Georgia Arms Gold Dots - Carry or Function Testing?

[Shrinkmd]

I've been looking at their website, and the deals on their Gold Dot ammo look good (well, compared to buying Speer Gold Dot brand at ~1 dollar a round)

Have people been happy with this ammunition? I am interested in 9mm and 45acp. Would you feel comfortable using it as HD/CCW ammo, or more for testing your pistols ability to reliably digest the gold dot load in question (and then buying the fancy box from Speer for the "real thing")

 

[antsi]

Either way, I would function test the round you are actually carrying.

If I shot a heap of Georgia Arms and had no problems, I would be comfortable carrying it.

If I shot a heap of Speers and had no problems, I would be comfortable carrying it.

I would not shoot one and consider it a valid test of the other. Despite using the same bullet, there can be differences in the cartridge overall length, the primers used, and other loading-related issues that could perform differently in your gun. Just because it is the same bullet does not mean it is the same cartridge.

 

[JohnBT]

I've shot bunches of it over the years in both calibers [and all sorts of GA ammo in various loads] and never had a problem of any sort. I carry it.

John

 

[nitesite]

My every day carry sidearm is a Glock 29 10mm. I load it with Georgia Arms G10B new Gold Dot ammunition. I bought thousands of it, and shot hundreds and hundreds thru my pistol. I've got a chronograph and it actually shoots to the advertised velocity, or faster. The charge weights are so consistent that the Extreme Spread is a mere 18-fps and the Standard Deviation is a near perfect 7-fps. The Speer Gold Dot bullet, of course, performs extremely well after it leaves the muzzle.

I trust my life to it. Absolutely.

 

[possum]

you should always, test ammo that you plan to use for defense/carry/hd etc.
if they function reliably in your gun and they are accurate. do some velocity testing if you have the stuff to do it with. if not test it to your abilities, and if you think that they are good o go then go for it.

 

[DENALI]

I just ran 500 rounds of there 9mm 124gr Gold dot through a G-17 and a CZ-PO1 and it was tight in both pistol's out to 25 yards with a definite increase in muzzle blast and rise. We didn't chronyograph any of the loads as it's just been to cold up here to bother with, but functioning was just fine in both pistol's and I did reorder 500 more of the same.......

 

[Flame Red]

I use GA 357 Gold Dots and cannot ever recall any problems. I carry them in my little honey...

 

[stevereno1]

They use mostly used brass, reload it, and offer it in plastic bags at gun shows. In a bag of 100 rounds, you will get a mixed bag of brass. Not what I look for in carry ammo. I'm sure that it functions fine, but still...

 

[antsi]

They use mostly used brass, reload it, and offer it in plastic bags at gun shows. In a bag of 100 rounds, you will get a mixed bag of brass. Not what I look for in carry ammo. I'm sure that it functions fine, but still...

Georgia arms has some products that are commercial reloads, but they are always marked as such. Their best known reload product is "canned heat" which sells in GI ammo cans. I have not seen Georgia Arms sell anything out of plastic bags, and I've never seen them sell any of their commercial reloads in quantities less than 500 rounds, though I guess they may do so.

Georgia arms also has product lines that are loaded on new brass. This is also clearly marked as such, and I don't think you are likely to get mixed or old brass when you buy their "factory new brass" products.

 

[stevereno1]

I promise you, that if you go to a gun show in the southeast, you will see a giant Georgia Arms table, with thousands of plastic bags of ammo for sale. That's where I used to get mine from. They sell the .357 mag. "deerstoppers" there. I have never had any peoblems with the function of their ammo, and they may now be making their own casings, but they were a giant reloading company the last time I saw. aprox. 1 yr. ago.

 

[stevereno1]

Yep, just looked them up. they are a reloading company. They do not have origional brass made for them. the term "canned heat" is their term for the 250 rd. BAGS of ammo that they sell in bulk.

 

[antsi]

Stevereno, I think we are miscommunicating here.

Yes, Georgia Arms does offer products that are loaded using brass that has been fired before (reloads). This is what the "canned heat" designation means.

