How bad can ammo be?

[ExtremeDooty]

I was having a good time shooting up boxes of ammo this weekend, until I pull out my Taurus revolver. From 25' I can't see where my bullets are hitting, so I assume they're all in the black. After 10 rounds (and feeling pretty cocky) I walk up to the target and find that it is undamaged. I didn't start hitting the bottom of the target until I moved up to 10'. I'm no master marksman, but at 10' I can throw rocks and at least hit paper. Previously this gun has been been very accurate with anything I put into it.

I was shooting UMC 125gr 38 spl +P SJHP. I didn't have any other 38spl or 357 mag ammo with me to test it. Is it possible that I just got a bad batch of ammo that would consistently shoot 1-2' below POA? Or have I done something to the gun to screw it up?

 

[Dave Markowitz]

What weight bullets is your gun sighted in with? If it was sighted in with 158 grain bullets, 125 grain bullets will shoot low.

This may be counterintuitive but it's true with handguns. The reason is that there is more muzzle flip with heavier bullets, which causes the point of impact to be higher than with lighter bullets. (Recoil starts BEFORE the bullet exits the barrel.)

 

[kudu]

Different weights or powers of ammo will shoot high or low depending. But in your case it is extreme. Check sights, I'm assuming that you already have. Freehand and bench rest will alter the height of groups also. ???

 

[cerberus]

Lead in BBL?

Did the Ammo. lead up your BBL? You said UMC 125gr 38 spl +P SJHP so was there some lead touching the lands and groves? Maybe Taurus's have problems with anything but FMJ Ammo. Just a hunch.

 

[Robb]

If it makes you feel any better, Wolf .45 won't even feed in my H&K USP. It's the only ammo I've ever tried that wouldn't. But it jams in the barrel! not a good thing! Of ocurse that's what I get for trying to shoot $7 ammo in my $700 pistol

 

[BozemanMT]

Yeah yeah, must be the ammo. Gotta be the ammo. bad ammo, bad.

Ok, i'm sorry, just could not resist.

 

[Navy joe]

Tired and yanking the trigger. No great feat to miss like that. 9mm out of a .40 is more accurate than that at the ranges you describe.

 

[Black Snowman]

I've had problems with UMC ammo in the past. For a while I thought my Dad's Firestar was worn out beyond saving. Then tried my 9mm reloads in it and groups shrunk to 1/4th their previous size. What you're talking about still sounds a bit extreme.

Could be ammo, could be the gun, I'm guessing it's both. Check end-shake and timing (see the sticky thread at the top of the Revo forum). If it seems OK then try some quality ammo. At least WWB or S&B.

 

[foghornl]

Not a fan of UMC ammo myself, while other folks really like it.

That being said, some ammo in some guns just do not work well together. Worst I have run accross though, was American Ammo from Miami, FL. Had some really bad keyholing. Pulled a couple of bullets (Was .38Spl ammo), and those miked at .353...too small for even 9MM specs.

 

[g56]

Back in the 80's I carried a S&W model 66 as my duty weapon, it's an awesome pistol! Sometime in that timeframe the 125 gr 357 hollow points became the hot load, according to the research, the 125 gr 357 had the best record for stopping the bad guys with one shot. So I got one of the top rated loads, the gun was sighted in with the old standard 158 gr hollow points, the 125 gr bullet shot so low I ran out of adjustment on the rear sight, I had it cranked up as far as it would go, at that point it was pretty close at 50 yards, but still a little low, but at shorter ranges it was fine.

As I recall, the 125 gr bullets shot a foot or more low at 25 yards before I started adjusting the sights.

BTW American Ammo, was mentioned in the post above, Amerc has a terrible reputation!

 

[ExtremeDooty]

Thanks G56, that's what I was hoping to hear. I have fixed sights on the Taurus, so I'll buy a few different loads to try before I go shooting and make sure I've got something that works.