Brown Bear 9x19

[GLOOB]

Is this a recent addition to the Russian plant's lineup? Anyone get a chance to try it?

I've shot plenty of 9x18, and the accuracy is very good.

I dunno if it's the gun or the ammo, but the 9x19 hasn't grouped very well for me, yet. Feed and function has otherwise been fine.

 

[jonnyc]

I got good function and accuracy with it out of my HiPoint 995 carbine, if that helps.

 

[pockets]

I don't think it's new.....I shot a few boxes of it last year in my S&W 6946. It shot fine.
Smelly and a little dirty, but it functioned and hit well.
If it were significantly less money than other brands, I'd still use it.
I use Brown Bear and Silver Bear in 9x18 and 7.62x39 all the time.
.

 

[bigfatdave]

Cut&Paste from my response to a similar question on another forum:

You will be hard-pressed to find factory ammunition that is not safe for a modern factory spec 9x19 gun, unless it is some Reloadin' Ronnie's +P+P+ insanity or Danny Dremel's "improved" pistol.

Steel cases will not expand/contract exactly like a brass case, so you may get the occasional malfunction, which is free training for real malfunctions. Buy a couple hundred, shoot them up, and if your failure rate is acceptable go ahead and stock up.
I shoot steel or aluminum cased ammo at my outdoor range, where finding all my brass is about impossible and 50% is doing pretty good. Beyond some steel-case not agreeing with my PPS during initial break-in none of it has been a major problem and most of it was cheap at the right time to stock up. I buy cheap 9mm steel-case or Blazer Al when I spot it for this very reason.

I don't understand the hesitation, commercial ammo manufacturers know that some asshat is going to shove their cheapest range ammo into grandpa's 80 year old Luger and sue the ammo maker if it goes "boom" instead of "bang" ... thus target ammo is loaded reasonably lightly.
All bets are off when you see terms like "+P" or "+P+" on the box, and steer clear of the crap in baggies from the local "professional" reloaders, and if you have an antique (I notice you didn't list the age / round count for your P99 ... but I suspect it isn't a priceless antique) stick to the light loads, avoiding "+P" and the like.

 

[Vimes74]

I shot about 100 rounds out of BHP the other day. Functioned fine and grouped fine. I was only shooting at about 25' though, not sure what you're looking for. Definitely fine out to there though.

 

[JoeMal]

I shot a few hundred rounds from my G17 last year...functioned fine in the gun and groups were average.

 

[lucky-gunner]

Is this a recent addition to the Russian plant's lineup? Anyone get a chance to try it?

I've shot plenty of 9x18, and the accuracy is very good.

I dunno if it's the gun or the ammo, but the 9x19 hasn't grouped very well for me, yet. Feed and function has otherwise been fine.

GLOOB,

I haven't had any issues with it firing in either of my poly pistols. The steel case isn't as accurate inherently as a brass cased round would be, but the cost reduction equals extra trigger time.

Happy Shooting

 

[Cornhusker77]

I shot some a while back.
Worked ok, but they smell awful.
I think they are lacquered too so I wonder what kind of deposits they leave.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Brown Bear 9mmP is nothing new.

I like it. It runs well in my XD-9 and is hotter than some of the cheap US-made stuff, like UMC.

 

[GLOOB]

Thanks for the responses. I just hadn't seen the 9x19 for sale until recently, and my first experience left an impression.

To clarify, I was shooting a new-to-me G27 with an even newer-to-me LWD conversion barrel. My accuracy with this setup and ammo was beyond bad. I've used it twice, and I've only shot Bear 9x19 in it, so far.

With the stock .40 barrel, I was able to dump 15 round magazines into a fist-sized group at 35-40 feet, with a variety of ammo. But with the 9mm setup loaded with Bear, I was making more of a shotgun pattern - probably 6" wide. Shooting cans at that distance was a spray-and-pray proposition, compared to practical certainty with any of my other centerfire handguns.

It would be unfortunate if my conversion barrel doesn't like Bear, since cheap plinking is the main reason I got it. Of course, it would be even worse if the barrel proves to be inaccurate with all ammo!

 

[bigfatdave]

Brown Bear is more than accurate enough for defensive training range time.

I'd try a variety of 9mm before pronouncing Brown Bear as the source of your "pattern" with an aftermarket barrel though.

 

[Onward Allusion]

Never had an issue. I shoot 2" groups @ 10 to 12 yards with my 59's.