Looking at this web page
http://georgia-arms.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=3208&Page=1
it appears to me that "canned heat" comes in cans. All the canned heat I have ordered from them came in GI ammo cans. According to what you have seen at gun shows, apparently they sell ammo in bags at gun shows. However, I am quite confident that the "canned heat" ammo is also available in cans.

Unless they have changed their policy recently, they also offer ammo that is loaded in new brass (ie, not reloads). I believe this is what the designation "new" means on the web page. When I have ordered Gold Dots from them in the past, it has all been in matching new brass.

Maybe their product lines are different for web mail order sales vs. gun show sales.

 

[Dilbert]

Georgia Arms 9mm

The last batch of 9mm "Canned Heat" that I got from GA Arms was trash. 1-2 problems per 9 round string:banghead:. It was not uniform in length and had not been taper crimped. Using my thumb I could push a bullet back into the case.
GA Arms has a walk in store at their plant in Villa Rica, GA. The last time I was in there they were selling "seconds" at a reduced price. "Seconds" and ammo are two words that should not appear in the same sentence. I've switched back to WWB at Wal-Mart.

 

[Rustynuts]

I've run a couple thousand from the 500-rd cans from gunshows, not a single problem. 40 & 45.

 

[jmr40]

I've been pleased with their handgun ammo and have never had any problems. Their "canned heat" and FMJ type practice ammo is reloaded from mixed brass. As far as I have been able to tell their hollowpoint and self defense ammo is loaded with new brass.

 

[Ruger Shooter]

I have purchased quite a bit of their ammo at gun shows and the speer gold dots are all loaded on new starline cases. They do sell reloaded brass but not on the gold dots and at the gun show they sell them in bags of fifty along with other brands of new factory ammo and reloading supplies. I personally enjoy shooting their gold dot ammo and have had no problems with it. Have tried the 40 S&W, 45 ACP and 9mm Makorov in the gold dots . Also several of the different reloaded brass ammo they sell.

 

[wally]

The Georgia arms "new" ammo I got in .44Mag and 10mm were in 50 round plastic bags. The 10mm is all head stamped "KSP" and nickel plated. Don't remember the .44Mag headstamp, but do remember they were all the same too.

They also sell commercial relaods, these I haven't tried.

--wally.

 

[NGIB]

Bought some from them today at the North Atlanta gun show. Their Gold Dots were available in new nickel plated cases or in brass factory reloads. The bags were clearly marked between new and reloaded so they're not trying to fool anyone. I've used their ammo and it's great quality at reasonable prices. I use their Gold Dots in all my SD guns without any hesitation...

 

[JohnBT]

"you will see a giant Georgia Arms table"

Around here it's more like 10 tables.

They have bags, they have cans, they even have odd boxes of imported 28 ga. They have lots of my money, too.

John

 

[DrewH]

I have fired hundreds of rounds of GA 124 +P Gold Dot through my pistols. My practice is to shoot 50 rounds of GA 124 +P GD and 200 rounds of Speer 124+P GD through my carry guns, which number 6 at this point, plus a great deal more as I cycle GA as my carry load. Never a jam with either GA or Speer round. It is sold in plastic bags of 50 in VA.

 

[ajoker31]

I use their 124 +p gold dots and have never had an issue, it's my SD round of choice.

Joker

 

[Cowboy2]

I've shot thousands of rounds of GA ammo, various calibers, no problems. Thier .308 match ammo shoots just as tight as FGMM in my rifle, and to the same POA/POI.
I've carried the GA Gold Dot ammo for self defense for years.

 

[spiroxlii]

I saw 115 and 124 grain Gold Dots at the Georgia Arms website and at their table at the gun show in Gwinnett this weekend. They don't carry 147gr Gold Dot ammo, though. Their 147gr JHP ammo comes with a different bullet.

When I asked the guy behind the table why they didn't have 147gr Gold Dots, he said something about the shape of the 147gr Gold Dot bullet causing cases to bulge. Anyway... I may switch over to 124gr Gold Dots at some point, since I can get them so cheaply from Georgia Arms.

I would like to have had the 147s, though. I know a lot of people question the use of 147gr in a 9mm. I can't speak for every bullet out there, but the 147gr Gold Dots, fired from a handgun, have tested well for penetration and expansion. I wish Georgia Arms stocked them, because their prices are great compared to most other quality carry ammo.