Mesko is Polish, don't think I've seen it live. Igman is Bosnian or Croat, right? Wasn't it Maxxtech labelled before?

When you do an Ammoseek search, you see Russian steel (almost always Tula), but you don't see the "familiar" brands until you scroll way down the list. Stuff like Igman and etc are the new brass cased stuff. That's why I'm asking for a review.

 

[shoobe01]

Every weird brand I've had to buy (that I wasn't familiar with because I am a nerd) has been imported for years though they are obscure. Googled, figured out stuff like Sterling, got the gist of it for reliability (this one: good) or accuracy (good for shot, bad for slug) from random forums, and made my choices there. Many people are more interested in ammo than anything so will go out of their way to buy weird stuff just to see, and some of them shoot a LOT so burn up a case in a few weeks, can report pretty well how it works vs just "yup, shiny. Pointy on one end."

I bought a variety of weird ammo but don't remember how most did. Sterling 12ga shot did work fine, more powerful than claimed so at this match I used it for the long range or big plates, and ran the last of the Fed 8 ball for all the short range speed stuff, but spent extra for Winchester slugs I managed to scrounge.

I like bullet weights (e.g. 124 9mm) that are popular in europe so was already familiar with Geco, Ruag, et al so many "weird" things to others I had in inventory, and myself advised friends and shooting club folks what was good.

 

[Hartkopf]

I haven’t shot any of the new stuff listed in the OP but I’ve used some of the brass and I don’t like it. Most is way thicker than average with way too much neck tension. I didn’t document which was the worst but I’ll be avoiding most all of the brass in the future. (as long as I have good brass to pick up)

edit: I just looked at some of the cases I have and there are A BUNCH of odd ball crap. Must be 15 different headstamps that are not the normal F.C., WIN, R P, BLAZER, etc. Some is ok and some is ridiculously thick. Some have crimped primers. I’ll be leaving lots of it at the range next time out and I’ll look for all the old standbys that I’m familiar with and know what to expect.

 

[arsterling180]

Maxxtech is owned by the same company that owns Tulammo, Grasso Holdings (see https://ghammo.com/index.html#home). They are just an importer of ammo. Same with Wolf (or as you'll see sometimes Wolfe. Never fully understood where that came from).

 

[lsudave]

Maxxtech is owned by the same company that owns Tulammo, Grasso Holdings (see https://ghammo.com/index.html#home). They are just an importer of ammo.

That makes sense. I remember seeing Maxxtech 9mm in a clear plastic jug a few years back, rounds just dumped in there. Like I said, it looked like a cheapo jug that off-brand cheese-puff balls would be in. I think it was Bosnian brass.
More recently, I bought a case of Maxxtech 223, which was Vympel with the purplish lacquer seal. My cheap ARs like it.

To the original post-- I, like a lot of us, used to have a preferred brand and a hierarchy we'd use. If everything was the same price in 9mm fmj, I would get S&B 124 gr first, then probably Fiocchi, and so on.

Nowadays, I'm coming across a lot of unfamiliar brands. I don't know where to slot them.